Romney Shrugged (an involuntary apology)

 

Was he lying then?

Or is he lying now?

In May, when Mitt Romney said to a roomful of his wealthiest donors that 47% of Americans saw themselves as “victims” and, as President, his job was “not to worry about those people” – was he lying to his donors then in order to get their money?


Or is he lying to us now in order to get our vote?


Why did it take Mitt Romney nearly 3 weeks after the video became public to apologize?  Was it because his poll numbers plunged precipitously as a result of his comments?  Was it because other Republicans were distancing themselves from him in order to save their own campaigns?


If Romney really felt he was wrong, why didn’t he apologize as soon as it became public instead of defending his extremely callous and disparaging comments for 3 weeks?


What does that 3-week delay say about Mitt Romney’s character?


More importantly, what does it say about what he truly believes?


Like an unscrupulous salesman, Romney seems to tell us whatever he thinks we want to hear, in order to seal the deal.


Here's what he said to his donors:

Here's what he told you and me:     

   

Which do you think is the real Mitt Romney?

 

 

Are you willing to risk America's future that you are right?

   



Heckler Interrupts Romney with Question on Climate Change . . . . Watch What Happens

A fascinating video clip from earlier today at a Romney campaign stop where an audience member unfurls a banner and shouts: "What about climate change? That’s what caused this monster storm."
  
But that’s not the fascinating part. What occurred after is like something out of a Twilight Zone episode as the crowd begins chanting "USA, USA" – as if chanting “USA” is somehow the answer - or solution -- to the issue of climate change!
   
And then Romney, after a long pause, continues with his speech as if the issue never came up at all.
 
Truly a bizarre occurrence.
 
Watch it for yourself in this brief, 1-minute video clip:

Employees' Jobs Threatened if they Vote for Obama, Romney Encourages It

With encouragement from Mitt Romney, a number of employers have told their employees that, if they vote for President Obama on November 6th, it will cost them dearly.  They have been informed that if they vote for Obama, they may have their hours cut back . . . lose their insurance . . . or lose their jobs.

This is not a joke.  I wish it were.

As illegal as this tactic sounds, I was shocked to learn that the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling makes this sort of employee intimidation and coercion completely legal!

If there was any doubt in your mind that next week's election has far-reaching consequences -- well beyond who occupies the White House for the next 4 years -- this ought to put your doubt to rest.

This is all the more reason why we need to do everything we can to encourage everyone we know to vote on November 6th.

Because, if we don't -- they will.


Please share this information with your friends.  It's not just our country, but our entire Democracy that is at stake.


Here's a few quotes from the articles (links to articles follow below):

"Terry McTaggart, the president of a Michigan convenience store, liquor and home heating conglomerate, sent his employees a letter this month suggesting they vote for GOP nominee Mitt Romney and threatening to cut their hours in order to save money under President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

McTaggart joins a handful of CEOs who have urged their employees to oppose Obama, including Westgate Resorts founder David Siegel and the Koch Brothers. Corporations were banned from pressuring their employees on voting for decades, but the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision freed employers to campaign among their workers as a form of free speech.

Romney has encouraged employers to pass their views along to their employees. The National Federation of Independent Business, which almost exclusively backs GOP candidates, will host an event this week to educate bosses on how best to pressure their workers come Election Day."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/mitt-romney-employees-voting_n_1975636.html


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/28/terry-mctaggart-forward-corporation-obamacare_n_2034907.html?ref=topbar


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/us/politics/bosses-offering-timely-advice-how-to-vote.html?pagewanted=all


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/can-your-boss-threaten-to-fire-you-if-you-dont-vote-for-romney/263709/
   
 

FDR's Post-Crash 1936 Speech Provides Surprising Parallel to 2012 Election

The parallels between the recovery in 1936 and in 2012 are unexpectedly surprising. In many ways, FDR could have been describing the circumstances of the past 4 years and the current political climate . . .



[note: the following introduction is taken from David Remnick's 10/13/12 New Yorker blog]:

In 1936, Franklin Roosevelt was faced with a vicious reelection campaign. He was vilified for the New Deal reforms. The word “boondoggle” was popularized in the U.S. the year before to describe alleged abuses of the New Deal. Opposition politicians and critics compared F.D.R. to Lenin. The Depression was still on, and unemployment, which had dropped significantly, was still high, over fourteen per cent. What Roosevelt had going for himself was a real set of policies and the capacity to speak on their behalf—a willed capacity to state things plainly, forcefully, and effectively. Never more so than on September 29, 1936, at the New York Democratic State Convention, in Syracuse.

Excerpts from FDR's speech to the New York Democratic State Convention 9/29/1936:

The task on our part is twofold: First, as simple patriotism requires, to separate the false from the real issues; and, secondly, with facts and without rancor, to clarify the real problems for the American public.

There will be—there are—many false issues. In that respect, this will be no different from other campaigns. Partisans, not willing to face realities, will drag out red herrings as they have always done—to divert attention from the trail of their own weaknesses.

This practice is as old as our democracy. Avoiding the facts—fearful of the truth—a malicious opposition charged that George Washington planned to make himself king under a British form of government; that Thomas Jefferson planned to set up a guillotine under a French Revolutionary form of government; that Andrew Jackson soaked the rich of the Eastern seaboard and planned to surrender American democracy to the dictatorship of a frontier mob. They called Abraham Lincoln a Roman Emperor; Theodore Roosevelt a Destroyer; Woodrow Wilson a self-constituted Messiah.



In the spring of 1933 we faced a crisis which was the ugly fruit of twelve years of neglect of the causes of economic and social unrest.

Most people in the United States remember today the fact that starvation was averted, that homes and farms were saved, that banks were reopened, that crop prices rose, that industry revived, and that the dangerous forces subversive of our form of government were turned aside.

A few people- a few only—unwilling to remember, seem to have forgotten those days.



Why did that crisis of 1929 to 1933 pass without disaster?

The answer is found in the record of what we did.

We met the emergency with emergency action.



Let me warn you and let me warn the Nation against the smooth evasion which says, "Of course we believe all these things; we believe in social security; we believe in work for the unemployed; we believe in saving homes. Cross our hearts and hope to die, we believe in all these things; but we do not like the way the present Administration is doing them. Just turn them over to us. We will do all of them- we will do more of them we will do them better; and, most important of all, the doing of them will not cost anybody anything."

But, my friends, these evaders are banking too heavily on the shortness of our memories. No one will forget that they had their golden opportunity—twelve long years of it.

Remember, too, that the first essential of doing a job well is to want to see the job done. Make no mistake about this: the Republican leadership today is not against the way we have done the job. The Republican leadership is against the job's being done.



You cannot promise to repeal taxes before one audience and promise to spend more of the taxpayers' money before another audience. You cannot promise tax relief for those who can afford to pay, and, at the same time, promise more of the taxpayers' money for those who are in need. You simply cannot make good on both promises at the same time.



Who is there in America who believes that we can run the risk of turning back our Government to the old leadership which brought it to the brink of 1933?

Franklin Delano Roosevelt




You can watch or read FDR's entire speech here:
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15142 


Here is a link to Davdi Remnick's New Yorker article which brought FDR's 1936 speech to everyone's attention:
www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/10/roosevelts-message-to-obama.html#ixzz29LQv3i9h

Mitt Romney Explains Republican Education Policy to America's School Children

4 Years Ago

Republicans have been asking lately if we are better off today than we were 4 years ago. Here's a small sampling of newspaper headlines and job layoff reports from Fall of 2008 to help jog their memory (and ours):

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/05/news/economy/jobs_November/index.htm

Lost: 1.9 million jobs

The 2008 tally soars after payrolls shrink by 533,000 in November, the biggest one-month decline in nearly 34 years. Unemployment soars to 6.7%.

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Last Updated: December 5, 2008: 5:02 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The economy shed 533,000 jobs in November, according to a government report Friday - bringing the year's total job losses to 1.9 million.

November had the largest monthly job loss total since December 1974.

"This is a dismal jobs report," said Keith Hall, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at a congressional hearing. "There's very little in this report that's positive. This is maybe one of the worst jobs reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics (founded in 1884) has ever produced."

The number of jobs lost in the current recession, which began in December 2007, surpasses the 1.6 million jobs lost in the 2001 recession.

The job market expansion leading out of that recession was drawn out and tepid, so the jobs lost now are more at the core of the nation's economy - a scary sign.

According to the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, the unemployment rate rose to 6.7% from 6.5% in October. The rate is compiled in a separate survey from the payroll number.

Revisions

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 325,000 jobs in the month.

Revisions to the two prior months brought more dismal news. October's job loss was revised up to 320,000 from 240,000, and September was revised up to 403,000.

The revisions brought the 3-month job loss total to 1.3 million.

November's report provided the first glimpse at employers' reaction after the peak of the credit crisis, reached in mid-October.

With credit largely unavailable and expensive, consumers scaled back their spending, dragging down manufacturing and construction businesses. Travel has also been scaled back.

As a result, job losses were spread across a wide variety of industries: manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, construction and even, in the midst of the holiday shopping season, retail.

Also seeing sharp declines were professional and business services, a category seen by some economists as a proxy for overall economic activity, and financial services, at the heart of the current crisis.


Deeper cuts likely to come

With the economy in a recession and most economic indicators signaling even more difficult times ahead, economists say job losses will likely deepen and continue through at least the first half of 2009.

Citing weak economic conditions, a slew of large-scale job-cut announcements came this week.

On Thursday alone, AT&T (T, Fortune 500), DuPont (DD, Fortune 500), Viacom (VIA), Credit Suisse (CS) and Avis (CAR, Fortune 500) announced cuts that totaled nearly 23,000 cuts, most of which will take place over the next several months.

According to a report by the outsourcing agency Challenger, Gray & Christmas, planned job cut announcements by U.S. employers soared to 181,671 last month, the second-highest total on record.

Temporary employment, including workers employed by temp agencies, fell by 100,700 jobs last month, the highest on records that go back to 1985. That could mean even more full-time payroll reductions to come, as employers often cut temporary workers before they begin cutting permanent staff.

Tig Gilliam, chief executive of placement agency Adecco, the nation's third-largest employment agency, said employers are trying to position their companies to weather the ever intensifying economic storm.

"CEOs are trying to get their businesses better positioned for the start of the year so they're not constantly chasing the slowdown" he said. "December will be another very tough month."

In another sign of weakness, a growing number of workers were unable to find jobs with the amount of hours they want to work. Those working part-time jobs - because they couldn't find full-time work, or their hours had been cut back due to slack conditions - jumped by 621,000 people to 7.3 million, the highest ever on records that date back to 1955.


Underemployment at 12.5%

The so-called under-employment rate, which counts those part-time workers, as well as those without jobs who have become discouraged and stopped looking for work, soared to 12.5% from 11.8%.

But there was hiring in some economic sectors last month. Government hiring has stayed strong throughout the downturn, adding another 7,000 jobs in November. Education and health services also grew payrolls, with a gain of 52,000 employees.

The average hourly work week fell to 33.5 hours last month. Economists expected the workweek to hold at October's level of 33.6 hours. But with a modest 7-cent gain in the average hourly salary, the average weekly paycheck rose by 52 cents to $613.05.


Obama: Time for stimulus

With 2008 already the worst year for jobs since 1982 and on pace to become the worst since 1945 - and second worst on records that date back to 1939 - support for a second stimulus package to boost the job market has grown among economists and lawmakers.

The prior stimulus package, in the spring, sent tax rebate checks to millions of tax filers. It helped the economy grow in the second quarter, but it did little to stem the tide of job loss in the country.

But the proposed stimulus package, supported by President-elect Barack Obama, would focus on aid states and municipalities as well as consumers, adding millions of infrastructure jobs for Americans.

"Our economy has already lost nearly 2 million jobs during this recession, which is why we need an Economic Recovery Plan that will save or create at least 2.5 million more jobs over two years," said Obama in a statement. "There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better."

Experts say a two-part stimulus package is the right way to stem the tide of mounting job losses.

"First, you have to get consumers to spend, since 70% of the GDP is tied to consumer spending, and then you need job stimulus like highway projects to maintain economic job growth," said Gilliam. "This number is so bad that Obama will have to do something drastic soon."

In the meantime, Bush administration officials say the priority remains restoring liquidity to the financial system.

"We have to get the job done that we can while we have time left in office, and that is restoring credit," Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez told CNNMoney.com. "This is the key first step to restoring growth and restoring jobs."

The White House echoed the Commerce secretary.

"We need to focus on the causes of the economic downturn in order to reverse this trend in job creation, said Dana Perino, White House press secretary. "We intend to continue our aggressive efforts to restore health to our credit and housing markets."

First Published: December 5, 2008: 8:37 AM ET


U.S. Job Losses 2008-2009:

Job Layoffs for January 2009:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/09/january-layoffs-fires-lead-cx_kk_0109january09layoffs.html

Pink Slips

January 2009 Layoffs

Compiled by Klaus Kneale, 02.06.09, 02:00 PM EST

January layoffs have exceeded 160,000 at America's largest companies.

Layoffs for January 2009 at America's 500 largest public companies*:

163,662

Jan. 30: Sears Holdings (nasdaq: SHLD - news - people ) dismisses 300 corporate employees as consumer spending slumps.



Jan. 29: Broadcom (nasdaq: BRCM - news - people ) cuts about 3% of workforce (200 workers) and tightens discretionary spending.

Jan. 29: International Game Technology (nyse: IGT - news - people ) cuts 200 from its manufacturing sector.





Jan. 30: Caterpillar (nyse: CAT - news - people ) increases previous layoffs from 20,000 to 22,110, and share price hits 52-week low.



Jan. 29: Eastman Kodak (nyse: EK - news - people ) took a $137 million Q4 loss and will cut up to 4,500 jobs, up to 18% of workforce.



Jan. 29: Textron (nyse: TXT - news - people ) subsidiary Cessna Aircraft will increase layoffs from 2,600 to 4,600, to be completed by April.



Jan. 29: Ford's (nyse: F - news - people ) credit subsidiary cuts 1,200 jobs, about 20% of its workforce.



Jan. 29: Black & Decker (nyse: BDK - news - people ) will eliminate 1,200 jobs as power tool sales decline and Q4 earnings plunge.



Jan. 29: ESPN, part of the Walt Disney Co. (nyse: DIS - news - people ), (nyse: DIS - news - people ) will cut 200 jobs and Disney-ABC Television Group will release 400 to cope with weak economy.



Jan. 28: Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) increases previously announced layoffs--bringing total to 10,000 workers, or 6% of the company’s workforce.



Jan. 28: Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ) organizes closings at 900 stores worldwide and fires 6,700 in the process.



Jan. 28: Target (nyse: TGT - news - people ) cuts 400 open positions and 600 employees on sagging sales.





Jan. 27: Time Warner's (nyse: TWX - news - people ) AOL reduces workforce by 10% (700 workers) as it fights declining ad revenue.



Jan. 27: Cabinet company Merillat--a subsidiary of Masco (nyse: MAS - news - people )--cuts 20% of workforce (70 workers).



Jan. 26: Texas Instruments (nyse: TXN - news - people ) pink-slips 3,400 (12% of workforce).



Jan. 26: IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ) selects 2,800 to participate in its “current resource reduction action.”



Jan. 26: Lincoln National (nyse: LNC - news - people ) posts five quarterly declines in profit; cuts 540 (5% of workforce).



Jan. 26: Caterpillar (nyse: CAT - news - people ) announces quarterly profit plunge of 32%; fires 20,000.



Jan. 26: Following the acquisition of the small drug outfit Wyeth for $68 billion, Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) closes five factories and cuts 15% of total workforce (19,000 workers).



Jan. 26: Sprint Nextel (nyse: S - news - people ) pink-slips 8,000 workers--recording more than $300 million in severance charges but saving $1.2 billion a year in labor costs.



Jan. 26: Home Depot (nyse: HD - news - people ) closes high-end home design shops and slims ranks at headquarters; dismisses 7,000.



Jan. 26: General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) cuts production at several plants and fires 2,000 in Michigan and Ohio.



Jan. 23: Brazil-based Deere & Company (nyse: DE - news - people ) subsidiary lays off 502 employees.



Jan. 23: Abercrombie & Fitch (nyse: ANF - news - people ) cuts 50 from headquarters as company leans expenses.



Jan. 23: Harley-Davidson (nyse: HOG - news - people ) sees 60% drop in profits in fourth quarter of 2008; fires 1,100 (10% of workforce).



Jan. 22: Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) has first mass layoff in 34-year history; pink slips 5,000.



Jan. 22: Huntsman (nyse: HUN - news - people ) reduces workforce by 9%; cutting 1,175 regular workers and 490 full-time contractors.



Jan. 21: Burlington Santa Fe cuts 2,500 workers (5% of workforce) despite a 19% jump in earnings during the fourth quarter.



Jan. 21: UAL (nasdaq: UAUA - news - people ) fires 1,000 to cut overhead costs.



Jan. 21: SPX (nyse: SPW - news - people ) attempts to sell a business unit and cuts 400 employees to help endure the downturn.



Jan. 21: Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) closes five manufacturing plants and pink slips 5,000.



Jan. 21: Walt Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ) offers voluntary buyouts to 600 theme park executives on poor attendance.



Jan. 21: Wynn Resorts wraps up construction on Las Vegas Strip casino with 53-worker layoff in design and construction affiliate.



Jan. 21: Eaton (nyse: ETN - news - people ) brings total workforce reduction since the beginning of last year to 10% with 5,200-worker cut.



Jan. 21: Warner Bros. Entertainment--a part of Time Warner (nyse: TWX - news - people )--cuts 10% (800) of its jobs.



Jan. 20: Clear Channel Communications (nyse: CCU - news - people ) reduces workforce across the entire company by 9% accounting for 1,850 job losses.



Jan. 20: Deere & Co. (nyse: DE - news - people ) dismisses 120 at Iowa plant.



Jan. 16: ConocoPhillips (nyse: COP - news - people ) trims capital spending by 18%, writes off $34 billion and reduces workforce by 4% (1,300 jobs).



Jan. 16: Hertz Global Holdings (nyse: HTZ - news - people ) sets out for worldwide restructuring in first quarter of 2009; cuts 4,000 jobs.



Jan. 16: WellPoint (nyse: WLP - news - people ) reduces workforce by 600 and removes 900 open positions.



Jan. 16: Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD - news - people ) reduces global workforce by 9% (1,100 jobs).





Jan. 15: Xerox (nyse: XRX - news - people ) cuts 275 jobs in New York region.



Jan. 15: MeadWestvaco (nyse: MWV - news - people ) fires 2,000 and plans closings or restructurings at up to 14 plants.



Jan. 15: Autodesk (nasdaq: ADSK - news - people ) expects loss from 2008 fourth quarter; pink-slips 750 (10% of workforce).



Jan. 15: Marshall & Ilsley (nyse: MI - news - people ) cuts 8% of staff (830) in ongoing cost-cutting.



Jan. 15: General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people )'s (nyse: GE - news - people ) jet-engine group cuts 1,000 white-collar jobs.



Jan. 14: Ecolab (nyse: ECL - news - people ) restructures and reduces workforce by 4% (1,000 jobs).





Jan. 14: Delta Air Lines (nyse: DAL - news - people ) gives 2,000 early retirements as part of 8% capacity reduction.



Jan. 14: Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) lays off 4,000 following a 3,000-worker layoff last year; expects savings of $700 million a year.



Jan. 14: Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) fires 100 hirers as it cuts back on contract workers and temporary employees.



Jan. 13: Cummins (nyse: CMI - news - people ) freezes salaries for the rest of the year and lets 800 go.



Jan. 13: Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) cuts 800 researchers as it lowers cost in the face of poor performance and coming patent losses.



Jan. 12: Mosaic (nyse: MOS - news - people ) fires 1,000 in Saskatchewan.



Jan. 12: Aircraft maker and Textron (nyse: TXT - news - people ) subsidiary Cessna sends 2,000 packing.



Jan. 12: Best Buy (nyse: BBY - news - people ) clears 12.5% of its headquarters staff with 500-employee layoff.



Jan. 12: Precision Castparts (nyse: PCP - news - people ) dismisses 40 as airline industry continues to struggle.



Jan. 9: Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ) reportedly cuts 500 from U.S. sales and consulting businesses.



Jan. 9: Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) cuts 4,500 and returns workforce size to what it was in early 2008.



Jan. 9: Freeport-McMoRan (nyse: FCX - news - people ) slices workforce in half at Arizona mine; 1,550 workers let go.



Jan. 9: Smitfield Foods' (nyse: SFD - news - people ) Butterball--the nation's largest turkey company--fires 75 at Missouri plant.



Jan. 8: Union Pacific (nyse: UNP - news - people ) pink-slips 230 as company struggles; stock down 22% year-to-date.



Jan. 8: Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works--owned by General Dynamics (nyse: GD - news - people )--dismisses 179.



Jan. 8: Continuing companywide job cuts at Eaton (nyse: ETN - news - people ) hit Iowa, with 78 laid off.



Jan. 8: Walgreen (nyse: WAG - news - people ) cuts 1,000--roughly 9%--from corporate and field manager ranks.



Jan. 7: EMC (nyse: EMC - news - people ) fires 2,400 as it reduces 2009 expenses by $350 million.



Jan. 6: Alcoa (nyse: AA - news - people ) starts global salary and hiring freeze, plans sale of four non-core businesses and cuts workforce by 13% (13,500 jobs).



Jan. 6: Aqua Glass--a subsidiary owned by Masco (nyse: MAS - news - people )--pink-slips 30 employees.



Jan. 5: Cigna (nyse: CI - news - people ) reduces workforce by 4% (1,100 jobs).



Jan. 5: United States Steel (nyse: X - news - people ) cuts 50 jobs as it closes production lines in Texas.





*Total announced layoffs at America's 500 largest public companies as measured by a composite ranking of sales, profits, assets and market value during November 2008. Includes layoffs at subsidiaries, joint ventures and majority-owned companies.







Job Layoffs for December 2008:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/04/december-layoffs-fires-lead-cx_kk_1204december08layoffs.html

Pink Slips

December 2008 Layoffs

Compiled by Klaus Kneale, 01.05.09, 01:45 PM EST

December layoffs have exceeded 100,000 at America's largest companies.

Layoffs for December 2008 at America's 500 largest public companies*:

108,123



Dec. 31: Mohawk Industries (nyse: MHK - news - people ) closes spun yarn operation; 160 fired.

Dec. 31: Tyson Foods (nyse: TSN - news - people ) lays off 75 while converting North Carolina plant; drops 45 at Virginia plant.



Dec. 31: Target (nyse: TGT - news - people ) lays off 132 while converting Arizona store into a Super Target.



Dec. 30: Allegheny Technologies (nyse: ATI - news - people ) pink-slips 323 as stainless steel orders decline.



Dec. 30: Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) increases October-announced layoffs by 400.



Dec. 29: Advanced Micro (nyse: AMD - news - people ) increases previously announced layoff by 100.

Dec. 23: Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) and Lockheed Martin (nyse: LMT - news - people ) joint venture ULA reduces previously announced layoff from 350 to 172.



Dec. 23: Johnson Controls (nyse: JCI - news - people ) expects loss in final quarter of 2008. Fires 125.



Dec. 23: Las Vegas Sands (nyse: LVS - news - people ) drops 500 more in Macau.



Dec. 22: Parker-Hannifin (nyse: PH - news - people ) fires 405 in varied locations as part of overall cost cutting.



Dec. 22: Eaton (nyse: ETN - news - people ) pink-slips 331 at factories across the U.S.



Dec. 19: Genworth Financial (nyse: GNW - news - people ) cuts global workforce by 14% (1,000).



Dec. 19: Electronic Arts (nasdaq: ERTS - news - people ) increases previously announced workforce cut from 6% to 10%. Total becomes 1,000.



Dec. 19: Sovereign Bancorp (nyse: SOV - news - people ) fires 1,000 while lowering costs.



Dec. 18: Omnicom Group (nyse: OMC - news - people ) slims itself with 3,000-worker layoff.



Dec. 18: Caterpillar (nyse: CAT - news - people ) pink-slips 814 workers in response to poor demand.



Dec. 17: Discontinuing supply chain operations in parts of South America, Ryder System (nyse: R - news - people ) fires 3,100.



Dec. 17: Western Digital (nyse: WDC - news - people ) cuts 5% of workforce (2,500) and slows production in response to decline in orders.



Dec. 17: Aetna (nyse: AET - news - people ) cuts costs for the new year. Drops 1,000 (3% of workforce).



Dec. 17: Bristol-Myers Squibb (nyse: BMY - news - people ) slices 10% of staff (3,700) following a 10% cut in back in July.



Dec. 16: CBS Corp (nyse: CBS - news - people ) fires 30 focusing on in-house network programming.





Dec. 15: Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ) dismisses 400 amateur brokers-in-training.



Dec. 15: Charles Schwab (nasdaq: SCHW - news - people ) expects to pay out $20 million in severance as it cuts 100 jobs.



Dec. 13: Union Tank Car Company--majority owned by Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRK.A - news - people )--reduces production from 60 rail cars a week to 50. Lays off 130.



Dec. 12: Masco (nyse: MAS - news - people ) subsidiary KraftMaid Cabinetry pink-slips 500.



Dec. 12: International Paper (nyse: IP - news - people ) fires 1,500 as it continues cost-cutting.



Dec. 12: Las Vegas Sands (nyse: LVS - news - people ) pink-slips 216 staff in Las Vegas area.



Dec. 11: Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) plans 35,000 layoffs over three years; trying to survive recession and successfully absorb Merrill Lynch.



Dec. 11: Whirlpool (nyse: WHR - news - people ) cuts 150 positions at refrigeration plant.





Dec. 10: Dal-Tile--owned by Mohawk Industries (nyse: MHK - news - people )--cuts 105 from Gettysburg, Pa., branch.



Dec. 10: In line with plans to close a Clairol plant, Procter & Gamble (nyse: PG - news - people ) severs 320 jobs.



Dec. 9: Praxair (nyse: PX - news - people ) cuts costs. Closes extraneous product lines and fires 1,600.



Dec. 8: Anheuser-Busch (nyse: BUD - news - people ) cuts U.S. workforce by 6% (1,400), freezes hiring on 250 open positions and eliminates 415 contractor jobs.



Dec. 8: 3M (nyse: MMM - news - people ) lowers 2008 outlook; fires 2,300.



Dec. 8: Wyndham Worldwide (nyse: WYN - news - people ) pink-slips 4,000 while trimming timeshare business.



Dec. 8: Dow Chemical (nyse: DOW - news - people ) closes 20 plants, sells several businesses, cuts workforce by 11% (5,000 jobs).



Dec. 5: Legg Mason (nyse: LM - news - people ) lays off 200 (8% of staff).



Dec. 5: Newsday--owned by Cablevision (nyse: CVC - news - people )--raises newsstand price and fires 100.



Dec. 5: Staples (nasdaq: SPLS - news - people ) pink-slips half home office as part of 140-person layoff.



Dec. 5: General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) still suffering. Dismisses 2,000 more.



Dec. 4: Steel Dynamics (nasdaq: STLD - news - people ) lets 65 go in response to poor steel demand.



Dec. 5: Engine-maker Cummins (nyse: CMI - news - people ) cuts 500 white-collar jobs globally despite 25% net income growth last quarter.



Dec. 4: Telephone and broadband outfit Windstream (nyse: WIN - news - people ) fires 170.



Dec. 4: General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people )'s (nyse: GE - news - people ) NBC Universal pink-slips 500 (3% of workforce).



Dec. 4: DuPont (nyse: DD - news - people ) cuts 2,500 jobs in poor home-building, auto sectors.



Dec. 4: AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) cuts capital spending and 4% of workforce; 12,000 fired.



Dec. 3: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (nyse: FCX - news - people ) lays off 600 from New Mexico mine.



Dec. 3: Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney--owned by United Technologies (nyse: UTX - news - people )--lays off 350.



Dec. 3: Struggling media company Gannett (nyse: GCI - news - people ) cuts about 2,000 jobs throughout its publishing arm.



Dec. 3: Adobe Systems (nasdaq: ADBE - news - people ) warns of rough fourth quarter and 600-worker layoff.



Dec. 3: Jefferies Group (nyse: JEF - news - people ) pink-slips 300 (13% of workforce).



Dec. 3: Attempting to steel itself against the economy, Viacom (nyse: VIA - news - people ) freezes some salaries and dismisses 850 workers.



Dec. 2: Continuing difficulty in the steel market forces United States Steel (nyse: X - news - people ) to idle three facilities. Fires 3,500.



Dec. 1: JPMorgan Chase (nyse: JPM - news - people ) reduces workforce of recently acquired bank Washington Mutual (nyse: WM - news - people ); 9,200 workers (21% of WaMu staff) let go.



Dec. 1: PepsiCo (nyse: PEP - news - people ) pink-slips 87 workers at an Oklahoma Gatorade plant.







Job Layoffs for November 2008:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/18/november-layoffs-fires-lead-cx_kk_1118november08layoffs.html

Pink Slips

November 2008 Layoffs

Compiled by Klaus Kneale, 12.02.08, 01:15 PM EST



More than 90,000 people lost their jobs at America's largest public companies in November 2008.

Layoffs for November 2008 at America's 500 largest public companies*:

91,250

Nov. 25: Dana Holding (nyse: DAN - news - people ) cuts 50 jobs at Missouri factory. Plant makes axels for Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ), General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) and Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ).



Nov. 24: BlackRock (nyse: BLK - news - people ) fires 10 of its investing staff.



Nov. 21: Manufactured home builder Clayton Homes, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRK - news - people ), dismisses 90 from corporate headquarters in Tennessee.



Nov. 21: International Paper (nyse: IP - news - people ) closes Louisiana Mill indefinitely due to poor pulp demand. Fires 550.



Nov. 21: Western Union (nyse: WU - news - people ) cuts 200 jobs globally. Blames “challenging economic environment.”



Nov. 20: Bank of New York Mellon (nyse: BK - news - people ) reduces workforce by 4% (1,800 employees).

Nov. 20: Whirlpool (nyse: WHR - news - people ) sacks 100 from Indiana-based plant. Cites poor refrigerator demand.



Nov. 19: GM Thailand closes 130,000-unit-per-year factory for two months. Fires 258 from another.



Nov. 19: Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) pink-slips 800 workers at defense facility in Kansas.



Nov. 19: Carpeting company Shaw Industries, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, fires 125 from Georgia-based plant.



Nov. 18: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (nyse: FCX - news - people ) cuts 600 U.S. mining jobs. Blames sliding metal prices.



Nov. 17: Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) raises the interest rates on its credit cards and cuts 52,000 jobs.



Nov. 14: Boeing and Lockheed Martin (nyse: LMT - news - people ) joint venture ULA announces 350-worker layoff (later reduced to 172).

Nov. 14: Computer network builder Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: JAVA - news - people ) hopes to save $800 million a year with a 6,000-person reduction in workforce.



Nov. 13: United States Steel (nyse: X - news - people ) pink-slips 675 workers (2% of its staff). Stock down 80% from July to November.



Nov. 12: Hoping to save $400 million a year, Applied Materials (nasdaq: AMAT - news - people ) cuts 1,800 jobs (12% of workforce).



Nov. 12: Las Vegas Sands (nyse: LVS - news - people ) is putting several billion-dollar Macau-based projects on hold. As many as 11,000 workers will be laid off.



Nov. 12: Morgan Stanley (nyse: MS - news - people ) announces 2,000 job cuts. This includes a 10% cut in the company's institutional securities group and a 9% cut in its asset-management group.



Nov. 12: Liberty Media (nasdaq: LCAPA - news - people ) (nasdaq: LCAPA - news - people ) home shopping channel QVC announces a 910-worker layoff.



Nov. 12: Cessna Aircraft, a subsidiary of conglomerate Textron (nyse: TXT - news - people ), fires 665.



Nov. 11: AK Steel Holding (nyse: AKS - news - people ) suffers from decline in steel demand. 800 workers lose jobs as two factories go idle.



Nov. 10: General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) lays off 1,900 employees from its powertrain and stamping division. An additional 3,600 assembly employees were already getting pink-slipped.



Nov. 7: Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ) cuts 2,600 hourly employees in the U.S.



Nov. 6: Advanced Micro (nyse: AMD - news - people ) lays off 500.





Nov. 6: Toy producer Mattel (nyse: MAT - news - people ) announces 1,000 job cuts globally in preparation for a tough holiday season.



Nov. 6: Five-year-old Atlantic City establishment the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa--a joint venture between Boyd Gaming (nyse: BYD - news - people ) and MGM Mirage (nyse: MGM - news - people ) --sacks 400 employees.



Nov. 6: Advertising agency BBDO Worldwide, part of Omnicom Group (nyse: OMC - news - people ), is firing 145 from its Troy, Mich., office.



Nov. 4: Hartford Financial (nyse: HIG - news - people ) is dropping 2% of its staff (500). Blames--what else?--sagging investments.



Go Back to the Forbes.com Layoff Tracker



*Total announced layoffs at America’s 500 largest public companies as measured by a composite ranking of sales, profits, assets and market value since Nov. 1 2008. Includes layoffs at subsidiaries, joint ventures, and majority owned companies.







U.S. Job Losses 2008-2009:

60-Second Recap - 9 truths

 
1) America was already losing over 600,000 jobs per month, months before Obama became President
 
2) Despite those job loses, Republicans worked in lock-step to block the Stimulus Bill – with zero House Republicans and only 3 Senate Republicans voting for the Stimulus
 
3) Within 6 months of passage of the Stimulus Bill, monthly job losses decreased by over two-thirds
 
4) Despite that quick reversal, Republicans continued to oppose virtually every job creation bill, business development bill, and economic stimulus bill right though September 2010 – based, ostensibly, on “philosophical” issues*
 
5) The Recovery is not a philosophical issue – it is an economic one
 
6) As Republicans blocked bill . . . after bill . . . after bill – The Recovery began to lose steam
 
7) Republicans, as the ones most responsible for the economic crash, deliberately blocked The Recovery – knowing that economic recovery credited to the Democrats would spell political devastation for the Republican Party for years to come
 
8) If Republicans focused their efforts on making America succeed, instead of spending their time trying to make President Obama fail, Americans would be well on their way to an economic recovery by now
 
9) It’s been said that those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. You can vote to put those who tanked our economy and blocked The Recovery back in charge . . . or you can entrust it to those who tried to speed The Recovery and help tens of millions of Americans regain their independence and dignity
 
But you've got less than 24 hours to decide.
 
 
*Here’s a link to 31 Bills Republicans Blocked in 2010:
http://johnsvor.blogspot.com/2010/10/31-bills-republicans-have-blocked-in.html


 
 

Where is the Outrage?

Where is the Outrage that those whose policies and actions were most responsible for America’s worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, have spent the past 20 months blocking virtually every job creation bill, business development bill, and economic stimulus bill intended to speed The Recovery?

Where is the Outrage that they repeatedly said: “No”, “No”, “No” – while over 10,000,000 Americans lost their homes, their jobs, their life savings?

Where is the Outrage that they chose to spend their time trying to make America’s President fail, instead of spending their time trying to make America succeed?

Where is the Outrage that instead of using their influence to help Americans get out from beneath the crushing weight of the economic collapse, they used it to block The Recovery – for fear that a recovery credited to the Democrats would spell political devastation for the Republican Party for years to come?

Where is the Outrage that they deliberately lied, distorted the truth and misrepresented the facts on issue after issue – for the benefit of their own political interests – and the detriment of ordinary Americans?

Where is the Outrage that their leaders promoted fear . . . anger . . . hatred . . . and divisiveness – instead of offering solutions?

 Where is the Outrage that in a time of severe economic crisis for the American people, they decided that it was better to rip this country in two – turning neighbor against neighbor; sister against brother; American against American – rather than bring us together?

Where is the Outrage that they played politics with people’s lives?

Unlike their attempts to hijack public forums by encouraging followers to shout, scream and brandish weapons to intimidate those with opposing viewpoints – there is only one suitable way for you and I to express OUR outrage – and that’s at the voting booth on Tuesday, November 2nd.

Tell them how outraged you are that they chose to ignore the pleas and cries of their fellow Americans in order to further their own political goals.

Tell them with your vote.

Pass it on . . .

Republican TV ad instructs Spanish-speaking Americans NOT to vote

A new television ad created by Republican Political Consultant (Robert DePosada) under the banner of a group calling itself "Latinos for Reform" urges all Spanish-speaking Americans NOT to vote in the upcoming mid-term elections.


It informs viewers that the "only way to send a clear message to Washington is . . . DON'T VOTE"



http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/10/gop_hispanic_front_group_tells.html


http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/10/19/dont-vote-ads-aimed-at-latinos-are-pulled-in-nevada/?mod=google_news_blog


http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk-elections/article/univision-pulls-ads-telling-hispanics-not-to-vote-in-midterms/19680954



Okay, so over the past few weeks we're beginning to get a clearer picture of who the Republicans want to take "their country" back from:

Blacks

Latinos

Hispanics

Asians

Muslims

Jews

Gays and Lesbians

Immigrants (legal and otherwise)

Women

Liberals

Moderates

the poor

the middle-class

Scientists and researchers

did I miss anyone?
  

31 Bills Republicans Have Blocked in 2010

By the time President Obama was sworn into office in January 2009, America was losing 600,000 jobs a month.  Within 6 months of passing the Economic Stimulus Bill (which was opposed by every single House Republican and all but 3 Senate Republicans), those job losses were reduced by two-thirds. 

That was a good start.

Yet, despite the marked improvement, Republicans continued to block dozens of job creation, business and economic development, and consumer protection bills right through September of 2010, stalling the recovery.

You have every right to ask why.  Did they want Obama to fail due to philosophical differences?  Or was it because, as the ones who were most responsible for the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression, they knew that economic recovery credited to the Democrats would spell political devastation for the Republican Party for years to come?

Why did they choose to spend their time doing everything they could to make the President fail, instead of spending their time trying to make America succeed?

Whose side are they really on?

Here is a partial listing of journalistic news reports from (primarily) mainstream news sources of Bills the Republicans Have Blocked – or attempted to block -- during the past 20 months.  These are the actual article headlines.  I’ve provided several media links to confirm and verify the accuracy of each article.

It’s an eye-opener.

John

Republican obstructionism . . .  is based on the idea that the failure not just of President Obama but of American society itself is the G.O.P.’s quickest ticket back to power.

Bob Herbert   New York Times   9/10/2010

UPDATE: October 2012
Bob Cesca releases article on Huffington Post reiterating, and expanding upon, much of the above. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/republicans-filibuster-ev_b_2018663.html

Republicans Block Bill to Aid Small Businesses

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/politics/30cong.html
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/senate-republicans-block-small-business-aid-bill/19572912/


Republicans Block Unemployment Benefits Extension
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/natInt/story.aspx?storyid=109570&catid=288
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2010/07/gop_brown_vote.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/25/nation/la-na-jobless-vote-20100625


Republicans Block Bank-Reform Bill
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/democrats-reach-deal-on-tough-derivative-law-2010-04-26
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63Q5CR20100427


Republicans Block Campaign Disclosure Bill
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2010/07/republicans_blo.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66Q65I20100727
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38434903


Republicans Block Jobs Bill in Senate
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/small-business-jobs-bill-stalls-in-senate/
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012485381_congress30.html


GOP Blocks Transparency in Campaign Contributions
http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/gop-blocks-transparency-in-campaign-contributions/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100727/pl_mcclatchy/3578774


Republicans block bill ending tax breaks for US companies sending jobs offshore
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/28/AR2010092802768.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2821013620100928
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20017896-503544.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjFU-ZOgeJNcMKBh9YdqcUyzXUPQ?docId=CNG.df9e6a188a034ac23300ab0760b91861.ad1


Republicans Block Bill to Raise Oil Spill Liability Cap
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20005333-503544.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/14/nation/la-na-oil-spill-new-20100514
http://thenorthcoast.blogspot.com/2010/06/republicans-block-bill-to-raise-oil.html


Republicans Block Wall Street Reform Bill
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/94485-gop-blocks-wall-st-bill
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8644952.stm


GOP blocks Senate campaign-finance bill – again
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/09/senate-campaign-finance/1
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2323068220100923
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Election-2010/From-the-Wires/2010/0924/Campaign-finance-Republicans-block-bill-to-identify-ad-sponsors


Republicans Block Small Business Lending Bill
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-29/senate-republicans-block-small-business-lending-bill-sought-by-democrats.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38469644/ns/business-small_business/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100729/ap_on_bi_ge/us_small_business_lending


Republicans Block Repeal of Military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/09/21/republicans-block-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal/
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grHLcTA5VMaxM1KPtvrf3OTOfZuQD9ICK7K00
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senate-vote-repeal-ban-gays-military/story?id=11685658


Senate Republicans Block Own Amendments on Health Care Bill
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/how-senate-republicans-obstruct-health-care


Republicans Block Energy Legislation…Yet Again
http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/08/04/republicans-block-energy-legislation-yet-again/
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66H1BS20100718
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2267599/senate-blocks-energy-bill-yet


G.O.P. Blocks Debate on Financial Oversight Bill
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/g-o-p-blocks-debate-on-financial-oversight-bill/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/business/27regulate.html
http://worldjewishnews.blogspot.com/2010/04/gop-blocks-debate-on-financial.html


Republicans Kill Measure That Created 240,000 Jobs
http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/09/30/republicans-kill-measure-that-created-240000-jobs/
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-30/business/24103870_1_jobs-program-summer-jobs-subsidized-employment
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/09/job-99ers-tanf-senate
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/30/if-we-re-serious-about-jobs-don-t-stop-job-creation
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/4/906979/-Republicans-kill-jobs


Senate Republicans block Dems' effort to pass mine safety bill
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/worker-safety/121457-senate-republicans-block-dems-effort-to-pass-mine-safety-bill


GOP Pledges to Block Immigration Reform
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/04/25/GOP-pledges-to-block-immigration-bill-push/UPI-56291272231701/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/01/AR2010070100388.html


Republicans Block Democrats’ Efforts to Hold BP Accountable
http://ynative77.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/republicans-block-democrats-efforts-to-hold-bp-accountable-gop-leaving-taxpayers-on-the-hook-for-bailing-out-bp-may-18-2010/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20007511-503544.html


Senate Republicans Block Two Bills to Spur Renewable Energy Investment
http://www.grist.org/article/no-renewal-for-renewables/


House Republicans Block Medical Help for 9/11 Heroes
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20012217-503544.html
http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/07/30/house-republicans-block-medical-help-for-911-heroes/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/nyregion/30zadroga.html


GOP blocks small business bill. Who will get the blame?
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/dems_will_get_blamed_for_gop_o.html?hpid=sec-politics


GOP Blocks Financial Reform As Millions Lose Homes
http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5875/gop_blocks_financial_reform_as_millions_lose_homes/


GOP Blocks Small Biz Bill
http://www.phillytrib.com/tribune/newsheadlines/14208-gop-blocks-small-biz-bill.html
http://wwj.cbslocal.com/2010/07/30/republicans-block-small-biz-lending-bill/
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-15/politics/obama.economic.relief_1_tax-cuts-small-business-gop-sens?_s=PM:POLITICS


Senate Republicans Kill Renewable Energy and Job Creation Bill
http://solveclimate.com/blog/20080610/senate-republicans-kill-renewable-energy-and-job-creation-bill-wheres-mccain
http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-gaggle/2010/09/15/who-killed-the-energy-and-climate-bill.html


Republicans Block US Senate Committees From Holding Hearings
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/03/24/GOP-blocks-Senate-committee-meetings/UPI-88161269468743/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/24/gop-blocks-senate-actions/
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/republicans-block-senate-committees-holding-hearings/


Senate Republicans Promise To Oppose Tax Cuts If Wealthy Aren't Included
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/mcconnell-every-senate-re_n_714739.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/senate-poised-for-highsta_n_714766.html


Senate Republicans Kill Job-Creating Tax Cuts
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/press/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=11232


GOP Blocks 20 Judicial Nominees
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Obama-getting-fewest-judges-confirmed-since-Nixon--102306839.html
http://blog.pfaw.org/content/gop-blocks-20-judicial-nominees-rebuffs-goodwin-liu-again
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202471710311
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/opinion/23thu2.html?th&emc=th


GOP Blocks Freeze on Credit Card Interest Rate Hikes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/18/gop-blocks-freeze-on-cred_n_362787.html


How Many Jobs Can Republicans Kill This Week?
https://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=326871&



Here’s one they’ve decided to support:


GOP has No Problem Extending Tax Cuts for the Rich
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/13/AR2010071305391.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68B1SH20100913


Is there any question where their allegiances really lay?

Is Hatred Really Freedom of Speech?

Note: I recently stumbled across this letter to the editor I wrote just over a year ago.  Sadly, it's still all too true. -- John


I agree that freedom of speech is a paramount American liberty. However, at what point does YOUR freedom of speech impinge upon my own freedoms?

We have all come to learn that giving a soap box to those who spew anger and hatred towards others encourages action and, often, violence. You can veil it any way you choose, but promoting hatred towards others seldom leads to promoting freedoms. In fact, it almost always promotes the exact opposite.

When Glen Beck encourages his audience to believe that Obama is a racist and hates white people, it stirs up a deep-seated anger and provides a "cover" beneath which to justify actions which could, otherwise, never be justifiable. Same goes for Bill O'Reilly's anger toward George Tiller. And it is not just Beck or O’Reilly or the hosts at Fox News.

When the people we entrust to conduct the national dialog, use their positions to incite anger and (eventually and unavoidably) violence, we ALL lose our freedoms.

It's one thing to address people's existing fears and concerns.

It is entirely something else to CREATE them.
 
 
John Epstein
August 2009