CWG Magazine » Liberal Bias

The BP Oil Spill Blame Game

Kelly KO — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 09:26:52 +0000

Over a month has passed since the BP oil spill and fingers are STILL being pointed. BP is getting most of the blame (with good reason). The Obama Administration has not been let off the hook either. The problem with the blame game is that it halts efforts to fix the problem.

The ongoing oil spill erupted April 20, killing 11 workers, damaging many areas of the Gulf Coast (with more to come) and demolishing an as-yet-to-be-determined number of wildlife.
BP has tried a number of different strategies to cap what has been labeled the worst oil spill in US history, with no success. But, of course, they don’t take the blame.

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward has placed the blame on the oil rig manufacturer, Transocean. The infamous Halliburton has also been thrown into the mix for some construction done on the rig prior to the explosion.

And some suspect the blame will eventually be placed on the subsea engineer. This poor engineer is an easy scapegoat, who may not have survived the explosion. How convenient for the faceless companies.

As if this playground isn’t crowded enough, politicians are appearing from both sides of the political jungle gym to blame the opposing side. It’s an election year, you know.

Everyone’s favorite beauty queen Sarah Palin jumped on the blame the president bandwagon quick, claiming he and Big Oil were palling around a little too much. Oh and don’t forget those “Obama’s Katrina” allegations (thanks, Sean Hannity).

President Obama has shot back with accusations that Republican policies are to blame, primarily those involving deregulation.

“If you’re a Wall Street bank or an insurance company or an oil company, you pretty much get to play by your own rules, regardless of the consequences for everybody else,” the president has said in reference to the previous administration’s guidelines.

Although it’s not politically safe for politicians to say this, if fingers must be pointed Americans should get some of the blame. Oil is a necessity for us and until this changes we will always be at risk for another disaster similar to the BP oil spill.

Sure, we can import oil from other countries. And, yes, disasters are not that common. But what are we willing to risk? And how can we change?

For starters, more regulations on operations aboard oil rigs. Irregular pressure was noticed 20 minutes prior to the deadly explosion. Unfortunately, no one acted until after the fire ignited.
Let’s start expanding to include other energy-creating options. Wind, solar and even nuclear (although this is a whole other disaster waiting to happen) all deserve to be explored.

Finally, get out of your car and onto your feet. Or bike. Or bus. Every one of us is a little guilty of unnecessary use of oil.

Like I said, there’s plenty of blame to go around, but, remember, there’s oil on all of our hands.

By The Time We Get To Arizona… Again

David Carr — Mon, 03 May 2010 05:28:58 +0000

By the time you finish reading this, the tension surrounding the immigration law passed by the governor of Arizona will have reached a fever pitch. The Arizona law criminalizes illegal immigration by defining it as trespassing. It empowers police, to question anyone they have a “reasonable suspicion” of being an illegal immigrant. President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. have blasted the legislation, with Obama saying that it “threatened to undermine basic notions of fairness.”

The President, not surprisingly has come under fire from the right for calling the law misguided. Folks on the left and even moderates have characterized the law as modern day Nazism. A number of city councils across the country have called for a nationwide boycott of the state. San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera has asked Major League Baseball, to move the 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix. MLB has not yet responded to the request, but Michael Weiner, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, has said that he would protect the interests of his 40-percent Latino membership. The historically African American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, whose membership in the past has included Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the former prime minister of Jamaica Norman Manley, has decided to move its annual national convention from Phoenix, in protest of the new law.

The Obama Administration is hard at work now crafting an immigration reform bill that could supersede any such laws like the one signed by Governor Jan Brewer. To say we do not have an illegal immigration problem would be naïve but that same type of naïveté is at play when a law is put in place to go after, detain or question those, who” look” illegal. There are some hard truths and long term ideas and solutions that need to be put forth, if we are going to hammer out an immigration policy, which is just and fair.

One of the hard truths we must come to grips with is that immigration reform must start with fixing and strengthening the border. The gaping holes along the border have become in recent years a two-way/partnership styled gateway of sorts. On one hand, the violence of the drug cartels has spilled on to our side of the border. Meanwhile, guns from the United States have made their way across the border and have armed many of the deadliest of cartels. Mexico must get control of the drug violence in its own country and to do so they will need help from the US. The help the United States lends must be two-fold; phase one must take the form of working with their law enforcement and helping their police to reform themselves in order to stop the violence. Phase two must take the form of stopping the proliferation of guns from the US to Mexico and taking a hard look at US gun laws or lack thereof. While this in itself is a tall order it still only takes to task a portion of the illegal immigration issue. There is yet another two-way relationship that must be dealt with when it comes to immigration reform.

Not withstanding the drug violence, the vast majority of immigrants from Mexico come to the southwestern portion of the United States for economic reasons. The majority of illegal immigrants come to the US in search of jobs and for good reason. It is understood that hotels, restaurants and other big businesses are willing to pay substandard wages to illegal immigrants in exchange for cheap labor. Businesses would rather do this than pay a decent wage to poor native born Americans. Big business knows what it’s doing and it turns a blind eye to this phenomenon as does the GOP.

If the Republican Party truly wanted immigration reform they would carve out a way to economically sanction those businesses that entice and hire illegal immigrants. This could stem the flow of folks across the boarder. The GOP and their business constituency are not the only individuals however who know and understand this relationship. Former President of Mexico Vicente Fox knew all too well about this shadow, economic relationship between his citizens and the US. The former president seemed to be ok with it. His in action to comprehensively deal with his countries poor, led many to believe his solution for his people was simply; go north. Mexico’s current president, Felipe Calderon has said he would make illegal immigration a top priority, but he has openly been opposed to strengthening the border. Once again, these shadow relationships must end. Mexico as a country must be forced to deal with its economic situation and both Democrats and Republicans must start to punish businesses that break the law in the name of cheap labor. These are the complex relationships and issues that need to be dealt with when it comes to immigration reform, and these are the critical issues that the Arizona law does not address. A sense of history should have come into play with regards to the signing of this trouble filled law. In 1990 Arizona was the subject of tourism boycotts for not honoring/observing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday. The National Football League saw fit to move the Super Bowl from Arizona in 1991, and the state became lyrical fodder for the militant rap group Public Enemy, with the release of their incendiary single/video “By the Time I Get to Arizona”. Twenty years later Arizona finds itself again, the target of economic sanctions for taking a surface level stance on a much layered issue.

In the weeks to come Governor Brewer will try to soften the language of the law by writing a series of amendments to the law. She has gone on record, saying that her amendments will make racial profiling illegal and that profiling will not be tolerated in her state. This however may be too little too late. Latino Americans have become a powerful voting block in the US, and a much needed constituency to the GOP. If Latino voters look at this law as yet another Republican slap in the face and if the Obama Administration can carve out an immigration reform plan that speaks of safety, economics and fairness, by the time we get to Arizona, the GOP may not have a “pierna” to stand on.

AZ (Pretty Much) Legalizes Racial Profiling

Kelly KO — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:51:39 +0000

In an unintended (or not) push to force the Obama Administration to address the immigration issue, Arizona passed a law this week that basically makes racial profiling legal.

This new bill criminalizes the lack of alien registration documents for those in the country illegally. It also allows police to question any person suspected of being an illegal immigrant. The law is Arizona’s latest addition to its already controversial immigration legislation that places harsh punishments on employers choosing to hire illegal immigrants.

Unfortunately, this legislation seems to create more controversy than it solves. Protesters have already taken to the streets and the Mexican government has issued a travel alert because of the law. While the list is long on how ill-conceived and inappropriate the law is, three major concerns come to mind.

First, consider who the real targets are. Will an Australian get pulled over strictly on grounds that they could be in the country illegally? Nope. How about a Mexican or an Iraqi? You bet. People of color will be unfairly targeted.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told Politico last week that the bill creates “civil liberties issues that are significant.”

He also mentioned a “significant burden on local law enforcement.”

Which brings us to the second concern. Let’s examine the police officers and the amount of time now spent dealing with non-violent criminals when real crime will be taking place in other parts of the cities. Arizona has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants. Currently the state, as with most other states, is facing a huge budget crisis.

President Barack Obama criticized the Arizona government’s decision by saying, the new laws “threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”

Illegal immigrants will be less likely to step forward if they witness a crime because can no longer trust that an officer will not ask their immigration status.

Finally, the law ignores many immigrants who have been in this country for years. Without a legal path to citizenship many families will be forced to move their lives to a place that is no longer home.
According to The Huffington Post, the Los Angeles-based Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund plans to fight the bill.

“The bill is so vague that it encourages investigation and arrest of people…who essentially have done nothing wrong but because of their racial profile,” said Gladys Limon, an attorney for the group.
The sponsor of the bill, Republican Sen. Russell Pearce of Mesa, thinks it’s time the state steps up.
“It’s…a commentary on the frustration that our state Legislature has that the federal government has not fulfilled its constitutional responsibilities to secure our borders,” he said.

And resort to criminalizing non-violent, struggling, hard-working families?? Obama Administration, here’s your cue.

NY Times

Huffington Post

Gov. Brewer Letter to Arizona

Yahoo News

Politico

The Not-So-Great Compromiser

Kelly KO — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:53:47 +0000

Barack Obama has hit a new low. Despite that one of his first actions as president was to block all offshore drilling that his predecessor had approved, President Obama has now decided to support one of Sarah Palin’s most vocal issues: offshore drilling. While the president and his supporters hope this action will help win conservative votes for his energy bill, critics believe it shows the president is still willing to roll over to appease Republicans.

The program was announced last week and is said to include drilling off the coasts of the eastern United States, as well as some parts of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

While some analysts warn that years will pass before the productions of new oil flows, Obama hopes the plan will be “part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy.”

The United States’ reliance on foreign oil is a problem, but the real answer to their oil addiction is reduction. And while overnight change is impossible, reform must start now. The new 35.5 miles per gallon standard is an important step, but not nearly enough to protect our damaged environment.

Brendan Cummings, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity told Amy Goodman on Democracy Now last week that this proposal insinuates “it’s okay to permanently sacrifice some of the most sensitive, ecologically important areas of our nation just for short-term political gain. It’s horrendously disappointing.”

The president seems to be more concerned with satisfying Republicans than maintaining approval from his supporters. But has this proposal even helped?

“If the president is trying to offer an olive branch in order to pass climate change, this hardly qualifies as any major step,” said Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, the number one Republican on the Natural Resources Committee.

The president has been quick to forget the health care struggle. Despite his (and his supporters) hard work and willingness to compromise (here and there) the House of Representatives passed President Obama’s health bill with no Republican votes.

If President Obama continues to offer olive branches on environmental issues, he may find no shade left to protect him.

Politics of the Academy

Kelly KO — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:07:07 +0000

If you were as excited as I was for this year’s Oscars, then you probably read about who won after the ceremony was over. Unless, like me, you got talked into attending a viewing party. Honestly, I was there strictly for the artichoke dip and alcohol (I missed the Super Bowl this year), but I became invested in the Oscar pool and therefore, watched way more of the Academy Awards than I have in years.

Yes, I admired some of the dresses. Sure, Steve and Alec had a few funny moments. And, I must admit, the Cloonz (that’s George Clooney to most of you) still has that special charm. Despite all of this (or maybe because of), I could only handle about an hour.

I did manage to catch Mo’Nique’s acceptance speech for best supporting actress. She mentioned that the award was “about the performance not the politics.” As some of you know, my political expertise (if you can call it that) lies mainly in the governmental arena, but if I can tackle the most f-d up governmental system in the world (okay I guess that’s an exaggeration), I should have no problem with the entertainment industry.

So let’s talk politics. If she truly thought she would lose to any of the other actresses after sweeping most other awards this season, she must be very, very humble. No amount of campaigning would convince them that any of the other performances were better than Mo’Nique’s portrayal of an abusive, drug-addicted mother.

The issue she should be worried about is the opportunities available for African-American actors. Many past African-American Oscar-contenders were nominated for traditionally African-American roles. Movies should not give society the idea that only white people have middle-class families, nor should they show only African-Americans as drug-addicts from the ghetto.

And this is not a black and white issue. Many other minorities are severely under-represented in today’s movies and television. American cinema should be more aware of who actually resides in America these days.

While Mo’Nique was a sure bet, politics may have had more of a hand in Kathryn Bigelow’s best director win. Personally, I was on Team Bigelow the whole way, but I know more than a few critics who placed their bets on her famous ex-husband. Bigelow is the first female awarded the best director Oscar. Did the history books put the cards in her favor?

Or the Academy has shied away from big-budget movies. “The Hurt Locker” producer Nicolas Chartier was banned from the ceremony because of an email he sent to members of the Academy encouraging them not to vote for a multi-million dollar film (cough cough “Avatar”).

When I got home from the party, I turned on the TV just in time to watch “The Hurt Locker” win best picture. And I was happy the little guy (or gal) won, politics or not.

Teacher Quality Improvement: No More Dancing Lemons

David Carr — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:48:20 +0000

Two weeks ago my Thursday started out like any other. I got to work, returned a few e-mails, created a to do list and so on and so forth. By the time lunch rolled around I was downstairs trying to figure out what to eat and spotted the latest issue of the LA Weekly. The picture on the front cover was of a haggard looking woman who I figured was a teacher (she was holding a ruler with a chalkboard behind her) and the caption by her head read, “The Dance of the Lemons.” The article itself was about how the firing of teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District is all but impossible. What struck me was the title of the article, the premise and how far we have NOT come in public education.

My main reason for being dumbfounded by this article has to do with the job I had in 1999. Part of my job that year was to organize a panel discussion for a group of would-be teachers about the cultural and political realities of teaching in Los Angeles. If memory serves, I had a retired bank executive on the panel, a veteran teacher, an Emmy award winning journalist, a writer from the LA Weekly and another writer who was deemed as the conservative on the panel. I remember I had hand picked the last writer because she had written an excellent piece on how LAUSD found it difficult to fire teachers who were in fact doing a disservice to students. The title of the article was, wait for it, wait for it…”The Dance of the Lemons.”

The phrase refers to the fact that instead of firing teachers who have proven themselves to be incompetent, districts merely transfer these “lemons” from school to school. This is in part due to some teachers unions who make it hard to get rid of bad teachers. To be fair, some of the blame also falls on the shoulders of the administrators who sometimes miss key deadlines or do not have enough data, in order to fire a teacher. I am not sure what baffles me more, the fact that you can fire someone at McDonald’s faster than a teacher can get fired for poor job performance, or that from 1999-2010 we are still dealing with this same problem?

Again I say, if I were to get a job at McDonald’s and I started pouring mayonnaise on the french fries I would not be able to arbitrate for my job. I would not have an advocate who would want to know if I was counseled on the fine art of not putting mayonnaise on fries. There would be no two week, two month or two year probationary period. I would just be fired, plain and simple. Somehow in public education this can’t happen. Somehow our society has seen fit to treat french fries better than American children. I really did shake my head at this article. I shook my head in 1999 and shook it again in 2010. What has changed, I wondered. Well obviously this issue is still with us but many things have indeed changed and there is more to come.

Organizations such as Teach for America and The New Teacher Project have truly re-evaluated the idea of what it takes to run and move a classroom from point A-B and implicit in this, is the type of person that’s gets selected to be in both programs. Charter Schools across the country have also adopted different models when it comes to selecting a staff and honing in on the type of person they want to put in front of kids. The Chancellor of DC public schools has put forth an ambitious plan linking student outcomes to compensation. The school board and teachers union wants no part of it and the lemons are crying in their own lemonade but other teachers are anxious to try this new line of thinking. And then of course there is the Obama Administration and Arnie Duncan.

President Obama has made no bones about the fact that he cares about kids and he cares about education. He went on TV (to the chagrin of the Republican party) on the first day of school to motivate kids about their education. He has also talked tough about teachers unions and any group or individual that would stand in the way of educational progress and excellence. Both Obama and Duncan have made it clear they support some type of merit pay situation in order to reward excellence and to attract excellence in the classroom. Whether certain entities or individuals like it or not some sort of merit pay system is upon us. This system will also hold administrators accountable. Any type of merit system will have to rely on administrators spending the majority of their time in classrooms and if this fails to happen then the administrative lemons will have to be dealt with.

Change is indeed tough but it’s coming. It will be bumpy and there will be problems but this type of innovation, this type of new way of dealing with teachers and teacher pay must happen. It is one of the building blocks to reversing the achievement gap. As I thumbed through the article I thought about the coming changes. I thought about the organizations that are slowly but surely going to change the way we deal with teacher recruitment, coaching, evaluation and pay. I started to envision an article a few years from now. My hope is that the article will talk about how the music has stopped and how in the name of educational equity and advancement, the lemons have been asked to kindly leave the dance floor. Here’s hoping that day comes soon.

UCSD: Moving Forward and Back

David Carr — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:40:22 +0000

Photo By: Don Barletti

Most of the time I can honestly say it’s great to see one’s alma mater in the press. I often look back at my days at UCSD with a ton of fond memories. I honestly feel my experiences there shaped the person I am today. In the past few weeks however, the news reports coming out of UCSD have been anything but nostalgic. The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity recently advertised a party to “celebrate” Black History Month. The celebration was called “The Compton Cookout” The invite, which was posted on Facebook urged all participants to wear chains, rapper-style urban clothing by makers such as FUBU and speak very loudly. Female participants were encouraged to be “ghetto chicks” with gold teeth, cheap clothes and “short, nappy hair.” The invitation went on to say that the party would serve watermelon, chicken, and malt liquor.

A campus satirical group known as the Koloa defended the invitation after it drew protest and used a racial epithet to express their glee about the “cookout”. Reports have now come in about a noose being hung in one of the campus libraries. There are so many layers of bad to this story one hardly knows where to begin. Not only am I an alumnus of UCSD but upon my graduation I was accepted into the Teach for America program and I was placed to teach English as a Second Language at Compton High School. You have to hand it to this fraternity. In one fatal swoop and with the power of the internet these young men were able to disparage an entire group of people, insult a beleaguered city and ignite racial tension on a university campus. If anything, Pi Kappa Alpha can be seen as a shining example of how to multi-task.

The first layer of this “invitation” is the idea that the fraternity brothers thought that a ghetto themed party in the hood would be edgy and funny. Let’s face it, racist humor and using racial epithets has become the new “edgy” in our society. Look no further than former Seinfeld cast member Michael Richardson or John Mayer’s ill fated Playboy interview. For some strange reason they, along with this band of fraternal brothers have determined that using racist language and stereotypes is not racist at all but instead it is some type of hipster, cool trend that they so desperately need to be a part of. The fact is that racial humor works as real satire when it has a moral center and is done with a degree of intelligence. I am afraid intelligence was the key thing missing in the invitation that was posted, and the idea of a moral center did not even come into play. The goal of the invite was indeed a simple one; let’s disparage an entire group and a community. Well done boys, mission accomplished.

The other aspect of this mindless prank is the idea that once again the city of Compton was used a verbal punching bag. I assume the boys of the fraternity have no knowledge of the community itself except of course, for what we all tend to know. Yes, Compton, which is now 70% Latino, has been the epicenter for gang activity, violence and failing schools. This it seems, was all the frat members needed to create their invite and have their fun. My sense is they would not care about the fact that there was much to be proud of in the city when I taught there and worked as a staff member for Teach for America. After years of corruption a group of African American, Latino and Samoan church goers, came together to elect a new mayor and make sure the old one got put in jail. At this same time, a state administrator vowed to make sweeping changes with regards to the state of education in Compton. From 1998-2004 test scores at many elementary schools in Compton rose to new heights. I had the pleasure of working with a group to Teach for America corps members and alumni who worked shoulder to shoulder with veteran Compton teachers in an effort to push their students academically. Their work was truly inspirational and the results of these efforts included an elementary school in Compton being named the first distinguished school in the districts history, a group of biology students passing the biology AP exam and moving on to four year universities and an army of teachers/educators who understood the possibilities of change through relentless hard work, determination and a belief system that all kids can learn. The city in years past has had its share of problems with regards to crime and violence but in recent years, thanks to a rigorous and respectful effort by the Compton police department, statistics have shown that crime is at an all time low in the city. I suppose none of these things mattered to the little fraternity that could. I mean really, none of these things I have mentioned are funny or edgy but they are true, and truth was not invited to the party. Ignorance and a lack of good judgment however, had standing invitations. Again gentlemen I say, bravo, whoever is paying your tuition checks must be pleased and overwhelmed with pride.

There will be many who see this incident and use it as a litmus test as to how far we have come in our society with regards to race relations. This, in my humble opinion also lacks a bit of judgment and perspective. We must remember that this is a country that was ruled by white supremacy since its inception. Thanks to movements dating back to the days of the first slave rebellions and abolitionists, laws have been stricken down, new laws have been written and legislation has tried to push our society to live up to its true potential. In a multi-ethnic society incidents like these are bound to happen. It’s the downside of living in a democracy. You have the right to be ignorant. What we can do is remember that as far as we have come, we still have lengths to go. My hope is that the university will take swift action and revoke the charter of this fraternity and contact their parents to let them know what wonderful young lads they have raised. Funding also needs to be revoked from the Kola newspaper/cable access show.

Hey if you want to be a bigot be my guest but you can’t use university funds and represent UCSD while doing so. Good luck fund raising and God’s speed. I also hope that the images I saw of the teach in at UCSD; the images of White students standing with their Black and Latino classmates to denounce these incidents, lets people know how far we truly have come. I hope it let’s the minority students at UC San Diego know they are not alone and that the majority of students there, take no pride in this foolishness. This is the way our society works at times. We take 1000 steps forward but without warning we get pushed 300 steps back and sometimes get knocked down. The true litmus test is not how far or how hard we get knocked down; it’s how quickly we can get back up and keep moving forward. I have faith that the students at UCSD and the community of Compton have already begun dusting themselves off and are moving forward as we speak.

Olympic Fever

Kelly KO — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:41:12 +0000

The 2010 Winter Olympics are in full force. The United States leads with 25 medals, 7 of those gold. But before you start those U-S-A chants, consider how these games were made possible.

But every Olympic games comes with controversy. Vancouver taxpayers are shouldering the burden of a very expensive production. Once estimated at CAN$580 million, some speculate the cost for the Olympic Village in particular has increased by millions. The Vancouver Sun reports that Olympic organizers will not comment on this matter.

Meanwhile, those in Vancouver who need money the most, homeless, are being displaced and overlooked. Housing projects have been forgotten and social programs have been cut. Protesters believe the worse is yet to come, when the city has no money and cuts increase.

While these protesters are trying to defend many, the next controversy involves only one. Hours before the opening ceremony, Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, of Georgia, was killed during a trial run, with his final recorded speed near 90 miles per hour.

Despite the International Luge Federation and Vancouver Olympic officials ruling the death a “tragic accident,” the incident cast a shadow over the opening ceremonies and made the luge competition hard to watch (especially for anyone who dared to see the clip of Kumaritashivili’s crash).

Speaking of this now infamous video, I’d like to know how many Americans are actually tuning in to this year’s Olympics. BusinessWeek reports that opening weekend of the Vancouver Olympics had 5 million more viewers than the 2006 Winter Games. Hockey and ice skating ratings are bringing in record numbers. NBC paid over $200 million more, more than $800 million total, for broadcasting rights to this year’s games, as opposed to the 2006 Turin Olympics, but that money may not be worth it.

The head of General Electric, NBC’s parent company, told investors that NBC will lose “a couple hundred million bucks.” Those millions could have gone into a larger severance fund for Conan.

So if it’s true that NBC will lose money on this deal, how much longer will networks be willing to tolerate this simply for the prestige? I suppose they’ll have to create more competition, minus the controversy if they want to generate cash flow.

Give us more than a sexily posed Sports Illustrated cover. We need back-story, a chance to cheer for those who work hard. And don’t cram it all in on the day of the race. Engage us. Without any of this, the games are just a bunch of athletes freezing their perfectly shaped buns off.

Now, proceed with those chants. U-S-A! U-S-A!

Are Obama’s Gloves Finally Off?

Kelly KO — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:08:18 +0000

Recent polls show that the overwhelming support of President Barack Obama has started to dwindle, falling to below 50% for the first time since taking office. While some of this has to do with the growing popularity of the tea party movement, the numbers also reflect disappointment among Obama’s core supporters. Many liberals expected more out a president who campaigned for change. President Obama used his first state of the union address to show that he hasn’t given up.

The Obama Administration has been criticized for being too lenient on big banks. Obama wasted no time tackling this issue, describing the bank bailout as painful as “a root canal,” but necessary to avoid a depression. He explains that unemployment could have been double what it is today without the bailout, but then says the time has come for Wall Street to pay up.

And to prove he’s more than talk, he has placed a $117 million fee on Wall Street banks, to ensure Americans “recover every single dime” spent on the financial sector. He has also announced a $30 billion transfer of some of this money to community banks to increase small business lending.

The President emphasized the importance of job creation in this recession, but only some details of his job creation plan have been revealed. He told Democrats not to run for the hills on issues like healthcare and environmental regulations. Healthcare reform, in particular, is so close, it would be a huge blow to the administration should it not pass, no matter if it’s only baby steps to real change.

He also highlighted the importance of education. Despite what some state budgets may show (cough cough California), Obama realizes education is the building block of this nation and has pledged to help every American get to college. He has recently called for Pell Grant growth, making the program available to an additional 1 million students.

Throughout the night he threw a few punches at the Republicans, something I speculate means that while his hope for bipartisanship isn’t over, President Obama is no longer so eager to make Republicans happy.

Last week President Obama held a very special town hall meeting in Baltimore. Instead of everyday citizens, Republican members of Congress were asking the questions.

He used this forum to continue encouraging bipartisanship and emphasized the importance of job development over politics. “I don’t believe American people want us to focus on our job security,” he told the audience. “They want us to focus on their job security.”

Some appreciated President Obama reaching out, but found his tone defensive. Rep. Phil Gingre of Georgia said, “I think the president could be a little more diplomatic. The president reacts a little too much.”

Baby steps, I suppose.

The President will hold a similar town meeting with the Democrats of Congress in the coming days. While this event will have decidedly less tension, it’s likely there will be some healthy debate among conservative and liberal members of the party. Rumors are swirling that these town halls will become a regular event.

“I’d rather be a really good one term president than a mediocre two term president,” President Obama told Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “World News” Jan. 25. If he doesn’t find a way to make progress on some of his promises, he’s gonna be neither.

Conan Got Screwed

Kelly KO — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:40:59 +0000

Hundreds of protesters gathered in LA, Chicago and New York this week. They could have been raising funds for Haitians, whose country was tragically hit by a 7.8 earthquake, leaving thousands dead and many more injured and homeless. Or maybe rallying for the health care bill that so many Americans desperately need, a bill that may die because of an election taking place this week in Boston for (ironically) Ted Kennedy’s former seat.

But no. They were protesting a shift in late night television on NBC. For those who are completely clueless, Conan O’Brien took over The Tonight Show last June, after Jay Leno’s “retirement.”

To the surprise of many, Leno was then given a 10 PM time slot for a show similar to The Tonight Show. NBC thought this genius because it’s a whole lot cheaper to do a variety show than a late night crime drama like Law And Order.

Flash forward to late last year, when some NBC affiliate stations complained that their 11 PM news ratings were down because of a poor lead-in. NBC then decides to move Leno back to 11:35 PM and asks O’Brien to move to 12:05 AM, which technically isn’t a tonight show at all.

In response, O’Brien said, “I seriously believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting.” In short, O’Brien wasn’t interested.

What followed was a whole lot of gossip and some of the funniest Tonight Shows I’ve seen in awhile.

Now the question still remains, why do so many care about this seemingly frivolous issue?

Well, first of all, my generation has grown up with O’Brien in their lives, from his time as a writer for The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live to his takeover of Late Night on NBC. For many, it was a little heartbreaking to watch the last Late Night with Conan O’Brien (I cried a bit, I’ll admit it), but we were all proud that he was on to better things.

The second reason is a little less obvious, but more important than the first. When receiving the chance to host The Tonight Show, O’Brien finally had landed his dream job. And now, after being pushed out of his chair, he joins 10% of Americans who are unemployed.

Let’s be honest, O’Brien will not be forced to file for welfare, especially with his expected $30 million plus pay out. Despite that, many of us sympathize for a guy who worked all his life for one goal, only to have that childhood dream stolen from him by some corporate jerks who couldn’t do their jobs.

We can also appreciate O’Brien as a boss because, if the rumors are true, he will not sign an agreement until his entire staff has a decent severance from NBC. Many of us probably wish that our bosses would’ve been so kind.

Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, claims that he has received death threats because of this debacle. He admits Leno’s 10 PM time slot was a mistake and believes NBC will be okay after this whole situation passes.

With recent failures like “My Own Worst Enemy,” Lipstick Jungle” and “Kings” and no wins at the Golden Globes, okay is probably a little overstated, but whatever the boss says goes, right?

Like many of us, O’Brien will deal with the cards he’s been given, but he’s also reminding his viewers that he’s going to be fine. That same thing can not be said for those suffering in Haiti. Please help any way you can.

Learn more:

Conan’s Statement

The Atlantic

Huffington Post

Zucker Takes The Fall

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