Zennie's Gold Card Song A Hit On CNN and iReport

On Saturday I for some reason as I was showering started thinking about the song "The Sound of Silence" and then how my friend Russo has a tendency to sing these songs with a weird voice, so then I was thinking of a submission to the iReport on what I've given up to save money, and that led to my American Express Gold Card which I'd stopped using. I had all of those thoughts in one minute of shower time, then I started thinking about the lyrics to the song.

See, American Express, or AMEX, is trying to go back to its old business model where you as a card holder never had a balance, you just paid what you owed each month. So it's sacking the balance-holding accounts regardless of whether you paid on time or not. My account wasn't "sacked" but I had seen first the establishment of a credit limit then decreases in that limit which caused AMEX to ask for more money for no logical reason -- to me. So I figured why keep using it? Save money.

Thus the song.

Goodbye Gold Card my old friend! We've seen good-eats on the high-end..
People tell me AMEX has crashed. People say their credit is
smashed. But I'll tell you, that's not going to happen to me; I'll
set you free. And use, my cash! Well, ok and my PayPal and gift
cards, and other things.

And this YouTube video:



Which I also uploaded at iReport here:



And that version was seen over 69,000 times in one day because CNN elected to post it at CNN.com and well it went from 25 views to 15,000, to 69,000! But I didn't know it was going to be on television and that happened Sunday as I was in the gym. And then I've gotten facebook messages from people and texts and phone calls, so I figured I should share the video and lyrics for anyone who wanted to sing a silly song. I've got another song somewhere in me, but it works better when it's not forced out into the open!

Deputy Paul Schene Shown Kicking Black 15-Year Old Teen Girl

From the AP:

Surveillance video released in an assault case against a King County, Wash. sheriff's deputy shows him kicking a young girl, slamming her to the jail cell floor and striking her repeatedly. The deputy has pleaded not guilty in case

This is racist and terrible. She's a 15-year old girl. Deputy Paul Schene apparently claimed she kicked a shoe but the tape does not show that. Another "Oscar Grant" example of a cop acting out of racist intent. We must punish officers who behave this way with jail time of their own. She is defenseless and did nothing wrong.

Google 2009 "Brands" Search Focus Hurts Bloggers

A month ago, Google made a decision to focus on "brands" such that in searches for companies or public figures like former Oakland City Manger Robert Bobb, blogs don't come up but major websites do, which hurts Blogs and bloggers. More on this soon.

Goodbye AMEX Gold Card (For Now) - Zennie62

Goodbye Gold Card my old friend! We've seen good-eats on the high-end.. People tell me AMEX has crashed. People say their credit is smashed. But I'll tell you, that's not going to happen to me; I'll set you free. And use, my cash!

Pres. Obama Address to Congress Tuesday, February 24th - Video

Pres. Obama addresses the nation before a joint session of Congress. In his speech focusing on the economy and the promotion of his economic agenda. This CSPAN video captures the full 53 minutes of the best speech ever.

Obama Plans to End Iraq Combat Missions by August 2010

More at NYTimes.com: “CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — President Obama declared Friday that the United States has now “begun the work of ending this war” in Iraq as he announced the withdrawal of most American forces by the summer of next year while leaving behind as many as 50,000 troops for more limited missions.”

MYTH BUSTED: No Increase to Business Taxes, even for Joe the Plumber

Why are pro-business Republicans among the critics suggesting Obama's proposal includes a tax hit on people who run the small businesses that those same Republicans always insist drive job growth in the USA? Are they worried about the Joe-the-Plumber scale businesses? If so, it's already been documented that neither Joe nor his boss earned enough to be hit by the new taxes, and so they'd likely see a tax reduction. Don't forget, for these purposes "small business" includes up to 500 employees.

It's a curious thing - but to actually gross the $250,000 that represents the threshold for the tax increase is not common for small business owners. I know - I was one. I created jobs, I had more staff than my predecessor had in the same business, and I paid for health coverage for my full time staff (my part-timers had coverage through other sources) and even though the business moved a lot of cash through my bank, I didn't come close to grossing 6 figures. Many small business owners actually earn less than their best paid employees do, and that's even more true today that it was 10 years ago.

According to the Associated Press, an independent analysis estimated that just over 75% of all U.S. households would qualify for Obama's proposed tax credit for workers.

Did you know that there are over 3 times as many businesses in the USA without any employees as there are with employees? That's right, many professionals in partnerships, sole proprietorships, some S-Corps, and many who "organize" themselves as a for tax reasons as a business earn little or no taxable income from their business. So sure, some of those folks who are very successful and are technically small businesses on paper will end up paying more taxes - if their accountants can't figure out how to structure the cash flow to keep their paycheck under $21,000/month.

But the GOP has been campaigning for years - and often winning - based on accusing the Democrats of being the party of tax and spend. So even though that old familiar attack didn't work during the general election in 2008 their messaging gurus apparently don't have another theme ready. And that means we're going to hear about the mythical "drag on the economic engine of small business job creation" until the GOP finds somebody that makes for better coverage than former Massachusetts Governor Romney, or current Governors such as Palin, Pawlenty, and Jindal.

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Schwarzenegger Says Reporter Says "Wacky Things"

This is a classic video on Gov. Schwarzenegger 's personality.

Stevie Wonder presented with Gershwin Award by President Obama

This was an amazing ceremony for a man that too was part of my childhood -- Stevie Wonder. His music has expanded in the digital age to shape our culture and yet people like President Obama and myself can say we were there when "Stevie" was born. Wow.

Diddit: A Social Network To-Do List For You

More at TechCrunch.com: “Diddit, a new site launching today to the public, is looking to help you check off all the things you’ve done with your life, and discover new things that you’d like to do. The site allows users to browse through thousands of activities in categories ranging from the bars you’ve visited to “Bizarre Retro Candies” you’ve eaten at one time or another. ”

-- I just joined, but I'm not sure what its value is -- perhaps as another form of networking?

The irony of hope: Obama's not relying on it

To confront the most profound challenges to our financial system the people of the United States have invested their hope in a former lawyer turned community activist, Barack Obama. In his address to the U.S. Congress, watched by much of the nation Tuesday night, Obama offered an insight into what's been happening inside his administration during the first month he's been in office, but it's clear the work began well prior to inauguration day on a wide range of initiatives.

You may argue that the cost of the Iraq war leaves us too far in debt to attain his ambitious goal of halving the national budget deficit in four years, or that the need for money to help homeowners and those losing their jobs is too urgent and will hamper his ability to attain those goals - and that's far from the only challenge the White House faces domestically, let alone on the stage of world affairs.

Still, we must reverse the unacceptable trends in the housing markets and the massive bleeding of the jobs from the workforce in the United States. We cannot simply wait and hope it gets better. Our long range future depends on a realistic assessment of the scope and scale of the problems and addressing not merely the budget deficit, but the deficit that average citizens feel when considering the leadership of our financial institutions and lawmakers that brought us to this critical point.

As the President rolls out the budget today, questions about fiscal policy in particular loom from all sides about more than the numbers. We must move to a system with clearer rules and better oversight to prevent another looting of our savings and investments in ways that benefit only a very few already wealthy individuals while leaving privatized retirement accounts and home values in tatters with echoes of the crisis around the globe.

Fortunately, Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their team are neither rookies nor have they been basking in the post-inaugural glow. They've had their sleeves rolled up for months. This administration has brought new vigor and insight to a variety of issues, clearly including the domestic economic crisis. Barack Obama gave an inspirational speech, despite unseemly catcalls from some of the opposition as he described an interlocking, holistic approach that combines controlling costs, retaining/creating job opportunities, and enhancing revenue by targeting three major sectors (energy, education, and health care.)

The man who had hope as a central theme of his campaign is not relying on hope. Obama's laid out a clear foundation for recovery that moves quickly into rebuilding our economy and infrastructure in a way that accounts for our place on the planet, both physically and metaphorically. He's not overlooking the threat from disaffected individuals in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe, but Obama his team have brought new energy and creativity to ordering our priorities, in a refreshingly open way.

Obama's asking a lot of people. Even mustering the energy to remain hopeful can be hard when challenges are so ubiquitous. Like the best doctor faced with a critical patient, though, Obama's asking more of himself, though, and his staff - they're not content to hope, they're leading by example. The executive branch of the U.S. is working aggressively on all fronts, using transfusions where appropriate to keep critical systems functioning, while focusing on the goal of stabilizing the U.S. and world economy that are intertwined with our other domestic challenges so that we can heal, and back to the American dream. That's a path I can believe in.

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President Obama on the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget And Openess

More at The White House - Press Office: “In keeping with my commitment to make our government more open and transparent, this budget is an honest accounting of where we are and where we intend to go.  For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent.  Large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And that kind of dishonest accounting is not how you run your family budgets at home; it's not how your government should run its budgets, either.  We need to be honest with ourselves about what costs are being racked up -- because that's how we'll come to grips with the hard choices that lie ahead.  And there are some hard choices that lie ahead.”

-- President Obama is making good on his promise to be more open, but in the budgetary case that means more shocking news about what actually costs what. We've not -- in the Bush 2 years or Clinton -- seen a real budget that shows what the government is spending. Be ready for a shock, especially with the Iraq War. But see, that's where the savings come in because then when we see what all of this costs, the reductions will get us to a deficit drop.