One of the factors that goes into measuring your Twitter Grade is the number of followers you have. Many of you will argue that the number of followers is completely irrelevant because it’s so easy to game. There are automated tools to do nothing but acquire followers by following a bunch of people. That’s true. It is easy to spike up your follower count.
However, I would counter with this: If we were looking at two different twitter users, all other things being equal (and I do mean all other things), the one with more followers is likely more powerful and deserves a higher twitter grade.
McDonalds McDonald's
by charliesheen
Despite all the rumors there r no plans 2 bring #mclobster or mcsushi 2 the US menu. We r working on a new menu item called McWinning.
3 Mar Favorite Retweet Reply
According to Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post today:
From the article:
WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have agreed to meet with two Democrats to discuss longshot legislation for the long-term unemployed, the members' offices confirmed Tuesday.
Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) introduced legislation earlier this year to provide 14 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to Americans who've been out of work for six months or longer. Lee and Scott have spoken frequently about the struggles of so-called "99ers" -- people who still haven't found work after exhausting the maximum 99 weeks of benefits available in some states.
The Lee-Scott proposal received zero initial support from Republicans because it would add roughly $16 billion to the federal budget deficit. Lee and Scott later announced they'd be open to finding budget cuts to offset the cost of the benefits, something Democrats have generally refused to do for federal extended jobless aid typically enacted during recessions.
Given that concession, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have agreed to meet with Lee and Scott sometime in the next few weeks to discuss possible cuts to fund the benefits.
The story goes on to say:
Cantor's office suggested he would steer the conversation toward job creation instead of just providing another 14 weeks of benefits.
"Leader Cantor looks forward to the meeting and would like to broaden the conversation to focus on ways to grow the economy, spur investment and create jobs rather than simply extending unemployment benefits in some instance beyond the maximum of 99 weeks currently permitted," a Cantor spokesman said Monday in a statement to the OC Register.
Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring elaborated in an email to HuffPost: "The point was basically that the Leader believes that the best unemployment program in America is a job, so rather than only talking about extending benefits, we should be having a broader conversation about growing the economy, spurring investment, and allowing businesses to hire."
Lee and Scott haven't suggested what they'd be willing to cut, and House Democratic leaders have remained silent about the prospect of offsetting the cost of unemployment benefits. Last year, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told HuffPost she considered offsetting benefits "a completely bad idea," though many conservative Democrats have said they support doing so.
The thing is though that after an entire year without any income, after the 2 previous years of unemployment, most 99ers - if they were hired today would not have the bus fare or gas money to get back and fourth to that job long enough to get that first pay check. Consequently the millions within the 99er Nation NEED SOME MONEY in order to survive long enough to get that elusive job that will be their saving grace. Congress seems in no big hurry to do either create jobs or help the 99ers survive - but good lord we certainly must help Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and every other country that needs it.
HR589 would cost $16 Billion and help desperate, forgotten 99er families to survive. American's involvement in Libya is likely to cost far more than that and not help even 1 Jobless American.
Did you hear it? Ed Schultz is the only one in TV media news who keeps mentioning the 99ers at all these days. Last week he did so on this Wednesday show - even in the midst of covering the horrific events as they unfolded in Japan.
Well last night big Ed did it again (see video at 3:13) when, during an interview with Laura Flanders, Ed was slammed Speaker Boehner for his comment: "The United States has a moral obligation to stand with the Libyans" , even as he stands idly by and does NOTHING for the 99ers.
Finally, Rhonda Taylor of Rhode Island - prolific 99er advocate extraordinaire has created a data base for 99ers. The purpose of this is to have a way to contact as many of those in the 99er Nation for protests and gives her a geographical "map" of sorts so she will know how many busses will be needed and from what locations for the big Washington 99er convergence planned for this Spring.
Rhonda has proven herself trustworthy and since she will be administering the 99er Data Base - I have already registered and suggest all unemployed Americans do the same. We are all 99ers. Some of us are the 99ers of yesterday, others the 99ers of today and the rest of the unemployed are the 99ers of tomorrow. Don't wait for it to happen to you. Register now here.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
In their most recent Press release today, U-Cubed tells a far more reality based version of the American Jobless fiasco than our own government has recently reported. Perhaps Washington reports the skewed, bogus UE rates to justify their refusal to do anything about the problem. The old "Washington Two-Step"= If we ignore it and say everything is fine, maybe we can fool just enough voters to avoid doing any real work and still keep our own jobs.
U-Cubed Press Release 3-22-2011: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UCubed’s Unemployment Brackets Showcase Grim Statistics
Washington, D.C., March 22, 2011 – Citing recent metropolitan unemployment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Ur Union of Unemployed (UCubed) released its updated “Marching to Madness” unemployment brackets.
The brackets are the latest installment of UCubed’s aggressive ad campaign on Facebook meant to draw attention to the national jobs crisis. Users were asked to fill out the unemployment brackets, ranking the city they believed is suffering the most. Today’s version has been filled in with actual rankings from the BLS.
“As predicted, there were an estimated 28.4 million ‘upsets’ in our unemployment bracket tournament,” said UCubed Executive Director Rick Sloan. “That’s the real number of Americans in need of a job. The real number of Americans pleading for policymakers to take action in creating a national jobs agenda that will put America back to work.
“Today, more than three years since the collapse of our economy, our nation’s leaders have yet to take bold action to address the jobs crisis. Washington’s indifference in the midst of this historical national emergency is appalling.
“The jobless want to go back to work. And they want to go back today. The time to create a national jobs agenda is now.”
Of the top 64 metropolitan areas, the city of Fresno, CA, recorded the highest unemployment rating in the “Marching to Madness” unemployment brackets with 17.2 percent! For a complete look at all the cities, click here.
Also see UCubed's ad campaign on Facebook.
Ur Union of Unemployed, or UCubed, is a community service project of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) designed to assist the millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans, and to provide them with a structure that allows them to take advantage of their growing numbers. For more information, visit Ur Union of Unemployed.
Dear UCubed Leaders & Activists:
As predicted, an estimated 28.4 million were “upset” in UCubed’s “Marching to Madness” unemployment bracket tournament. Of the top 64 metropolitan areas, the city of Fresno, CA, recorded the highest unemployment rating with a whopping 17.2 percent! Las Vegas, NV, followed with 14.9 percent.
UCubed created the unemployment brackets in a continual effort to draw attention to the national jobs crisis – and the lack of bold action on the part of our nation’s leaders in addressing this important issue. Washington’s indifference in the midst of this historical national emergency has been appalling. Today, more than three years since the collapse of our economy, millions of Americans remain in need of full-time work – yet, little has been done to create jobs.
The time to create a national jobs agenda is now. The jobless want to go back to work. And they want to go back today.
Show your support for the unemployed by clicking “Like” on UCubed's page on Facebook.
For a complete look at how your city stacked up in our “Marching to Madness” brackets, click here.
In Unity – Strength,
Rick Sloan
Executive Director
Ur Union of the Unemployed
Eight California cities made the U-Cubed March Madness Unemployment brackets, but Fresno, CA ranked #1 "Most Unemployed" City with an unemployment rate of (17.2).
From the U-Cubed website:
As predicted, there were an estimated 28.4 million “upsets” in UCubed’s “Marching to Madness” unemployment bracket tournament. Out of the top 64 metropolitan areas, the city of Fresno, CA, recorded the highest unemployment rating with a whopping 17.2 percent! Las Vegas, NV, followed with 14.9 percent.
“It makes you wonder how policy makers can simply turn a blind eye,” said UCubed Executive Director Rick Sloan. “There are millions of Americans in need of full-time work, yet nothing has been done to create jobs. The pleas of the jobless have gone unanswered.
“Washington’s indifference in the midst of this historic national emergency is appalling.”
UCubed created the “Marching to Madness” unemployment brackets in an effort to draw attention to the national jobs crisis. For a complete look at how your city stacked up, click here.
Show your support for the unemployed by clicking “Like” on UCubed’s page on Facebook.
chemicallycalm I'm surprised, Kirstie Alley did a really good job.
Twitter - 1 minute ago
MikelsMindsEye Kirstie Alley's 60??? I need to cut her a little slack...she looks great. #DWTS
ksblack Still processing Wendy Williams' performance on DWTS. Kirstie Alley was HOT!
Twitter - seconds ago
