So I decided to watch the debate on ABC, mainly because I only have an antenna on my television and ABC comes in the best.   I would rather watch on PBS, alas.

And the first question is?

Surprise surprise, the economy.   Let’s see what Obama has to say…

What a beautifully crafted answer, he starts with a hello, moves on to an explanation of the problem and then goes into a step by step answer of the man’s specific question, including information on how he plans to do it. Score for Obama!

McCain’s thoughts = nice thoughts, but I don’t understand how he is going to fix the problem by cutting everyone’s taxes?  Also, when he says “it’s going to be expensive” - doesn’t that mean money coming from the taxpayers?  Otherwise where is that money going to come from?

Not you Tom?  What kind of answer is that?  Stop being mean to Tom Brokaw.

Way to go Tom - lay down those rules.

Question 2 : Yes, explain the bailout!

Read the rest of this entry »

So we’re in the middle of a housing crisis - it isn’t good. But when you take away the newspaper headlines, the influence it has on the campaign and the people who are struggling to figure out what to do - what do you really have left?

The answer is more cute and cuddly than you might think. What you have left are cats and dogs - pets left behind by their owners:

Pets “are getting dumped all over,” said Traci Jennings, president of the Humane Society of Stanislaus County in northern California. “Farmers are finding dogs dumped on their grazing grounds, while house cats are showing up in wild cat colonies.”

In one such colony in Modesto, two obviously tame cats watched alone from a distance as a group of feral cats devoured a pile of dry food Jennings offered.

Read the rest of this entry »

My fellow takepart blogger Nicole posted a great list of the most important news stories of the year a few days ago. In that spirit I am going to talk about some of the biggest stories related to my topics of “share” and “learn”.This first post will deal with the fun that is “share” - ie. economic equality (and inequality), poverty, wealth, workers, distribution and basically those who control who gets what.1. The Subprime Housing Crisis:

I believe Benjamin Barber said it best in his LA Times op-ed:

THE CRISIS IN subprime mortgages betrays a deeper predicament facing consumer capitalism triumphant: The “Protestant ethos” of hard work and deferred gratification has been replaced by an infantilist ethos of easy credit and impulsive consumption that puts democracy and the market system at risk.[LA Times]

he goes on:

The world teems with elemental wants and is peopled by billions who are needy. They do not need iPods, but they do need potable water, not colas but inexpensive medicines, not MTV but their ABCs. They need mortgages they can afford, not funny-money easy credit.

To serve such needs, however, capitalism must once again learn to defer profits and empower the needy as customers. Entrepreneurs wanted! With micro-credit, villagers can construct hand pumps and water filters from the clay under their feet. Pharmaceutical companies ought to be thinking about how to sell inexpensive retro-virals to Africans with HIV instead of pushing Botox to the “forever young” customers they are trying to manufacture here. And parents can refuse to relinquish their gatekeeping roles and let marketers know they won’t allow their kids to be targeted anymore.

To do this, we will require the assistance of democratic institutions and an adult ethos. Public citizens must be restored to their proper place as masters of their private choices. To sustain itself, capitalism will once again have to respond to real needs instead of trying to fabricate synthetic ones ” or risk consuming itself. [LA Times]

For a more detailed explanation of the subprime housing crisis you should visit my good friend Elliott’s website : http://www.linesblog.com and look @ this post And for information on some awesome folks in New York that are working to right the wrongs with housing learn more about the Neighborhood Development Economic Advocacy Project2. The Airwaves : Mine and Yours, but mainly The Advertisers and the Corporations.a) The Don Imus scandal - regardless of what you think of him, this little incident proved that the advertisers control what we hear.b) The FCC voted to axe the 30 year ban on media consolidation : lots of folks have asked Congress to overturn the vote, that would no doubt ensure that nothing controversial or damning to the powers that be will ever be reported on by any major news source3) Writers Guild of America StrikeWhile folks who make more money than most doing something that many people wish they could be doing going on strike might not seem like something that really deserves our attention, it should be noted that this is one of the most public and larger scale attacks on big corporations that we have seen in some time. And it isn’t just an attack on any corporation, it’s an attack on the people who control what you and I have access to in terms of television and cinema - and that is a big deal. Cinema and television are how most folks learn about the world, learn about life and on the other end of that stick, they are 2 of our largest exports and frame how much of the world sees us.It’s about time somebody stood up to them and made them accountable.For more on the strike, see what the writers are up to now, visit http://www.unitedhollywood.comand for some great entertainment (and a statement on SAG’s solidarity with the writers) watch the video below

Want to keep up to date on Sharing in 2008?  Start by learning more about OneWorld and the Microfinance Gateway by clicking on their names!

What do you think the top Share stories of the year are? Leave a comment and tell us - no story is too big or too small (and often the small ones are larger than we think)

Yesterday Hilary Clinton announced a plan that would cover both borrowers behind on their payments and those who were on time when it comes to their mortgages, specifically adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). Her plan came a day before President Bush revealed his own plan that would also work over a 5 year period to freeze interest rates. Both come on the heels of large housing woes that are the result of eager folks signing up for long term mortgages with flashy low interest rates, only to have the rates hiked up the next year. Many cite the difference between the two plans comes in the depth of who would be covered: When Bush revealed his plan, he also addressed the scope of who would be receiving help:

Announcing a package of measures, Mr Bush said the threat of foreclosure was a “terrible burden for hard-working families and communities across the country”.Homeowners seeking assistance have three options. They can either have their payments frozen at an introductory rate for five years, refinance their mortgage at a lower rate or refinance through the Federal Housing Administration. The government estimates that 1.2 million homeowners facing “preventable foreclosures” would qualify for such help, although they will have to request assistance themselves.

All of this spinning and political what have you to the side, this an issue that effects people where their heart is, it effects their home. And more than that, it’s a complicated issue, that many folks (my self included) don’t have the background to understand fully.Luckily, there are some folks out there trying to help those, who others are happy to take from. The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project is a group that works to gain financial justice within low income communities and communities of color. Give them a visit to learn how to be involved and for an in depth (and easy to understand) look at how the subprime madness is starting to have a major impact on minority and poorer communities, head over to Lines of Flight, a political travelogue that explores how we can escape oppressive systems.