“But the only way to hold a Presidential candidate in the general election accountable once the general election season comes around is to work for their defeat or otherwise endanger their victory. For most of us, given the alternative of four more years of deadlocked government and a stubborn, hyper-aggressive President McCain, that is not an acceptable option. I see occasional commenters writing about not lifting a finger to help Obama now that he's screwed us on FISA or other issues, but I don't think very many of us in the progressive movement are there. Am I bummed, am I pissed that Obama and most of our Democratic leaders caved in on FISA? Absolutely, and there's nothing wrong with saying so. But am I going to "hold Obama accountable" for this action? Well, no, frankly. I don't think there's a way to do that without doing something far worse. It's the nature of the American political system: winner take all, no instant runoffs, no fusion voting (except in a few states). In the months before a Presidential general election, I can't think of another alternative re the Presidential race other than doing everything I can do to help Obama win.”
Quote by capt:
Taped the SNL - just started it . . . .
Memories, eh?
Quote by BobR:
Morning - thanks for the great blog post Faye! :coffee2:
Quote by capt:
The Guardian in U.K. Gets Obama right
[...]
Michael Tomasky says "Obama must compromise his liberal principles in order to get elected."
Take for instance his position on the child rape Supreme Court case involving an African-American man. Tomasky can imagine the attack ads that "could be made against Obama if he'd taken the positiiion here some liberals wanted him to take. An image of Kennedy appears on the screen, photoshopped to make him look terrifying. Sinister music swells. The voiceover intones: 'Barack Obama wants criminals like Patrick Kennedy to have a chance to go free so they can rape children again.' And so on."
Tomasky continues: "That one ad, aired repeatedly in the right states, could in my view change the election. We know that ads like that have worked wonders for the GOP in the past." Tomasky does not think things have changed much in our election since Dukakis ran. The memory of Willie Horton attack ads seem burned in his memory as they are ours who lived through them.
Tomasky also explains Obama's stand on the FISA bill. I find that one easier to accept: national security trumps telecom immunity. (My view, not the particulars Tomasky points out.) Obama cannot seem to appear wear on national security. It is the one area Americans seem to think McCain is better on--heaven only knows why!
Tomasky ends his column with this statement: "People will naturally disagree on which compromises are necessary and which ones aren't. What people shouldn't disagree on is that some are. The man's not running for president of Hyde Park."
*****
This piece abuot that other piece gave me some encouragement and or perspective . . .
Quote by Random:
My loyal subject capt...good.
*throws a cookie*
Quote by Shane-O:Aw! I was SO hoping for cake...Quote by Random:
My loyal subject capt...good.
*throws a cookie*
Quote by Random:Quote by Shane-O:Aw! I was SO hoping for cake...Quote by Random:
My loyal subject capt...good.
*throws a cookie*
Well, Shane-O Capt gets a cookie because he paid homage.
But i will make exception this once because you gave me a sound bite...
*gives a whole cake*
Quote by Shane-O:Aw! I was SO hoping for cake...Quote by Random:
My loyal subject capt...good.
*throws a cookie*
A Sunday morning muse: I am not very happy that This Week put Ralph Nader on for about 6-7 minutes. Why did they give him air time? Because of his outrageous Obama "talking white" comment.
Obama's response was that Nader was looking for attention because his campaign hadn't gotten much traction. BINGO!
So the result of Nader's comment was more free press. Gee, I wonder if we can expect more crazy comments from the perenial presidential candidate since it worked so well the first time? --- COUNT ON IT!
Quote by Shane-O:Well, I'll try to make it last then, cuz ain't no homage comin' any time soon my friend! Just friendly convo.Quote by Random:Quote by Shane-O:Aw! I was SO hoping for cake...Quote by Random:
My loyal subject capt...good.
*throws a cookie*
Well, Shane-O Capt gets a cookie because he paid homage.
But i will make exception this once because you gave me a sound bite...
*gives a whole cake*
Maybe I should try some audicons for all the 4F members. Will take time to think of the right ones, however.
Quote by m-hadley:Quote by Shane-O:Aw! I was SO hoping for cake...Quote by Random:
My loyal subject capt...good.
*throws a cookie*
A Sunday morning muse: I am not very happy that This Week put Ralph Nader on for about 6-7 minutes. Why did they give him air time? Because of his outrageous Obama "talking white" comment.
Obama's response was that Nader was looking for attention because his campaign hadn't gotten much traction. BINGO!
So the result of Nader's comment was more free press. Gee, I wonder if we can expect more crazy comments from the perenial presidential candidate since it worked so well the first time? --- COUNT ON IT!
Mornin' Shane-O and Master Random,
I too am sorry that any show gave a minute or more to Ralph "The Spoiler" Nader - ugh I also would like an entrance audiocon - how about something from the late great Janis Joplin, Shane-O??? Just a suggestion.
Thanks mucho as always for your amazing work, Shane-O. How is Random doing today?
Cheers,
mfaye
:peace:
Quote by m-hadley:
Mornin' everybody,
BobR,
I cross-posted this piece on my own blog - I hope that that is okay. I can only come up with an original post every few days and needed something new on my blog. please let me know if it is okay. Here's a link to the post Thanks mucho. What are you and Raine up to today?
Cheers,
mfaye
:heart: :hug:
Quote by Shane-O:Do you have a particular song in mind? Or a specific line from a song? -- I'd be happy to do it... ;)Quote by m-hadley:Quote by Shane-O:Aw! I was SO hoping for cake...Quote by Random:
My loyal subject capt...good.
*throws a cookie*
A Sunday morning muse: I am not very happy that This Week put Ralph Nader on for about 6-7 minutes. Why did they give him air time? Because of his outrageous Obama "talking white" comment.
Obama's response was that Nader was looking for attention because his campaign hadn't gotten much traction. BINGO!
So the result of Nader's comment was more free press. Gee, I wonder if we can expect more crazy comments from the perenial presidential candidate since it worked so well the first time? --- COUNT ON IT!
Mornin' Shane-O and Master Random,
I too am sorry that any show gave a minute or more to Ralph "The Spoiler" Nader - ugh I also would like an entrance audiocon - how about something from the late great Janis Joplin, Shane-O??? Just a suggestion.
Thanks mucho as always for your amazing work, Shane-O. How is Random doing today?
Cheers,
mfaye
:peace:
Store Closings: Symptoms of A Depressed Economy
Donald H.
June 07, 2008
1. Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month.
2. Eddie Bauer to close more stores - Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.
3. Cache closing stores - Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.
4. Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherines Plus Sizes will close about 150 underperforming stores this year. The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.
5. Talbots, J. Jill closing stores - About a month ago, Talbots announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 underperforming stores.
The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J. Jill, another chain it owns. The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press release.
6. Gap Inc. closing 85 stores - In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic. The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.
7. Foot Locker to close 140 stores - In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts today, it did not specify where the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be immediately reached for comment
8. Wickes is going out o f business - Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
9. Goodbye Levitz - The furniture retailer, which is going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960s, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the furniture industry.
The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay.
10. Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores - The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announc ed that it is closing another 23 underperforming stores. The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.
11. Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores The Walt Disney Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords.
Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney in the news release said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't list those stores.
12. Home Depot store closings - ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot I nc.ann ounced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumping U.S. economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees.
It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the underperforming U.S.stores being closed represent less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.
13. CompUSA clarifies details on store closings Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those w h o h ave a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners. http://www.news. com/8301- 10784_3-9834177- 7html < http://www.news. com/8301- 10784_3-9834177- 7.html >
14. Macy's - 9 stores -
15. Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcyThe video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.
16. Pep Boys - 33 stores
17. Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas. Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.
18. J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back
19. Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.
20. Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores
21. Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four underperforming Demo stores closed last May.
22. Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed poorly and also may close.
23. Bombay Company: The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.
24. KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press Information
25. Dillard's to Close More Stores Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing underperforming stores, reducing expenses and improving its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six underperforming stores this year.
Quote by livingonli:
Mornin' everyone. Another sleep-in Sunday for me.
Good column there mfaye. At least my hope is that we have a repeat of the FDR scenario where he ran in 1932 as a moderate but once in office out of the necessity of the depression, he enacted many changes. And considering that Bush could be leading us into another Great Depression, it looks like we are about to hit that same scenario again.
Quote by livingonli:
And we could be in a depression now;Store Closings: Symptoms of A Depressed Economy
Donald H.
June 07, 2008
1. Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month.
2. Eddie Bauer to close more stores - Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.
3. Cache closing stores - Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.
4. Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherines Plus Sizes will close about 150 underperforming stores this year. The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.
5. Talbots, J. Jill closing stores - About a month ago, Talbots announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 underperforming stores.
The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J. Jill, another chain it owns. The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press release.
6. Gap Inc. closing 85 stores - In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic. The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.
7. Foot Locker to close 140 stores - In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts today, it did not specify where the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be immediately reached for comment
8. Wickes is going out o f business - Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
9. Goodbye Levitz - The furniture retailer, which is going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960s, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the furniture industry.
The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay.
10. Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores - The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announc ed that it is closing another 23 underperforming stores. The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.
11. Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores The Walt Disney Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords.
Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney in the news release said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't list those stores.
12. Home Depot store closings - ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot I nc.ann ounced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumping U.S. economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees.
It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the underperforming U.S.stores being closed represent less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.
13. CompUSA clarifies details on store closings Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those w h o h ave a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners. http://www.news. com/8301- 10784_3-9834177- 7html < http://www.news. com/8301- 10784_3-9834177- 7.html >
14. Macy's - 9 stores -
15. Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcyThe video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.
16. Pep Boys - 33 stores
17. Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas. Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.
18. J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back
19. Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.
20. Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores
21. Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four underperforming Demo stores closed last May.
22. Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed poorly and also may close.
23. Bombay Company: The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.
24. KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press Information
25. Dillard's to Close More Stores Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing underperforming stores, reducing expenses and improving its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six underperforming stores this year.
Quote by Raine:
Good morning everyone!
My oh my... 32 posts before noon on a sunday! we are a chatty cathy bunch! Great post Faye.
you and Velveeta make it harder and harder to give a slack off monday!
Quote by m-hadley:
Shane-O,
How about the refrain "Come on, come on, come on, and take it" from Piece of my Heart Whenever you get around to it - no hurry or pressure. Thanks mucho. Have I told you that you ROCK :D
Cheers,
mfaye
:peace:
Quote by BobR:
[
Holy crap!
I've heard the difference between a recession and a depression is that with a recession, people have money but can't afford things; with a depression, things are affordable, but people don't have any money.
I don't know if that's accurate, but it seems like we are somewhere between the two right now...
Quote by BobR:
Holy crap!
I've heard the difference between a recession and a depression is that with a recession, people have money but can't afford things; with a depression, things are affordable, but people don't have any money.
I don't know if that's accurate, but it seems like we are somewhere between the two right now...
Quote by Shane-O:I've always heard that the difference was that in a recession your neighbor lost his or her job and in a depression, you lost yours.Quote by BobR:
Holy crap!
I've heard the difference between a recession and a depression is that with a recession, people have money but can't afford things; with a depression, things are affordable, but people don't have any money.
I don't know if that's accurate, but it seems like we are somewhere between the two right now...
I.e. when it effects each person in a PERSONAL way, it is a depression. And other than the uber-rich, I think the current economic downturn is affecting people in a personal way - therefore, a depression.
The thing is that "recession" and "depression" are not even terms that have strict economic definitions - they are really political terms - and used as such.
Quote by capt:Quote by Shane-O:I've always heard that the difference was that in a recession your neighbor lost his or her job and in a depression, you lost yours.Quote by BobR:
Holy crap!
I've heard the difference between a recession and a depression is that with a recession, people have money but can't afford things; with a depression, things are affordable, but people don't have any money.
I don't know if that's accurate, but it seems like we are somewhere between the two right now...
I.e. when it effects each person in a PERSONAL way, it is a depression. And other than the uber-rich, I think the current economic downturn is affecting people in a personal way - therefore, a depression.
The thing is that "recession" and "depression" are not even terms that have strict economic definitions - they are really political terms - and used as such.
Yep, they try to belabor "technical" definitions to portray their POV but when it hits the wallet - it's real no matter what they call it.
Quote by BobR:
Hey rabbit - did you used to do electronic repair? That was my gig for about 10 years before I migrated to software. I have a decent (but pretty beat-up) Weller soldering station with digital temp readout. I was trained to solder to MIL-spec from my first real job way back in the day...
Quote by livingonli:
And we could be in a depression now;
22. Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed poorly and also may close.
Quote by Shane-O:Quote by m-hadley:
Shane-O,
How about the refrain "Come on, come on, come on, and take it" from Piece of my Heart Whenever you get around to it - no hurry or pressure. Thanks mucho. Have I told you that you ROCK :D
Cheers,
mfaye
:peace:
Here ya' go!
Quote by livingonli:Quote by Raine:
Good morning everyone!
My oh my... 32 posts before noon on a sunday! we are a chatty cathy bunch! Great post Faye.
you and Velveeta make it harder and harder to give a slack off monday!
And most of them posted before I got out of bed.