New TV Show by Zennie62's On BART and Oscar Grant

 

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On Saturday, May 2nd, my new television show starts. It's called "The Blog Report With Zennie62" and features the use of my video blogs in a weekly 30-minute format broadcast and co-produced by CoLoursTV in Denver and on Channel 9407 nationwide on the DISH Network, but it's on Comcast in Florida, and Fox and Insight cable systems. The start time is 3:30 PM Pacific Time, 6:30 PM Eastern Time and the show is replayed at 11:30 PM and 2:30 PM respecfully.

If you don't have a TV you can see the live stream at CoLoursTV.org. or Zennie62.com

This first show focused on selected events that occured after the shooting of Oscar Grant by BART Officer Johannes Mesherle on New Year's Day. It opens with my walk through a riot-ravaged downtown Oakland where I talked with many people about what happened, including a group of kids who were some of the rioters and that was eye-opening. Then we focus on the words of "DaveyD", America's foremost hiphop reporter and voice of the street, who shares his observations of how Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums handled the situation. And finally we hear from Mayor Dellums himself. This is not the last time I will visit this issue, but it's a good place to start the show.

The standard format is to present politics, news, sports, and tech in some combination for each show. Sometimes it's me talking about an issue; other times it's me talking to someone else, and with this show we will feature the work of other video-bloggers. It's a vloggers' playground.

The show will have a deliberate vlogger feel. Videos that you see on my channels at YouTube, Blip.tv, and other places make up the show. There's no studio; the camcorder is the star instrument. That means we can go anywhere at anytime and quickly make a video. It also means I can share what's happening in the news on the blogsphere in video form and show it on "The Blog Report". A lot of ground we can cover considering I never dreamed of having my own television show, but this whole road I've taken has been totally unplanned by me.

"The Blog Report" all started last year when I met Art Thomas who's the Executive Vice President with CoLoursTV at a media walk-through for the Democratic National Convention in Denver. He lived in Oakland before moving to Denver and so we had a lot to talk about. I was looking for a sponsor for our show at the time, so I sent a proposal to Thomas. That exchange turned into an idea for placing our videos on CoLoursTV and that became the concept called "The Blog Report With Zennie62".

Our first concern was how to get the videos up on television without a loss of at least the quality that is seen on Blip.tv and Viddler, which have the sharpest video uploads (that written, I love YouTube and the quality's really improved over time such that it's competitive with the two, but YouTube's best system is the website design and its "viral" nature as well as The YouTube Partner program.) I think we solved that problem and I understand the TV version looks even better than what you're going to see here.

I look forward to your feedback and questions. We're seeking sponsors and there are some organizations we simply want to establish strategic partnerships with, so please contact me. The possibilities for this are many and should serve as an example for a possble future for newspapers as well.

If you're a video-blogger located anywhere in the World and have material that's not longer than 4 minutes tops, notify me via email at zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com and we'll go from there. I prefer the video is already uploaded on some site, Brightcove, Blip.tv, YouTube, etc, so I can see it.

I wish to thank Art Thomas, Damon Purdy, and Tracy Winchester of CoLours TV, as well as Steve and Bernard and Michaa who made me look good in the promo. I also wish to thank Google / YouTube for their support and encouragement and specifically Chad, Emily, and Hunter. A big loud shot-out to the iReport team at CNN: Lila, Henry, Rachel, David, Nicole Saldi, and the rest. And thanks to the team at CNN Special Projects, Errol and Jessica, and to Roland Martin and his staff at CNN for discovering me.

Finally, thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle for seeing the value in how I do what I'm doing and providing a platform. To the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell, Greg Aiello, and Frank Supovitz ("Mr. Super Bowl"). And thanks to my good friends Beth Schnitzer, Randy Gordon, Bill Boyd, Lars Frykman, Dana Santa Cruz, Phil Tagami, Ted Tagami, Chris De Benedetti, Molly Fuller, and at WISE and others (And you know who you are!) and to Bill Chackhes who's my New York connection and taught me all the Yiddish I know! To Michael Bean and Will Glass-Hussain at Forio Business Simulations for just being there and getting after me when I needed to be gotten after! To my political friends, Dawn, Ashley, and Tom and everyone that's not mentioned but in my heart!

Thanks to my co-founders at SBS: Dan, Mark, Lloyd, and Kristin! Thanks to the Oakland Mayor's Office, and to the Oakland Police Department. And thanks to Sierra Choi for being a good friend to crazy me. And of course, thanks to my Mom and my relatives in Oakland, Chicago and Tennessee.

With that, enjoy the show.

Oh and if you're wondering how we made the promo, here's that video:

Fox News Short Skirts: Johnny Dollar Misses The Point For My Skin

No sooner after I post a video detailing how Fox News uses sex to sell news, do I get someone who's so busy looking for something wrong they trip over themselves. Such is the case of blogger Johnny Dollar, who hilariously writes that the cable ratings I referred to were just for prime time and so my point about Fox News using sex doesn't matter.  HA!

This is one Dollar that took a dive.

The cable news ratings are daily -- got that Johnny -- daily. The data reads "same day" and that's what I was addressing. Now what does "daily" mean? Ah, morning, noon, and night.

Even though the data I quote refers to prime time, Fox News beats CNN the entire day and I argue for the same "sex based" reasons. Also, the point I was making is you can interchange the Fox anchor woman and the result is the same and has been for years. It does not matter that Linda Vester hasn't been with Fox News for a while; she was one example. In fact, that's why I used the term...former.

See, Dollar looked at me, saw that I was Black and making a video and had to find something wrong. Thus the reason he trips all over himself. I've seen it before. Such people.

Now, let's look at Fox Prime Time. Bill O'Reilly's the winner here, but hey, he's known for his overuse of young pretty blondes to work his news segments. So the process continues with the pretty women wearing low-cut blouses. See, Dollar didn't think about that, or perhaps he was so blinded by the need to "prove the Black guy wrong" that his I.Q. took a dive.  Sad.

I'm not the first to point to this process of Fox News using sex in it's production; Taylor Marsh did in 2007 and wrote:

Ratings rule and we know that the Fox channel is having a tough time these days. Their credibility is in tatters, particularly because of the way they've pimped the Iraq war. So the cheapest way to get viewers back is through gratuitous titillation. We've seen it through the wall to wall blondes and babes delivering the news, but the graphic video and interviews they air takes it to a whole new level.

Take Bill O'Reilly's sexual interview of Miss New Jersey. As a former Miss Missouri, I can tell you that this sort of interview would never have happened in a million years before Fox "News" and Bill O'Reilly. Is this a fantasy picture thing? Is it a negligee situation?

How about that, Dollar?  The sex play on Fox News goes on!  Now next time perhaps Dollar will be more balanced and fair?    I doubt it.

Oh, and for those who think I'm Gay and read Dollar's blog, get a life and a girlfriend.  Oh, and here's my video:

Stock Market Gained 700 Points This Week

Finally it seems the stock market hit bottom.  After losing value since last fall, the market gained -- in fits and starts -- 700 points.  To me, it means the market hits equilibrium where the total wealth spent in the market has matched the price level.  Now, the President's policies have not entirely taken effect, but we can say that the efforts to save key Wall Street businesses set the ground work for this recovery.  To me we're all the way there -- recovered -- when the market his 10,000 again and that can happen.

Journalist Union End Game for Chronicle Could Be Purchase: News: SFAppeal

More at SFAppeal: “As the California Media Workers Guild at the San Francisco Chronicle prepare for a ratification vote on job and compensation concessions to Hearst Corp., the union leadership is exploring potential partnerships to eventually acquire the newspaper.

"In 16 months," said Carl Hall, local Guild representative at The Chronicle, "we should be talking about buy in and not buy-outs."

In an interview Tuesday, Hall was looking past the painful week of negotiations that produced the tentative agreement on concessions that Chronicle publisher Hearst had been demanding under threat of a sale or closure of the 144-year-old paper.

"We are working on it," Hall said. "We hope to form an investor group that would be prepared to step in."”

-- Can they come up with the money, that's the question? And can they generate enough revenue to operate it -- second question. They should team up with Craigslist.

SF Chronicle Owned By Craigslist? A Possible Future

According to Real Clear Politics, The San Francisco Chronicle is one of ten newspapers in trouble.  The total list in order from "still alive" to "almost passed on" is:

10. NY Daily News
9. LA Times
8. St. Paul Pioneer Press
7. Chicago Sun-Times
6. Detroit News
5. San Francisco Chronicle
4. Miami Herald
3. Philadelphia Daily News
2. Rocky Mountain News
1. Seattle Post-Intelligencer





The San Francisco Chronicle, at number five, may cease to exist if management and union can't get together on an adjustment to the collective bargaining agreement.  (UPDATE: Seattle P-I reported close to closure).  That did happen on Monday, with Thursday of this week set as the day for a large meeting for the Chronicle Guild to ratify the agreement.  As of the making of the video, no place was secured but that was to happen today, Tuesday.  It did according to Mediaworkers.org.

The day and time of the meeting is Thursday, March 12,  5-8 p.m respectively and the place is Cyril Magnin room, Parc 55 Hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin St in San Francisco (north from the Chronicle building on Fifth Street and across Market),  and discussion will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m.  They expect to have the vote at 7:30 p.m.

The Chronicle is threatening to cut 225 or more guild positions if the union that represents journalists and other employees doesn’t meet the company’s demands, according to Mediaworkers.org.

The paper has about 500 total guild members, according to a source at the Chronicle.

If the union does agree to concessions, then the paper would cut at least 150 guild positions. The paper wants workers to give up senority rights, cut back vacation and sick leave.  So the paper lays off employees, agreement or not. 

While this is happening, people are steadily moving online to get news.  The number of people visiting newspaper Web sites in January reached a new high,  according to the Newspaper Association of America.  During that month, 74.8 million unique visitors went to newspaper Web sites, an increase of
11% year-over-year and due to the interest in the Obama Inauguration.  It is the highest number of unique users recorded since the association started tracking online industry stats in 2004.

Meanwhile, San Francisco-based social listing site Craigslist drew  26.7 million unique visitors in May 2008 alone according to Nielsen Online.  That's just over one-third the total number of new visitors for all of the newspapers in their best month in history.  Craigslist earned $81 million in 2008, $55 million in 2007, and could "easily top $200 million" with some small increase in fees.  All of this with a staff of about 20 people. 

Craiglist is a giant, dwarfing the New York Times and SFGate.com in unique visitors by a large margin claiming 60 percent of daily page view traffic in an Alexa comparison with the two sites.  Why did the SF Chronicle not copy Craigslist?

Or more to another point, is the SF Chronicle going to merge with Craiglist?  I can tell you from a good source that conversations have taken place on some kind of relationship.  Will it lead to Craigslist
buying the Chronicle is anyone's guess, but it's a possible future.


YouTube, MySpace, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Crackle, Sclipo, Viddler and Howcast

BART Shooting: Johannes Mehserle Released On $3M Bail

More at SF Gate: “(02-06) 16:48 PST DUBLIN -- Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer accused of murder in the Jan. 1 shooting death of an unarmed man on the Fruitvale Station platform in Oakland, was released this afternoon on $3 million bail, authorities said.

Mehserle, 27, posted bail at 3:45 p.m. and was released from Santa Rita Jail without incident, the Alameda County Sheriff's Department said.”

Sen. John McCain Shows Economic Stupidity, Again!

More from “The Washington Monthly”: “THE 'OLD' MCCAIN ISN'T COMING BACK.... As much as I'd like to ignore John McCain's "analysis" of the economic stimulus plan, he's not making it easy. For the last couple of weeks, he's been on all the networks, undermining the administration's plan, questioning the president's integrity, and making strange policy arguments. With no obvious Republican leader on the national stage, the media is still turning to the GOP's defeated presidential nominee.”

-- I agree with this must-read post. Senator John McCain's back to showing why he didn't win the election in the first place: a total lack of understanding of the economy and a lack of willingness to explain that he's misinformed. Yet, he's out there making stupid statement after dumb comment. Saying he fears a deficit, yet supporting billions in tax cuts, just to name one example.

Bowoto v. Chevron Is Back In Court Feb 6th 2009

Bowoto v. Chevron Is Back In U.S. 9th District Court, Northern California, San Francisco, Feb 6th 2009 and for the purpose of the plaintiffs explaining why a new trial is needed. 


The plaintiffs (Bowoto) believe that the core idea that claims Chevron acted in violation of the Alien Tort Act was not understood by the jury, but given the nature of the incident -- tresspassing by Bowoto -- it's hard for me to see how they can make that claim.

Some Democrats Among Stimulus Skeptics - Why?

More at washingtonpost.com: “President Obama, who promoted the $825 billion package at the Capitol yesterday, says the proposal serves two functions -- creating jobs and stimulating the economy in the short term, and laying the groundwork for overhauls in energy, health care and infrastructure that would be felt for decades. But some administration supporters say that while they appreciate Obama's intent, the two goals are competing with each other, and that the package could end up missing both targets.

In testimony before the House Budget Committee yesterday, Alice M. Rivlin, who was President Bill Clinton's budget director, suggested splitting the plan, implementing its immediate stimulus components now and taking more time to plan the longer-term transformative spending to make sure it is done right.”

-- What I don't get is why some Dems are waisting time in doing something to solve this problem. It's almost as if some officials are afraid to 1) take action because it 2) may work, making Obama 3) even more popular. I don't think it's just the GOP who has jealously regarding President Obama. Meanwhile the economy continues to tank.

Pfizer, Caterpillar and Home Depot Layoff 40,000 Today

More at Huff Post: “WASHINGTON — The recession is killing jobs at an alarming pace, with tens of thousands of new layoffs announced Monday by some of the biggest names in American business _ Pfizer, Caterpillar and Home Depot.

More pink slips, pay freezes and other hits are expected to slam workers in the months ahead as companies desperately look for ways to survive.

"We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg _ the big firms," said Rebecca Braeu, economist at John Hancock Financial Services. "There's certainly other firms beneath them that will lay off workers as quickly or even quicker."

Looking ahead, economists predicted a net loss of at least 2 million jobs _ possibly more _ this year even if President Barack Obama's $825 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts is enacted. Last year, the economy lost a net 2.6 million jobs, the most since 1945, though the labor force has grown significantly since then.

The unemployment rate, now at a 16-year high of 7.2 percent, could hit 10 percent or higher later this year or early next year, under some analysts' projections.”

-- And how many people do we need to have jobless before we call this a Depression?

2009 Academy Awards Nominations Annouced Today

Well, Oscar time is here. The 2009 Academy Awards take place in just one month! Forest Witaker, fresh from his appearance at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and the "We Are One" Concert, presented the nominees with Oscar President Syd Ganis. Here's the video:



But that was only part of the list. Here's the full list of nominees:

The 2009 Oscar nominees are:

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins THE VISITOR
Frank Langella FROST/NIXON
Sean Penn MILK
Brad Pitt
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Mickey Rourke THE WRESTLER

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin MILK
Robert Downey Jr. TROPIC THUNDER
Philip Seymour Hoffman DOUBT
Heath Ledger THE DARK KNIGHT
Michael Shannon REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Angelina Jolie CHANGELING
Melissa Leo FROZEN RIVER
Meryl Streep DOUBT
Kate Winslet THE READER

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams DOUBT
Penélope Cruz VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Viola Davis DOUBT
Taraji P. Henson
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Marisa Tomei THE WRESTLER

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
BOLT
KUNG FU PANDA
WALL-E

Achievement in Art Direction
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DUCHESS
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Achievement in Cinematography
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Achievement in Costume Design
AUSTRALIA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DUCHESS
MILK
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Achievement in Directing
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Documentary Feature
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE GARDEN
MAN ON WIRE
TROUBLE THE WATER

Best Documentary Short Subject
THE CONSCIENCE OF NHEM EN
THE FINAL INCH
SMILE PINKI
THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306

Achievement in Film Editing
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
FROST/NIXON
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanchee
Waltz With Bashir

Achievement in Makeup
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DEFIANCE
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
WALL-E "Down to Earth"
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE "Jai Ho"
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"O Saya"

Best Motion Picture of the Year
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
LAVATORY - LOVESTORY
OKTAPODI
PRESTO
THIS WAY UP

Best Live Action Short Film
AUF DER STRECKE (ON THE LINE)
MANON ON THE ASPHALT
NEW BOY
THE PIG
SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)

Achievement in Sound Editing
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Achievement in Sound Mixing
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Achievement in Visual Effects
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN

Adapted Screenplay
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DOUBT
FROST/NIXON
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Original Screenplay
FROZEN RIVER
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MILK
WALL-E

Now comes the hard part. Predictions. But event then, my question is this: are you going to watch the Oscars? Let me know!

Chelsea Lately - Why Is The Show Funny To You?

Ok. I'm not getting the humor of the TV show Chelsea Lately. Why is it funny? What is it that makes it entertaining? I'm not getting it. Tell me. what is it?

Circuit City liquidation Plan Approved by Judge

More at SFGate.com: “A bankruptcy judge says Circuit City Stores Inc. can liquidate its remaining 567 U.S. stores.

Circuit City needed approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens (HIN-a-kins) to begin to put itself out of business. It sought a buyout deal, but one could not be reached.”

HOWIE MANDEL LEAVES HOSPITAL, PLANS RETURN TO WORK - New York Post

More at New York Post: “A publicist for Howie Mandel says he's out of the hospital and plans to return to work Wednesday.

Mandel was in Toronto taping his new show "Howie Do It!" when he was taken to the hospital for an irregular heartbeat Monday, said Lewis Kay, publicist for the 53-year-old comedian and game show host.

Mandel was conscious and breathing when police officers responded to a report of a man with a medical condition at a downtown hotel Monday evening. Family members went with him to St. Michael's Hospital, police said.”

Carol Bartz: Former Autodesk CEO Bartz to head Yahoo

More at SFGate.com: “(01-13) 12:17 PST SUNNYVALE -- Yahoo Inc. plans to name former Autodesk CEO Carol Bartz as its new chief executive, according to a published report, ending a two-month high-profile search for the struggling Internet giant.

She will replace Jerry Yang, Yahoo's co-founder, according to a Wall Street Journal article published online today. Yang said in November that he would step down after 17 months at the helm.

Yahoo declined to comment. Autodesk said it had no information. Bartz could not be reached.”

Golden Globe ratings: worst since '96 - LA Observed

More at LA Observed : “Americans who watch TV don't watch the Golden Globes any more, even if the newspapers, blogs and celebrity cable channels continue to insist they are a big thing. An average of 14.6 million viewers nationwide tuned in over three hours, down 26% from two years ago in the 18-49 niche and the worst audience since NBC took over. The Globes's did a little better than "Desperate Housewives" and "24," but only a little better — and "24" is on Fox.”

Zennie Abraham Takes On CNN's Ali Velshi On Economic Stimulus

For me this was a ton of fun to do. But it's even better when someone takes time to let folks know you did a great job. Such was the case with the CNN iReport and CNN.com, who contacted me regarding my question for CNN's Ali Velshi on what he thought of giving $3,500 to each American taxpayer under $100,000.

Here's the video:



This is what CNN iReport's Rachel8 wrote:

Would you go head-to-head with CNN's top economic expert on an economic stimulus plan? How about live on the air?

Fearless iReport superstar Zennie Abraham did. After submitting an iReport suggesting a taxpayer stimulus package, he discussed his plan with CNN chief business correspondent Ali Velshi on CNN.com/live. Velshi said the plan -- which calls for a $3,500 stimulus check to those making less than $100,000 a year -- was not targeted enough to work. But Zennie courageously defended his idea.

"I disagree, with all due respect," he said to Velshi. "$3,500, particularly for college students or their parents, can help pay for their housing. For a person who's older, that could help pay their mortgage. ...You have to have time for the other aspects of President Obama's programs to work. The idea with this proposal is to buy time for those programs to kick in. I'm not saying that this is a cure-all. It works as part of a package."

And, after hearing the explanation, Velshi started to agree.

"In that context, I can understand that. If we are creating jobs, and we are helping people out with their mortgages, as an added extra, that could work," he said.

Nicely done, Zennie! You really held your own

.

Thanks Rachel! It was a lot of fun and I hope I get the chance to do something like that, again.

BART Meeting on Oakland Shooting Sunday Jan 11 2 PM to 4 PM

I was just informed today, Saturday evening January 10th, 2009, that BART is holding a "community meeting" on Sunday, January 11th, which is tommorrow, from 2 PM to 4 PM at 101 Eighth Street, the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter in Oakland, off Lake Merritt BART. More at Oakland Focus Blog.

Senator Harry Reid: ‘I don’t work for Obama’

More at TheHill.com: “Democrats must be “very, very careful” to avoid overreaching and will not rubber-stamp President-elect Obama’s policies, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday.

In an interview with The Hill, Reid said it is essential for Obama and congressional Democrats to work closely with Republicans in the new Congress. He added that 2009 is very different from 1993, the last time Democrats controlled both Congress and the White House.

Back then, Reid said, Democrats had controlled the House for decades and behaved as though the opposition did not exist. This time around, their recent stint in the minority would give them a commitment to bipartisanship.

“Even though we’re one short of 60 [senators in the Democratic Conference], I don’t want to ever have to depend on cloture,” Reid said. “We may have to do that, but it will be with the support of a few Republicans.”

Reid, who lambasted the GOP-led Congress for being a rubber stamp for President Bush, indicated that he will not bow to the Obama administration.

Reid stated, “I don't believe in the executive power trumping everything... I believe in our Constitution, three separate but equal branches of government.”

“If Obama steps over the bounds, I will tell him. … I do not work for Barack Obama. I work with him,” he said.”

Obama says trillion-dollar deficits may last years

More at SFGate.com: “President-elect Barack Obama says the nation probably faces huge deficits for years to come, but heavy spending is needed now to spur the economy.

Obama said Tuesday the deficit appears on track to hit $1 trillion soon. Speaking to reporters after meeting with top economic aides, Obama said: "Potentially we've got trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working on."”