On, Wisconsin!

Paul Krugman's column Sunday, Wisconsin Power Play, detailed the parallels between Cairo and Madison; he concludes that as with Mubarak the real storyline is about power. As the economy continues to struggle with the effects Wall Street deregulation induced on Main Street, the crisis of confidence in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's leadership is because his proposal would further accelerate the disturbing trend: redistribution of wealth away from the middle and lower classes.

Of course, logically the proposal flies in the face of the evidence about his spending and budget decisions, but he evidently thought he could slip that by in the current political climate. After all, as Pew research from earlier this month points out, while lots of people favor "cutting spending" when you get down to brass tacks it turns out that the vast majority like what the government is spending the money on:

So that leaves a real problem for those who campaigned on cutting the size of government: just what are people really willing to give up?

Walker's call to remove collective bargaining rights amounts to opening a new front in class warfare, and he's at the pointy end of the stick.

"...it has nothing to do with helping Wisconsin deal with its current fiscal crisis. Nor is it likely to help the state’s budget prospects even in the long run: contrary to what you may have heard, public-sector workers in Wisconsin and elsewhere are paid somewhat less than private-sector workers with comparable qualifications, so there’s not much room for further pay squeezes."

Paul Krugman, 20 Feb 2011

I feel for Governor Walker; new bosses that flex their muscles don't always understand the limits. Less than two months into his term he's learning that ascending to the executive branch doesn't come with absolute power. Voters who liked the sound of lower taxes in November apparently don't expect vague promises of "fiscal discipline" to reduce what's invested in our children's education or the support we guaranteed military veterans. Meanwhile certain of Walker's own spending increases smell of corporate welfare and backroom deals.

The Governor is losing the battle of public opinion. People in Egypt are ordering pizza for demonstrators in Madison, for crying out loud. If moderate Wisconsin Republicans can't mediate his position and broker a deal quickly, irate people in Wisconsin recalling that government bailed out banks and learning more about the Koch's support for their new Governor may just get beyond rumors they're talking about organizing a recall and actually do so -- which will make Walker's current concerns about losing face for reversing a strongly-stated position pale in comparison.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, former Congressional Campaign Manager, strategist, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community, who incidentally stands in solidarity with the citizens and workers in Wisconsin refusing to let their Governor's self-created budget "crisis" and new spending priorities be re-cast as a reason to undermine contractual obligations and collective bargaining agreements.

You can follow him as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet

Will Launch Be Just Another White Tech Guy Event?

This is the week of "Launch," a tech event designed to introduce new startups.  And another tech event that looks like it's going to be almost devoid of blacks.

If anyone black in tech wants to get a fair hearing about their company, they're going to have to do what the Indian Tech Community is doing: forming organizations and associations that, because of the involvement of Indians, provide a better place for an Indian startup to go to be evaluated.

The reason for this is events like Launch, the latest one of its kind focused on startups, just don't provide the environment for this. And looking at the players behind it, starting with Jason Calacanis, that's not going to happen. The problem with the Tech Community as a whole is that it's racially divided, yet uses a pseudo-intellectual rationale to convince itself otherwise. That is,

"Well, we take anyone who has a good idea."

A comment I've heard again and again. That's a load of bull; a good idea is in the eye of the beholder. And the organization which makes that claim is just placing itself in the role of judge when I don't recall anyone taking a formal vote to give it such a role.

To me, it's shameful to give Jason Calacanis power - as Kalimah Priforce did in a resent blog post and Twitter challenge - by asking the founder of Engadget to have more black judges at Launch.   If Jason wants to satisfy himself with forming yet another Tech event where blacks are servants, janitors, and security guards, go right ahead.

This tweet by Jason was just terrible, but honest:

Jason Jason Calacanis 

by kapriforce@ 

seriously @kapriforce, send me names of 5 qualified black judges + i will invite! i'm all about love+diversity! i lived on the b-train

10 Feb

I have no idea what the b-train is and I'm black. It's not enough to love diversity; if Jason did, he'd know who was out there that was black and in Tech.

Hell, Jason's seen me at Tech events. He's talked to me at TechCrunch Disrupt 2010 and as part of a video-interview request that did not happen, and I even tried to reach out to him for some advice regarding my company Sports Business Simulations.

With all that, Jason never got back to me. Did not give me an interview when I was working press. And then in an email basically implied that I wasn't working press. To heck with Jason and loving diversity, because from my experience his words add up to a load of crap.

I can say I love diversity just constantly being one of the few blacks at these events. But I digress.

Kalimah Priforce is right when he blogs that "Startup America needs to look more like America." But it's sad that blacks have to say that, and not whites like Jason or for that matter Rachel Sklar, who blogs and talks about the lack of women in tech, but doesn't make noise when it comes to blacks. (And as Rachel's a friend, I'm getting after her to get into gear here.  No excuses.)

In one of his Twitter tweets, Priforce calls to "Silicon Valley" and asks "where's the diversity:"

kapriforce Kalimah Priforce
Hey Silicon Valley! Where's the diversity? http://bit.ly/fuqcBB @GuyKawasaki @Jason @Scobleizer @mashable @TechCrunch
10 Feb Favorite Retweet Reply

And one of the people he calls to is Robert Scoble, the "Scobleizer." Well, Robert's a good guy (and I mean that.  He's a Mench) but I issued a challenge to him, he's yet to follow up on. I asked him to help me go out and recruit blacks to tech from places in Oakland. This was a message exchange he and I had on the Yahoo! Videobloggers Network something like seven years ago. And although we've connected a lot through the years, he turned a blind eye toward my idea.

The point is, I've been down the road that Kalimah's taking. I'm tired. I'm tired of going to events where I'm one of the few blacks in the room, yet reading and hearing about all of these blacks in tech like Kalimah. I'm tired of the attitudes, as well as the idea, held by some people, that they're just "smarter" at all things, because they were lucky enough to have their start up funded.

I'm also tired of blacks writing about how not enough of us have a degree, and so on. Look, we know that. But I've got news: a lot of us do have degrees, are whipper smart, start companies, and know programming languages.  But with all of this, we're raising black and kids of color who think someone who has a tech company and is white or Asian must be smarter than themselves.   We've got to stop that.

The problem is this: a lot of blacks don't talk or team up.   I've blogged about this matter of racial exclusion from tech events, and long before Kalimah has, and yet we both live in Oakland.

You reading that?

That's the problem.

I get the impression blacks are too concerned about what someone white will think if blacks team up. I don't think such concerns are productive and they help to maintain the overall problem. Plus, there are whites who care about this, too.  We just have to find them. This also doesn't mean I'm suggesting the formation of "Black Nation," where if you're involved interracially, that's an issue. As anyone who knows me can tell you, that's not at all my concern.

This is not personal; it's business.

I'm saying that blacks in Tech must team up and this has to be a World-wide effort. There are too many blacks all of us know - and whites and others of color know too - who are in the industry, but not being reached out to. As a buddy of mine, a brilliant "Double-E", (that's electrical engineer) who's worked for places like Bell Labs, has said "Many blacks in Tech in the South talk to each other, but not to a wider audience." So we have to go and get them.

I don't care how small the event is, we need a Black Tech Expo. But I think we'll find that, once we pull together, the event itself will grow to be rather large. Then, Jason Calacanis will be knocking on our door.

Deena: Jersey Shore's Blast in a Glass

Sorry for the lack of Jersey Shore posts - living in a new household where there cable is not readily available and wireless internet is limited it has been hard to keep up with Jersey Shore. The most recent episode from last Thursday still needs to be viewed - there will be a blog post in regards to the huge fight between Ronnie and Sammi from a couple episodes back.

MTV Image

This post is basically an analysis of the new girl, Deena. Deena seemed readily accepted since she was Snooki's friend. She always calls herself a little meatball.

The first night with Sammi it seemed a bit over the top that she called Sammi the c-word just because Sammi laughed at her.

Deena's phrase "blast in a glass" sort of sticks with her and she seems like she likes to have fun and get real crazy. In one of the after shows she was caught in a lie when she said that she was not bothered by something, but then after other cast mates badgered her a bit she admitted that she was hurt.

She seems to put up a front about not caring and that she's just an all around fun girl who does anything for attention. This includes going out with MVP and taking body shots off of other girls.

This girl seems to definitely be different from Angelina when it comes to partying, and she is quite a different character than Angelina all together. She compares herself to Snooki a lot, but Snooki (despite her erratic decisions and her jail time) seems to have a sense of logic and emotions.

Deena Nicole Cortese

Deena hooks up with Dean and acts all cutesy with him in the hot tub believing that he doesn't have a girlfriend, and the next day she pretends she doesn't care that he had a girlfriend. She goes out with him a second time and Dean tells the guys that Deena ...licked his butt... and Deena denies this completely - but honestly, what guy would make that up?

Why would any one make up something so gross like that? Honestly, a guy would not make up that that happened to him, because a guy wouldn't want to believe that happened to him.

In the last episode that was viewed where Deena and Snooki move (or attempt to move) Sammi's bed downstairs it seems like it was all a bit overdone on Deena's part. Deena seems like she wants to get the most air-time as possible since she's the new cast member and since the others in the house already know how to be themselves and that being themselves is entertaining enough for television, but Deena somehow acts as though she needs to prove "look at me!"

Well Deena, you really are proving to be a "blast in a glass," but maybe you will show your personality and actual emotion - because this glass seems to be empty.

Oakland City Attorney Appointed? Mayor Quan's Terrible Idea

Over the years and before Oakland had an elected lawyer starting in 2000, one of the main complaints was that an appointed Oakland City Attorney was too much the shill of the then-powerful Oakland City Council.  Of course, it was Oakland's mayor who made that complaint more often than others. At times, given that the Mayor couldn't trust who was talking, the lawyer or the council, the complaint was just. But all have agreed having Oakland's top lawyer at the hands of the Mayor would be equally disastrous, which is why it was not don when Oakland had the chance.

Now, with a massive turnover in institutional memory, comes newly-elected Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, pulling a fast one in suggesting Oakland have an appointed and not elected lawyer.  That can't be allowed to happen; here's why.

Mayoral Impulse And Oakland's Lawyer

I remember when, in 1997, and during the time I served as Economic Advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris, Elihu called then-Oakland City Attorney Jane Williams in for what became a blistering critique of her negotiations with the Golden State Warriors over revenue and cost payment splits at the Oakland Coliseum.  Jane may not know this, but Elihu wanted to impulsively fire her right after she left his office, and just because he was angry at the time.

How do I know?  Because I was just outside the door waiting for him to finish with her, so I could complete my meeting with him. See, the entire meeting between the two of them happened because I briefed Elihu on my displeasure with the outcome of the talks with the Warriors (I wasn't in control of the negotiations; Jane and Deena McClain, who still runs the Coliseum's legal affairs as of this writing, were).  Angry that the City of Oakland was going to pay more for stadium costs that Elihu wanted (as close to zero as possible), he got on the phone and called Jane over.  She arrived within 15 minutes.

Elihu told me to wait for him outside.  I knew what was about to happen.  After about three minutes, Elihu erupted.  You could hear Mayor Harris yelling all the way out to the Mayor's Office greeting area.  (And if you know the layout, that takes some doing.)

But with all that, Jane retained her job because she was appointed by the City Council.  Now, if Elihu indeed had the power he wanted to have at the time, Jane Williams would have been out of a job on the spot.    While Elihu's anger was more than justified, firing Jane would not have been the solution; thank God he wasn't able to do it.   But the other problem was Jane had the backing of the Oakland City Council; she wasn't able to be a truly independent agent.

Now, Mayor Quan wants the same power Elihu wanted and because she can't kick out Oakland City Attorney John Russo. Boo hoo. And it's not because John made a bad decision, but more a continuation of petty style issues that have plagued their relationship for years.  But before I continue, some backstory on why we now have an elected Oakland lawyer is in order.

When then-Oakland Mayoral Candidate Jerry Brown proposed Measure X, the initiative that changed the Oakland City Charter such that Oakland now has a "strong" Mayor and an elected City Attorney, the idea was to have a lawyer that, when it came to getting an opinion on a legal question, wasn't the tool of either the Mayor or the Oakland City Council.

Originally, Brown, now Governor of California, wanted the city's lawyer to be under him. But many on the Oakland Charter Review Committee, and Oakland elected officials, balked at the idea, saying that they couldn't trust the view of a Mayor-appointed lawyer, let alone one picked by the Oakland City Council. The result was Measure X, passed in 1998, had the provision for an elected lawyer, so when Oakland voters approved it, that position became the law of the city. Former Oakland District Two Councilmember John Russo became Oakland's first elected lawyer in 2000, and has won re-election twice since, in 2004 and in 2008.

Now, 12 years later, new Oakland Mayor Jean Quan wants to go back to the old system.  Her reasons are, to be frank, surprisingly less than one would expect from any mayor of a big city.  While Quan's complaint to some in the online press has been that she "can't get briefed" from the City Attorney - and to people who don't know Oakland's history such that they can challenge her on her comment - the reality is Quan's never liked Russo's style.

Mayor Quan has complained about Russo's office for some time, and the word's around town.  It's not that Russo has avoided briefing her - that's not true and that she would even allow the public to think that is shameful - the truth is she didn't even like the legal views he came up with.  This is also true for Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, who's made several statements in opposition to legal opinions coming from Russo's office, of course, only when the City Attorney's views differed from her own.

So the questions come: "Why doesn't Jean (Mayor Quan) like John Russo?"  Who cares?  That anyone would ask such a question is immature (that word again) in itself.  Here's some news: Mayor Quan's not supposed to like John Russo, she's supposed to work with him.

What's happened is - for a host of reasons - Oakland's City Hall has become more like high school that it's ever been in the past (the "thousands of games Elihu would refer to) and now prickly personalities and thin-skins rule the day.  And in this environment, high school-level behavior and petty jealously can impact power positions at a dangerous level.

Quan has worked to squeeze both Russo's City Attorney Office of needed revenue to maintain staff and be effective, and has done the same with the office of Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby as well.  And that was through the city's Budget And Finance Commitee, before Quan became Oakland's mayor. Now Jean seems to be wringing her hands and saying "I'm Mayor of Oakland. I can really screw with Russo now," and trying to do so.

Mayor Quan was just elected, and for all practical purposes by a fluke.  Like the election outcome or not, that's a fact.

Because of that, Quan can't overplay her hand, yet she's starting to show signs of doing exactly that.  Quan's laser focus should be on creating jobs in Oakland, and saving California Redevelopment, which is a great tool to use in that effort.  Thinking about how to get even with someone for opinions and views not taken in the past is totally unproductive for a person in a role that's supposed to be about building a city's future.

That's what mayors are elected to do.

99ers March in Solidarity with Wisconsinites - San Diego/Your Town NEXT?

As 99ers March in Solidarity with Wisconsinites, San Diego and your town may be NEXT.

Scott Jeffers, Sussex, WI - Dave& Carol Banks, Racine, WI - C Majors, Milwaukee, WI -Karen King, Madison, WI and 34 other 99ers marched in solidarity with union workers protesting in Madison WI this week, where Ed Schultz of MSNBC held a special broadcast of the Ed Show last night. (Video Below)

The answer is CLEAR: We must scour the news and the net for any rally for any cause and turn it to our 99er advantage. I have been and found this for the San Diego Area: (please spread the word as some of your contacts may have contacts close to here)

[SDCPJ] Tunis, Cairo, now Madison WI; next: SAN DIEGO

Across the world, the sheer force of people, in non-violent but insistent demonstration, is showing that change IS possible. Change for good - change for the needs of common people, and change away from concentrated power, greed and profit at the cost of lives and the public pocketbook.

Now, it is San Diego’s turn. Come out in boisterous demonstration-celebration, to Balboa Park, Saturday March 19. Save the date, plan to be there!

Print signs from the attached (FYI - the invisible man pic in 8 X 10 can also be used as masks by cutting eyes out and light elastic around the back for those who do not wish to be recognized!!! LOLOLOL) and just show up! We must take to the streets and demand our Government stop helping the rich at the expense of the poor. We need JOBS and until we have them we need UI Benefits to survive. We will NOT BE IGNORED any longer!

****NOTE: The following is from U-Cubed on the subject -

What's the core issue in WI, OH and IN? JOBS and the JOBLESS.

Those who have jobs, naturally, want to keep them. And they want the right to vote on how they're paid -- wages, pensions, health care, working conditions -- once the negotiations are over. It's the difference between democracy and autocracy.

It's also about the JOBLESS. They cannot pay taxes on little or zero income. So federal, state and local governments face deficits. And the answer from GOP governors and legislators -- axe employees and slash programs that aid the jobless -- is inane.

So, whether you have a job you'd like to hold on to or you've been unemployed for 99 weeks or more, what's happening in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana affects you.
Get active. Online. Offline. In State. Out of State.

Because in unity -- there is strength.

And because JOBS and the JOBLESS rise -- or fall -- together.

***If you are not yet engaged in U-Cubed Please DO SO TODAY

U-Cubed on:

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ucubed

TWITTER: @U_Cubed

WEBSITE: http://www.unionofunemployed.com

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

More WI Protest video:

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

And as in Wisconsin, thousands of Ohio workers are jamming the statehouse to make their voices heard.

[The donation button below is for Protest Sign Printing costs. If you like what I write or want to help, please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

President Obama Dines With Bay Area Tech Execs; Anyone Black?

Several interesting points to note in the photo from the Technology Business Leaders dinner at Tech Venture Capitalist John Doerr's home in Woodside, California - and placed for media use by the White House at Flickr:

1. Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is sitting on the right of President Obama.
2. Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs is on the left of President Obama.
2. Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz is wearing red and at the background. (No word on if she slipped and used the F-word.)
3. From the looks of things, they're raising a toast to President Obama.
4. Obama is not the only African American at the table; he's joined by Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, but there are no tech business leaders of color.

On that note, it's not as if there was no one to call; Symantic Chairman John W. Thompson's right there in the Bay Area (pictured at left), and has served on a number of panels of service to government.  Mr. Thompson should have been there.

What's sadder still is that no other media organization reporting on this photo pointed to the lack of a black tech CEO at the dinner table.  

These are some of the same outlets that complain about bloggers.  Well, the reasons why bloggers like me complain about them, is because of the myopia they demonstrate on more than one occasion.  This is one.

But I digress.

What was actually talked about in the room has not been reported, and perhaps never will be.  One sure thing is two of the attendees came away with the President's cell phone number.

Seriously.  

Dave Duerson: 85 Bears Safety Dies Unexpectedly In Miami

O'Hare Airport, Chicago - For reasons not given as of this writing, Dave Duerson, the famous member of the 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl Champion Defense, the 1990 New York Giants Super Bowl Champion Defense, and Notre Dame grad, died at 50 years of age.

According to NESN.com, Dave was found dead in his Miami home.

While the cause of death is not known, this blogger can personally express sadness because Duerson was one ND alum who was on hand at Mike Ditka's on the Thursday before the amazing 2005 USC at Notre Dame game that Saturday. Duerson was part of a raging ND party that went on to 2 AM in the morning. No wild antics; just a lot of laughs, great food and people, and Paul Hornung.

The reason I know all about it, is I happened to visit the establishment and to have a cigar in honor of my father, who I'd just laid to rest that day. Someone at Ditka's thought I was Dave Duerson.   The result was a lot of smiles, jokes, and free drinks.

Oh.  In case you're wondering, Duerson was bigger than me by a little bit.

Stay tuned for more on this. Why someone who was described as "looking like he could still play" passed away so mysteriously and so young is strange to say the least.