For bringing the number of women in the Supreme Court to 3 For making the White House the “people’s” house: For1.1 million jobs created in 2010 alone, more than the entire 8 years of George W. Bush:
For the love of people:
For the love of family:
For America’s First Lady:
For Health Care reform:
For leaving the past behind:
For the world having respect for America , again:
For quietly and calmly dealing with crisis after crisis, after crisis, after crisis, even if not being responsible for any of them:
For being so “cool”:
For being fierce – when need be:
For having the intellect to be curious:
For the capacity to know that you are, as we are, imperfect..
For having the sense to not let it destroy you.
For the capacity to be compassionate:
For being an inspiration to so many:
For saving the auto industry and at least 1.4 million jobs:
For loving the troops:
For understanding the horrible price of war:
* For bringing 100,000 men and women back from Iraq : *
For facing the most difficult and loneliest job in the world with grace, dignity, honesty and guts in spite of so many “Haters”:
For being, in spite of all the hate, pettiness, racism, corruption and immaturity around, the most progressive and ‘for the people’ president in decades: * And simply for this:
As you may have read WCNTV is working with MIdas Touch Productions to promote the 2012 MLK Legends of Hip Hop weekend, while doing my basic research on the artist performing and realized that Public Enemy turns 30 Years Old in 2012. I remember having conversations with Music Executives way back then and remember them saying Rap was a fad. Well some 30 Years later on Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday and Aaliyah’s Birthday we are bringing together the Legends of Hip Hop Music to honor Dr. King and Aaliyah. Where in all places Racist Stone Mountain once a stronghold for the KKK.
What is also significant about the occasion is the launch of Civil Rights to Platinum Rights by International Goodwill Ambassador Oscar J. Webb a modern day Civil Rights Leaders that has developed and crafted a plan to create jobs in America through building Africa.
Honoring Dr. Kings Legacy we hope to inspire a voters registration drive to support the re-election of Barack Obama.
CLICK GRAPHIC TO BUY TICKETS
In 2011 The United Nations adopted resolution 64/169 proclaiming 2011 THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT. The most important International Public Policy Statement since the Emancipation Proclamation. Yes No media attention for the entire year. Well WCNTV and many others are working to preserve the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela through a Global Concert Series called 2011 Songs for Africa. Stay tuned to this blog for more information and I look to see you in Stone Mountain for the MLK LEGENDS OF HIP HOP WEEKEND. SEE YOUR FACE IN THE PLACE.
When did you first fall in love with Hip Hop
Here is the Top Ten Singles from 1982. Check it out.
While the Political System continues to drag down the Hope we Can Believe in Obama continues to do his job. With an opportunity today for the Senate to take up the Jobs Act will they. Look at the Interim Report from the White House‘s Jobs Council.
To remind you here is the speech he gave on Jobs in Durham North Carolina on June 13, 2011. Still Multi-Tasker in Chief, Obama continues to ignore the critics and quietly get the job done. From dealing with Terrorism doing something no other President has done on their watch.
This is an Interim Report that should be reviewed by both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street Movements. The essence
On The Job
of the support Small Business can expect from the White House is clear. Making it easier for Small Business to access capital from Wall Street is a step in the right direction. We would love to see and report on the Presidential Contenders and their teams reports. Oops is there one? Post it here if you can list a plan that any of them have from Cain to Perry or whomever the flavor of the week is. Or do they think they can run on dragging down a President who took the Lemons that Bush and Cheney left and is making Lemonade. Pay close to the Bi-Partisan Jobs Council Congress. Vote for the American Jobs Act and let’s get the job done for America and the World.
What we like most of all about this report is its title 5 Common Sense Initiatives to Jobs Creation. If only we can use the Common Sense Label above being Republican, Democrat Independent, Liberal or Conservative. I like tea and coffee and several times a day I may fall into anyone of those categories based on the issue.
Here is another common sense approach for Americans of African Descent. The Civil Rights to Platinum Rights Jobs Movement launched by International Goodwill Ambassador Oscar J. Webb. We call him the Architect, a Booker T. Washington Leader. Mostly Unsung I have had the pleasure to know his heart for Israel and Americans, especially those of African Descent who have gotten the short end of the stick for far too long .
Thank you Ambassador Webb for all you do personally for the people of Israel and America. Now is the time for the emergence of new leadership in media to get your story told. We at WCN would not have known anything about this Resolution had it not been from you.
Link to the most important International Public Policy Statement for Africans Globally.
We the people support The President of the United States. Pass the American Jobs Act Right Away. You have done it before and its time to do it again. It’s time the people had a voice. Whether you like Coffee or TEA. Bring forward a Credible Plan or get off the National Stage. Opposing the President for the sake of keeping your jobs is no longer acceptable.
We have a National Emergency and time for TEAM America to join forces and solve them. Allowing the next 14 Months to go by without doing the peoples business will not be tolerated. PASS THIS JOBS BILL AND DO IT RIGHT AWAY. Barack Obama, The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Presidential Partnership with We The People and Next Steps to Pass The American Jobs Act into Law. Obama’s Job Speech In 35 Seconds
Well we have all been waiting and last night we saw OBAMA stand up and deliver more than a speech, more than a promise or even a threat. PASS THE AMERICA JOBS ACT The American People don’t have 14 months to wait.
In the meantime the batan has been passed to The American People to start Lobbying Congress and letting their representatives know they should support this Bill and PASS THIS JOBS BILL RIGHT AWAY.
Obama’s Job Speech In 35 Seconds
CLICK TO ACCESS YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TELL THEM TO SUPPORT THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT
For those of us who have been waiting for a little more Brother in the President most likely saw some of what they were looking for last night. As President Obama came out from the opening Bell to the final breath of his speech advocating for The American People.
His common sense approach and skill was apparent in last nights speech to the joint session of Congress. At the same time the Disrespect of Speaker of the House John john Boehner made him and those that have locked step behind the Oppose Everything approach will not work here or now.
Who can argue with the President when you drive down decaying streets and schools that are falling apart with no maintenance. Who can argue that the politics in Washington is the problem and turning over the money to the individual States is not a great idea.
President Obama was front and center and fed every reason in the world that Congress should PASS The American Jobs Act now.
He cannot do this alone and We The People must take up the next step of using our collective brains to understand the Politics at hand. I read between the lines and President Obama one term or two will be okay financially. And his legacy as the President who got Osama Bin Laden assures him of being a spectacular President. I heard a President pleading and defending Veterans, Small and Medium Sized Businesses, Home Owners who got the short end of the stick in the Mortgage rip off and America’s Families especially our children.
How can any party disagree the need for jobs and the mobilization of infrastructure development for the United States.
REMEMBER THIS FROM OBAMA’S FIRST CAMPAIGN WE ARE THE CHANGE WE SEEK.
OPPOSING THE PRESIDENT ON THIS WILL DEFINE THE LINES.
In the Meantime as a service to those in New York City Please visit the following information to assist you with obtaining employment from NYC.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Apply Now for Civil Service ExamsThe Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) is accepting applications for the following civil service exams. The application deadline is September 27 (unless otherwise noted). So don’t delay, apply today!
To learn more, click on the link for each title or visit www.nyc.gov/dcas.
Take Tests on Our Computers
DCAS Computerized Testing Centers offer NYC’s most popular civil service exams on a walk-in basis, six days a week, at two convenient locations. Take your test on our computers and receive an instant preliminary score!
Application and Computerized Testing Center Locations
210 Joralemon St., 4th floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
2 Lafayette St., 17th floor
New York, NY 10007
To learn more, click on the link for each title or visit www. nyc.gov/dcas.
The NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) holds civil service exams for City jobs. For more information, call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK or visit www.nyc.gov/dcas.
.”“I believe, really, all cool things come from the hood,” says Coltrane Curtis, CEO at Team Epiphany. “So if you’re able to have that education, and see the trends before they happen, then you got an advantage.”
Curtis isn’t saying these words over the phone, or in a cafe somewhere while sitting across the table from me. Instead, his image moves back and forth within the frame of a YouTube video, where he stands on a stage at Miami Ad School speaking to a room filled with America’s advertising and marketing hopefuls, young men and women who have enrolled at an institution that boasts the tagline: The School of Pop Culture Engineering.
The skills being learned here, and that will later be put to use when pitching holistic media campaigns to the corporate heads of coveted Fortune 500 brands, are considered vital to Coltrane Curtis, in the short film “The Pursuit of (Cool) survival in a market that’s continually being reshaped — and redefined — by the mechanisms of technology and, most importantly, social media.
Curtis is just one of the many players who populates the ever-growing world of “influencers,” a new breed of marketer that shuns the traditional strategy of selling directly to a target demographic and focuses instead on appealing to key individuals (i.e., celebrities, influential bloggers, social media wunderkinds, etc.) who hold sway over a large base of potential customers.
For example, instead of attempting to capture the attention of 18- to 34-year-old consumers solely through print or online advertising, a so-called influencer might turn to Tumblr and its cult of product obsessives — those who blog and reblog images from fashion label lookbooks or commercials masquerading as short films — to initiate consumer interest on a more casual level. An influencer might also put his or her client’s product in the hands of a cultural luminary — Kanye West, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, etc. — with hopes of initiating a trickle-down effect. As in, Kanye wore those sneakers, I need a pair. Or, Lady Gaga carries that handbag, who’s the designer?
As Curtis explained to me, influencers help “engineer the consumer-facing persona of most celebrities.” It’s emulation, commodified. Or more aptly, idol worship leveraged for a profit. It reminds me of a well-rehearsed magic act that involves transforming the concept of cool into a bankable currency, time and again.
David Gensler, CEO of The KDU. (Photo: Phil Knott)
As examples, these big names represent innovators in music, art, technology, government, and sports. Most who adopt the title of influencer, however, hail from the creative community, specifically the marketing and advertising sector, and view the notion of influence in a very specific manner: How it translates to money. In many cases, it’s a self-proclaimed moniker, part of a growing and exhaustive lexicon of marketing speak delivered with swagger and a winking acknowledgment. And depending who you ask, response to the term can range from eye-rolling dismissal to full-fledged adoption.
For this article, I interviewed a key group of branding specialists, strategists, and media watchers — some who consider themselves influencers, others who have no interest in the title. When asked the question “What is an influencer?”, responses ranged from matter-of-fact to grandiose:
Raymond Leon Roker, co-founder of URB Magazine: “I would say an influencer goes well beyond an audience of a few. Everybody has friends that take their advice on things or emulate their choices at times. But an influencer reaches a deeper and more diverse audience. An influencer goes beyond the friend circle and into the general viewing audience, and is able to drive thought and action with people they have no direct association with.“
David Gensler, CEO of The KDU: “To some extent [influencer marketing] has always existed, marketers have always understood that the many follow the actions of a few. People aspire to climb to the rung above them, so they look to people who they perceive to already be in the desired position. They attempt to copy their style or mimic their behaviors. Recently, the idea has become ‘overgrown’ which is dangerous, since more emphasis is placed on who is consuming, rather than what is being consumed (referring to the quality of goods or services).”
Coltrane Curtis, CEO at Team Epiphany: “Influencers are the people behind the scenes that create brand energy, iconicism, and they help to design/engineer the consumer-facing persona of most celebrities. It means everything to me. It’s who I am. It’s who I wanted to be. It’s the title my peers have bestowed upon me.”
Bucky Turco, Editor-in-Chief at Animal New York: “I know the term has been in the mix for a while now, but in the past few years it appears to have taken hold. Before that, it was ‘tastemakers,’ but I guess that word ran its course. It’s certainly better than ‘brand sirens,’ but in the end, like all things marketing, there’s no new ideas, just new terms.”
Kevin Ma, Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Hypebeast.
Kevin Ma, Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Hypebeast: “Anyone can be an influencer, and this has become easier, especially with the rise of blogs and social media tools (such as Twitter and Facebook). In the past, influencers would be celebrities, musicians, artists, and politicians. But nowadays, it’s more accessible and easier to be an influencer as long as you have an audience and a platform to share your voice or information. The term is now overused and a bit abused. The main reason is because many large companies and corporate brands are utilizing influencers to market their brand. When this happens too often, the ‘pull’ of these ‘influencers’ are no longer genuine and takes away from the original meaning and authenticity of the term.”
Sky Gellatly, Director of Strategy at Team Epiphany: “An influencer is really any individual or group with cultural gravitas. In order to be influential, in any walk of life, you’ve had to earn your stripes; in most cases, being particularly innovative, prolific—or both—has engendered respect for you amongst your endemic community. Your name, opinion, and tonality is respected. You are an expert in your immediate community.”
Philip McKenzie, Managing Partner at FREE DMC and Founder of Influencer Conference: “Broadly I define an ‘influencer’ as someone who follows their own path, is rooted in creativity, and is looking for new ways to change or redefine their world. Someone who is an ‘influencer’ not only has broad relationships but also has deep relationships. In short, they are building a community around shared beliefs, principles, and interest.”
Truth or hype?
As with any new movement of self-styled entrepreneurs, determining veracity can be a challenge. The world of influencers is no exception.
“The reality of the digital age has created a numbing of the truth,” says David Gensler, CEO of The KDU. “These ‘influencers’ targeting, let’s say, youth culture or street culture fashion, reach such a small percentage of the total youth population, it is impossible to put any weight in their actions. I have experienced some that truly believe their own hype, believing they are the voice of a generation, which is simply false.”
A veteran in the field of holistic media design, Gensler is not alone in his skepticism.
Raymond Leon Roker, co-founder of URB Magazine.
Raymond Leon Roker, co-founder of URB Magazine, believes a good filter is needed to cut out all the noise. “Tons of hype and just as much truth,” he says. “The trick for corporate America and society is discerning the two. Again, snake oil sales have always been part of the societal fabric, but now it can be found at snakeoil.com or on a Twitter feed. Ultimately, ask the influencer for evidence. If you’re an influencer, show me the trail. Show me the results of your platform and reach.”
Roker’s challenge makes sense, but what metrics can be used to gauge something as intangible as influence, especially when it encompasses so many seemingly immeasurable factors? According to Team Epiphany‘s Curtis, “influence is a science.” Through Tumblr “Likes” and reblogs, tweets and retweets via Twitter, and Facebook shares, consumer interest can be measured, he says.
“Despite false industry sentiments, influencer marketing activations are as measureable as traditional media buys and the like,” Curtis says. “It [just] depends which agency you engage.”
When asked for specifics on metrics, and how Tumblr and Facebook “Likes” translate to money, Curtis says this: “Tumblr is the preferred shorthand tool of communication for influencers. It’s difficult to present effective results if the ‘client’ is not proficient in the navigation of relevant social media platforms. Facebook is different, brand managers set benchmarks for success that the program must work towards.”
If influence is indeed a science, it may be somewhat of a junk science, at least where the study of pinpointed social media analysis is concerned. According to some experts, followers and “Likes” are not enough. And new measurement technologies, often touted as Holy Grail solutions, are continually being introduced. There is a general impression that decoding such insider knowledge requires insight only an influencer possesses, a feat no layman could pretend to understand.
Which is part of the fascination surrounding a title as precious as that of “influencer.” For many, it smacks of hype and pretentious self-inflation; the look-at-me spirit of a carnival barker claiming he or she knows exactly what you, the listless consumer, need. And as with any group that claims to be a cultural oracle for the masses, it paints a picture of egomania, which has a tendency to leave a bad taste.
“I think the term is bullshit,” says Bucky Turco, Editor-in-Chief at Animal New York. “Throughout the ages, there will always be a niche of people influencing others who will then in turn spread the word to the masses. The only thing that has changed is the medium and speed in which things can be disseminated using social media, so of course it was time to reinstate a new word.”
Using the speed and immediacy of social media has allowed influencers to flourish, for both client work and their own personal branding. But some experts, like Gensler from The KDU, believe that trend may be more fleeting than many realize.
“I am not downplaying the short-term value of [the] hype some ‘influencers’ can generate, this can be an incredibly useful tool at times,” he says. “I am simply attacking the notion that it has become a primary tool companies should use to build long-term brand value.”
The line between engagement and exploitation
Sky Gellatly (right), Director of Strategy at Team Epiphany, with graffiti legend Eric Haze.
When examining the work that influencers do, it’s difficult to ignore the potential to exploit cultural and social movements in order to sell a client’s product. Traditional marketers and advertising firms already excel at such practices. For example, see Levi’s latest ‘Go Forth’ ad, which was released during the recent violence in London and featured romanticized riot imagery as a prominent visual. The salient undercurrent of the advert: Levi’s jeans are the uniform of would-be revolutionaries, please buy some. Another classic example of culture co-opted for a profit would be Nike’s short-lived ‘Major Threat’ campaign from 2005. In this example, the iconic cover art from Minor Threat’s self-titled debut album was plagiarized and reappropriated to market Nike’s skateboard team.
In other words, each example represents the questionable practice of corporate interests cashing in on either the spirit of social unrest, or the success of a singular cultural moment (i.e., the release of a seminal album).
When I inquired about the potential for exploitation en route to profit as it pertains to the world of influencers, the responses I received were mixed. For Sky Gellatly, Director of Strategy at Team Epiphany, he believes it’s crucial to understand both the marketer’s perspective as well as that of a targeted demographic.
“If you have working knowledge of both sides of an equation, you will always have something to add,” Gellatly says. “In this way, knowledge really is king. The more that you know, the more that you can give—or get hired to share.”
And he added this caveat: “I’ve tried to give back to my cultural communities, I suppose, as much as I’ve marketed to them.” This point is echoed by Curtis, Gellatly’s boss at Team Epiphany.
“We have a responsibility not only to our clients but also to our community,” Curtis says. “Our commitments to both are constant and steadfast. Team Epiphany is comprised of influencers, mavens, and brand-breakers whose gravitas in the space is undeniable.”
What’s unclear, however, is whether “gravitas” translates to objective thinking. For example, when an influencer is trying to reach a targeted demographic, where is the line drawn between mindful cultural tribute and excessive appropriation? And how often is finding a nuanced approach even a consideration?
“Some cultural and social movements want to be exploited, because that’s when the dollars come in,” says Roker. “So I don’t have a problem per se with pedaling influence to corporate sponsors, so long as it’s a win on the side of culture too. But I am suspect of somebody that claims to be able to influence all shapes and sizes of, say, hip-hop culture. Something like hip-hop is far too diverse to be spoken to by one voice. So beware the all-knowing influencer.”
Rise of a cottage industry
With the advent of services such as Klout, which rates an individual’s social media influence, and platforms such as Vogue’s Influencer Network, the concept of selling to consumers through social media — and using so-called influential voices to do so — continues to grow. Next month, for example, marks the second annual Influencer Conference, a “first of its kind global content platform that seeks to identify, understand, and support influencer culture globally.” Panelists and moderators, dubbed experts in the field, speak on topics such as “peer learning” and “product and curriculum development for Millennials and young professionals.” Last year, for example, one panel focused on the realness of one’s influence. And according to conference founder Philip McKenzie, the event is intended as an entry point for curious companies and brands.
“Working with clients via [our marketing agency] FREE DMC, we found that many wanted to access ‘influencers’ but didn’t know how, or were unwilling to take the risks to fully utilize and engage this audience,” McKenzie says. “The goal is to discuss the current and future state of influencer culture, [and] it’s a unique opportunity for brands to immerse themselves.”
Essentially, the conference is a marketplace for influencers eager to expand their client rosters and personal brands. But the conference wouldn’t exist without some level of demand for the services influencers offer, which begs the question: What spurred the rise of such a cottage industry?
“There have always been influencers,” Roker says. “But I think the main drivers in recent years are a breakdown in trust between consumers and citizens and ‘traditional’ brand and media messaging.” Consumers are no longer content to accept anonymous recommendations or information straight from a corporation when they can easily find trusted sources elsewhere, he says.
“And that ease in finding alternative feeds is the second conditional change brought on by technology,” Roker adds. “The proliferation of blogs and opinion channels means that ‘expertise’ can be amplified. And that has created a cottage industry of influencers for hire, repurposing, or simply listening to.”
Last year Roker tested his skills on MSN’s “The Tastemaker,” an online reality series that pitted contestants and their event planning/social media skills against one another. “The most interesting thing I learned,” he says, “is that influencing people is as much about tactics, tools, and methods as it is about your personal brand.” Roker ended up winning the competition, plus $10,000 in cash.
But where is the value in all of this? According to Gensler, there is value in the idea of a brand or individual striving to be an influential force in their respective field. “I just think we as a culture allowed a perfect crime to be committed against us when we lost sight of reality,” he adds. “We are now caught in this digital simulation reality, where success is measured only by mass traffic and rate of consumption and never quality. We need to find a balance between traditional value systems and this new hybrid digital system, which seems to have a set of values that stand in direct conflict with anything traditional.”
In the world of influencers, where culture and ever-changing concepts of “cool” are continually shopped and sold, the consequences of such a practice are rarely considered. To say this long-running cash-for-culture arrangement is a catastrophe would be hyperbole: Nobody dies when McDonald’s uses hip-hop to sell hamburgers; or when Nike banks on graffiti to move sneakers. Plus, intelligent consumers can spot hucksterism from a healthy distance. But there is a certain sad drama associated with the prolonged cheapening of cultural movements, moments, and experiences, especially when profits are the only apparent and desired end.
Last month I wrote an Editorial “A VIEW FROM A ROOM OUTSIDE WASHINGTON DC The Global Debt Crisis Fact or Fiction”? Rather than bash the President and his ideas or the ones that actually get to the President for consideration we have decided to create this discussion on the WCN Transmedia Group Blog.
As a African born in America, educated in the NYC School System and the greatest training ground anywhere Wall Street there are a few things I have learned after 53 years on the planet.
First let’s answer Jack Cafferty‘s Question. President Obama is suffering what Maya Angelo told me personally that David Dinkins suffered from, and that is too much consensus gathering. Too many voices and might I ad perhaps the wrong voices in some limited circumstances. Everyone with a brain knows that we are living under the policies of George Bush and The Republican Hard Right Conservative Agenda crafted by Carl Rove, Dick Cheney and was dealt to the American people with a Heavy Hand.
Maya told me then and I believe it to be true. Make a Decision and know you cannot be all things to all people and the worse decision is indecision. Many believe that we could have avoided that Debt Ceiling Crisis had the President whipped out the Executive Pen and Sign the powerful Executive Order. To which we pray and say that the Demise of The President may be premature.
The Office of the President is the Highest Office in the Land not The Speakers Office of the House. Also in my studies I have learned that it ain’t over til its over. So lets examine what needs to happen in the African-American Community to provide the President the support he received in the first election.
First The Free Enterprise System has a broken Leg however it can be reset and repaired with some innovative but common sense approaches to raising new revenue.
And not a Job Exchange Program from one state to another but sustained new business developing creating new jobs to support the growth of The American Dream.
Especially in that one success out of the 9 fully exceeds the losses of the other nine.
But how can you stimulate the Economy yet not spend or print any new money at the same time. Okay the two Stimulus packages got stuck and never reached the average American. Let me ask the Presidential Contenders, Exactly how will you create jobs without spending any money. Any reasonable person knows and understand that Public Sector Jobs are but one facet to the recovery and all that the Government controls.
And while the Free Enterprise System may have a broken leg it’s not dead. President Obama can more than recover and before you count out the country by denigrating the man and the office, take a serious look at how this is perceived by the world community that see’s little difference between Bernie Madoff and George Bush.
And Since the Sarah Palin’s of the world want to use rhetoric with little or no substance we must take a real hard look at the alternatives. President Obama has gotten Bin Laden, with a small team of incredible solders who if had been let loose would have gotten Bin Laden in the time it took together up the rest of the Bin Laden Family to take them out of the country while the rest of the nation couldn’t fly around the block.
For those of us from NY who experience the loss on 9/11 you must ask yourself this question. who among the Republican Candidates who do you think will have your families interest in mind.
While the President is down on political capital with the Congressional Black Caucus it’s also time for some sound ideas that have broad-based appeal to make it profitable for the Super Rich to duplicate themselves and teach the principles of duplication of the success models they have created for themselves and their personal families.
We have ideas on this blog alone that any person can sign up for FREE and start earning residual income for themselves in a 55 Mile Radius of their homes. We call them Transmedia Revenue Share Communities where the Advertising budgets are leveraged to gain new customers who invite them into their social media world via a click of products seen via Streaming Video using TV Everywhere Convergent Technologies.
Creating a duplicate process to allow the FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM to recover and drive profits into the hands of Americans who would work if they had the opportunity. Today with an Internet Connection an Unemployed person can build a Blog and launch a Media Company with many tools that are absolutely FREE to set up, manage and prosper from.
CHECK OUT THE CUSTOMER ADVANTAGE, SOCIAL DISH AND TRINITI COMMUNICATIONS TO THE LEFT.
IS PRESIDENT OBAMA IN TROUBLE? No President Obama will be just fine with or without a Second Term. The Nation is the focus and families being able to make ends meet is all that we really care about. Above all else May God Bless America and The President of the United States. May the spirit of his accomplishments overshadow the distractions which are counterproductive and dangerous for the future of the Office of the Presidency itself. But what do you think? This Early Election Season is a further distraction from undoing the Bush Debacle and finally supporting what may be the Greatest Multi-Tasking President in History. I saw a list of his accomplishments and few Presidents in history have had more decisions to make on a daily basis. And for all of you people of African Descent. The UN Declared 2011 the International Year for People of African Descent. Every Classroom, Church, Political Meeting, Family Reunion should be shouting this milestone to the rooftops. One Man that I have met since my studies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has come up with a plan for people of African Descent. It is the CIVIL RIGHTS TO PLATINUM RIGHTS MOVEMENT and International Goodwill Ambassador Oscar J. Webb is (The Architect). Together with WCN we are launching 2011 Songs for Africa to celebrate the accomplishments of People of African Descent around the world. Join us Leave your comments here and perhaps I will do a CNN I-Report with your response.
The following is an understatement: Heading into an election year, President Obama has some “issues”… and they start very close to home.
Top black leaders are criticizing the president. They say he hasn’t focused enough on problems devastating the African-American community – things like poverty, civil rights and jobs.
The unemployment rate among blacks is almost 16%, and for young African-Americans, it’s nearly 40%. Nationally, unemployment is a shade over 9%.
The congressional black caucus recently challenged the president in a series of town halls. Leaders say they don’t know what his jobs plan is for the black community, and “we want him to come out on our side and advocate, not to watch and wait.”
Politico reports the president is reportedly angry that black leaders aren’t giving him credit for achievements like health care reform and protecting medicaid – things that will help minority communities.
But here’s the bottom line: If President Obama wants to win a second term, he needs blacks to come out in record numbers like they did in 2008 – especially in states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
African-Americans will likely vote for Mr. Obama overwhelmingly, but the question remains how high turnout will be.
And it’s not just blacks. The president is also losing support among another key Democratic voting bloc: Women.
A new Gallup poll shows a record low of 41% of women approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing. That’s a 30-point drop since he first took office.
Overall, a recent CNN poll shows that more than 1 in 4 Democrats think the party should nominate someone other than President Obama in 2012. And, 2/3 of all Americans give him a thumbs-down on the economy – the nation’s top issue.
Like I said… saying the president has some “issues” is an understatement.
A couple of months ago, when the Republican Party suddenly got serious about America’s debt-and-deficit problem after ignoring it for a decade, the suspicion among cynics was that this newfound religion was just a convenient way to get President Obamafired and themselves reelected.After all, swing voters vote with their wallets, and if the unemployment rate is as high in a year as it is now, Obama’s probably toast in 2012.
But this charge–that Republicans would put their own re-election campaigns ahead of the well-being of millions of Americans by intentionally tanking the economy–seemed a stretch, even given the ethics of Washington.
Couldn’t it be that Republicans actually believed that suddenly cutting government spending and never raising taxes would solve the debt-and-deficit problem and help the economy–despite the ample evidence from across the pond that “austerity” doesn’t help balance budgets or turbocharge economies?
Yes, it could be, said those who had faith in their elected representatives. The Republicans actually believed this. That’s why they were willing to force the US into default rather than raise the debt ceiling so the government could fund the spending they had already approved.
Well, as the debt-ceiling debate went down to the wire, it became clear that at least some Republicans–the Tea Party kind–would happily have tanked the economy to advance their own political goals (how else to explain the crazy voting of folks like Michele Bachmann, who actually wanted to put the country into default?). But perhaps the mainstream Republicans weren’t so selfish and venal.
I was curious about the Administration’s view of this, so I recently put the question to a senior administration official:
Were the Republicans intentionally trying to tank the economy to get Obama fired?
Remarkably, the senior administration official said he thought not. He said that House Speaker Boehner had actually wanted to get a “grand bargain” debt-ceiling deal done but that he he had been stymied by the new crazy people in the Republican party. And the rest of the mainstream Republicans, the senior administration official said–folks who were reasonable enough to consider some tax increases–were too spineless to stand up to Bachmann, et al. And, yes, those folks also wanted to get re-elected.
Well, this was a charitable view. I left the conversation feeling better about our elected representatives. Perhaps, for the most part, they actually were putting the country first.
Wait, what? Suddenly, the Republicans want to raise taxes? What happened to all that rhetoric about how it was insane to raise taxes in the middle of a weak economy?
Could it be that raising payroll taxes would just mean raising taxes on poor and middle-class people and raising taxes on poor people is fine with Republicans? Is that why it’s okay?
Or is it that raising taxes at the end of this year will create a drag on the economy in the critical election year, thus adding a tailwind to the Republicans’ effort to get re-elected (or, in the case of the White House, elected)?
Which is it? Which taxes are Republicans actually for and against? I love this newfound commitment to fiscal responsibility–the drunken-spending-plus-tax-cuts of the past decade has been infuriating–but I can’t handle the inconsistency.
Republicans, please convince me that you’re not JUST in favor of cutting taxes for rich people and cutting spending that helps poor people.
And just as important, please convince me that you’re not intentionally trying to tank the economy so you can get (re)elected!
The proposal will also likely include some infrastructure spending and a tax credit for employers to encourage hiring.
(Like other jobs proposals that have been reported
in recent weeks, this news is presumably another White House trial balloon).
The jobs-training program would be based on a Georgia initiative in which unemployed folks are “hired” for two months by companies.
The unemployed folks continue to receive their unemployment benefits from the government, as well as a stipend for travel, child-care, and other expenses. At the end of the two months, the companies can choose whether or not to hire the workers.
In the Georgia program, about 16,500 companies and 32,000 people have signed up. Of the ~23,000 folks who completed the program, about 25% were hired by the company they worked for. Nearly two-thirds were hired by someone.
by Zeke Miller on Aug 21, 2011, 9:53 AMGOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is taking a page from John McCain‘s 2000 campaign and telling it like it is.In an interview with ABC’sJake Tapper on ‘This Week,’ the former Utah governor and Obama Ambassador to China criticized the entire GOP field — saying they are too radical for the average American voter.
Jon Huntsman
“I wouldn’t necessarily trust any of my opponents” with the economy, he said, citing their opposition to the debt deal signed by President Barack Obama earlier this month.
“If we wanted to talk about [Romney’s] inconsistencies we’d be here all afternoon,” he added when asked about his opponent’s position on the flat tax.
Huntsman, who said he believes in global warming and evolution unlike Perry, also criticized the Texas governor’s threats against Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke: “Well, I don’t know if that’s pre-secession Texas or post-secession Texas. But in any event, I’m not sure that the average voter out there is going to hear that ‘treasonous’ remark and say that sounds like a presidential candidate, that sounds like someone who is serious on the issues.”
Billing himself as a “truth-teller” who will appeal to the broad base of a “center-right” nation, Huntsman seems out of place in the GOP primary field which is in a race to capture the hearts of the more conservative party base — and it shows in the polls.
In two months of campaigning Huntsman has been unable to break out of the low-single-digits in polls, struggling with low name recognition and being overshadowed by more vocal and visible candidates like Bachmann.
In recent days Huntsman has taken to Twitter to break out to the general public — first using it to criticize Perry for questioning the scientific validity of evolution and global warming, and then to plug his rock and roll tastes.
Huntsman’s path to the nomination rests in a top-two finish in New Hampshire and South Carolina, followed by a victory in the key swing state of Florida. Whether this viral campaign can help him gain traction in the race is as yet unknown, but he’s quickly running out of time.