An Open Letter to the Tea Party members of Congress

Later on today as many as 90 men and women backed by you will be among the 435 members of the 112th Congress that are sworn in.. There has been a lot of speculation as to what the Tea Party will do and how your influence and potential power will be respected. Almost everyone agrees the shift in power with Nancy Pelosi stepping down and John Boehner stepping in as Speaker of the House, is due to the enthusiasm you all touched off in people.

As an acknowledgement to that influence for the first time, the Constitution will be read. As I understand it will take more than an hour and a half and the point of reading it is so that everyone in the chambers, the country and for that matter the entire world, is reminded exactly what sort of principles we as a country should ideally be embracing.

I have a couple of questions about this reading and your next actions as members of Congress. The first involves the 4th amendment around the issue of search and seizures and our collective protections from them..The amendment reads as follows:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and Warrants shall not be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Now as you all are aware over the past few years surveillance on the American people is an at an all time high. Some of this has been a result of so-called ‘War on Drugs‘ and in more recent days the ‘War on Terror‘. We went from a nation that prided itself on having a right to privacy to one where police can stop you at any time under the loosely interpreted ‘suspicion of illegal activity‘.

For example, in places like New York City under their infamous Stop and Frisk policy anywhere from 300 thousand to more than half a million people stopped each year in New York with the police looking for guns. Very few are found, but there are high numbers of lower level summons issued.We recently come to find that New York police are under pressure to meet a quota. 20 summons is the equivalent to one arrest.

In cities like Oakland, LA and Chicago we see the government has created far-reachinggang injunctions. If it’s done thing to stop criminal activity. I think we can all agree to that, but what many of these cities are doing is establishing gang data bases.

Many of the people entered into the database are young men and women who live in high crime neighborhoods but have no gang affiliations. How they wind up being placed in the database is the police will stop many under that pesky little ‘reasonable suspicion‘ clause and then look for literally anything to associate them with a gang.

It could be they have a red, blue, purple etc backpack or jersey from a school that happens to have the same color or initials favored by a gang. They could’ve had their hats worn backwards or they were observed saying ‘hello’ to a family member or friend who is a suspected gang member. The police observe this sort of activity and the next thing you know the person they’re profiling winds up in the gang database. Once this happens, that person is subjected to all sorts of unwarranted surveillance, stop and frisk measures and even civil lawsuits.

This is all happening more often than not, without due process or the person’s knowledge they were even added to the database. Years later if that person is pulled over for a minor traffic violation, the officer punches in their name and voila, suddenly they’re viewed as a gang member.

Recently a new law was enacted in states like California which allows the police to confiscate and search our cell phones or computers to seek additional evidence in the form of text messages and emails to qualify their suspicions.

Does this sound fair? Does this sound reasonable?

Now what I described is going on in many urban areas, but I’m sure these search and seizure tactics, are manifesting themselves in other areas, probably in the form of warrantless wiretapping and are being applied to ‘suspected’ groups of varied backgrounds.

I know earlier this year while at the Netroots convention in Las Vegas I attended a panel discussion that focused on increased government surveillance. I was shocked to hear about recent reports that had come out identifying the top three targets for profiling and monitoring were Muslims with Middle Eastern Backgrounds, students at historically Black colleges and Ron Paul supporters are considered Constitutionalists. This was discussed at length at the netroots convention and I know its been discussed in other circles.

As the constitution is being read today, will you in the Tea Party be looking to put an end to all this government surveillance of innocent people? Will you be fighting to put an end to to intrusive policies like stop and frisk, warrantless wiretaps, no knock warrants and all this government monitoring on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter?

As members of the Tea Party we understand that you are all about making sure we have Due Process. This is outlined in the 5th Amendment which reads as follows:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

As you are probably aware the past few years we’ve seen government violate this amendment on all sorts of grounds. In recent days we’ve seen the Department of Homeland Security shut down websites without due process. Popular websites like Onsmash.com and RapGodfathers.com were shut down on the suspicion of copyright infringement.

The owners say they are innocent but that didn’t seem to matter to DHS. What was most disturbing there was no warrant, no letter inquiring about so-called infringement or whether or not the site owners had permission to post particular material. In fact with RapGodfathers they didn’t post material, but instead pointed links to sites where music was hosted.

There was no discussion or place to appeal the shut downs. There was no letter issued asking sites to remove material. Similar fate was met with 80 other sites also shut down by DHS. These sites were shut down completely along with years worth of robust discussions and exchanges on message boards and a wealth of information in the form of articles and reviews submitted by visitors to the sites. Where was the due process for those who posted up writings and material to a site. What laws did they break?

These sites were suspected of copyright infringement and for those who respect the law that may seem like an open and shut case, but as those who love the constitution we all know that due process is paramount and a precedent should not be set by allowing increased government encroachment. Today its the rap sites, but tomorrow it could any of our own sites if we don’t do proper attributions to quotes from newspaper article or if a visitor to our message boards post up a copyrighted picture.

It wasn’t to long ago Tea Party backed candidate Sharon Angle found herself the subject of lawsuitfor posting up an article from a local newspaper about herself. Although it was a private entity that sued her and not the government, there was suspicion that the government was behind it. In addition, no letters were written requesting she remove material,she was dragged into court.

Angle is high profile but thousands of others have been hit with similar fate.

Will this sort of activity be vigoriously opposed by the 90 Tea Party backed members in congress?

Lastly I read this morning that Congressman Darrell Issa, who is set to lead the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has written to over 150 corporations asking what sort of regulations they need lifted. Is this something the Tea Party supports?

Maybe I’m cynical but last year we saw 29 miners get killed in West Virginia with the company Massey being cited as one that routinely scoffed the few regulations already in place. In fact they are cited as having the worse record in US mining history.

In San Bruno California, 6 people were killed and entire neighborhood destroyed because of faulty gas pipe that was supposed to be repaired by PG&E. At first we thought it was an unfortunate accident, but came to find out PG&E had increased rates in 2007 to justify the 5 million dollars which they had on hand needed repair faulty pipes including the one that exploded which was deemed by them to be one of the most at risk.

PG&E never did the work instead they spent 46 million dollars on Prop 16 this past summer to prevent other gas companies from coming into the area and being contracted by local municipalities. The people of California rejected PG&E’s proposition.

We won’t even speak about the negligence that led to the explosion and repair efforts around the BP Gulf Oil Spill.

All in all we hope you in the Tea Party who railed against the government clamping down on our freedoms will step up and make sure the government backs off some of these egregious intrusions. At the same time we hope that you are wary of powerful forces and corporations that have access to lawmakers like yourself and have used their money, resources and influence to literally put elected officials in their back pocket. An unchecked corporation can be just as oppressive as an unchecked government and from what I gathered y’all should be opposed that as well or are you? We look forward to seeing how you will reform Washington or if Washington will reform you.

peace out for now

Davey D

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Maine Adjunct Professors Are More Than Just Cash Cows

Maine Adjunct Professors Are More Than Just Cash Cows
By: Nikky Raney

After taking a long drag off his cigarette Ralph Parks gets into his car and closes the door. "Welcome to my office," he says with a smirk on his face.

Parks is an adjunct professor for the fourth year at New England School of Communications (NESCom) as well as University of Maine, Husson University, and Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC).

"I deliver the same quality and the same amount of work, but the [full time] faculty get to leave the building at night and not have to take all their stuff back home with them," Parks says.

An adjunct professor is a part-time professor who is hired on a semester by semester basis instead of being hired as a full on faculty member. More and more schools are hiring adjunct professors rather than full time faculty because they are flexible and cheaper. Most adjuncts are able to create their own syllabus and are able to choose how they teach the courses.

Ben Haskell, Academic Dean at NESCom, is in charge of hiring adjuncts for the core classes and oversees whom department heads chose to hire for adjunct faculty.

"This school was built on dedication, loyalty and abilities of our adjunct teachers. We have had adjuncts here since 1981," Haskell says.

Haskell explains the difference between the majority NESCom's adjuncts in comparison with the adjuncts at schools in the nation.

"Most of our adjuncts are specialists in the field; they have a career in what they teach." He continues, "These adjunct teachers are able to help students get a better sense of what the career they are aspiring to is really like in the real world."

An adjunct who fits Haskell's description of being a specialist in the field perfectly is Katy England.

England has been an adjunct at NESCom for three years and teaches Web Reporting during the spring semester. England may be better known as the Editor in Chief of The Maine Edge, the free weekly entertainment based news publication for the greater Bangor area. In addition to this she also has a blog called "Maine Blues" which keeps up to date with the crime and punishment in Maine.

"With my position it's perfect and fits into my schedule." England continues, "I feel like I bring something new to the table. I like the contact with the students as opposed to just talking with the same peers. I like looking at things with fresh eyes, and students are always keeping me on my toes."

Alicia Strusa, NESCom senior, took England's Web Reporting course in the Spring 2010 semester and thinks that England's experience makes her the perfect teacher:

"[England] fits in with the NESCom staff, and I think her teaching skills definitely prove that she is the right person to take on classes that deal with web reporting. It's the wave of the future, and I think she's well equipped to manage a class like that."

Department heads are responsible for hiring adjuncts that fit into their specific concentration.

Nancy Roberts, Director of Marketing Communications Program at NESCom, currently advises several adjuncts; she is the only full time faculty member in Marketing Communications. She believes that adjuncts are "extremely valuable members" of the NESCom community.

"I have the authority to hire and fire. I choose per semester and in October I start planning for the next semester and talking to instructors. I meet once a semester to see how things are going," Roberts explains.

The student evaluations really contribute to how the adjunct is viewed, and starting next year it has been discussed having a department head or administration sit in on one of the classes to see how things are going within the classroom.

Roberts finds adjuncts through applications submitted as well as people that she knows in the field who may seem like a perfect match for a course, like adjunct Susan Kaye who teaches a marketing course as well as Interpersonal Communications.

"I look at classes and determine curriculum and look at a set skill experience. I knew Susan from when I worked at an ad agency and I knew that she taught at the University of Maine so I offered her the opportunity to teach a course. Susan is also able to get students in her class internships at her place of work," Roberts says.

Kaye is teaching at NESCom for her third semester, and although she may be working for Roberts she sees it differently:

"When you're an adjunct you work for the students."

Ericka Yorke, NESCom junior, speaks fondly of Kaye, "I had susan as a teacher for my Advertising 2 class and I must say she is one of the best teachers at NESCom I have ever had."

Anne O'Reilly is an adjunct who was once working specialized within the field of journalism, but now she teaches several courses per semester at NESCom as well as other schools in the area. O'Reilly has been a loyal adjunct for a long time, and was once full time faculty at University of Maine.

"Back in 1988 I worked at channel 5. Another adjunct at NESCom had just felt and I was offered to teach a course in Writing for Media." O'Reilly elaborates, "I have been working here since 1988 when the school was still New England School of Broadcasting. The tv programs were put on in the gym and The Spectator (the campus paper at Husson) was part of the curriculum. Now I am teaching English Comp, every journalism class, writing for all sorts of media, etc."

Christian Wagner and Alex Downing have both been students of O'Reilly and they agree that she has such experience that she can share with her students and really prepare them for their careers.

O'Reilly is one teacher who may fall into the category of "full-time adjunct." A phrase that NESCom adjunct Ed Rice uses to describe what he and other adjuncts, such as Ralph Parks, have become.

The adjuncts who do not have careers on the side spend their time teaching multiple classes at multiple schools. Adjuncts primarily teach more classes than full time faculty, since they teach at a variety of schools, but without having a career on the side the disadvantages to being an adjunct are far more noticeable.

"I am 63 and teaching all he way until retirement with no retirement benefits."

Rice explains that adjuncts are paid per credit per hour equally for all classes. Rice has been a NESCom adjunct for four years, but before teaching he was a very active journalist in the field and he is considered to still be a specialist as he teaches Reporting and Writing for Print, Feature Writing and Editorial & Column Writing at NESCom; he has also taught courses at Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC), University of Maine, Husson and University College Bangor (UCB).

Rice was once a full time faculty member at the University of Maine in Orono before his decision to become a full time adjunct.

"I wasn't really planning on being a full time teacher. I liked 'moonlighting' using my Master's Degree to teach one evening class a term and have extra money for skiing and fun stuff. Then I closed two newspaper offices and decided I should go to option two and try to teach full time."

He would have died and gone to heaven if NESCom ever asked him to become a full time faculty member, but he doesn't see that happening:

"All of us here are taken advantage of the longer we have been here. They think 'he's been here so long why make him full time? He'll just keep coming back as an adjunct.' All of us want to teach full time positions, because we get to teach fewer class and are paid more and receive benefits."

Parks would also jump at the opportunity to be a full-time faculty member at NESCom:

"If the opportunity arose I'd grab at it. In the spring I teach four classes, but without benefits. At the university four classes is considered full time."

Recently, Rice had a hip replacement; if it wasn't for UCB's six year valued instructor's healthcare he would be "paying out of pocket" for the rest of his life. He notes that teachers in Maine do have the best health care in the state of Maine.

"There are benefits given to an incompetent full-time person while I'm scrambling to pay my dental insurance," he says. "Maybe the country will get over itself and get universal healthcare."

Besides the lack of healthcare adjuncts also aren't always guaranteed to teach the class they expect.

"If a full time teacher is a course with not enough students signed up, but an adjunct has a course that is filled with students the full time faculty is able to teach the course that the adjunct was originally signed up to teach," Rice explains.

Rice tells that most of the adjuncts are chosen to teach "100 level courses" which are the courses that all students are required to take. Teachers desire to teach the 300-400 level courses, but that is a luxury that is given out mostly to the full time faculty. Rice has started to refuse to teach English Composition classes, which is a 100 level course.

"I get paid far too little money to spend so much time per paper, on my own time, to do the proper grading required, the fair grading any student deserves. I don't want to cheat students, nor do I want to feel like a total 'victim' myself. Spending hour after hour in grading and making a small fraction of what the full-time [faculty] receive for doing the exact same job."

Rice feels very strongly that full-time faculty and adjuncts should be treated more as equals:

"[I am] working just as hard as the full time folks, probably harder having to do the 100-level classes that full timers can't be bothered with, for they want more mature students and upper level electives." He continues, "Plus not getting any benefits or vacation pay. It really stinks when a couple of good adjuncts actually help with a school's reputation yet are treated shabbily, treated like outright Second Class Citizens."

Since adjuncts are only paid for the time spent teaching all the time spent grading papers and doing work regarding courses outside of the classroom are not taken into account. This also means that over the summer they are not given any payment.

"I squirrel away money during the spring semester to save for over the summer," Rice confesses.

Another disadvantage is not being able to be there for the students as readily and easily as full time faculty members. NESCom recently created a mini office just for adjuncts, but Parks laughs that he'd "rather meet with students in his car."

"I work at several different place and I am not checking my e-mail every day on every single site. I check my personal e-mail on a regular basis, but that is not an address that I will give out to students," Parks admits.

The full-time adjuncts truly love teaching students and have passion to teach, or else they would try to find jobs elsewhere with security benefits. Rice even divulges that at EMCC the adjuncts are paid less than $100 a week once taxes are taken out. He knows that this is not just a problem in Maine, but an issue that is of concern in schools all over the country."

Justin Chamberlain, NESCom sophomore, took Ed Rice's Reporting and Writing for Print course and believes that it would not have been as fulfilling had anyone else taught it:

"I feel that I learned a lot from Ed's class. He's clearly an experienced teacher with great qualifications. It is his experience in the field that I really think gives him a good platform to teach from. I really enjoy his class, and I trust that every time I go to that class I'll learn something new."

The ideal situation, according to Rice, would be for the pay system to change so that the more years a teacher has taught the more the pay is raised.

"Adjuncts as a group do it because they like it. We don't make enough to be doing it just for the money," Parks says.

Some students did not even realize what adjuncts were. Zackary Childs, NEScom junior, stared with confusion and asked, "What is the difference between an adjunct and a regular?"

Once Childs was caught up he quickly saw that being an adjunct was had benefits:

"Adjuncts have a broad palette of students from different schools - the full time faculty are pigeon-holed. The faculty can't up and teach at other colleges, but adjuncts can teach every where and shop around."

Heather Megill, NESCom junior, is a strong advocate for the rights of adjuncts. She believes the biggest disadvantage to being an adjunct is "the lack of recognition for all they do. They teach a lot of difficult courses and have to balance other part time work at other schools."

"I would like to see adjunct professors receive adequate compensation for all tier hard work. if the school ever considers remodeling the first thing they should think about is adding more offices for adjuncts." She continues, "It has a negative impact on the students if there's no quiet place for them to meet with the professors. Adjuncts have the broad wealth of knowledge college students need to be well-rounded individuals."

Paul Wolfe, NESCom senior, has had great experiences with radio adjuncts, but acknowledges that not all adjuncts live up to the same standards.:

"There are some adjuncts who are not prepared to teach NESCom students and their teaching methods are pretty bad. Some of the adjuncts are not qualified. I know a couple of adjuncts who have questionable approaches, but there is a great faculty to help assist."

Parks recognizes that what truly matters is the quality of education the students are receiving:

"I believe what's really important is when students leave the class and feel like they truly have learned something. I don't care if they don't agree with me, I want students to be able to express their thoughts. I love my time in the classroom and the level of casualness I have with my students."

There is a need for an adjunct union. Higher Education online features an article written by Keith Hoeller, the co-founder of the Washington Part-Time Faculty Association. Within his article from December 9, 2010 he writes:

"Imagine if the civil rights movement had been led by white people, or the women's movement had been led by men, or the gay movement had been led by heterosexuals. Of course any social movement for the oppressed needs allies, but where would these movements be today if their primary leaders had not come from the oppressed class?"

Although his example may be a bit extreme he goes into specifics:

"There is a serious legal issue at the heart of the academic labor movement. Unions have long fought to avoid employers setting up and running their own labor unions. And federal labor law forbids "employer-dominated unions" in the private sector. But the three faculty unions have numerous chapters where adjunct faculty are in the same unions with the tenured faculty who serve as their direct supervisors. Everyone knows that people are loath to bite the hand that feeds them, even more so when that hand is protected by tenure. In their 100 years of existence, the NEA, AFT, and AAUP have failed to negotiate meaningful job security for nearly all of their adjuncts. Their monomaniacal devotion to tenure as an all-or-nothing idea has caused them to fail to seriously develop other forms of job security for adjuncts. Even now, in the midst of the Great Recession, with the wholesale massacre of thousands of adjunct faculty, the three unions are focused on protecting and increasing the number of tenured faculty."

The adjuncts who teach on the side are able to benefit in ways that the adjuncts who have made teaching their full time job are not. The majority of classes that students take are taught by adjuncts so it would make sense for the adjuncts who have chosen to dedicate their time to making this their full time career to be able to get the same benefits as those who are lucky enough to be hired as full time faculty.


Article originally written for Ed Rice's Print Writing & Reporting Class.. (received an A)
Originally posted at the Future of Journalism

Hannah Storm and Adam Schefter not high-fiving Mangini getting fired

Really, ESPN's Hannah Storm and Adam Schefter were not high-fiving Cleveland Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini getting fired, but when it happened: during their telecast. I've met Adam - at the 2007 NFL Draft - and he doesn't strike me as a person who would do that. He's not paid as a columnist, which, if he were, would be appropriate behavior. He's paid to just report the NFL football news.

Hanna Storm I've not met at all. But she's also not a columnist - she's paid to be a reporter. They did clarify on the air that they were not gloating over Eric's fate.

Still, thanks to a posting over at Yahoo Sports, the video's gone viral. Hopefully, it doesn't cost either Hanna or Adam in any way.

CES 2011 Notables: OnStar, Muve Music, Bodymedia, House Of Marley

CES 2011 Venetian Hotel - As this is written, I'm sitting on the carpet outside the just completed OnStar Press Conference, or better known as the "2001 Room" because with all of the minimalist decor and track lights, it looked like it could have worked for the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Instead it presented OnStar's new aftermarket rear-view mirror replacement, which contains its famous emergency response system, and push-button calling, all built it to it. But the best news is that you don't have to buy a GM car to have OnStar, hence the term "aftermarket."

But that wasn't even the coolest product this blogger's seen so far. While there's a lot of show left, Muve Music, Bodymedia, and House Of Marley were product that, in my view, hit the cool bell.

I just edited the video on the products, and it's to come Wednesday, but to note, Muve Music is billed as the first unlimited talk, text, web, and music service. For $55 a month you can, in one touch, get unlimited music on your smartphone, regardless of platform and over its 3G Network. I think the pricing is a bit high for its 18-to-30 target market, but Cricket, the company behind Muve Music, thinks it's going to move. Time will tell.

Bodymedia.com is a kind of biofeedback mobile app that is a "all in one calorie counter, activity tracking Armband, and sleep monitoring system that makes losing weight easy," they contend. Given it's apparent ease of use, I can see where their claims just may be the case. I can see doctors, personal trainers, and wellness specialists incorporating Bodymedia into their plans for clients.

Finally, House Of Marley is a specially designed family of music listening products created by the family of the legendary Bob Marley. The products are eco-friendly, and Rohan Marley, Mr. Marley's son, explained that a percentage of the revenue goes to their foundation One Love. House Of Marley is an effort to bring the music and ideas and culture of Mr. Marley to a generation that's not so familiar with him.

My Butt Hurts

Ok, now, my butt hurts after sitting on this floor, so I'm going to get up.  Hey, I've been on two prop planes and a long layover in Fresno before I got here.  Then I got into the hotel, and got out to CES.  I'm hungry.

Stay tuned for more from CES Las Vegas - follow me on Twitter.

Brett Favre: Facing Sexual Harassment Law Suit

Brett Favre is facing a lawsuit for the sexual harassment of Christina Scavo and Shannon O'Toole.  Christina Scavo and Shannon O'Tool both worked as Massage Therapists, for the New York, Jets.

Christina Scavo stated that she received texts from Bret Favre saying “Kinda lonely tonight, I guess I have bad intentions." and “Brett here, you and Crissy want to get together, I’m all alone.” 


After reporting the incident Christina Scavo and Shannon O'Toole weren't offered work with the Jets again.  


Earlier this week Brett Favre was fined 50,000 dollars by the NFL for not cooperating in the sexual harassment case involving Jenn Sterger where he allegedly sent pictures of his penis to the sideline reporter for the Jets.  


John Bobst aka The Force of Nature


Check out my blog at www.theforceofnature.net

CES 2011 Las Vegas: Qik and Zennie62

Another quick note as this blogger waits for the Vegas flight from Fresno to start and on to CES. The Qik.com mobile video platform will be widely used during my CES Las Vegas trip. The channel is, of course, Zennie62, and the videos upload from Qik to Zennie62 at YouTube.com as well.

If you've never heard of Qik, it allows you to send a near-realtime mobile video to your channel. It's not a live stream like USTREAM.Tv, but so close in its real-action to video-action upload time gap, it's almost as effective.

What's neat about Qik on the Samsung Galaxy Android Smartphone I use, is that a special app allows for one-touch mobile video making. It's quite an addictive process; the full power of which I've not tested until this trip.

My Qik videos will go to Zennie62.com, and Zennie62 YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. So, follow it all at Zennie62.com.

Oh, why not use YouTube mobile? Good question.

The video quality is much better, but some larger videos just don't upload to YouTube from my Samsung phone. They sit in the que and then sit. Some are still there.   At least the ones I did not delete. I have to keep any video made in that way below 20 seconds long.

By contrast, the Qik-first, then-to-YouTube posting process is much faster - what you'd expect.

San Francisco News: Public Defender Jeff Adachi To Be Sworn In Wednesday

(Catching up on blogging while waiting for a Fresno to Vegas flight to CES and after my first trip from SFO on a prop jet!)

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi will be sworn in to his third term as public defender on Wednesday at 8:15 AM, according to a press release.

Mr. Adachi will be "made official," if you will, by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Don Mitchell. Jeff has served the City and County of San Francisco since 2001.

The ceremony will be held at the Third Floor Conference Room, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, 555 Seventh Street, San Francisco, Ca.

Remember, that's at 8:15 AM, not PM.

Congratulations, Jeff!

Bill Erwin from 'Seinfeld' Dies

The Los Angeles Times reports that Bill Erwin, actor from 'Seinfeld,' 'Growing Pains,' 'Who's the Boss?,' 'The Twilight Zone' and 'Golden Girls,' died last Wednesday; however the news was not made public until today, January 4, 2011.

Erwin died from age-related causes in his home in Studio, California.

He will be remembered for his many roles as an actor as well as his Emmy nomination in 1993 for his role on 'Seinfeld' playing a grumpy old man named Sid Fields.

Erwin was 96 when he died.

Chevron Ecuador: NY Times Buries Case Bias

Lawyer Steve Donziger and other plaintiff's who filed the so-called environmental damage lawsuit against Chevron appear to have help from some in the print media. According to Julia A. Seymour of the Business and Media Institute, the New York Times joined Crude movie director Joe Berlinger in his effort to be excused from giving over 500 hours of outtakes from the film to Chevron lawyers.

In an article on the Chevron Ecuador issue, the NY Times John Schwartz and Dave Itzkoff wrote "Floyd Abrams, an expert in First Amendment law who wrote a brief fighting the demand for the outtakes by Chevron on behalf of journalism organizations, including The New York Times, said that regardless of how revealing the clips were, the court's broad order was mistaken."

That sentence appears in a paragraph 24 levels down in the article. Buried.

And, as Seymour points out, and has been noted here, the tapes were more than revealing. The tapes were damaging to Steve Donziger's case, and effectively call his motives into question, as well as revealing the case itself to be a fraud.

The main stream American media has not looked into the strength of the evidence Donziger has presented (none), or the efforts Ecuador has made to nationalize its oil production, kicking out American firms from Ecuador in the process.

Stay tuned.

2011 New Years Resolutions - Have Sex, Gain I.Q. Points, Lose Weight

At the Balboa Cafe in San Francisco's Marina District on New Year's Eve, a number of patrons shared their new year's resolutions. Some of them interesting and serious.

Others.

Well, there was this one couple where the guy wanted me to record his resolution on video: to have sex with "this girl" before he returned to New York. Her New Year's Resolution? To gain I.Q. points.

In fact, that segment was so funny, I created a separate video from it:



Finally, at the Brickyard, Ashley shares her New Year's best wishes and a kiss for everyone. Hey, she grabbed the camcorder from me and went for it.

Not bad:

Pixar's Kim Donovan Finds, Returns Zennie's Flip Video Camcorder

I lost my Flip Video Camcorder over the weekend, and a person emailed me to report they found it. The person who did so was Kim Donovan, who just happens to manage Pixar's exhibits around the World. (Pixar is the producer of excellent movies like Toy Story 3, and the Toy Story movie series.)

Oh. Yes, her work does includes the exhibit at The Oakland Museum, and you'd better hurry up and see it because this Saturday's it's last day there!

But this is a huge thank you to Kim, who not only found it and called me, but cleaned it up as I'd dropped it out of my jacket pocket, and put new batteries in it. Pixar certainly knows how to pick the right people to represent it.

Oh, and I gave her a good bottle of wine and my SF Giants 2010 NLCS Hat. I figured it would be worth something now and down the road!

Thanks Kim!!

Well, off to CES.  Follow me at Twitter.com.

Orange Bowl: Stanford Destroys Virginia Tech 40 To 12, Ends Fluke Season

Stanford Legend and friend Michael Dotterer sent a text one hour before tonight's Orange Bowl game, reading "GO CARDINAL," so I gave him a call. Dotterer, one of only 24 decorated two sport athletes in Stanford's Hall of Fame, asked me to predict the score of the game. "40 to 10, Cardinal," was my response.

Stanford won 40 to 12, under a 4-touchdown performance by Quarterback Andrew Luck.

As I write this, Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh's accepting the Orange Bowl trophy. "Hairball," as some Cal Old Blues call him, deserves it. Also, really, and all kidding aside, let's tip our hats to the Stanford Athletics program, which, in an age when athletes as often wind up in a police report as that do on a stats sheet, have produced a number of true student-athletes, who've performed amazingly of late.

Stanford's Women's Basketball Team halts UCONN's 90-game win streak last week. Stanford Football goes 12 wins and 1 loss and wins the Orange Bowl, just four years after a 1 and 11 season, a coach named Buddy Teavens, and constant Big Game losses to Cal.

Jim Harbaugh, for all of his quirks and fits, turned around the Stanford Cardinal Football program.

Harbaugh Should Stay Put

Yes, Harbaugh's talked about as an NFL head coaching candidate, as well as a replacement for Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriquez. But Jim Harbaugh should keep his tail on the farm.

And here's why.

For all of his success this year, the question I have is if he can get Stanford to 12 and 1, why not stick around and aim directly for a BCS National Championship? In other words, right now, this Stanford Football season was a fluke.

Yep. A fluke.

No one, not even Stanford, expected this kind of performance from The Cardinal. It seemed Stanford was blowing opponents out almost every week, and for the most part those margins of victory were unexpected. That element of shock at how good Stanford Football was remained to the Big Game, until the most lopsided win in Big Game history 48 to 14 made even Cal fans like myself realize this Cardinal squad was something special.

But look, the year before the Cardinal was 8 and 4, and Cal walked into Stanford Stadium, and walked out with a major Big Game win. So, it was a good year for Stanford, but not a great year like this one.

But can they sustain it? To me, this will be the fluke season (there's that word again), unless Jim Harbaugh sets his mind to 2011 on the farm.

If Jim's as good a coach as he thinks he is, he'll come back and coach another year, setting his sights on a BCS National Championship for the Stanford Cardinal.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Inauguration: Mayor Jean Quan Gives Epic Speech

Oakland, CA - I will have the video up later today, but Oakland Mayor Jean Quan gave an epic 20 minute speech, calling for a renewed sprit of volunterism, and a "children-first" policy focus. It was a speech that was better delivered than I expected and with a compassion and care that will come to mark Quan's term as Mayor of Oakland.

More later.

99ers Contemplate Fresh New Attack Strategy for 2011

Even as the rumors of the improving economy abound, the 99ers begin to contemplate fresh new attack strategy for 2011.

It is clear that what we did last year laid the ground work for our 2011 platform, but I am not of the mind that we should limit our participation to fax attacks, emails and phone calls to Washington. I believe there is strength in numbers and as our numbers sadly grow (according to Rant/Rave "The 99ers are growing by 35,000 people per week and it will continue to do so in 2011") , so does our political clout.

Personally, I believe that a 2 pronged attack in addition to the fax attacks, emails phone calls to Washington and joining free advocacy groups like U-Cubed is imperative and must be implemented with a vengeance.

WE NEED to fight Washington indifference to the plight and massive suffering of the 99er Nation with BAD PRESS and BIG PROTESTS! We need to push away the shame of being in the untenable situation of long term unemployment and the resulting poverty and take to the streets. We must be an ever visible force in the home offices of every member of Congress with great regularity and the Press by our side at every turn. We need to think and act outside the box!

I have read the 4 part story/plan All247News Unemployment & 99er's touted by Mike White (co-founder of American 99ers Union) and Michael Colliss and I for one am NOT impressed. But I have provided the link here for you to read and decide for yourselves.

Those who suggest we do the faxing, calling, tweet and email thing forget we tried that all last year beginning last Spring. This is the problem with that: The May Day Fax Attack that I spearheaded in MAY 2010 which lasted 15 days - that is exactly what we did. We faxed hundreds of thousands of our resumes - rejection letters, personal stories , late notices etc! to Washington and NOTHING except the laughter from our Speaker Pelosi at her weekly briefing May 29, 2010!

I have always loved the line in Fatal Attraction that Glen Close has - “I will not be ignored!” Well it is time we get out and be seen so we remain the #1 topic in the news until we 99ers get the help denied us thus far!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR for this: ATTENTION Rhode Islanders:
What: Free Community Dinner Sponsored by Senator Whitehouse

When: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 6 p.m.

Where: Portuguese Social Club 131 School Street, Pawtucket

This free community dinner is open to the public. Please feel free to bring your family and friends. If you would like to RSVP, or would like additional information, please visit our website a http://whitehouse.senate.gov/services/dinners, call 401-453-5294, or e-mail rsvp_whitehouse@whitehouse.senate.gov RSVPs are encouraged, but not required.

Positive signs from New York’s New Governor:

Naomi Cohn, National Unemployment Examiner for Examiner.com, in her recent article NY's new governor refers to 99ers, unemployment extension, and jobs wrote - In his inaugural address yesterday, New York's new governor Andrew Cuomo said that jobs are his number one priority and that he is particularly concerned about those unemployed who have exhausted all available benefits -- the 99ers.

This is more affirmation to the 99er Nation that 2011 we will NOT be ignored or swept aside, under the carpet or otherwise neglected. Stay tuned for more! We are just beginning to heat up this fight.

[The donation button below is for me, Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

Oakland Inauguration: Larry Reid Is Council President, Desley Brooks Is Oakland's Vice Mayor

Oakland, CA - Vice Mayor. Ignacio asks to recognize Councilmember Desley Brooks as Vice Mayor of The Oakland City Council. Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid (District 7) is now elected President of The Oakland City Council.

In his remarks, Larry thanked the elected officials new and incumbent, and said Oakland is one of America's most incredible cities.

Larry kind of got after Sanjiv for criticizing the city and said that over the next five years, Oakland would evolve into something special.

Ignacio nominated to hissing from some in the crowd. And here comes Sanjiv with a bunch of speaker cards which mean's he's going to talk for a while. He noted that the election of Reid and Brooks to President and Vice Mayor was four years too late. And he then said the problem was that Oakland's problem was City Hall.

Sanjiv pointed out that, even in this Council session, the public, which was to speak first, was not allowed to do so. He then says that Oakland has 658 police officers, and failed to use its additional income to help solve the problem. He now says "no more Mr. Nice Guy," and is going to go to court against them.

He then points to Prop 59, and a City Ordinance written by, John Russo, and then kind of gets personal with attacks on bloggers (not me), to the point where, as I write this, people are screaming for him to stop talking. President Reid said his time expired.

Election of President Pro-Tem was done. Here comes Sanjiv, again. But Gloria Bryant's going to talk on the open forum before he does.

Now, he comes Sanjiv.  He's pissed that he was cut off.  Hissing from all around.  Sanjiv, mockingly, says all of the people hissing will have their hands out for help and get nothing from the council.

After all that, metting's over.  Oakland Symphony's leader, Michael Morgan, who's moderated this event and excellently, takes us out.

Oakland Inauguration: Jean Quan Libby Schaaf and Pat Kernighan Take Office - Part 1

Oakland, CA: Live From The Fox - Today's a special day in the City of Oakland, because Jean Quan, formerly District 4 Councilmember, then the (to some) surprising new Mayor-Elect of Oakland after beating front-runner Don Perata thanks to Ranked Choice Voting, today becomes Mayor of Oakland.

Quan started the day with a walk from Chinatown through Oakland, and ending at the Fox Theater, where we are for the inauguration ceremonies. She held an inpromptu "thank you" chat with supporters and onlookers in front of the Fox, and was joined by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson.

Sandre, a protege of former Congressman and now outgoing Mayor Ron Dellums, issued what in retrospect, was the first sign that Dellums wasn't going to run for reelection: he announced his support for Quan. Moreover, Sandre's support for Jean never wavered. Now, today, he looks like a proud papa, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Libby Schaaf, Pat Kernighan, Courtney Ruby, and Desley Brooks Take Office

Today's also the day my long-time friend Libby Schaaf, who I said should run for Mayor, ran for City Council, and won in a landslide. She's now the new councilmember for District 4 (Oakland Hills - Montclair), replacing Quan.

With all this, Libby's still new to Oaklanders. I had to get the Fox Theater usher to let her in without a ticket, explaining Libby was one of his new representatives and she was about to be sworn in. That problem won't last for long.  Libby's going to make a big name for herself.

Pat Kernighan, the incumbent District 2 Councilmember (Chinatown - Lake Merritt) also won big over her challenger Jen Pae. For a while, it looked like Jen might upset Pat, but Councilmember Kernighan's vast set of long-established relationships formed a base that was hard to overcome.

Courtney Ruby, the incumbent City Auditor, also won over a chalenge from Michael Killian. Moreover, Killian's focus on auditing issues at CEDA, the Community and Economic Development Agency of Oakland, may have caused her to release her study on CEDA loans and fiscal reporting. One that Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim took offense to.

Desley Brooks won her 3rd term as Oakland's District 6 Councilmember and it was well deserved. While she has her critics, there are few elected officials who work harder than she.

The Ceremony: Some Highlights

Right now, Oakland School Board member Chris Dobbins is doing his best Sarah Palin impersonation, even to the point of bring up his entire family, "from Wasila, Alaska," he said.

And now we have Sanjiv Handa,long time journalist and City Council "whip, if you will, giving a speech to the Council. He is starting a new precendent. There are 100s and 1,000s of PTA's that are doing the things the city used to do, he says. Who ever is elected can revisit the basic purpose of government interaction: every aspect of public business must be discussed on public. He also wants an extension of time for speakers.

Handa was making good points, but is now putting the crowd on edge with some hissing, as he recounts his version of what now Governor Jerry Brown did to Oakland's School system while he was mayor.  That's not something Gary Yee cares about; today, he's the new President of The Board of The Oakland Unified School District.   He says that the Oakland School Districtis on the right path and is on a mission to graduate every student.  Yee also says we have a long way to go.

Fox Theater Attendance OK

With all of this, you'd think the Fox Theater would be filled to the brim, but no.  Even in the lower level area, there are empty seats.

Stay turned for Part Two.

George Clooney: why do some men remain bachelors? 7 common reasons. By Dr. Christina Villarreal

Hollywood's most iconic bachelor George Clooney (and two time winner of People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive) is often cited as a 'success story' by high achieving, adult men who choose bachelorhood over marriage. Unlike in past decades, society has become far more accepting of men who remain bachelors. Modern day bachelors are frequently financially successful who have adopted an enjoyable lifestyle on their own, dining in singles-scene restaurants or cooking artfully for one, forgoing family style vacations for jaunts to sexually hedonistic cities like Miami, Rio, or Vegas, indulging in expensive and/or time consuming sports like golf, sailing, or tri-athalon training, and of course, finding time to pursue a wide variety of women for company. While a modern day bachelor may dream of the exceptional woman who could excite and inspire him to forgo all of this, in the meantime, there is no shortage of modern, single women willing to gratify his sexual needs, perhaps hoping to be the one to convert him to marital devotion.

In my professional opinion as a clinical psychologist, I don't see anything wrong with men who feel that a life-long commitment to the same person isn't right for them. Many people lead rich and fulfilling lives having never married. Staying single is a viable choice for people who feel this way, and absolutely the right choice for those that feel marriage would cause them unhappiness. Over the course of providing therapy to men, and discussing this matter extensively with current day bachelors, I have developed an understanding of common reasons why some remain bachelors.

A common myth of the modern day bachelor is that none of them have an interest in committed long-term relationships. Some bachelors believe that they want a committed relationship/marriage ('one day' as many will explain), and can cite a host of reasons why they continue to be single. The central dilemma for these men often lies in the avoidance of hypocrisy. Meaning, while a stable, intimate relationship has it's benefits, the desire for sexual variety and freedom is often greater, so these men feel forced to choose. So the question is, why do some men choose bachelorhood over a committed relationship? These reasons vary greatly in my professional opinion. As Clooney himself has insinuated, relationships are very hard work, and bachelorhood is a strategy to avoid the emotional work necessary for a healthy committed relationship. George Clooney quotes:

"I was in a bar and I said to a friend, `You know, we've become those 40-year-old guys we used to look at and say, `isn't it sad?"

"The holidays are the toughest time for me. I just try to get through them. Being a bachelor has it's rough spots."

"We'd get into a fight and I'd just mentally leave. I'd think, 'In a relationship, we should never have his kind of fight.' Then, instead of figuring out how to make it work, I looked for a way to get out of it. The truth is, you shouldn't be married if your that kind of person."


7 Common reasons bachelors forgo committed relationships and marriage:

1. Emotions and relationships aren't always logical. A healthy marriage requires the ability to experience and manage strong emotions while problem solving. While many men are quite successful at problem-solving and managing conflicts in their work roles and male friendships, they find that intimate relationships do not always follow the same logical path to resolution. These men often develop a disdain for personal relationships that do not feel 'logical' because they feel confused and unsuccessful at managing them.

2. Sexual boredom. Some bachelors fear the time when they can no longer confirm their virility through sexual conquests. When a man's self-esteem is closely tied to accruing new sexual encounters, he is bound to feel a tremendous blow to his ego if he cannot pursue the 'emotional high' that is often associated with winning a new woman's affection as evidence that he's still 'got it'.

3. Perceived loss of freedom and control. Many bachelors feel they can't fully be themselves unless they remain unattached to a woman, who they believe will undoubtedly try to control him. Even compromise that is essential to any healthy relationship can feel like a loss of power when a bachelor anticipates a 'take over' from the woman he's dating. Others grow weary of taking on responsibilities for anyone other than themselves (i.e. the old ball and chain.) Bachelors find support for their fears by pointing to married men who have far less time for male-centered activities, and can no longer make financial decisions that only benefit themselves.

4. Avoidance of marital disasters. To estimate his chances of marital success a bachelor often looks to his family and married friends as a prediction of his future. He will often zero in on examples of marital failure- married men who feel compelled to cheat, others who abandoned their children, or married couples who argue and fight over everything. Rather than subject himself to experience these marital disasters with someone he genuinely cares for, he rationalizes that remaining single is a much safer bet.

5. Absence of healthy marriage in childhood. Many bachelors cite an absent father or father-figure in their childhood as a reason for not developing the skills necessary to contribute to a healthy marriage. Others witnessed a father who was repeatedly unfaithful and unhappy in his marital life. These bachelors feel that without a good model to draw from, they are destined to become part of an inevitable, familial chain of marital failure.

6. Difficulty balancing professional goals with marriage. It's not uncommon for men to wait until they've achieved some level of occupational stability and success before choosing to settle down with a partner. Yet some men fear that a marriage and/or family will directly hinder them from making the career strides they envision for themselves (i.e. 'the workaholic'), and have difficulty accepting that it is possible to have both simultaneously.

7. Misogynistic or devaluing beliefs towards women. In my professional experience, a subset of bachelors share an ideology that women are inherently inferior to men, and aren't worthy of a man's commitment. Their beliefs prevent them from having enough respect for women to engage in a loving, committed relationship. They tend to view all women as opportunistic "gold diggers" who are incapable of contributing meaningfully to a man's life. The origins of their disrespect may come from dysfunctional relationships with their own mother, who they may have experienced as negligent, unloving, overly dependent on an abusive man, or otherwise poor caregivers.

Can bachelors like George Clooney be reformed? (women around the world are holding their breath as they read below)

Many bachelors will wait to until they're old, bald, and/or grey and in need of a nurse before considering giving up their bachelorhood status- typically when the benefits of bachelorhood are no longer in reach (unless they're the Hugh Hefner sort, and can buy a young woman's company). Others will choose to bite the bullet and do it earlier so that they're not constantly mistaken for their girlfriend's grandfather.

However there IS hope! Psychotherapy with a trained mental health professional such as myself can often help men overcome their commitment fears of marriage. How does this work? A good therapist will gently extract a detailed family and dating history, in order to pinpoint precisely when and how the running dialogue in a man's mind became "I'm better suited to bachelorhood. I need variety more than intimacy. I'm not cut out for married life." Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a highly effective clinical road map for treatment, if a healthy, committed relationship is the desired outcome. And when I say commitment, I don't mean just to a woman/partner, but to himself. A commitment to giving himself the opportunity to experience and receive deep intimacy, trust, acceptance of imperfection of yourself and another person, and most obviously, love.

This articles was written by Dr. Christina Villarreal, a licensed clinical psychologist based in the Bay Area, CA. For professional questions or referrals you may contact her directly at christina.villarreal@gmail.com or visit her website at www.drchristinavillarreal.com

CES 2011 Las Vegas - Zennie62 Will Be There

Happy New Year, everyone! CES 2011, the annual Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas is this week, and Zennie62.com, and me, Zennie Abraham will be there as a registered blogger (well, video-blogger, really). The focus for this video-blogger is a segment called "Digital Hollywood."

Digital Hollywood is, at once, a set of meetings of industry leaders in movies, television, computers, electronics and the Internet, and a focus on how Hollywood can use and is using the emerging technologies and practices. The three-year-old 3D Entertainment Summit, held in Universal City,CA last September is essentially the same approach, but Digital Hollywood is older and much broader in scope.

Because of this, Digital Hollywood has grown in size, has events in several cities, and represents 13 different sessions at CES, and on everything from "ad network hypertargeting," to "multi-platform distribution," and Internet video. Zennie62.com will feature video interviews, photos, and Twitter tweets every day from CES Las Vegas, starting this Tuesday.

If you have any CES-related tips, email me at zennie@zennie62.com .

Panda Cow Comes From Gene Manipulation

Huffington Post

In Northern Colorado Chris Jessen bred Ben, a "panda cow," strictly for the purpose of being kept as a pet. Jessen claims that the "panda calves" can sell for $30 thousand, according to the Charlotte Observe Online.

The report includes that Farmer Jessen bred Ben from a mother Lowline Angus Cow. The panda cow has circles of white and black around its body.

A 99ers Year in Review - 2010

A 99ers Year in Review for 2010 is a painful experience for many Jobless Americans. Most Unemployment Exhaustees (whether or not they received the full 99 weeks) are taking stock of 2010. Like most the rest of the world (except America’s Richest citizens), they (99ers) are praying 2011 will bring better times, not just more of the same agony and desperation.

More of the fight for survival, employment and help from Washington DC may well be the 2011 reality just the same. One thing we have as this year begins that we did not have 1 year ago = the attention of some media and politicians to the Fact we Need help now.

I for one applaud the anticipated stance from the Obama Administration, to focus on Jobs. Jobs, Jobs but they should have focused on that 2 years ago instead of a HCR bill that will not fully take effect for another 3 years still. It is Washington DC’s failure to triage and inexcusable indifference toward the large scale suffering within the 99er Nation that has millions on the brink of complete financial collapse NOW - TODAY!

Mr. Obama, it is not that we failed to tell you at every turn how badly we needed your help - as 10 months or more now without UI benefits has many in your voter base bitter, angry, hungry and homeless. You are the man in charge! You were not listening! You have waited far too long and now a great portion of the 99er Nation, even if they had a job offer tomorrow - couldn’t pull together enough money for transportation to and from that job in order to hang on until their first paycheck.

Jobs are what we want, but how are we supposed to hang on and survive until those jobs trickle down to us in the form of reality instead of just more rhetoric?

Had you listened to the 99er Nation, we would not be in the HELL we are in and have been for nearly 1 full year! Had you listened to the cries of you hurting American public, instead of trying to make nice with the GOPigs at every turn, you wouldn’t have suffered such a humiliating Democratic mid-term last year.

Your newly presented (via Gibbs) idea to focus on Jobs for the 99ers comes as much too little, much too late to save those whom you swore before God and Country to protect and serve.

Just incase you missed it, here are just a few of the ways the 99er Nation struggled to get the attention to this Social Holocaust which was necessary to receive the humanitarian aid USA would give to any other country in need (but with lightening speed as you would not ignore a foreign country for nearly a year). Also I have listed only a few of the most egregious indignities suffered by 99ers at the hands of those in Washington whose help we greatly needed.

Early 2010, anticipating the growing need to extend UI benefits, the US House of Representatives introduced H.R.4213 - Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010, sponsored by Charlie Rangle (D-NY).

On March 10, 2010 this bill passed the House and was submitted to the Senate, wheremany hundreds of bills go to die in recent years. I received a phone call from my sister congratulating me on this huge victory.... until I told her that it was not yet law and when it did become so, it would NOT extend UI benefits - ONLY the dates for the millions of newly unemployed to file.

I became so steamed about this falsehood being represented to the public that I recorded my first video an uploaded it to YouTube, in the hope that I could somehow educate the public as to this horrible and potentially devastating oversight by Congress to leave out the UI exhaustees from this “so Called” UI extension as time was running out for all.
Tier 5 to SURVIVE.mov

Then Congress took a 2 week vacation (the only thing they seemed able to unanimously get passed the entire 111th Congress and Many Many times during last year) for Easter this time - leaving the longest term unemployed - now fully without benefits for the most part - and thus my next video: ODE to WASHINGTON a poignant little Easter break poem (in the style of Twas the Night Before Christmas) meant to slam Congress for their lack of urgency to help the true UI exhaustees - as well as the more recent unemployed Americans.

Then in the usual short-sightedness of Washington, led to yet another bill which put a band-aid on the American 99ers' amputated limb: HR 4851. . [From Forgotten jobless fight to be heard, survive]

On April 15th Mr. Obama signed into law HR 4851 a temporary extension of filing dates for unemployment benefits and related matters. The measure extends jobless aid through June 2. Democrats, anxious about high unemployment in an election year, are working on separate legislation to extend benefits through the end of the year. Obama urged them to do so and said, in a statement: "In these tough economic times, it is more critical than ever to bring relief to Americans who are working every day to find a job, and families that are struggling to make ends meet."

Hmmmm Mr. President. HCR had already passed, so exactly what is your excuse for not following through with tangible results for the Jobless who needed your help the most? Why each and every time did you stop at rhetoric only? I didn’t notice you twisting any arms in Congress to help the 99ers all last year like you did last month to get the Tax Breaks for the wealthiest 3% of Americans...you know the ones who create jobs - OVERSEAS!!!!

This was the first of nearly three hundred 2010 articles and blog post From Paladinette AKA LaDona King which attempted to inform America, rally the troops of 99ers into action and shame Congress for their inaction on behalf of millions of hurting Jobless and their families - within the 99er ranks.

April 2010 was also when I began the first BlogTalkRadio show dedicated exclusively to “the stories of the unemployed, benefit extensions, Washington inaction to help the jobless millions, the out of control US unemployment rate and what Congress is not doing to help us.” Or better known as Jobless Talk.

That same month I surprised my rather "computer illiterate" self by successfully creating a website designed for the purpose of informing the masses, shaming those who would slam the jobless and a platform from which to launch campaigns the Unemployed could participate in to effect CHANGE in Washington. (like the May Day Fax Attack, twitter marches, callin, email etc) Jobless Unite. Almost immediately the Wall Of Shame became legendary - feared by Politicians and even some in the blogosphere. Now there is not enough space on the internet to even list all of those worthy of placement on the Wall of SHAME let alone enough time to update that page

The site had nearly 350K visitors in less than 3 months. My only regret is that NO MATTER WHAT WE DID - and we tried everything we could think of short of taking hostages - NOTHING seemed to get us the Tier 5 so desperately needed by millions. However I do not consider this a failure by any means by the 99er Nation nor do I take it personally. I simply remain committed to the cause and intend to keep on trying/fighting until we succeed!

...But I digress..... Who can forget Pelosi actually Laughing at our efforts to reach out in mass to those in Congress/Media that had the power to leverage the help we needed? Pelosi laughs at 99ers struggling without benefits - unemployed want apology for callous cackle

Our biggest break for the media attention needed to reach MainStream America came via Ed Schultz in May 2010. Throughout the entire rest of last year, (even as the world could do little more than focus on a gaping hole spewing oil into the Golf of Mexico) Ed was the media man leading the charge on behalf of the 99er Nation and has pledged to continue to fight for us now in 2011. Ed Schultz of MSNBC vows to stay on the 99ers' story until help arrives

Who could possibly forget the complete debacle with WNV over being ripped off to the tune of more than $1100.00 for Grone (owner of WNV) to have a trip to DC on the 99ers dime to deliver a petition that fell as flat on Harry Reid as possible. What a waste of time and money.

Also in June (after yet another long vacation in Congress) 5 Senators joined forces to introduce a stand-alone UI Benefits bill S. 3520: Unemployment Insurance Extension Act of 2010. Again the 99ers were excluded. We appealed to our patron saint (or so it appeared) Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) But it was too tough of a fight for the old gal apparently.

The House had their own version of that bill (it might behoove those Congress Critters to just KEEP IT SIMPLE rather than wasting time and effort on multiple bills that go nowhere at all - hint hint) Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act HR 5618 which passed July 10, 2010 by a vote of 270 to 153 - nearly 6 weeks after UI benefits had been cut off for the more recently unemployed Americans.

We got letters hand delivered to the President in June and September but for all the good that did we should have written to Santa.

In August we marched on Wall Street , had to defend ourselves against the ignotant rants of Glenn Beck and Rush. We got more empty promises from Stabenow and others to attempt to extort our votes under false pretenses and even more vacation time for Congress. (Q - Do these jerks even know the meaning of a hard day’s work? ANS: Hell NO they don't)

Then came more "dog and pony shows" from the Senate , No Help From NELP or the AFL-CIO. We held Rallies, Pleaded for Sanity/Fear - held an embarrassing Mid-Term election , then more time off for Congress and even more neglect

We were given tips and survival advice from Fox News “99ers - eat your own” .
99ers have tried social media, videos and more videos (there must be more than 300K unemployment related YouTube videos alone) There were National Candlelight Vigils for 99ers ...but wait there’s more: The Obama Bend over & the BIG lie about a 13 month UI extension and America STILL does NOT get it - that extending the dates to file for UI WILL NOT HELP the 99ers - PERIOD!

Next Whoo Hoo somebody in Washington actually has a heart and some "stones" to back that up... The CBC (congressional Black Caucus) stands up to demand 99ers be included in the Tax Breaks for the rich bill, but then they sit down.... Bernie filibusters in vain ,

Gibbs reveals the White House cares nothing for the urgent dire straights 99ers find themselves in.

Obama trades the very survival of the 99er Nation for getting his Tax giveaways done then escapes to Hawaii. While he did so, I took to altering lyrics for a 99ers Santa Baby rendition that had Twitter buzzing and hopefully 99ers smiling at least for a short while. And just when you think there is no time left in the year for yet another humiliation of distain from Washington... then to really rub the salt into the wound - Obama wants to send us a thank you card for being such suckers and scapegoats to boot.... But I passed on that offer - telling him through Joe (Biden not the plumber guy) "Keep your worthless Thank You Card."

I for one am ready to begin the fight anew starting Monday January 3, 2011 with renewed vigor and we have many things going for us already. The 99ers are more visible to the world now. We are no longer Washington's Dirty little secret!

We have CNN and MSNBC getting the truth out there. We found a theme song (every important cause needs a battle cry and that Tier 5 to Survive - though still valid was wearing thin) Bon Jovi's "Work for the Working Man"

We are a force to be reckoned with politically and an Administration embarrassment to be resolved ASAP.

I am ready, willing and able to take this fight up several notches so who is with me?

[The donation button below is for me, Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]