Elizabeth Warren on Foreclosure Prevention

Terry Gross Interview Elizabeth Gross for Fresh Air

Fresh Air from WHYY, March 9, 2009 · According to a report on home foreclosure issued Mar. 6, 2009 by the Congressional Oversight Panel charged with monitoring the use of bailout funds, the rate of home foreclosure is now three times its historic rate — "so large that it threatens the entire economy."

Panel chairwoman Elizabeth Warren joins Fresh Air to discuss the foreclosure problem — and what can be done about it.

This is a must listen for anyone looking to understand how we got into this problem; what the Obama plan does and does not do; and. other ideas for confronting the problem.

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Open Letter to the Republican Traitors (From a Former Republican)

I understand and feel Frank Schaeffers rage. In many ways he is spot on correct with the things he says here. However, his anger dilutes the power of his message. He lowers himself to the level of a Michele Bachman or an Ann Coulter by using the same inflammatory language that has marginalized their impact on the political dialog.

I'm a former elected Democrat who lost a race for Governor in that fateful 1994 election that began the Republicans ascent to total control of the Federal Government, so I have some personal experience on these matters.

Republicans deserve to cook in the stew that they made, but they are not Anti-American; they are not traitors. They are misguided, unfair, uncooperative, elitist, arrogant, and deserve to spend some time in the political wilderness; But in the end, in the best interest of America, we need them to succeed in the painful process of rebuilding their party. hopefully as a more diverse, tolerant and cooperative party.

The marketplace of ideas is strongest when two strong parties compete for the hearts and minds of the American people. The current fix we are in is largely from a single six year period when the Republicans controlled everything and had carte blanche to re-caste America in the Republican image. Democrats would do well to remember this and not to create the mirror image in their zeal to take advantage of their current authority.
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Lookin' for Love in all the Wrong Places

Bi-partisanship can be found in the earmarks to the budget . . . what's with that?

If President Obama wants to find an example of bi-partisanship he need only look at the authorship on the budget earmarks. Granted its the last place he wants to reference as he struggles to get the leadership of the parties to cooperate.

Ironically, the number of earmarks from Republicans is not likely to result in their support of the bill. What happened to the "good old days" when at least authorship of an earmark assured the support of the author.

So here's my suggestion. Move forward on the bill. In every instance where a member of the House or Senate has sponsored an earmark and then voted against the budget, remove the earmark in the committee of conference. This will achieve two important goals: reducing the overall budget and holding the earmarkers accountable for their earmark.

Earmarks are not necessarily good or bad by their nature, but hypocrisy is. If a member of congress thinks an earmark is important enough to place in the budget then he/she should be willing to pay the price associated with proposing it. They should not be able to place it in the budget and then vote against it.

"Our Time Comes"

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What Battered Newsrooms Can Learn From Stewart's CNBC Takedown

Alas, what this well written piece reveals is that often times more good reporting takes place on the Daily Show than on any major network. Some of this can be attributed to the all too cozy relationship between advertisers and the networks. That certainly shows through loud and clear on Stewart's crushing CNBC "retrospective".

The question that emerges is how do we change this in the future? Its easy to look back and show how CNBC became a part of the problem but how do we stop it before it reaches the point of no return?

Unfortunately, I see no sign that NBC or any other major network is doing any soul searching on this matter. Without that we are doomed to a repeat performance.
About Newspapers
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Clinton Hails L.A.'s shift to LED Street Lights

Calling it a "great day in Los Angeles," former President Bill Clinton joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today in unveiling what is billed as the largest effort by a U.S. city to reduce pollution by ... Read full story from LA Daily News

If your company or Government has outdoor lighting and would like to save 80% on your costs by retrofitting with LED lighting, contact us directly for the only American made option. 603-786-9378

Obama's Secret Letter To Putin Offered Deal On Missiles

If there is one thing that might turn the Russians on the issue of Iran it is the Missile Defense system. Whether we strike a deal to scrap it, or develop it in tandem with the Russians so that they have complete access to all the technology, we should play this card to get them to work with us on Iran. I would prefer to see us not waste the money to begin with, but it would be conceivable to have a fall back that made Russia a collaborator on development of a system.

This is a brilliant strategic move by Obama. There is some buzz out there that Senator Schumer had suggested it during the Bush administration but that Bush was more interested in generating heat than light. I'm sure that Obama doesn't have any pride of authorship. What matters is getting it done.

We have a very small window for dramatically changing our relationship with Iran. It may be that we enhance the prestige of Russia by giving them the opportunity to play the role of intermediary and peacemaker. There is no time to waste.
About President Obama
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Free Roxana Saberi

Advocates of Dialog with Iran Need to Stand Up and Be Counted

As a strong advocate of dialog with Iran, I condemn the recent arrest of Roxana Saberi, an independent journalist in Iran on charges that are clearly trumped up by the government.

Saberi was arrested after someone sold her wine and then turned her in for buying it. Common opinion in ran is that this is not an offense for which anyone is ever held, so it is clear that the government was looking to muzzle Saberi.

If Iran expects to have a dialog with the US that is based on mutual respect, they should free Ms. Saberi immediately.

President Obama should issue a statement calling for her release.

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"The Artist"


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