Baracky II

After enjoying the spoofs of Rocky and Star Wars during the primary campaign between Obama and Clinton, we have a sequel: Baracky II. These videos have been great. I hope to see more of them.

~BT

Clinton Campaign Post-Mortem

The Atantic's much-awaited article on Hillary Clinton's ill-fated campaign says that her divided staff didn't serve her well, that she didn't make hard choices, and that she rejected her chief strategist's suggestion to go after Barack Obama on his "lack of American roots."

Above all, this irony emerges: Clinton ran on the basis of managerial competence—on her capacity, as she liked to put it, to “do the job from Day One.” In fact, she never behaved like a chief executive, and her own staff proved to be her Achilles’ heel.

This is sure to make waves in the media and blogosphere. It was mentioned on CNN earlier tonight before it was even posted online, in the context of having more ammunition to attack Obama now that we know what Mark Penn' suggested line of attack for the primary. I am happy that Hillary didn't follow Penn's terrible advice.

You can also check out all the details from the "Hillary Clinton Memos" yourself.

~BT

Obama Hits Back

Barack Obama's new television ad "Embrace" addresses the numerous ways in which the special interests in Washington have embraced John McCain and how McCain has hugged right back, employing lobbyists in top positions and giving tax breaks to oil and drug companies, instead of working to ease the burden on middle-class families.

~BT

Olympic Coverage

Check out more posts about the Olympics on my Canadian blog

~BT

How Are You Seeing the Beijing Olympics?

Will you be watching it live? On your television or online?

Here in Toronto, live coverage begins at 7am with the Opening Ceremonies beginning live at 8am.

As I brace for the deluge of Olympic coverage from the Beijing Olympics, here are some questions that are on my mind:

• Have you noticed that it is the 8th day in August, the 8th month, 2008? Got to love your lucky numbers.
• How much did the exclusive television and web rights cost in your country?
• What technology platforms are being used to broadcast online coverage of the Games? Here in Canada, CBC is using Windows Media Player.
• How big will the global audience be?
  
• The US is making a huge statement by choosing a victim of violence in Sudan as their flag bearer.
• Will China be able to control the image of these Games? Details leak out.
  
• What will the 'story' be? So far Canadian and American coverage I have seen has air pollution and smog mentioned predominantly.
  
• Will Youtube coverage be available in North America?

What are you thinking about as we the world collectively turns its attention to China ?

Cross Posted at Canadian Liberal @ Penn

~BT

Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization?

From Adbusters:

Ever since the Allies bombed the Axis into submission, Western civilization has had a succession of counter-culture movements that have energetically challenged the status quo. Each successive decade of the post-war era has seen it smash social standards, riot and fight to revolutionize every aspect of music, art, government and civil society.

But after punk was plasticized and hip hop lost its impetus for social change, all of the formerly dominant streams of “counter-culture” have merged together. Now, one mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior has come to define the generally indefinable idea of the “Hipster.”

I have to admit my enjoyment of the hipster scene back in Philadelphia as well as here in Toronto. Although I don't consider myself a hipster, I enjoy the dive bars, the young good-looking crowds and the often electronic music. Every time I go out to some hipster event, I think to myself about the opportunity to politically organize the crowds of intelligent, well-informed 20-somethings. The problem is that I haven't yet figured out how to inject progressive political activism into this hipster world.

Adbusters, whose cover story on Hipsterdom sparked this post, takes a unsurprisingly critical and pessimistic view.

Hipsterdom is the first “counterculture” to be born under the advertising industry’s microscope, leaving it open to constant manipulation but also forcing its participants to continually shift their interests and affiliations. Less a subculture, the hipster is a consumer group – using their capital to purchase empty authenticity and rebellion. But the moment a trend, band, sound, style or feeling gains too much exposure, it is suddenly looked upon with disdain. Hipsters cannot afford to maintain any cultural loyalties or affiliations for fear they will lose relevance.

An amalgamation of its own history, the youth of the West are left with consuming cool rather that creating it. The cultural zeitgeists of the past have always been sparked by furious indignation and are reactionary movements. But the hipster’s self-involved and isolated maintenance does nothing to feed cultural evolution. Western civilization’s well has run dry. The only way to avoid hitting the colossus of societal failure that looms over the horizon is for the kids to abandon this vain existence and start over.

Adbusters laments our "defeated generation" that is too afraid to create our own authentic counterculture. First, I can't disagree more with the fact that we are defeated. Have you seen the level of activism among millennials in the US? Our generation is well-informed, caring, and using the new tools at our disposal to effect real change, instead of feeding into some new counterculture movement that will inevitably be co-opted and sold back to us. Second, the whole notion of effecting change through some authentic counterculture has not worked for the last 20+ years. Remember all those culture jammers and anti-globalization radicals that Adbusters exemplifies? What have they achieved?

Instead of worrying about how Hipsterdom is growing into "a global phenomenon that is set to consume the very core of Western counterculture" we need to reevaluate what actual value comes from these countercultures. In my view, all of this focus on creating and sustaining these subcultures opposed to the "mainstream" is just a distraction from achieving real political change.

Cross Posted at Canadian Liberal @ Penn

~BT

Protest at the Fed

This mini protest ahead of the Fed decision at 2:15 today begs the question of when all of these bailouts for wealthy investors and wall street types will become a salient political issue. It truly is socializing the costs and privatizing the profits. Sooner or later Americans will catch on, right?


Via The Big Picture

~BT

Can't Say You Weren't Told

wow

comments welcome

~BT

I.O.U.S.A. Movie Trailer

Take a look


Official site: IOUSA the Movie
http://www.iousathemovie.com/

~BT

Follow me on Twitter!

I've recently discovered this new social networking tool called Twitter. It is a "service to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"

You can find my Twitter page here. I first joined Twitter in May and have slowly started to use it and get familiar with it. In that time I have posted 22 updates, all pretty short (less than the 140 character limit). I am "following" 52 people, which means I get their updates through the Twitter website and can choose which ones I want to receive on any of my devices (I have set up my phone to receive texts from Twitter). There are 29 people "following" me although I don't really know if/how they read my updates and I haven't really had a twitter back/forth like I've seen other people have.

So, if you feel like trying it out, go to Twitter and sign up. Then click on my page and "follow me". You can then see my updates through the website and any device that you set up with Twitter. If you get free incoming text messages - you should set Devices On for me and then you will receive my updates via text. And if you start using it yourself, let me know so I can follow you!

If you have tried Twitter or use it, leave your thoughts in the comments.

~BT

US Army's cover-up of Lavena Johnson's tragic death

LaVena Johnson was 19 years old, serving in Iraq as a private in the
Army, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned--by someone
from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence,
the Army called it a suicide and closed the case.[1]

For three years, LaVena's parents have been fighting for answers. At
almost every turn, they've been met with closed doors or lies. But
together we can help achieve justice for LaVena and other families who
have suffered similar tragedies.[2]

Will you join me in standing with the Johnsons and calling on Henry
Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to investigate the
Army's cover-up of Lavena's death? And ask your friends and family to
do the same?

http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1963-642358

Thanks.

1. "The cover-up of a soldier's death?" LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html

2. "Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?" CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/

~BT

One Year Anniversary of Jim Cramer's Freakout

On August 9, 2007 I posted Economic Armageddon? and wrote:

The jury is still out but Jim Cramer, host of the always entertaining Mad Money on CNBC, thinks the fixed-income market is already in Armageddon. If you still haven't heard or seen Jim Cramer's freak-out on CNBC last friday, you should join the over 1 million people who already have.

A lot has happened in the last year. If you watch the Cramer clip, you see Bear Sterns trading at $109. And we know what happened to Bear Sterns. We saw the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a US economy that likely has been in recession since the beginning of the year, with the world economy not far behind.

So, Economic Armageddon? No. But, the Federal Reserve in coordination with other G8 central banks have pulled out all the stops to avoid a total economic calamity.

Update: Paul Krugman reviews the last year: A Slow-Mo Meltdown

~BT

Literature, Activism and Politics

A few days ago, Jennifer Nix launched an online conversation with a post on her life in the literature world and her move to activism in recent years. Here is the online conversation in chronological order:

1) Jennifer Nix at HuffingtonPost: Resurrecting Literature: Sustenance for the Progressive Soul

2) Chris Bowers on Openleft.com : The Rise Of The Non-Fictional Aesthetic

3) Emptywheel of Firedoglake.com : The Count of Monte Cristo Was Not Fiction

4) Chris Bowers responds: More On The Shifting Aesthetic

5) Jennifer Nix's response published at Openleft: Sustenance For The Progressive Soul

I also read an offshoot post that I am still making sense of. Tales of the City IS Fiction-And Mythos (also at Openleft). If you haven't you heard of Tales of the City, it is a series of books written in the 70s and 80s in San Francisco and that were serialized in their local papers.

In Jennifer Nix's response at Openleft she writes,

During the Gilded Age, in America and Europe, newspapers ran short stories and serialized novels. The greatest novelists of the time, including Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Henry James, Mark Twain, William Thackeray and Joseph Conrad published their works of fiction in installments in daily newspapers. Because this format was more affordable, people outside of the upper class had access to books for the first time. The publishing phenomenon sparked a growth not only in the number of people desiring to read, but also in literacy rates.

With newspapers cutting book sections and reviews-and entire news operations shrinking by the day-progressive political blogs could help to integrate literature back into American life. We know the value of pulling people out of their consumer-driven television comas, and getting them reading, informed and connected. Bringing literature back into people's everyday lives will provide sustenance for the progressive soul and lead to more hope, engagement and action.

This needs to be connected to the free culture movement and the few examples of serializing books online that I've started to see online. We need to start talking about making available more of these books online for free. Some authors have started doing that, notably Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture. This is a great way to drive sales of books because people read a bit of it online and prefering to reading a book in print, they go out and buy it.

All in all, a great conversation that occurred online in the last few days that has started to connect various threads. I discovered a whole bunch of new fiction that I want to read and hopefully more political blogs will take Jennifer up on her offer to help sites tie more fiction and build further ties with some literary blogs. I might even contact her and read The Lazarus Project.

~BT

Reactions to Bailout

Reactions to the bailout announced by Paulson on Sunday night are slowly appearing online. Bloomberg provides extensive coverage. Very similar to the announcement of the Bear Stearns bailout that was also announced on Sunday evening.

From cryptogon.com:

The firms that make the mortgage industry possible in the U.S. are about to be taken onto the books of the U.S. Government.

I don’t know of any clearer way of summing it up.

In all of my years of observing the farce of “the free market” in the U.S., it has never appeared more absurd than it does right now. This news is remarkable, even to someone as short the U.S. Dollar as me. This is take-your-breath-away kind of news.

Are they using the term “unlimited” because that somehow sounds better than $5.3 trillion, or is there something else we don’t know about yet? The U.S. taxpayer and dollar holders are essentially going to eat the real estate crisis.

The advice I used to give was: Get your ass, your family and your money out of the U.S. It’s probably too late for that. Dig in. Shelter in place. Brace for impact, etc.

From Paul Krugman posted today but written prior to the bailout:

The case against Fannie and Freddie begins with their peculiar status: although they’re private companies with stockholders and profits, they’re “government-sponsored enterprises” established by federal law, which means that they receive special privileges.

The most important of these privileges is implicit: it’s the belief of investors that if Fannie and Freddie are threatened with failure, the federal government will come to their rescue.

This implicit guarantee means that profits are privatized but losses are socialized. If Fannie and Freddie do well, their stockholders reap the benefits, but if things go badly, Washington picks up the tab. Heads they win, tails we lose.

[...]

And yes, there is a real political scandal here: there have been repeated warnings that Fannie’s and Freddie’s thin capitalization posed risks to taxpayers, but the companies’ management bought off the political process, systematically hiring influential figures from both parties. While they were ugly, however, Fannie’s and Freddie’s political machinations didn’t play a significant role in causing our current problems.

Still, isn’t it shocking that taxpayers may end up having to rescue these institutions? Not really. We’re going through a major financial crisis — and such crises almost always end with some kind of taxpayer bailout for the banking system.

And let’s be clear: Fannie and Freddie can’t be allowed to fail. With the collapse of subprime lending, they’re now more central than ever to the housing market, and the economy as a whole.

From Atrios:

Actually, Fannie and Freddie can be allowed to fail. Their shareholders can eat shit, and they can be reconstituted as a wholesale federal entities. There are zero reasons that I can think of that we should have shareholder owned entities which "probably but not necessarily" are going to get a government bailout every time they need it.

Both short and long term we might think that having such creatures exist to be mortgage backstops is a good idea. I probably agree with that. But there is no reason for them to be publicly traded companies.
-Atrios 23:23

more to come...

~BT

Major Bailout for the rich and well connected

I have been following the "big shitpile" as Atrios calls it and with today's news about the bailout of FannieMae and FreddieMac, I wanted to share a critique of Henry Paulson's plans.

This line of criticism is all over the market/macro finance blogs that I follow:

• Operation "Rescue Fannie" Underway - Paulson a Blatant Liar

• Time for comrade Paulson to pull the plug on the Fannie and Freddie charade

• How to Avoid the "Mother of All Bailouts"

Nouriel Roubini, discussed the apparent insolvency of both Fannie and Freddie earlier this weekend, laying out the various policy options that were available. Roubini speculated on what would be done:

The creditors/bondholders of Fannie and Freddie should not be made whole, i.e. bailed out, once the insolvency hole of these institutions emerges .... Will this optimal policy solution - an haircut for bondholders - be undertaken? Most likely not as the political economy of housing, mortgages and of “privatizing profits and socializing” losses may dominate the policy outcome.

It seems that Paulson has chosen the worst of all options. Roubini reacted earlier tonight:

Sunday evening update:

The Sunday statement and plan by Secretary Paulson to rescue Fannie and Freddie is the ultimate implementation of socialism for the rich and the well connected. Under the plan the U.S. government would become a major shareholder in the two GSEs (the unofficial figure being rumored is $15 billion for each institution); it would massively extend the Treasury line of credit to the two institutions that is now only $ 2.25 billion for each of them (the unofficial number being rumored is one of a line of credit as large as $300 billion per each institution); finally while marxist comrade Paulson (to borrow the term used by Willem Buiter) waits until Congress passes this legislation comrade Bernanke is providing the two GSEs with access to the discount window on same terms as commercial banks. So the lender of last resort support of the Fed - that was already extended via the PDCF to the non-banking primary dealers - is now officially extended also to the two GSEs: this is "quasi-fiscal recapitalization of two insolvent institutions" as Willem Buiter has correctly argued and imposing a potentially large burden on the U.S. taxpayer without a formal act of Congress.

Congress should not bail out Fannie and Freddie, at least not without wiping out equity holders and giving a "haircut" to debt holders. By the way, the largest foreign holders of this debt are China and Japan. Pimco's Bill Gross who recently tripled his bet on mortgages will be a huge beneficiary of this move

This all sounds like a US-taxpayer funded bailout of irresponsible investors. Moral hazard anyone?

The reactions roll in.

~BT

My Agenda

Participatory politics
Seeking truth
Liberal-minded
Pushing for progressive change
Sustainability
Human rights and dignity
Transparency
Making sense of the networked age
Pragmatic idealism

This is just a first draft. What do you think?

~BT

Breaking the long silence

I haven't really blogged on a regular basis since February and a lot has happened since then, both in the political world and my personal life.

In the political world:

• Obama won the Democratic primary after a long drawn out battle with Clinton that lasted until after everyone had voted
• We are in the midst of a worldwide food crisis, the US and World economy are drastically contracting as a result of the implosion of the US housing market and ongoing credit crisis and ridiculously high oil prices (which will continue to rise).
• In Canada, Stephane Dion is shopping around his bold Green Shift policy of imposing a carbon tax and reducing income taxes. It looks like this will be what we will fight over in the next election. The question is whether people will understand it or fall for the Bush/Rove-like tactics of Harper and his Conservative cronies.
  
• The chatter continues about Obama VP selection (my guess is Janet Napolitano but I wouldn't put any money on it) and McCain is getting the easy treatment in the media.

What I have been reading:

• My Del.icio.us links (RSS or email)
• Openleft.com
• Huffingtonpost.com
• Christopher Hume
  

And on a more personal note:

• I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania earning a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School.
• I am currently living in Toronto but plan to head to Washington by the end of the summer.
  

I am trying to figure out what I will be doing with this blog. I will be clarifying the scope of the blog and hope to be writing regularly in addition to my daily links.

If there are topics or stories you would like me to comment on, put them in the Comments section or reply by email if you are receiving this by email

~BT

The Empire Strikes Barack

Star Wars + US politics = Amazing

~BT

It's About Time!

After years of lobbying and pressuring the administration, Penn has finally hired a Sustainability Coordinator. Dan Garofalo, who has been an integral part of Penn's sustainability efforts thus far, has been appointed to the position. It really was a matter of time befor Penn to follow its peer institutions in appointing someone to a position with the responsibility of coordinating the institution's sustainability efforts. With President Gutmann's signing of the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment in February 2007, we should see much more from Penn as the pledge begins to be implemented.

We have seen a conversion over the last year with Penn really starting to respond to the loud demands of students who want to see Penn do more to become a leader in sustainability. I truly believe that this wouldn't have happened without all the work done by students from the Penn Environmental Group, the Green Campus Partnership and support from the Undergraduate Assembly. I would especially commend Sarah Abroms and Lisa Zhu for their tireless work keeping the administration's feet to the fire on this issue.

~BT

Philly Student Gov Presidents Endorse Obama

From a press release that was sent to via email,

April 14, 2008

To the Editors of Pennsylvania Publications:

We, the student government leaders of schools in the Philadelphia region, endorse Barack Obama as the candidate of our choice for the Democratic Candidate for President.

Firstly, we must note that we are speaking on behalf of our own views as prominent student leaders at our institutions, not on behalf of the student body or our student government. However, because this is a particularly close presidential primary race with the next contest here in Pennsylvania we feel it appropriate to endorse a candidate.

From our experience in organizational leadership, it is manifestly clear that the tone of the leadership is often the difference between progress and deadlock. Good ideas and solutions are the first step, but it takes great communicators and motivators to truly unify people around a collective goal and achieve lofty policy objectives. When you examine Barack’s ability to communicate and motivate, there is no doubt that his abilities surpass any political leader in recent memory.

Barack’s campaign has brought millions into the ranks and has truly relied on a grassroots effort that continues to unify more and more Americans in his campaign. As members of the ‘youth’, and as the rising leaders of tomorrow, this hope and belief in a new kind of politics means more than just the shibboleth of ‘change’ and ‘hope.’ Barack has truly demonstrated that he has the intangible quality of leadership that does not just embolden him in his efforts to run for president. His leadership inspires millions to join him in his campaign. Especially important to the members of our generation, who will inherit the politics of today, it is critical that we engage in politics now to ensure that we are involved with the politics of our nation. More than any other candidate, Barack has engaged our generation and inspired millions of young voters to get engaged in American politics for the first time.

Barack’s plan to address the concern of financial assistance for higher education particularly resonates with us. His plans to simplify the application process for financial aid, expand Pell Grants to low-income students, streamline Direct Loans for students and create the American Opportunity Tax Credit are critical in truly making higher education available to any American who wants to go to college. Witnessing peers struggle to pay for college, especially with a relatively grim outlook on the current economy, fuels our conviction that Barack’s leadership is can bring about the change we’ve been waiting for.

Barack also understands how education and leadership from government can help keep the American economy at the forefront of innovation and progress:

If we want an innovation economy, one that generates more Googles each year, then we have to invest in our future innovators—by doubling federal funding of basic research over the next five years, training one hundred thousand more engineers and scientists over the next four years, or providing new research grants to the most outstanding early-career researchers in the country.[1]

We need a President who wants to make sure America is preeminent land of opportunity. Higher education is the source of the leaders of tomorrow. It is an investment in the future political, economic, technologic and cultural success of America. Barack understands that America’s future begins through investing in education and innovation today.

We, as student leaders, wholeheartedly endorse Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. He possesses the leadership, passion, solutions and charismatic audacity to truly bring about positive changes in this country that we—as students—can believe in.

Sincerely,

Jason Karsh
Chairman, Undergraduate Assembly
University of Pennsylvania

Juan Galeano
Student Body President
Temple University

John Von Euw
Student Body President
Villanova University

Meghan McAllister and Fabrizio Barbagelata
Co-Presidents, Students’ Council
Haverford College

---

[1] Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Three Rivers Press: New York, 2006. (166-7)

~BT