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Chris Anderson and TED Officials Refuse to Publish Talk about Inequality

May 17th, 2012 2:21 pm








What do you do when a widely celebrated global conference — whose only mission statement is to “spread ideas” — refuses to publish an idea because of its political message?

That is the dilemma we are currently facing. The National Journal reported yesterday that Chris Anderson, the curator of all things TED, along with a few other officials, decided he would not post a talk given by venture capitalist and Patriotic Millionaire Nick Hanauer because the speech was “too politically controversial.”

TED, if you didn’t know, is a non-profit foundation that hosts conferences for the world’s most imaginative and influential thinkers to share their findings, observations, and insights with others. Their stated goal is pretty straightforward: “Our mission: Spreading ideas.”

That Chris Anderson is refusing to spread this particular idea demonstrates a clear violation of that mission statement: TED is no longer the neutral arbiter it professed to be.

The message of Hanauer’s talk was simple and sensible (you can read the full transcript here, along with the accompanying slides):

We’ve had it backward for the last 30 years. Rich businesspeople like me don’t create jobs. Rather they are a consequence of an ecosystemic feedback loop animated by middle-class consumers and when they thrive, businesses grow and hire, and owners profit. That’s why taxing the rich to pay for investments that benefit all is a great deal for both the middle class and the rich.

The U.S. has the fourth-highest income inequality in the world. Understanding how this atrociously high rate affects American life — from employment and healthcare, to security and education — is of vital importance. Indeed, it’s a national conversation we should all be taking part in. (Not to mention the fact that Hanauer criticizes both Democrats and Republicans in his speech).

How disheartening that a global forum responsible for disseminating so many incredible and inspiring thoughts and ideas throughout the years is now choosing censorship over enlightenment. What a betrayal.

Tell Chris Anderson to release the video on TED by signing this petition. You can also call TED directly at 212. 346. 9333 or send them an email in your support of a open dialogue about income inequality and the myths around our current tax system and  “job creation.”

Republican Strategists Call Obama a “Metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln”

May 17th, 2012 2:20 pm








And they didn’t mean to flatter. The NY Times uncovered this morning that Republican strategists along with some conservative billionaires have put together a $10 million plan to overthrow Obama in the upcoming election, mainly by linking the President to the incendiary and highly controversial Jeremiah Wright. Interestingly, if executed, the plan would run contrary to the stance Romney and his campaign team have taken so far. In addition to criticizing Obama’ s posture as a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln,” the plan also calls for an “extremely literate conservative African-American” spokesman to be the face of the effort. The NY Times reports:

The 54-page proposal was professionally bound and illustrated with color photographs, indicating that it is far beyond a mere discussion. The strategists have already contacted Larry Elder, a black conservative radio host in Los Angeles, about serving as a spokesman, and the plan calls for a group of black business leaders to endorse the effort.

Chris Cillizzaa from the Washington Post is skeptical:

Not only is Obama far more well-defined than he was when he was running for president four years ago but the last several years have also proven this unquestioned fact: voters like him personally. Attacking Obama on personal matters — and it’s hard to see Wright being anything but that — is, therefore, sketchy strategy. It allows Obama to fight on good ground for him rather than on the shaky ground of defending an economy that still looks decidedly weak.

Zyrtec Pays Off Walmart to ‘Inform’ Their Customers About Drug’s Benefits

May 17th, 2012 10:43 am








In light of this ad by Walmart, which makes it seem as if they’re benevolently informing their customers about a beneficial drug, I suggest Walmart’s Big Pharm buddy change their slogan:

Zyrtec, manipulating American consumers one pharmacy at time.

“Sloppy” and “Stupid” Gets Connecticut Taxpayer Deal; Jamie Dimon Now Under Investigation

May 16th, 2012 10:03 am








UPDATE: Shareholders of JPMorgan have filed suits alleging that CEO Jamie Dimon misrepresented the risk to investors. Does Connecticut really want to be associated with a company being investigated by the FBI for fraud?

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At a time when states across the country are admirably trying every creative way they can to cut costs, the state of Connecticut is turning, ironically, to the financial institution largely responsible for the current budget crisis.

In a deal struck earlier this year, the state of Connecticut agreed to contract Jamie Dimon and his mega-bank JPMorgan to handle the issuance of state tax refunds. Under this agreement, Connecticut taxpayers no longer have the option of receiving checks for their annual refunds; instead, JPMorgan will issue Chase debits cards.

But many Connecticut taxpayers have expressed concern. Should the state of Connecticut really be using taxpayer money to cut a deal with a ‘too big to fail’ bank – an entity culpable for causing the financial crisis, as well as recently losing — under the leadership of Dimon — $2 billion of its clients’ funds?

Connecticut will reportedly pay JPMorgan Chase $25,000 to manage these debit card refunds. But in fact, the contract they signed allows for that number to increase to $500,000 in subsequent years, at the discretion of the state’s Department of Revenue Services (DRS).

Chase also stands to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees. Last year, Connecticut’s DRS had a total of 17,474 un-cashed refund checks. Under the new Chase plan, if a taxpayer doesn’t spend the entirety of an activated debit card in one year, Chase will exact a $1 a month inactivity fee for up to two more years. That means, given last year’s total number of unspent refunds, Chase could make up to $400,000 from inactivity fees. That’s $400,000 of taxpayer money going to Chase — funds that were never even supposed to go to the state government in the first place.

If taxpayers already have an account with another bank, then the usual fees for transfer and withdrawal apply. For instance, if you are a Bank of America customer, it costs $3 to withdraw state refund money from the Chase debit card. Around 11,745 of those unspent state refunds from last year (about 67%) were for amounts between $1 and $20, which means ATM fees would eat up a huge chunk of those refunds.

Moreover, most banks require that customers have at least $25 to open up an account, which excludes 67% of those with unspent tax refunds. They would have to then use an ATM and be charged a fee, or open up a Chase account.

If we’re to be objective about Dimon’s leadership at JPMorgan Chase, we ought to be highly suspicious of his dealings with state governments. To put hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in the safekeeping of a crooked banker whose “sloppy” and “stupid” ‘too big to fail’ bank contributed so greatly to our current economic crisis (and lost $2 billion in one quarter) is not just irresponsible: It’s utterly dangerous.

For (former) Wall Street wonder boy Jamie Dimon, the bloom is off the rose. Knowing the unseemly facts about this deal, the bloom should be off it too.

Obama Pledges to Repeal Defense of Marriage Act in Second Term

May 15th, 2012 11:53 am








At a fundraiser with openly gay pop sensation Ricky Martin on Monday, President Obama stated his intention to do away with the Defense of Marriage Act in his second term, giving pause to those saying that Obama’s recent endorsement was only idle chatter. Obama also quashed concerns from critics on the right that same sex marriage would undermine the notion of so-called “traditional” marriage:

I want everyone treated fairly in this country. We have never gone wrong when we’ve extended rights and responsibilities to everybody. That doesn’t weaken families, that strengthens families.

In related news, Bill White — former President of  the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, a veterans activist, and founder of the strategic consulting firm Constellations Group — has decided to pull his political and financial support from Romney to back Obama, and even requested that the Romney campaign refund his contributions from last year:

Several days later this past Saturday to a packed stadium of young college students you made the following statement that ‘Marriage is only between one man and one woman.’ I believe that you will do as you now say and try to force a constitutional amendment which would attempt to make my own legal and blessed marriage null and void… You have chosen to be on the wrong side of history and I do not support your run for president any longer.

The President Says, “There Will Be No Moonwalking Today”

May 14th, 2012 5:00 pm








After much ado, President Obama delivered a powerful commencement speech at Barnard College this stormy afternoon, eliciting loud whoops and the occasional “You Go Prez!” from a tent filled with over 600 blue-and-white-clad grads. Breaking the ice with a few jokes, as he is prone to do (“I will begin by telling a hard truth. I am a Columbia College graduate. I know there is a little bit of sibling rivalry here”), the President got down to gender politics pretty quickly, explaining that the year he graduated from Columbia was the first year in the college’s history that women were admitted (oh, and Michael Jackson invented the moonwalk).

Weaving together personal anecdotes about the fiery, ambitious women in his life, President Obama explained that while opportunities for women have grown exponentially in the last thirty years, there is still insurmountable work to be done to protect their reproductive and labor rights, be it Equal Pay for Equal Work or the ability to choose – rather DEMAND – fair access to contraception. Recalling the struggles of his single mother and grandmother (who watched male employees receive higher salaries than her at her bank job), the President also hearkened back to his ‘simple math’ rhetoric, reminding the graduates that women are not only half this country, but more than half the work force (and more than half his voting base), to rippling applause.

But what the President had to say after “our pop culture obsession over beauty and fashion” got a little confusing: “until a girl can imagine herself, can picture herself as a computer programmer, or a combatant commander, she won’t become one.” In the face of folks like Rick Santorum, Liz Trotta and Phyllis Schlafly — who recently warned that “not all feminists are ugly, some are pretty” — this comment struck a chord.

Yes, we need crops of women who are born believing they will excel as CEO’s, but there is also something to be said about compromising your expression of female identity here – Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin have both struggled with determining ’just the right amount of feminine’ under the gross political eye.

“You can be stylish and powerful,” said the President in a later, momentary reconsideration. “That’s Michelle’s advice.”

We hope that wasn’t a case of Romney-esque flip-flopping, pal, because if you’re counting on the majority vote it better be your advice, too.

In To-Be-Expected Move, Obama Levels Attack on Bain Capital, Romney

May 14th, 2012 4:30 pm








Mitt Romney’s stupendously uncouth attempts to shed the “If I can’t fire you myself, I’m pretty sure that I could get one of my friends to” image have largely backfired. Many Americans still view Mitt as the embodiment of everything they hate about working for a tyrannical boss. While Romney’s tenure with Bain Capital has been subjected to harsh scrutiny from many news outlets, until today the Obama campaign has remained largely silent on the issue.

Just a few hours ago Barack Obama’s reelection campaign opened up a new flank of attack, releasing a two-minute video and a standalone website, RomneyEconomics.com. The video, entitled “Steel”, features interviews with former workers of GST Steel, a company taken over by Bain Capital in 1993.  According to the video, Bain Capital eliminated pensions, life insurance, and health insurance before declaring bankruptcy in 2001. Bain Capital walked away with $12 million in profits; 750 workers lost their jobs.

The advertisement is certainly heart-wrenching and thus persuasive. However, if we are going to be honest, Barack Obama has not exactly been a courageous and consistent defender of labor either. Remember the JOBS Act, anyone?

Sullivan vs. Greenwald

May 14th, 2012 3:27 pm








Glenn Greenwald took on his comrade Andrew Sullivan today over the Dish-master’s effusive praise of our newly-converted Commander-in-Chief. Greenwald brings to the surface a striking statement made by Sullivan just a week ago chastising “some gays” for seeking “affirmation from one man,” calling it “a little sad.” It seems now, with tears in his eyes, Sullivan has reversed, and feels affirmation from his apparent “father-figure.” Greenwald attacks, among other things, Sullivan’s impulse toward countenacing paternalism:

The President is not Our Father; he’s a politician who, like all people wielding political power, is in great need of constant critical scrutiny and adversarial checks — from all citizens, but especially media figures. Relating to him as some kind of guiding paternalistic authority is, I’m sorry to say, really quite warped. But it’s far from uncommon, and that explains a lot.

The Onion Asks: Was Romney A Bully?

May 14th, 2012 2:19 pm








May 14, Issue 48-20

“The Jet That Ate the Pentagon”

May 14th, 2012 1:21 pm








Though the Department of Defense, amid budget cuts and looming debts, is busy with a proposal to scale back the military retirement system, they’ve left on the table an absurdly expensive program to build 2,457 F-35 jets (thanks to Lockheed Martin) for a total cost of $397 billion. If we include funds for operation and maintenance of the jets, that number exceeds $1.5 trillion. It’s no surprise, then, that budget analyst Winslow Wheeler dubbed the F-35 “the jet that ate the Pentagon.”

So how are we to pay this titanic bill? Rick Newman, writing for US News, answers:

Paying down the national debt is eventually going to require tax increases on most Americans, along with cuts in popular programs like Medicare and Social Security. Most credible plans for fixing the nation’s finances say it’s imperative to rein in or simply kill extravagant programs like the F-35. Meanwhile, the biggest victories in the war on terror come when intelligence agents infiltrate the bad guys, steal their secrets and identify the location of their leaders—while an expendable, unmanned drone delivers a missile. No F-35 needed.