Year: 2012

Categories
Domestic Policies

Facebook and Wal-Mart: With Friends Like These…

Big business has been in the news recently, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. JPMorganChase lost upwards of $3 billion dollars on hedge trades that should not be legal, but that the bank actively lobbied to protect. Hewlett-Packard is laying off 30,000 employees in an attempt to become more competitive, and in a blow to television networks everywhere, Dish Network has developed a DVR that will automatically skip over commercials. Yes, what you just heard was the spinal shiver of a thousand communications executives. From the article:

Ted Harbert, the chairman of NBC Broadcasting, struck a similar note at his network’s presentation on Monday, calling the Dish feature an insult to the television industry. “Just because technology gives you the ability to do something, does that mean you should? Not always,” he said.

An insult? Hardly. Aren’t we supposed to honor creativity and problem solving? That’s what Mitt Romney says. And he’s destroyed leveraged lots of companies.

Two companies stand out at present: Wal-Mart is in the news for nefarious activities (again) and Facebook just went public. But the stock price, which was supposed to soar, didn’t even get as high as your average Michigan tree (they are the right height, you know). Mark Zuckerberg made a bundle. You probably made $1.28. Though to be fair, a problem at Nasdaq might have had something to do with the price, according to this article. We’ll have to wait until Monday for confirmation.

It’s simply not OK for a company to act as Wal-Mart has acted over the years and expect that simple apologies would wipe away the tainted profits. Wal-Mart denied its employees medical insurance coverage by manipulating hours and schedules. It fought against unionization and continued to pay low wages until protests uncovered its hypocrisy. Some managers even locked in the cleaning staff overnight in an attempt to make sure they squeezed every penny from their labor. Now Wal-Mart is accused of bribery and covering up potential crimes in Mexico (and possible the United States, if this story is correct).

These activities are unacceptable. They were unacceptable when Wal-Mart first practiced them and they are unacceptable now, and any 10-year-old would tell you that people should not treat their employees this way. There is no apology that will sway me otherwise. Yes, Wal-Mart’s prices are low, but the store near me in New Jersey is dirty and I get a dirty feeling just walking into its front door. It’s as if I’m giving up some of my self-respect just by shopping there. So I don’t. I know others who feel the same way.

Facebook is another matter. Now that it’s made some people very, very wealthy, it’s going to be more of a prime target than it already has been. I won’t buy anything from Facebook, I don’t take its recommendations when they pop up on my page, and I really don’t like the new layout I’ve been forced to accept. I love my friends, but I don’t respond to their requests for birthdays or games or school pages because I find the Facebook notice that comes with these invitations, the one that says “this application will have access to all of my information” much too intrusive. Perhaps I wasn’t built for social networking. Perhaps I’m too old to appreciate the ease at which Facebook can improve my life. No matter. Facebook will not see a penny from me.

And that’s the real danger isn’t it? Haven’t we been told that Facebook’s value lies in its collected data? Our likes and dislikes, entertainment preferences and group memberships? We have become a world of sharers, but at some point in the not-too-distant future, I can see the backlash. Facebook will go too far (if they haven’t already) and use our information for purposes that will go beyond the pale. The reaction will be swift and intense. Public pressure will force Facebook and/or Congress to scale back its data mining. Facebook will lose the ability to track our movements, and thus its ability to make money. It will have billions of users, but its stock price will be stuck at $16.

When I think of all the advertising and public relations these companies pay for, you’d think they would pay closer attention to their actions. Perhaps they will adjust and thrive. They’ll just have to do it without my money.

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Categories
Politics weekly address

President’s Weekly Address – Wall Street Reform Must Be Fully Implemented

In the wake of the over two billion dollars lost at JP Morgan Chase, President Obama used his weekly address to call on Congress to fully implement the Wall Street Reforms he recently signed into law, a law that would protect consumers and make Wall Street accountable for their actions.

…We’ve put in place Wall Street reform with smarter, tougher, commonsense rules that serve one primary purpose:  to prevent a crisis like that from ever happening again.  And yet, for the past two years, too many Republicans in Congress and an army of financial industry lobbyists have actually been waging an all-out battle to delay, defund, and dismantle Wall Street reform.

Recently, we’ve seen why we can’t let that happen.  We found out that a big mistake at one of our biggest banks resulted in a two billion dollar loss.  While that bank can handle a loss of that size, other banks may not have been able to.  And without Wall Street reform, we could have found ourselves with the taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Street’s mistakes.

That’s why it’s so important that Members of Congress stand on the side of reform, not against it; because we can’t afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight; where excessive risk-taking on Wall Street and a lack of basic oversight in Washington nearly destroyed our economy.  We can’t afford to go back to that brand of ‘you’re-on-your-own’ economics.  Not after the American people have worked so hard to come back from this crisis.

We’ve got to keep moving forward.

Categories
Barack Obama Mitt Romney Politics

The Campaign Cometh – Brace Yourself

If anything is clear about the presidential election so far, it’s that nothing is very clear at all. We have reached the first phase of the campaign where the key is for both candidates to define themselves and each other in diametrically opposite terms. Where does the race stand so far?

Both men are winning North Carolina, according to the latest polls. This might have something to do with both of their policy pronouncements concerning marriage equality, which seems to be hurting Obama in some polls, but the long-term trend in the country points decisively towards more people accepting marriage equality. In the end, if most North Carolinians voted to ban marriage equality and Obama just came out in support of it, that leads me to believe that the state might be out of his reach.

Electoral College projections have been fairly consistent so far, with Obama leading 243-170 in RCP (Wisconsin was just moved from Obama back to toss-up), by 303-235 at electionprojection.com and by 284-170 at HuffPost/Pollster. Most of those state polls were taken last month, so let’s see what May’s data shows. Mitt has seen a bump since the primaries ended and that will probably raise his state profiles a bit.

And what about the issues of the day? That depends on the issue. Obviously the economy is the country’s number one concern and my view is that May’s jobs numbers, to be released in June, might be his last opportunity to claim that the employment picture is improving sufficiently to show that the economy is moving in a positive direction. Most people will not pay attention in July and August, although if gas prices drop enough, people might feel better about their prospects for the fall.

Word now is that the GOP is going to press the debt battle over the summer and force the president’s hand on raising the debt ceiling, which really doesn’t need to be done until December. John Boehner believes that this is a winner for his party, but I’m not so sure. Much of this election will also be fought over Medicare and if Obama frames the issue correctly, he can run against any severe cuts the Ryan budget proposes. He can also say that Romney favors the wealthy and the military over health care. If the Supreme Court invalidates the health care law, then Romney will have a freer hand to say he’ll keep the most popular parts of the law (both of them) and make responsible additions once he’s elected.

If the Republicans really want to lose this election though, then running anti-Obama ads focusing on Reverend Jeremiah Wright, as reported in Thursday’s New York Times, is just the way to do it. As a strategy, this might appeal to the far right wing of the party, but these ads will spark a tremendous backlash against Romney. Americans like Barack Obama, but are not terribly pleased with his policies. Going after him personally is exactly the wrong way to defeat him. Plus, I’m sure there will also be ads aimed at his support for marriage equality. Has the Republican Party gone so far right that they think it would benefit them to run a racist, anti-gay campaign? It’s possible, but I’m thinking that cooler heads will prevail and will be able to walk them back from the precipice. Mitt’s already come out against the ads. Let’s hope that’s enough to convince the PAC not to run them.

Please join the conversation at  www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest 

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

TDAmeritrade and Chicago Cubs Owner Decide Against Jeremiah Wright Ads

Joe Ricketts, the founder of TDAmeriTrade and owner of the Chicago Cubs decided to scrap his plans to run a $10 million ad campaign against President Obama using the Republican created political boogeyman name Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Mr. Ricketts plan would have followed the same unsuccessful playbook Republicans used against Mr. Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign, where they tried to scare Americans into thinking that because the President went to Jeremiah Wright’s church, Mr. Obama had to be a crazy America-hating psycho.

Both Republicans and Democrats considered Mr. Ricketts proposed ad campaign a dumb move. “Right now, the story the voters are moved by, and tuned in to, is the economy,” said Republican Rick Wilson, who helped create some of John McCain’s ads in 2008. That statement was echoed by Republican House Speaker John Boehner who said, “I don’t know what these other people do or why they do it. All I know is the American people vote with their wallets.” Even Mitt Romney found the courage to make a statement, saying that he “repudiate that effort. I think it’s the wrong course for a PAC or a campaign.”

John McCain stayed away from the Jeremiah Wright issue in 2008 and when news of Mr. Ricketts plans came to light, McCain also issued a statement saying he is proud of the decision he made to not air ads featuring Jeremiah Wright, and if he had to do it all over again, nothing would change.

Even Joe Ricketts’ own daughter disagreed with her father. She told the Chicago Tribune exactly what she thought President Obama. “My view is that the president is doing a wonderful job,” she said. “He’s a great leader.”

With all the backlash from his own party, Mr. Ricketts came to the conclusion that reviving a dead issue may not be his best option.

Categories
Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

With Three Weeks to Recall, Walker Leads in Wisconsin

A new Marquette Law School Poll in Wisconsin shows that with three weeks to go until the recall election Gov. Scott Walker (R) has taken a six point lead over Tom Barrett (D), 50% to 44%, among likely voters.

Three weeks ago, Walker’s lead was just one point.

Said pollster Charles Franklin: “While both parties show unusual levels of involvement in the campaign, Republicans appear to hold an advantage in likely turnout, although Democrats are more likely to have been contacted by a campaign. In a close election with so few undecided voters, enthusiasm, turnout and campaign contact with voters may make the difference.”

[Political Wire]

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Romney Donor Wants His Money Back. He Now Supports Obama

“You have chosen to be on the wrong side of history and I do not support your run for president any longer,” said Bill White, a one time Romney supporter and donor. Mr White is the chairman and CEO of the New York-based consulting firm Constellations Group. He was previously the president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum – the cultural and educational institution whose major presence is the floating World War II Intrepid aircraft carrier sitting on the Hudson River.

According to a letter addressed to Mitt Romney and obtained by CNN, Mr. White is also asking the Republican presidential candidate for his money back, saying “I feel that I no longer wish to support your presidential campaign and ask that you please return the maximum contribution that I gave to you last year.”

So why the change? Mr. White said it’s because of the President’s full evolution on gay marriage. Mr. White continued;

“I had a very visceral reaction to [Romney] – he had a great opportunity… to get on the right side of history, and to be someone to the country that helps to unite us, versus what divides us. And I just think his very proactive intention to pounce on this issue now has sent me to the other side.

“Now, I feel like he’s declared war on my marriage. And I could just sit back and not say anything. Or I could do something about it. And I’ve chosen to do something about it.”

Categories
new mexico governor Politics

Romney’s Potential Veep Asks, What the heck is “Self-Deportation?”

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who is sometimes mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick, is critical of Mitt Romney’s stance on immigration.

Martinez’s criticism of Romney’s call for self-deportation is mentioned in a Newsweek article that was posted online yesterday.

“Self-deport? What the heck does that mean,” Martinez is quoted as saying. “I have no doubt Hispanics have been alienated during this campaign. But now there’s an opportunity for Gov. Romney to have a sincere conversation about what we can do and why.”

Romney has advocated that illegal immigrants already in the USA should “self deport” and leave the country voluntarily. He has often described a situation in which illegal immigrants would apply for legal status and wait their turn to come back legally.

[USA Today]

Categories
Politics

Most Not Affected By Obama’s Support for Gay Americans – Poll

Maybe these people are finally beginning to realize that their Religious views and the Constitution are two different things, and as President – his political job as the leader of this nation – Mr. Obama must do what the Constitution demands.

A new Pew Poll finds that roughly half of Americans (52%) say Barack Obama’s expression of support for gay marriage did not affect their opinion of the president. A quarter (25%) say they feel less favorably toward Obama because of this while 19% feel more favorably.

There are wide partisan and age differences in reactions to Obama’s expression of support for gay marriage, according to the latest weekly survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted May 10-13 among 1,003 adults.

[Pew Research Poll]

Categories
Mitt Romney pat robertson Politics

Pat Robertson Endorsed Romney, Only Because Jesus Isn’t Running

The Conservative Republican television host who preach politics but sometimes dabble in Religion, took his endorsement of Mitt Romney one step further, telling his listeners that since Jesus isn’t running for President, Romney – although a Mormon – is his choice.

“It looks like the people who were worried about his Mormonism, at least that crowd is diminishing somewhat,” Robertson said. “The question is, if you have two candidates, you don’t have Jesus running against someone else. You have Obama running against Romney.”

Robertson previously expressed some concern that Romney may govern the nation based on his Mormon beliefs, but Robertson was more than willing to give Romney a shot. On one of his TBN shows last month, Robertson said, “I can’t imagine that he’s going to interject the Mormon religion into the way he governs. He might, but I would sincerely doubt it. That’s the concern, but I think the biggest concern right now is the fact that this country is going bankrupt if we don’t do something about the terrible federal deficits.”

“I believe [we] now have a clear-cut choice between somebody who has no plan and between somebody who has a very detailed plan.”

And this “very detailed plan” amounts to tax cuts for the wealthy… again!

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Romney’s Job Creation Record at Bain is Non-Existent

Mitt Romney is the first one to admit that he is not a politician, although he’s been running for political office for decades. He would rather the American public see him as a private citizen who spent his life running a business and have now decided to run for president. He would love if we forget the political nonsense he has said over the years and his dismal economic record as governor in Massachusetts.

With that in mind, the Obama administration decided to take a look at Romney’s business career – his record at Bain Capital. As the head of Bain, Romney’s decision to take over businesses, selling off their assets and shipping jobs overseas for cheaper labor is how Bain made its money.

Here’s an example…

Categories
Politics weekly address

President Obama Calls on Congress to Act on His To Do List – Video

In his weekly address, President Obama called on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to get to work for the American people. The President laid out items he said will produce immediate positive results for the middle class.

First, Congress should stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, and use that money to cover moving expenses for companies that bring jobs back to America.

Second, Congress should help the millions of Americans who have worked hard and made their mortgage payments on time refinance their mortgages at lower rates and save at least $3,000 a year.

Third, Congress should help small business owners by giving them a tax break for hiring more workers and paying them higher wages.  Small businesses are the engine of economic growth in this country.  We shouldn’t be holding them back – we should be making it easier for them to succeed.

Fourth, if Congress fails to act soon, clean energy companies will see their taxes go up and could be forced to lay off employees.  These companies are putting Americans to work and helping break our dependence on foreign oil.  Congress should extend these tax credits.

And finally, Congress should help our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan by creating a Veterans Job Corps.  Our men and women in uniform have served this country with honor.  Now it’s our turn to serve them.

So that’s Congress’s “To-Do” List.  But now we need them to start crossing things off.  I need you to call your Members of Congress, write an email, tweet, and let them know we can’t afford to wait any longer to get things done.  Tell them now is the time to take steps we know will grow our economy and create jobs.

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Romney Then – A Bully | Romney Now – Doesn’t Care About the Poor and Likes Firing People

It’s all coming together. We’re slowly beginning to see who the real Mitt Romney is, as reports surfaced today exposing a young Mitt Romney bullying his classmates back in high school. And it makes perfect sense that the kid who bullied, mocked, laughed at and even held down another student and forcibly cut that student’s hair, would grow up to be the man who said he doesn’t care about the poor, that he liked firing people and he enjoys taking jobs away from Americans, closing down companies and shipping those jobs overseas.

Yes, it’s all coming together now.

Mitt Romney offered a qualified apology for his behavior as a high school student, without specifically saying whether a report that he bullied a student thought by his classmates to be gay was accurate.

“Back in high school I did some dumb things and if anybody was hurt by that or offended by that I apologize,” Romney told FOX radio host Brian Kilmeade Thursday. “If I did stupid things, I’m afraid I’ve got to say sorry for it.”

Romney, 65, noted he graduated from high school nearly five decades ago, and said, “I’m quite a different guy now.” He admitted “I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks in high school and some of them might have gone too far, and I apologize.”

Five classmates described to the Washington Post on record an incident in which Romney, then a high school senior, teased and ultimately assaulted a student, John Lauber. According to their account, Romney mocked the student’s long blond hair, recalling that he once said, “He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!” before joining classmates in chasing him, pinning him to the ground and cutting his hair as Lauber screamed for help.

“I certainly don’t believe that I thought the fellow was homosexual,” Romney told Kilmeade. “That was the furthest thing from our minds back in the 1960s.

[TPM]

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