The White House is claiming today that it is. While things may still look glum in some areas of the economic mess, recent reports show that the Economy is indeed turning around.
The White House is reporting at recovery.gov that the $150 billion in grants and loans made so far under the economic stimulus package have created or saved about 650,000 jobs. That is quite a number, and almost accounts for the nearly 700,000 jobs lost back in March, right before the stimulus kicked in. These first reports do not yet include the stimulus package’s tax cuts, safety net spending, and fiscal aid to strapped states, which the white house says could put the job created or saved numbers over a million, putting it on track to reach 3.5 million jobs created or saved in a three year span. These reports also do not include numbers for jobs that might have been created by subcontractors or suplliers further down the chain.
Our last poll “How often should Jsmog.com display new polls” posted almost a month ago received “seven” responses, 4 of which said there should be daily polls. Although daily polls would be great, with only seven responses in a month, we will have to get a lot more responses before we can start putting up daily polls.
Our latest poll has to do with what you think the US Senate should do if a final Health Care Reform bill is brought to the senate floor without a Public Option. Support for a government-run health care option is gaining ground in the Senate and could be included in the final bill. However, a version of the public option that is looking like it will make the final bill has a provision that allows states to “opt out” of such a program if their governor or legislature chose to do so. This Public Option “Option” may satisfy both liberal and moderate Democrats while not driving away others, in order to reach the 60 votes it needs to advance the legislation without a filibuster. Our poll asks what the Senate should do if a public option is not included in the final bill at all.
Jsmog on the Air is back! Jsmog on the Air “interprets” the latest News through music, either by Song name, Artisit name, or of course, by songs whose lyrical content relate to the topic of the news. Our first set included songs relating to Balloon Boy, and the last song of the set had to do with Minnesota recently declaring bong water an illegal drug, which is being way more high than Balloon Boy was.
by Calickizzle Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 10:51am
Wait a minute, I’m confused here.
Remember during the 2008 Republican primaries when John McCain said that if we had troops in Iraq for 100 years, that would be “fine with [him]?”
Well, here he is this morning on ‘Face the Nation’, CBS News’ Sunday morning political pundit gab-fest, in which he voiced support of the Obama administration’s plan to continue pulling troops out of Iraq, despite the horrific twin suicide bombings that occurred today, killing 136 people near the Justice Ministry and city government buildings in downtown Baghdad.
Said Senator McCain:
The majority of the {Iraqis] are opposed to [the extremists]. And the Iraqi military will be able to handle this transition. But it’s not going to be without tragedies such as we’ve seen just today.
So, let me get this straight. Not only does Senator McCain quote Chairman Mao- which somebody should inform Glenn Beck, as he has the mistaken belief that quoting Mao equates an undeniable and unwavering support for totalitarian Communism- McCain also supports Obama’s ratcheting down of the war in Iraq. Makes you wonder if there were any degrees of policy difference between Obama and McCain after all. And if there isn’t, then what was that heated rhetoric towards the end of the election a year ago all about?
Maybe it was because the conservatives- or whatever it is that passes itself as a conservative ‘movement’ these days (I’ve seen similar movements in my toilet in the morning)- truly had no candidate for President last fall. I mean, as David Brooks pointed out, if the conservatives couldn’t even elect their preferred candidate in the South Carolina party, then that reflects pretty well on just how politically marginalized and impotent they are. Little wonder they’ve resorted to tea-baggin’.
by Calickizzle Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 11:14am
In September, Rep. John Conyers and Sen Patrick Leahy introduced into their respective judicial committees legislation that challenged the exemption to federal anti-trust legislation enjoyed by health insurance companies. Called the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act, the purpose of this legislation is to ensure that “health insurance issuers and medical malpractice issuers cannot engage in price fixing, bid rigging, or market allocations to the detriment of competition and consumers.” On Wednesday, theHouse Judiciary Committee voted to pass Conyers’ amendment out of committee with a 20-9 vote, including three Republicans offering their bipartisan support in revoking the anti-trust exemption for health insurance companies.
by Calickizzle Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 01:39pm
Who would have seen this coming! According to the Wall Street Journal, mega-corporations have succeeded in their efforts to combine deep-pockets and high-priced lobbyists, to convince the Obama administration to scrap na increase on corporate taxes. Which is awesome, as corporations will continue to pay just twelve cents for each federal dollar (perhaps soon to be lower?) and revenues gained from corporate income taxes will comprise just two percent of gross domestic product, down from six percent from the high peak of the horrible, awful Eisenhower administration and its crushing tax burden upon corporations and wealthy Americans.
So, score another win for the good guys! At first I was upset when I heard the news that efforts to get corporations to pay an equitable share of tax revenues were being scrapped. But then I realized: pay-offs, lobbyists, and owning the entire Republican party doesn’t come cheap. So, admittedly, its unfair to saddle such corporations as Microsoft and General Electric with a tax burden on any remaining profit they might have after purchasing our government and influencing the democratic process with their millions in campaign donations. Kudos! Here’s hoping that the winning streak continues!
by Calickizzle Monday, October 12, 2009 at 01:55pm
Last August, ThinkProgress reported that Max Pappas, the vice-President of FreedomWorks, the corporate lobbying group that engineered the AstroTurf tea-bagging pity-parties, was engaging in friendly conversation on CSPAN with a caller from the the Council of Conservaitve Citizens (CCC). The CCC is a far-right bigoted racist group, founded by a longtime white power activist and are far from showing their undying love for the Untied States, instead claiming that the U.S. is a “European country.” Given an opportunity to reject the repugnancy of this individual who was calling in to tell Max that he was a “true patriot”, Mr. Pappas instead reveled in the praise that the CCC caller was showering upon him. Max’s flirtation with the right-wing fringe went contrary to a suggestion from a veteran Republican who called in to tell Max to “wrap these people down.” Indeed, Max vocally dismissed the idea that FreedomWorks would distribute an email telling their passionate followers to “calm down.”
by Calickizzle Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 03:19pm
Recently, I was chatting with a buddy and we were discussing Obama and Afghanistan. As if Obama hasn’t had enough on his plate cleaning up the steaming pile of fecal matter that was the George W. Bush administration, now he has to give his attention to the long-drawn out conflict in Afghanistan that has resulted in negligible gains over the past eight years. Yes, at the on-set, the Taliban was routed, but we took our “eyes off the prize” for the sexier target of Iraq and Saddam’s nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, resulting in the Taliban reasserting itself and Afghanistan’s Western-supported government of Hamid Karzai on the verge of complete illegitimacy. (Of course, the U.S. military’s penchant for attacking wedding parties and blowing up civilians isn’t exactly winning any hearts and minds on our end.)
Although once considered “the good war”, for the most part Afghanistan is now all but forgotten, and due to its extended status, polls show the efforts in Afghanistan losing favor with a majority of the American public. So, what is President Obama to do? A decision in March to send in more U.S. troops was met with criticism from conservative pundits, which is really no surprise. Considering the celebratory antics thse Country Lasters recently reveled in last week regarding Chicago’s failed Olympic bid, these same conservatives must be furtively hoping for a rout of American troops in Afghanistan. At the same time, conservatives are also pushing Obama- who has referred to Afghanistan as a “war of necessity”- to follow the unpopular option of sending in troop levels of 40,000 troops, all but guaranteeing an increased American presence for at least three more years. Politically, I am wondering if the Republicans are pushing Obama to implement an unpopular Republican-favored policy, just so they could run against that in 2012: “He did something that we encouraged him to do! How can you support for a President who implements our unfavored policies?”
Bruce Botelho was elected for a 3rd term in a row, and fourth total, as Mayor of Juneau by nearly twice as many votes over challenger Mark Farmer. While I liked Farmer, I also didn’t have a problem with the work Botelho has done and see no point in changing an administration at this point in time. I almost wish Mark Farmer had run for assembly.
When insurance companies are paying over half their profits for lobbyist and legal fees, that’s obviously money not going to provide benefits to policy holders with their health care bills. Because of their lack or regulation they legally have the right to hike up their rates whenever they want. Because of this their membership rates are down but they are still able to make huge profits off less customers. In three years the profits of Wellpoint, the nation’s largest health insurance company, went up 90% while their memberships rates were down 3%. Netting $2.5 billion in profits last year wasn’t enough for WellPoint. Now, WellPoint’s affiliate, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is suing the state of Maine for refusing to guarantee it a profit margin in the midst of a painful recession:
