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GOP Debates Exposing Conservative Dislike of Romney, Not So Fo...

Added 02/05/12
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GOP Debates Exposing Conservative Dislike of Romney, Not So For '08 Dem Field

[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 19:00:09 02/05/12
So Romney and his PACmen spent over fifteen million dollars worth of smear ads against Newt Gingrich in Florida to seal the deal of beating him in the third primary. Romney was upbeat afterward, but many movement conservatives were not. Jonah Goldberg: What is Wrong With This Guy? > Congratulations to Mitt Romney for his big win last night. It was a win that, Romney supporters hoped, would help bury concerns about his ability to seal the deal to do what it takes. But I’m not so sure. If you’re a straight-laced grown-up with money to burn, burying Newt Gingrich shouldn’t be that hard. Romney talked about the economy, Newt about lunar statehood (which I favor!). Romney drowned Gingrich in negative ads and Gingrich supplied endless fodder for the accurate ones and plausibility for the inaccurate ones. Was that really the test of his political chops everyone is saying?As a bunch of us have been writing around here for a while, the under-emphasized dynamic in this race isn’t that Romney isn’t conservative enough (though that’s obviously a real concern out there) it’s that he’s simply not a good enough politician. Jonah and many other conservatives are really pissed that Mitt on the next day said that he's ' not very concerned about the poor.' > “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there,” Romney told CNN. “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. Oh, dear. That wasn't too bright. Bill O'Reilly was trying to downplay this flub on The Factor by saying the Democrats will seize on any single word by Mitt that they can take out of context to smear him. Nice try, Bill. It was a bonehead move. > But great politicians on the morning after a big win, don’t force their supporters to go around defending the candidate from the charge that he doesn’t care about the poor. They just don’t. You would think after all the rigorous training Mormons are known to subject their children to when it comes to speaking to large groups of people at a young age and then sending them out on two year conversion missions to hone their craft of convincing people to like them, Mitt is one big flop in that category. Unlike his father, who was legendary for his two years in European mission work, Romney just has a problem with connecting and he's making his base nervous. A recent Pew Poll shows Mitt's unfavorable rating is up to 47% . I believe the GOP thought that having so many debates would give them a chance to constantly bash President Obama without supplying much substance other than lunar bases, hating the gay, electrocutions and building electric fences against Latinos, but what has happened is America is watching and the GOP is being hurt by the added attention. Many republicans really dislike Romney, but view him as the only one to able challenge Obama. I still am surprised by this poll since the country is suffering from the 2008 global financial meltdown. And before Florida's results were in the GOP elites were freaking out over Gingrich's rise and then his attacks of their anointed one. I know many progressives are feeling very antsy right now with these GOP circus debates and primary days dominating the news cycles so I did a little research into how our base felt about our candidates to contrast the GOP contest at about the same time. Democratic voters were very pleased with the field of candidates that were running for election. via Gallup Politics on 02/03/08 > The new poll indicates that whatever the outcome, Democrats nationwide will be equally satisfied with their nominee. They show equal levels of enthusiasm for the prospects of Clinton and Obama each being on the ballot in November. In addition, they are no more likely to believe one of the candidates is more electable in the fall than the other. Specifically: Fifty-five percent of Democrats (including independents who lean to the Democratic Party) say they would vote for Obama "enthusiastically" in November were he the Democratic nominee; 53% say the same of Clinton. Forty-five percent of Democrats think Clinton has the better chance of beating the Republican candidate for president in November; 43% choose Obama. By contrast, Gallup finds more lopsided attitudes among Republicans -- working strongly in McCain's favor. Republicans are less enthusiastic about voting for each of the leading potential nominees than the Democrats are about theirs; however, McCain is the clear leader on this score over Romney. McCain also beats Romney handily in perceptions of which of the two has the better chance of winning in November. In the Florida returns there is another troubling number that was revealed about Mitt and the rest of the current field. > Another warning sign for Romney: Nearly 4 in 10 GOPers want someone else to run: And this also has to worry Romney and his team a bit, too: 38% of Florida Republican primary voters said they’d like to see someone else run for the GOP nomination, versus 58% who said they’re satisfied with the field. It’s a striking number, because these are Republicans who TURNED OUT and voted. 38% are hoping for a brokered convention I guess. Wow. Things are tough in this country and many on our side have been very disappointed, but if we elect a phony conservative like Romney at this point in time, the middle class may never, ever recover. GOP unrest is a good thing.

Sony Gets New CEO and Madden Picks Super Bowl Winner - Press P...

Added 02/03/12
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Sony Gets New CEO and Madden Picks Super Bowl Winner - Press Pause Daily

[LESS INFO] 8 VIEWS | ADDED 03:31:18 02/03/12
Sony gets a new CEO and we have the winner of this weekend’s super bowl...well according to Madden. SHOW NOTES: Story 1: After a lot of rumor and speculation, it was announced on Wednesday that current Sony Executive President Kazuo Hirai would become the President and CEO of the whole of Sony Corporation, starting April 1st. Kaz joined Sony’s music division back in 1984, but his star really began to shine when he moved over to Sony Computer Entertainment. He was instrumental in turning around the Playstation division, and has a long legacy of managing the successful Playstation brand. Kaz said in the announcement that "I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees." Kaz will replace current President and CEO Sir Howard Stringer, who is in line to become Chairman of Sony’s Board of Directors starting in June. http://www.shacknews.com/article/72255/kaz-hirai-becomes-sony-president-on-april-1 Stor y 2: We end this week with a bit of fun news. The Super Bowl is this coming Sunday, and as with every year EA Sports has predicted the winner using it’s own Madden football game. And this year the winner is..... Well, according them, the winner of Super Bowl 46 will be the NY Giants. When EA Sports ran the game through last year’s edition of the Madden game series, the outcome had the Giants squeaking out a win with a score of 27-24. According to the story on ShackNews, the game ended in dramatic fashion, with Lawrence Tynes kicking a last minute 40-yard field goal for the win. The in game MVP for the game was Eli Manning, with 25 completed passed out of 39, 3 touchdowns, and one interception. So there ya go....you now know who will win this Sunday, but before you head out to make a last minute bet, you should probably know something. While Madden has been pretty good at picking the winner of the game, it doesn’t quite get the point spread right. Something to consider. http://www.shacknews.com/article/72219/madden-nfl-12-predicts-giants-for-super-bowl-win That will do it for your daily dose of Press Pause. You can always find all our episodes over at presspause.mevio.com . You can also check them out over at our Youtube channel: youtube.com/presspausemevio .

Yes, There IS Free Will - Reclaiming Our Power - "Emgodiment" ...

Added 01/16/12
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Yes, There IS Free Will - Reclaiming Our Power - "Emgodiment" - 1 of 2

[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 04:34:46 01/16/12
2012-01-10 1st journal, Mayan day 9 Ix/Jaguar NOTES: We have a “sphere of influence” where our will can work It extends across both time-space and dimensions This includes our incarnations and each body's ancestry This includes all spaces we have ever been in in 3D form, at min. Our SOI (Sphere of Influence) is effectively limited by our beliefs (tho not actually so, since removing or changing the beliefs enables full access to SOI) Transcript http://www.scribd.com/doc/78374360 Intro: This thing about being a communicator is interesting. What's natural inside is actually silence. I could easily see myself off, somewhere else, living in a cave – such a simple life – nothing to interfere with the natural interior silence. Yet, here I am, spouting off. This route I am on was chosen by Higher Self – this much I know. One could then say it is “divinely ordained” for me – or simply recognize it's what I chose – what Self chose for self. That's the road I see that we are on – recognition of Self as That – as the divine. Unfortunately for the overall discussion of free will (or anything), most people only work from and with the conscious mind. Unwittingly, they thus limit themselves to a mere 7% of who and what they are in this one lifetime. People don't generally bring the whole self to the discussion. Better said, though people bring the full self to the discussion, they only acknowledge and work from the conscious bit. So, until we can sufficiently agree on our basic terms and basic definitions for them, then we may be just wasting our time. It's not a serious discussion if we can't bring this much discipline to bear. It is so very basic – yet who even sees it, much less acknowledges it as so? Not many, that's who...

Ep.2 Hunger Games/ The Gap/ Out of Luck

Added 01/11/12
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Ep.2 Hunger Games/ The Gap/ Out of Luck

[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 21:12:02 01/11/12
http://www.FilmedInUtah.com This week on Filmed in Utah, I'm going to show you 3 good reasons to watch locally produced web series. Web series are pretty much a condensed TV series online. Each episode is around 5 minutes and can be found on Youtube, Blip, and the Web Series Channel. Utah has become a hub for producing some very original web series and today I am going to share 3 very different shows with you. The first web series just started last week. It's based off of Suzanne Collins best selling books and upcoming feature film "Hunger Games" produced by MainStay Productions. This is by far the most successful web series launch I have ever seen. The production, writing, acting, directing, music, well I guess everything about this first episode was perfect. As of today, this video has received over 36,000 views and shows no sign of slowing down. Plus the timing could not be better. With Lionsgate's feature film release slated for March 23rd 2012 this web series is riding all the publicity being built by the studio for free which translates into a huge fan base. So take a note from Main stay productions. If you want to make a successful online web-series, Try to tie it into a successful book and make it a fan film web series. Our next web series is the first long form full length web series The Gap. The gap opens as Matt and Nicole become engaged. But when Matt wakes up the following morning he finds he is not marring Nicole but Rachel instead and also finds he can't remember the past 7 years . The writing was very smart, natural and witty. This is probably the best written web series I have seen. The stand out performances for me came from Adrienne Hartvigsen, Chantel Flanders, and from Chris Henderson who also wrote the series. The only critic I have about the show was that it was long. like 6+ hours long. I feel web series work better when each episode is is around 5 minutes and no mo more than 6 episodes long. The gap was closer to 35 minutes per episode with 13 episodes total. I am also a stickler about camera work and audio quality. Most of the series had rock solid camera and audio but their were parts where it was difficult to hear the actors and the camera would be very jerky. That said, it is the first full length web series and could easily fit into regular TV broadcast time requirements. So if you would like to check out the series in it's entirety check out the link below. Our last web series is a comedy called Out of Luck. I had a chance to talk with the writer/director of the series as well as one of the lead characters. We talked about how Riley Looks like a young Mark Hamil, and how important it is to have a good story. "Out of Luck" is a super fun web series that everyone should watch. The only thing that I didn't like about the series is that it ended too soon. Here are the links to the shows Hunger Games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_MNmhZvYeg The Gap: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGapSeries Out of Luck: http://www.youtube.com/user/outofluckwebseries

Mitt Romney's Big Promises - and Bigger Lies

Added 12/29/11
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Mitt Romney's Big Promises - and Bigger Lies

[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 16:00:56 12/29/11
Click here to view this media In the election of 1928, the Republican Party of Herbert Hoover promised voters "a chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard." (We all know how that turned out.) Now, Mitt Romney is pledging that "If I'm President" every college graduate will be guaranteed a job, Iran will have no nuclear weapons and the United States will dominate the 21st century. And when Romney isn't making fantastic promises about what he'll do when he gets to the White House, he's slandering the current occupant , Barack Obama. "I Won't Let Iran Get Nukes" Governor Romney's guarantees start with Iran and its nuclear program . In a November 10, 2011 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Romney pledged, " I won't let Iran get nukes ." Or as he put it 10 days earlier during a GOP national security debate : > "If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. If you elect me as president, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon." As to how he'll ensure that outcome, Romney explained that "If you want peace, prepare for war." And despite occasionally acknowledging the complexity of a strike against Iran and even the questionable possibility of success, Romney told the Wall Street Journal this weekend how he would get it done: > So what would he do about it? "I do not have a top secret security clearance at this stage to be able to define precisely what kinds of actions we could take." But he adds that "the range includes something of a blockade nature, to something of a surgical strike nature, to something of a decapitate the regime nature, to eliminate the military threat of Iran altogether." No U.S. Decline in Romney's "American Century" Romney's promise to "eliminate the military threat of Iran altogether" is just part of his larger assurance that the 21st century will be another " American Century ." Pretending that the rise of India, China and Brazil doesn't inevitably entail the relative loss of U.S. power and influence, Romney announced in his October address at The Citadel : > "This century must be an American Century. In an American Century, America has the strongest economy and the strongest military in the world. In an American Century, America leads the free world and the free world leads the entire world...As President of the United States, I will devote myself to an American Century. And I will never, ever apologize for America." Not content to rest there, Romney accused President Obama of "waving the white flag of surrender": > "An eloquently justified surrender of world leadership is still surrender. > I will not surrender America's role in the world. This is very simple: If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I am not your President. > You have that President today." Two months later, Mitt Romney repackaged his promise and his slander at the December 15 Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa: > "Our president thinks America is in decline. It is if he's president. It's not if I'm president. This is going to be an American century." As for Romney's charge that President Obama "went around the world and apologized for America," the Washington Post Fact Checker deemed it a Four-Pinocchio lie . A Job for Every College Graduate At an event in New Hampshire last week, Governor Romney's pandering went from the sublime to the ridiculous. There, Mitt pledged President Romney would deliver full-employment for all American college graduates: > "What I can promise you is this -- when you get out of college, if I'm president you'll have a job. If President Obama is reelected, you will not be able to get a job. That's the reason I will hopefully get young people who are in college is to say, You know what, I understand what it takes to get jobs in America." As the record shows , not so much. After all, as the Los Angeles Times recently documented, Romney's "Bain Capital often maximized profits in part by firing workers." That's why FactCheck.org , the Washington Post Fact Checker and Fortune all refused to vouch for Romney's claim that "In those hundreds of businesses we invested in, tens of thousands of jobs net-net were created." Obama "Has Not Created Any New Jobs" If Mitt Romney can't prove his boasts about his own job creation record, neither can he justify his blatant lie about President Obama's : > "25 million people are out of work because of Barack Obama. And so I'll compare my experience in the private sector where, net-net, we created over 100,000 jobs." > "I'll compare that record with his record, where he has not created any new jobs." Sadly for Mitt Romney, the Bush recession began in December 2007. As ThinkProgress rightly noted, "The private sector has added 2.3 million new jobs since March 2010, and it took the Obama economy one year to create more jobs than the economy under President Bush did in eight." As The Economist explained earlier, the recession was not at its deepest just as Barack Obama was entering office, but far worse than official statistics revealed at the time. Romney might also want to check with former McCain economic adviser Mark Zandi as well as the non-partisan CBO , who concluded that the Obama stimulus program "added up to 0.9 million jobs in 2009, 3.3 million jobs in 2010 and 2.6 million jobs in 2011." Obama's Debt Exceeds All Previous Presidents Combined Mitt Romney didn't just lie about Barack Obama's jobs record. At the Sioux City debate, he got President Obama's contribution to the federal debt all wrong as well: > "We all understand that the spending crisis is extraordinary, with $15 trillion now in debt, with a president that's racked up as much debt as almost all of the other presidents combined." Of course, we don't all understand that, because it's not true . After Ronald Reagan tripled the gross national debt and George W. Bush doubled it again, Uncle Sam's red ink totaled almost $11 trillion when Barack Obama took the oath of office. Obama is "Taking over 100 Percent" of Health Care In his desperate quest to win over conservative Republican primary voters, Mitt Romney has turned his back on his signature achievement which he once boasted was a health care model for the nation. And to do it, Romney has been lying for months by telling voters "Obamacare is about taking over 100 percent of the people's insurance in this country." In a September 15, 2011 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer , Romney made the same charge: > "The Massachusetts plan was crafted for Massachusetts, for the needs of 8 percent of our population that didn't have insurance, not for the 92 percent that did. Obamacare is a plan that takes over 100 percent of the people in the country and their health care, and that's one of the reasons why people don't want it." Sadly for Mitt Romney, repetition of a lie doesn't make it any more true. The Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in the spring of 2010 targets the 17 percent of people (over 50 million people) who are uninsured . As Politifact explained in deeming Romney's fraud another "Pants on Fire" lie: > According to the Census Bureau, the percentage of Americans without health insurance nationally was slightly under 17 percent in 2009, the year Obama began pushing for the bill. According to a Congressional Budget Office estimate, the number was about the same in 2010, when the measure was signed into law. Other estimates have pegged the national number at about 15 percent. As Henry Aaron, a senior fellow with the centrist-to-liberal Brookings Institution right noted, comparing 8 percent to 17 percent "would have been apples to apples" when it comes to the impact of the individual mandate at the center of both the Massachusetts and national plans. Sadly, Politifact concluded, Romney was guilty of "a felony case of comparing apples and oranges." Romney "Will Reverse President Obama's Massive Defense Cuts" During that same "American Century" speech in October, Governor Romney pledged: > "I will reverse President Obama's massive defense cuts. Time and again, we have seen that attempts to balance the budget by weakening our military only lead to a far higher price, not only in treasure, but in blood." Sadly for Romney, as Steve Benen pointed out, defense spending has not only gone up every year of the Obama presidency . It is higher than it ever was when George W. Bush sat in the Oval Office. Of course, Romney's confusion over matters of war and peace are hardly new. In an April op-ed for the Manchester Union Leader, Mitt forgot about the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as he denounced President Obama for "one of the biggest peacetime spending binges in American history." Obama's "Equal Outcomes" and "Entitlement Society" Last week, the Romney campaign rolled out what may well become the meta-theme and meta-lie for the 2012 general election race. After President Obama declared in his Osawatomie, Kansas address that Republican trickle down economics "never worked," Romney struck back. Just not with the truth: > "Just a couple of weeks ago in Kansas, President Obama lectured us about Teddy Roosevelt's philosophy of government. But he failed to mention the important difference between Teddy Roosevelt and Barack Obama. Roosevelt believed that government should level the playing field to create equal opportunities. President Obama believes that government should create equal outcomes. > "In an entitlement society, everyone receives the same or similar rewards, regardless of education, effort, and willingness to take risk. That which is earned by some is redistributed to the others. And the only people who truly enjoy any real rewards are those who do the redistributing -- the government. > "The truth is that everyone may get the same rewards, but virtually everyone will be worse off." By raising the mythical red menace of communism and falsely attributing it to Barack Obama, Romney in the words of Paul Krugman had introduced " The Big Lie " into his " Post-Truth Campaign ." While Andrew Sullivan announced "Mitt Romney is a big, fat liar," Steve Benen lamented that "Romney, allegedly the responsible one in the Republican field, has been reduced to lying uncontrollably." And while Greg Sargent in the past had expressed amazement at "Mitt Romney's casual, effortless falsehoods," New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait explained that Romney's red scare rose to a whole new level of duplicity: > "This isn't just a casual line. In eight sentences, Romney asserts over and over again that Obama wants to create "equal outcomes" and give everybody the "same rewards." This is nuts, Glenn Beck-level insane. Restoring Clinton-era taxes is not a plan to equalize outcomes, or even close. It's not even a plan to stop rising inequality. Obama's America will continue to be the most unequal society in the advanced world -- only slightly less so. The alternative proposals accelerate inequality even further." Of course, as the proliferating profiles from the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , the Washington Post and others show, Mitt Romney is no stranger to inequality. Legendarily cheap and analytical , as a Harvard Business School student Romney gave a presentation to his classmates that "proved the value of family time based not on emotion but on yield." Two Romney quotes - " I love business " and " I love data " - seem to sum up the man. As for loving the truth, that for Mitt Romney is apparently another matter altogether. (This piece also appears at Perrspectives .)

On "If I were a poor Black kid"...

Added 12/28/11
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On "If I were a poor Black kid"...

[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 07:41:54 12/28/11
[ VIDEO ] Joe Hicks discusses the controversy over Gene Marks' blog post at Forbes entitled " If I were a poor Black kid ". Basically he asks, "Why can't white people contribute to the national dialogue on race and racism?" It does seem like a cop out to just tell someone that they have nothing to say because they're not a poor Black child so they can't relate in any way. I've had a white geography teacher in high school - GO FALCONS - who said that he could relate because he was poor. Of course the conclusion could be that he thinks all Blacks are poor, but that's only a thought and not necessarily based on reality. All the same Marks bounces off of a recent speech by President Obama in Kansas where he discussed the gap between the rich and the poor: > The President’s speech got me thinking. My kids are no smarter than similar kids their age from the inner city. My kids have it much easier than their counterparts from West Philadelphia . The world is not fair to those kids mainly because they had the misfortune of being born two miles away into a more difficult part of the world and with a skin color that makes realizing the opportunities that the President spoke about that much harder. This is a fact. In 2011. I am not a poor black kid. I am a middle aged white guy who comes from a middle class white background. So life was easier for me. But that doesn’t mean that the prospects are impossible for those kids from the inner city. It doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities for them. Or that the 1% control the world and the rest of us have to fight over the scraps left behind. I don’t believe that. I believe that everyone in this country has a chance to succeed. Still. In 2011. Even a poor black kid in West Philadelphia. It takes brains. It takes hard work. It takes a little luck. And a little help from others. It takes the ability and the know-how to use the resources that are available. Like technology. As a person who sells and has worked with technology all my life I also know this. If I was a poor black kid I would first and most importantly work to make sure I got the best grades possible. I would make it my #1 priority to be able to read sufficiently. I wouldn’t care if I was a student at the worst public middle school in the worst inner city. Even the worst have their best. And the very best students, even at the worst schools, have more opportunities. Getting good grades is the key to having more options. With good grades you can choose different, better paths. If you do poorly in school, particularly in a lousy school, you’re severely limiting the limited opportunities you have. And I would use the technology available to me as a student. I know a few school teachers and they tell me that many inner city parents usually have or can afford cheap computers and internet service nowadays. That because (and sadly) it’s oftentimes a necessary thing to keep their kids safe at home than on the streets. And libraries and schools have computers available too. Computers can be purchased cheaply at outlets like TigerDirect and Dell’s Outlet . Professional organizations like accountants and architects often offer used computers from their members, sometimes at no cost at all. You will see at the end of this posting links to several rebuts to Marks' comments. I will add my two cents just as Hicks and those other links have. I didn't go to the very best schools in Chicago. I'd say my old elementary school was an average at best school and my old high school - when I attended - was one of the worst. My marks weren't that great in elementary school but for some reason my marks in high school were often in the honor roll range. With that in mind though I consider that a fluke today. My time in high school wasn't a time to seek out options. I never thought of my grades as a ticket mainly because they were had too easy. It was never a challenge academically and who knows how that would've been weathered. The serious challenge was in college where I struggled to keep up. If only I had the tools back then that the young people have today to help me study and understand the various subjects. I wouldn't just be ahead of my peers but it would be light years ahead of them. But when I was in public school most of those tools did not yet exist. In spite of the nay sayers - and I will get to one in a moment - Marks isn't wrong. Make the best grades you can where you are take advantage of all the tools you can. Don't have a PC at home go somewhere to use one, especially the library. At that there are people at your school who if you establish a relationship with them will help you move forward. This nay sayer, well is making more of this than he realizes: > No believer in Bell Curv-ish nonsense about black intellectual inferiority, Marks makes clear that the children about whom he speaks are no less capable than his own kids. Of course, one wonders just how much of a compliment Marks really intends for this to be, given his strange habit of dissing his offspring, on more than one occasion, as rather unintelligent, unmotivated, promiscuous and even inclined to petty criminality. Not sure what kind of asshole says things like this about his children in print, but I suppose we can leave that discussion for another day. No doubt Marks would say that he was simply encouraging poor African American kids to take personal responsibility for their success. He might even say that by acknowledging unfair and unjust structural inequity (and even, indirectly, white privilege), he was doing so in a politically ecumenical way. Certainly Marks would perceive his words and intentions as quite different from those of right-wingers whose hectoring of the poor so often involves blaming those at the bottom of the nation’s economic hierarchy for their station in life. To Marks, poor black kids are not to blame for the position in which they find themselves, but they nonetheless hold the keys to their own liberation, and if they would simply follow his sage counsel they could surely make it, like anyone else: even the cerebrally challenged and oversexed spawn who slumber each night just down the hall from he and his wife. There is much one could say about Marks’s advice — rather typical bootstrapping fare about studying hard, coupled with a more modern emphasis on becoming a techie like him, and thereby, presumably, an irresistible college or job applicant — and most of it has been said already. Like, for instance, this piece , or this one , or this one , or maybe this one , all of which eloquently critique the privileged and naive mindset displayed by Marks, and explain how even when poor kids of color do everything right, the structures of society are too often set up to help them fail anyway. ... And it’s this last point that we might do well to explore further. Fact is, Gene Marks knows his readership at Forbes . He knows that it includes virtually none of the people to whom he is ostensibly offering advice, which means that he isn’t really giving them advice at all; rather, he is inviting his mostly white, mostly affluent audience to engage in a perverse moralistic voyeurism at the expense of impoverished African American youth, almost none of whom that readership will ever meet, and whom they will, in fact, go out of their way to avoid. He is offering a kind of secret white-male handshake to others in the club, assuring them that the problems of urban poverty are not theirs to fix, that they are off the hook as it were, and isn’t that a relief? That Marks may not be as vile in his desire to blame the poor for their status as some, hardly acquits him of the charge that by pandering to the biases of his readership, he has, with some 700-odd simple (and simplistic) words, managed to reinscribe all the worst of their prejudices, many of which one can see on grand display in the readers’ comments section of the original article. Make no mistake, Gene Marks’s column is contempt cloaked as compassion and bigotry dressed up as benevolence. And it can do nothing but contribute to the indifference and even antipathy towards the poor that those who rely on Forbes for insights already possess in ample supply. Starting with that last paragraph it's true, Forbes may not have a significant audience in poor inner city communities. Without having to purchase a subscription you can always go to a library to access past issues of magazines. Also with internet access you can access magazines as well and blog posts such as this one which surely don't require a subscription. As for Mr. Tim Wise who wrote the above excerpts, how is he going to call that man out for what he refers to his kids. Yeah it may be wrong to say your kids are very bright, but somewhere out there some parent is doing it. I also recognize that Marks is merely a commentator who is definitely using his platform to say what he wants to say. The main point surely Marks is making is that his children are not much different than poor inner city children. Just that they have different opportunities living in a different part of the Philadelphia area than the inner city children. Perhaps even different expectations from parents, perhaps different staff and different schools. He didn't write the "poor black kid" piece to denigrate his children. I think what he wrote was real. It shouldn't be impeached merely for that reason. That alone is weak! Although to Mr. Wise's credit he is at least has some suggestions for Marks to put his money where his mouth is. Marks could always help get the information out aside from using his platform at Forbes.

AFL-CIO Launches 'Share Your Story' To Document Unemployment C...

Added 12/07/11
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AFL-CIO Launches 'Share Your Story' To Document Unemployment Crisis

[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 15:00:23 12/07/11
The AFL-CIO launched a new website on Tuesday designed to capture the stories of the unemployed in their own words. The website, Share Your Story allows site visitors to upload their stories and pictures to the site, providing a human face to the issue of unemployment, which politicians talk a lot about, but don't seem nearly as interested in doing something about. Many of the stories on the site are like those of Pat from San Jose: > I was a Communications worker for just under 20 years. After I was "surplused" in 1995 I went to work at a non-union job in the same industry which later became Worldcom followed by positions in two other companies. After the dot com bust in 2001, finding a full time job was hopeless. Apparently the rules had changed and I did not have the education to continue doing the work I had done for 25 years. The past 10 1/2 years have held sporadic, temporary and part time positions, most in retail which paid very little and I have now been unemployed for about a year. This track record, along with the fact that I am now 61 years old doesn't offer much for a resume. My thought is to apply for Social Security (a real oxymoron) if the powers that be will allow it. My retirement fund has all but vanished in the wake of what has happened. I don't know what plan the 1% has for us--maybe they expect that we will simply vanish the way our money did on Wall Street. Janet from Texas questions the whole system: > I have two masters degree and am all but dissertation for a doctrate in social work. I worked, consistently for the first 30 years of my adulthood and am now unemployed. I am living with friends because I cannot get unemployment. I cannot get unemployment because I quit my last job. I quit my last job because they were not paying me. I am suffering, in chronic pain, because I have no health care coverage. I am substitute teaching to try to cover my expenses so if a permanent job comes through, I will still have a car to get there. My question to you, as I stand in front of a classroom of young people: I am supposed to tell them to get a high school degree and go on to college because...............why? She is far from alone in being a hard-working person who played by the rules and was still left out in the cold by the system. Even more heartbreaking are stories like that of Marge from Illinois: > I am writing to say what a profound negative impact joblessness has on a family. My son in law is in the building trades industry. Due to lack of activity he has been laid off for the last two years almost as much as he has worked. This has placed much stress on their young family and marriage. In fact the stress has gotten to the point where my son in law is back to drinking heavily which has led to their separation. I might add that they have two young sons. One is six weeks old. So I have a very strong opinion that we need to do what it takes to extend unemployment benefits. What will families do if they have absolutely NO income? And more than that we need to get the economy back on track. What is wrong with Congress that they are more concerned about seeing someone fail or getting their way than to look out for the good of the people who elected them? I am still hopeful that those members of Congress who have real values will stand firm and do what's right! AFL-CIO's release urges everyone to participate: > You need to check out this website, right now. It’s a powerful reminder of the real faces behind America’s sobering unemployment statistics. It has real pictures and stories from job-hunters and impacted people from all walks of life—from your state and from every state. I hope you’ll take a minute to look at these powerful stories, share them and add your own. If Congress fails to act by Dec. 31, extended unemployment insurance will expire for millions. We never forget these are real people who face the prospect of going hungry and getting thrown out of their homes soon after the holidays if Congress fails to act. Many of us have been there before—or have friends and family who have. Even though obstructionists in Congress are willing to ignore our joblessness crisis, we refuse to let these stories get brushed under the rug. Click here to see and share the stories and faces behind America’s joblessness crisis. Then, share our website on Facebook and Twitter and forward this message to all your friends. These stories and pictures won’t just live on a website. We’ll share them with the media, hand-deliver them to Congress during our massive day of action on Dec. 8 and promote them widely on the Internet. If callous members of Congress think they can sit back and allow unemployment aid to expire while they play political games, they’re wrong. With your help we’re going to force them to see this crisis head-on—with real faces of real people who are jobless and struggling in this brutal economy. See these stories, share them and add your voice. In Solidarity, Manny Herrmann Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO P.S. It’s not just people who are unemployed right now who have stories to tell. Millions of others do, too. Maybe you’ve been jobless in the past and relied on unemployment benefits to get through. Or you’ve seen firsthand how much unemployment hurts your community and America—and how much unemployment aid helps. Or maybe you can write a brief statement of support for the jobless or urge Congress to act—even in just one to two sentences. Together, we’re creating a visual display of the impact of unemployment that will be too powerful to ignore. See and share stories and statements in your state and across America. Then, add your own.

How to Thrift Store Shop for clothing:

Added 12/02/11
11 Views

How to Thrift Store Shop for clothing:

[LESS INFO] 11 VIEWS | ADDED 02:35:59 12/02/11
FACT: Thrifting can be overwhelming: > What store do I chose? Once inside, where do I start? When should I go? Do I need cash? Because those thoughts can flood your brain, its understandable why many of you just don’t do it all. BUT if you don’t do it all, then you are missing out on a really invigorating shopping experience. I like to think of it as treasure hunting. Every time I go to a thrift store I walk away with an amazing, unexpected find, at a remarkably bargain of a price. Best of all…it’s recycling! > I started thrifting because I love fashion, but could never afford (without going into debt) to buy trendy and designer clothing. I learned from an old friend who was a fashion stylist and another friend who used to work at a thrift store how to navigate them successfully. Step#1: Before you even go into a thrift store you need to establish why you are going. (At least if you are a newbie.) This will prevent the feeling of being overwhelmed and frustrated. The best way to do that is to list what you need. If I don’t have something in particular that I am looking for, like a brown cardigan or sequins dress, then my strategy is to hit up certain things that I know that I will always need, like flowy work blouses. > Here’s my personal l ist of things that I always check when shopping at a thrift store: Leather Sequins Jewelry Dresses Blouses But I do recommend that you skip out on buying lingerie, bathing suits…you know items that get really personal. Step#2 Research thrift stores in your area. Each one offers something different. I categorize the in three ways: pure thrift, general thrift, and boutique thrift. Pure Thrift: usually bigger, warehouse stores. Sorted only by sections like women’s blouse and men’s blazers. And also sorted by colors. Some even just have big piles of clothes that you have to dig through. They are generally not sorted by brands or quality, so this is where you really can treasure hunt and really find “gold.” This type of thrift store is my preference. I find top brand names, clothing with tags on it, etc. Because they are minimally sorted, the prices are usually the cheapest. But you have to thoroughly check for quality, flaws, weird stains, etc. In the Southeast, Value Village is the best example. Also, oodwill Warehouse’s (not to be confused with standard Goodwill Stores) Other thrift stores are sorted a little more. I call these general thrift stores. You are familiar with their names mostly because of the charity they serve. These places have less selection and the prices can be about 100 percent higher and are conting ent on the brand name. Meaning, a dress that cost $4 at Value Village can cost anywhere between $5 and $10 depending on the brand name. Examples of these thrift stores are Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Next we have boutique thrift stores. Usually, these places also offer consignment items. (*Stay tuned for post on how to shop and sell at consignment stores.) Wanna know how the owners of these stores stock their shelves? They basically shop Pure Thrift Stores (see above). These stores don’t take donations unless they are top label brand names in mint condition, and most of the time, if it’s in that’s the case, they will either flat out buy it or co nsign it for you. So for all of their work, you can expect, cha-ching, higher prices for second-hand clothing. In your area, you can google “boutique or designer thrift store”. Consignment usually comes up next to the stores, but I just explained why above. Step#3 Once you determine which store type (see Step#2), research the nuances about that store. Does it have sale days? Does it open early? Is there a day that they get fresh shipment and stock the shelves? Do they have dressing rooms? Doing these extra steps will help you save more money and have an efficient shopping trip. More tips before you enter: * If you can, go early. Some thrift stores open as early at 7:30 am. * If possible, choose a sale day or a restocking day. * Dress comfortable…so you can easily try on clothes. *Even if there are no dressing rooms, if you wear comfortable clothes you can easily throw on items in the isle, run to the mirror to see if works for you. * E xpect to spend a couple of hours shopping, at least. Prepare for that. * Do you shop with friend? *I personally do better alone. I need to concentrate. If with friend, make sure they know the time that it will take. Also, what’s their purpose: to help dig or be second eye. Make sure you know because it’s not a typical shopping trip. Now, you’re ready to go inside. Step#4 Once inside: 1. Get cart if you can. 2. Pick a section…for newbies, I say look for just try two. For example, long skirts and blazers. 3. Then go through that section piece by piece. Touch them all! As you get better, you’ll go faster, and take on more sections. Remember you’re digging for treasures, and the best treasures are usually hidden. So dig, dig, dig! 4. Try on and make sure you like the looks you’ve selected. If you’re going vintage, are the sleeves from the ‘80’s? Do you like the look after all when it’s on your body? Is the number size that you know fits you too small after all? Is it ill-fitting? Can it be tailored? Trying on clothes is essential, especially in a thrift store . Again, if you don’t like it when you get home, you know that you won’t wear it and it will just eventually be donated back. Now, let me dispel a myth. “It’s a thrift store, so I shouldn’t have high expectations on quality and condition.” Absolutely not! Why would anyone ever want to put on trash? You don’t have to settle for that. I only buy things that are perfect for what I need at thrift stores. If it’s not, I put it back. You don’t have to resolve for less than wonderful: bad stains, tears, smells, etc. Now, if it is something you really love, like a great leather coat and you think that you can work with the imperfection, then buy it. You have to weigh the blemish to see if it is fixable, cleanable or mendable…or if it is something that you can live with. If it is something that you can fix, how easy is that challenge? Do you want to send it to a tailor? Well then how much will that cost you? Weigh the costs, if it’s not worth it, then leave it alone! Walk away. You won’t wear it and will end up donating it back. > My example: I am pretty handy with sewing simple projects, but I happened upon a sequins dress made in the ‘80’s. I almost passed on it, but a friend that was with me said…”You better not.” Now that I think about it, I should’ve bought all the sequins I saw that day…and there was a lot. I got the dress for $5. I spent $50 to shorten the hem. It was worth it, because sequins is impossible for the novice to work with, and I didn’t want to ruin the dress. The dress was my New Years Eve dress and it was amazing! With that… Thirft stores are great places you can take fashion risks , with minimal costs and potential loss. You can pull an inspiration outfit online or just happen upon something funky. Buy it and work with it at home. If it doesn’t work out…oh well…it only cost you a few bucks, right? Now it’s time to donate it back. My thing is that I love to repurpose outfits. Many of my shopping trips have been just to pick up things to repurpose. I may like the texture (leather), or the pattern of a dress (but plan to turn it into a blouse), I may find a dress but it’s too long, so I’ll shorten the hem; the same with sleeves. *Stay tuned for upcoming posts and videos on how to repurpose things. For families... Probably the best secret is taking advantage of thrift stores. Little kids, especially babies, get very little wear out of their c lothing. So scour the thrift stores for everything from packaged onesies to baby formal wear. You can find designer jeans and many things with tags still on. Now that you have your big bag of goods. Next…what to when you get home…. *Check my thrift store challenge video on my show Charlotte Today.

Right-Wing Furious Over Obama's 'Godless' Thanksgiving Address

Added 11/29/11
3 Views

Right-Wing Furious Over Obama's 'Godless' Thanksgiving Address

[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 20:00:43 11/29/11
Remember when President Bush forgot to thank God in his 2008 Thanksgiving address? Neither do the conservatives now apoplectic that Barack Obama's 2011 remarks contained no reference to the Almighty. Nevertheless, the usual suspects on the right are frothing at the mouth over the perceived slight from the man many still pretend is a secret Muslim . As Americans were still eating their turkey on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times served as the dutiful stenographer for the Twitter vitriol: > But Thursday morning, Republicans and others tweeted their discontent with the reported omission of God from Obama's address. > Comments included "So sad!" and "God help us!" Republicans Abroad retweeted the Fox News headline: "Obama Leaves God Out of Thanksgiving Address." > "To give thanks for luck is to deny God much less omit!" tweeted "PastorJeffBrown," whose Twitter account lists him as a rural Oklahoma husband, father and Baptist pastor. Apparently, Obama's passing references to "blessings" and "faith" were not sufficient in his expression of gratitude to American service men and women, among others: > As Americans, each of us has our own list of things and people to be thankful for. But there are some blessings we all share. > We're especially grateful for the men and women who defend our country overseas. To all the service members eating Thanksgiving dinner far from your families: the American people are thinking of you today. And when you come home, we intend to make sure that we serve you as well as you're serving America. > We're also grateful for the Americans who are taking time out of their holiday to serve in soup kitchens and shelters, making sure their neighbors have a hot meal and a place to stay. This sense of mutual responsibility - the idea that I am my brother's keeper; that I am my sister's keeper - has always been a part of what makes our country special. And it's one of the reasons the Thanksgiving tradition has endured. Of course, if this language sounds familiar, it should. With one mention of the "a land where they could worship the Almighty without persecution," George W. Bush said pretty much the same thing for Thanksgiving, 2008: > During this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom. America's men and women in uniform deserve our highest respect -- and so do the families who love and support them. Lately, I have been asked what I will miss about the presidency. And my answer is that I will miss being the Commander-in-Chief of these brave warriors. In this special time of year, when many of them are serving in distant lands, they are in the thoughts and prayers of all Americans. > During this holiday season, we give thanks for the kindness of citizens throughout our Nation. It is a testament to the goodness of our people that on Thanksgiving, millions of Americans reach out to those who have little. The true spirit of the holidays can be seen in the generous volunteers who bring comfort to the poor and the sick and the elderly. These men and women are selfless members of our Nation's armies of compassion -- and they make our country a better place, one heart and one soul at a time. Following Bush's departure, God returned to a place of prominence in Barack Obama's 2009 and 2010 Thanksgiving addresses . Two years ago, President Obama encouraged " all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather" to, among other things: > [R]ecall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God," and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured Nation in the midst of civil war. A year ago, President Obama again offered thanks to Him: > Today, like millions of other families across America, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will sit down to share a Thanksgiving filled with family and friends - and a few helpings of food and football, too. And just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we'll spend some time taking stock of what we're thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another. But never missing an opportunity to portray Obama as "the other," Fox News rang the alarm , declaring, "Obama Leaves God Out of Thanksgiving Address." His calls for community and unity, and to "give thanks for that most American of blessings, the chance to determine our own destiny," was more than the conservative caricaturists could handle from the supposed "militant atheist" in the White House.

Right-Wing Furious Over Obama's 'Godless' Thanksgiving Address

Added 11/29/11
0 Views

Right-Wing Furious Over Obama's 'Godless' Thanksgiving Address

[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 20:00:43 11/29/11
Remember when President Bush forgot to thank God in his 2008 Thanksgiving address? Neither do the conservatives now apoplectic that Barack Obama's 2011 remarks contained no reference to the Almighty. Nevertheless, the usual suspects on the right are frothing at the mouth over the perceived slight from the man many still pretend is a secret Muslim . As Americans were still eating their turkey on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times served as the dutiful stenographer for the Twitter vitriol: > But Thursday morning, Republicans and others tweeted their discontent with the reported omission of God from Obama's address. > Comments included "So sad!" and "God help us!" Republicans Abroad retweeted the Fox News headline: "Obama Leaves God Out of Thanksgiving Address." > "To give thanks for luck is to deny God much less omit!" tweeted "PastorJeffBrown," whose Twitter account lists him as a rural Oklahoma husband, father and Baptist pastor. Apparently, Obama's passing references to "blessings" and "faith" were not sufficient in his expression of gratitude to American service men and women, among others: > As Americans, each of us has our own list of things and people to be thankful for. But there are some blessings we all share. > We're especially grateful for the men and women who defend our country overseas. To all the service members eating Thanksgiving dinner far from your families: the American people are thinking of you today. And when you come home, we intend to make sure that we serve you as well as you're serving America. > We're also grateful for the Americans who are taking time out of their holiday to serve in soup kitchens and shelters, making sure their neighbors have a hot meal and a place to stay. This sense of mutual responsibility - the idea that I am my brother's keeper; that I am my sister's keeper - has always been a part of what makes our country special. And it's one of the reasons the Thanksgiving tradition has endured. Of course, if this language sounds familiar, it should. With one mention of the "a land where they could worship the Almighty without persecution," George W. Bush said pretty much the same thing for Thanksgiving, 2008: > During this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom. America's men and women in uniform deserve our highest respect -- and so do the families who love and support them. Lately, I have been asked what I will miss about the presidency. And my answer is that I will miss being the Commander-in-Chief of these brave warriors. In this special time of year, when many of them are serving in distant lands, they are in the thoughts and prayers of all Americans. > During this holiday season, we give thanks for the kindness of citizens throughout our Nation. It is a testament to the goodness of our people that on Thanksgiving, millions of Americans reach out to those who have little. The true spirit of the holidays can be seen in the generous volunteers who bring comfort to the poor and the sick and the elderly. These men and women are selfless members of our Nation's armies of compassion -- and they make our country a better place, one heart and one soul at a time. Following Bush's departure, God returned to a place of prominence in Barack Obama's 2009 and 2010 Thanksgiving addresses . Two years ago, President Obama encouraged " all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather" to, among other things: > [R]ecall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God," and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured Nation in the midst of civil war. A year ago, President Obama again offered thanks to Him: > Today, like millions of other families across America, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will sit down to share a Thanksgiving filled with family and friends - and a few helpings of food and football, too. And just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we'll spend some time taking stock of what we're thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another. But never missing an opportunity to portray Obama as "the other," Fox News rang the alarm , declaring, "Obama Leaves God Out of Thanksgiving Address." His calls for community and unity, and to "give thanks for that most American of blessings, the chance to determine our own destiny," was more than the conservative caricaturists could handle from the supposed "militant atheist" in the White House.

Kim Kardashian, Herman Cain, Occupy Wall Street - NTN #091

Added 11/22/11
12 Views

Rep. Joe Walsh Screams At Constituents And Bullies Them While ...

Added 11/09/11
3 Views

Rep. Joe Walsh Screams At Constituents And Bullies Them While Spouting Right-Wing Lies

[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 23:00:03 11/09/11
Boy, you really get a sense of what it must have been like trying to collect child support from this guy, don't you? What a domineering bully Rep. Joe Walsh is! I guess his idea of being a strong advocate is to get in someone's face and scream at them, and when that fails, he threatens to get them booted out. Via Think Progress: > Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) is known for his anti-Obama rhetoric on cable television and his inability to pay his child support payments. But during a recent meeting with constituents in his Chicago-area suburban district, Walsh lost his cool when several attendees asked about why banks have so much power in government. At one point, Walsh even threatened to a eject a man who calmly asked Walsh about the revolving door of bank lobbyists infiltrating Congress and financial regulatory agencies. Walsh at one point screamed, “Don’t blame the banks … this pisses me off!” After several constituents accurately pointed out that bank lobbyists occupy key positions within Congress, the SEC, and other oversight bodies that are supposed to supervise bank practices, Walsh began sticking his finger close to his constituent’s faces, yelling, “Quiet for a minute or I’ll have to ask you to leave.” The constituent, who had calmly asked his question before being cut-off midway through his sentence, obliged: WALSH: Thats not the problem! The problem is you’ve got to be consistent. And I don't want government meddling in the marketplace. Yeah, they move from Goldman Sachs to the White House, I understand all of that. But you gotta’ be consistent. And it’s not the private marketplace that created this mess. What created mess was your government, which has demanded for years that everybody be in a home. And we’ve made it easy as possible for people to be in homes. [...] Don’t blame banks, and don’t blame the marketplace for the mess we’re in right now! I am tired of hearing that crap! This pisses me off! Too many people don’t listen. [...] WALSH: Quiet for a minute! Quiet for a minute! CONSTITUENT: Joe, what did I say– WALSH: Quiet for a minute or I’m going to ask you to leave. You need to listen, or I’m going to ask you to leave . Wow, what an a**hole. (Whether of the lying or ignorant kind, I can't say.) But it was President George W. Bush's policies that kicked off the housing bubble: > From his earliest days in office, Bush paired his belief that Americans do best when they own their own homes with his conviction that markets do best when left alone. Bush pushed hard to expand home ownership, especially among minority groups, an initiative that dovetailed with both his ambition to expand Republican appeal and the business interests of some of his biggest donors. But his housing policies and hands-off approach to regulation encouraged lax lending standards. Bush did foresee the danger posed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage finance giants. The president spent years pushing a recalcitrant Congress to toughen regulation of the companies, but was unwilling to compromise when his former Treasury secretary wanted to cut a deal. And the regulator Bush chose to oversee them - an old school buddy - pronounced the companies sound even as they headed toward insolvency. So it's George W. Bush and good old crony capitalism at fault here. Someone should try to explain that to Joe Walsh - that is, if you can get a word in edgewise.

Property taxes should be on the table

Added 11/07/11
0 Views

Property taxes should be on the table

[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 01:13:21 11/07/11
Oregon's property tax rates are constrained by measures enacted in 1990 and 1997 to $5 per $1,000 of valuation for education and $10.00 per $1,000 for all units of local government, including counties, cities and special districts. A task force formed by the governor's office to help counties prepare for the loss of federal timber payments recommended that the first recourse for is to exploit the full property tax capacity available. According to the 2009 task force report Coos County utilizes only 32% of its available tax revenue capacity. The gap between county rates and the combined local government maximum of $10.00 per $1,000 reflects each county’s unused “tax capacity.” Such tax capacity is likely to be constrained by the effects of compression among jurisdictions and by limitations that apply to individual properties. But examining the difference between current property tax rates, including local options taxes, and the average of all rates in effect for local governments within each county provides useful measures of unused tax capacity. Recently, Commissioner Bob Main has proudly proclaimed that raising property taxes in Coos County is not an option claiming that without jobs people would not be able to afford an increase. On the surface that sounds reasonable but the unemployed and those living on fixed incomes may already be paying the maximum amount allowed by law and therefore not actually see any increase on their tax bill. For example, a quick review of my tax bill shows that I am already paying the full $5 for education and actually paying in excess of $10 on all other local taxes and special levies and a quick poll of five other property owners in Coos County shows that they too are already taxed at the maximum rate. To check whether you are already being fully taxed simply divide the "General Government Total" on the right hand side of your tax bill by the "Total Assessed Value" to see how close you are to the $10 maximum. Private interests control 66% of the county property which has an assessed value of $7.34 billion which could generate $73.4 million in taxes but not everyone is taxed equally in Coos County and the county is only generating about $24 million according to the report. Main's argument that county citizens couldn't afford a property tax increase is probably specious and it is really the corporate interests like Bandon Dunes, Northwest Natural, Pacific Corp and Oregon Resources who would actually see any increase. Main also proudly announced that the county government has shrunk with less than half the number of employees a decade ago and yet most of us are paying the maximum tax while receiving reduced services thanks to the cut spending ideology that permeates the current commission. At Wednesday's Bay Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon the question was asked if the commission had actually investigated whether the public would prefer to pay a tax increase rather than turn over management of federal timber property to the Coquille Tribe? The short answer is "no", the public was not consulted and Main actually laughed at the idea before saying he had "thought about it" before offering an elaborate discourse about times gone by. Papa Main thinks he knows best... The options and recommendations presented in the Governor’s Task Force on Federal Forest Payments and County Services have been sitting, without benefit of public discussion or debate on Main's desk for almost three years while more jobs affecting public services, public health and public safety have been shaved away and yet most of us are paying more than our fair share for those services.

Property taxes should be on the table

Added 11/07/11
0 Views

Property taxes should be on the table

[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 01:12:50 11/07/11
Oregon's property tax rates are constrained by measures enacted in 1990 and 1997 to $5 per $1,000 of valuation for education and $10.00 per $1,000 for all units of local government, including counties, cities and special districts. A task force formed by the governor's office to help counties prepare for the loss of federal timber payments recommended that the first recourse for is to exploit the full property tax capacity available. According to the 2009 task force report Coos County utilizes only 32% of its available tax revenue capacity. The gap between county rates and the combined local government maximum of $10.00 per $1,000 reflects each county’s unused “tax capacity.” Such tax capacity is likely to be constrained by the effects of compression among jurisdictions and by limitations that apply to individual properties. But examining the difference between current property tax rates, including local options taxes, and the average of all rates in effect for local governments within each county provides useful measures of unused tax capacity. Recently, Commissioner Bob Main has proudly proclaimed that raising property taxes in Coos County is not an option claiming that without jobs people would not be able to afford an increase. On the surface that sounds reasonable but the unemployed and those living on fixed incomes may already be paying the maximum amount allowed by law and therefore not actually see any increase on their tax bill. For example, a quick review of my tax bill shows that I am already paying the full $5 for education and actually paying in excess of $10 on all other local taxes and special levies and a quick poll of five other property owners in Coos County shows that they too are already taxed at the maximum rate. To check whether you are already being fully taxed simply divide the "General Government Total" on the right hand side of your tax bill by the "Total Assessed Value" to see how close you are to the $10 maximum. Private interests control 66% of the county property which has an assessed value of $7.34 billion which could generate $73.4 million in taxes but not everyone is taxed equally in Coos County and the county is only generating about $24 million according to the report. Main's argument that county citizens couldn't afford a property tax increase is probably specious and it is really the corporate interests like Bandon Dunes, Northwest Natural, Pacific Corp and Oregon Resources who would actually see any increase. Main also proudly announced that the county government has shrunk with less than half the number of employees a decade ago and yet most of us are paying the maximum tax while receiving reduced services thanks to the cut spending ideology that permeates the current commission. At Wednesday's Bay Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon the question was asked if the commission had actually investigated whether the public would prefer to pay a tax increase rather than turn over management of federal timber property to the Coquille Tribe? The short answer is "no", the public was not consulted and Main actually laughed at the idea before saying he had "thought about it" before offering an elaborate discourse about times gone by. Papa Main thinks he knows best... The options and recommendations presented in the Governor’s Task Force on Federal Forest Payments and County Services have been sitting, without benefit of public discussion or debate on Main's desk for almost three years while more jobs affecting public services, public health and public safety have been shaved away and yet most of us are paying more than our fair share for those services.