Univision Blasts PPM As They Announce Financials

UNIVISION COMMUNICATIONS has announced financial results for Q4 and full year ended DECEMBER 31st, 2009. For the fourth quarter of 2009, net revenue increased 2.1% to $515.9 million from $505.2 million in 2008 and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization1, or OIBDA, decreased 1.4% to $210.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 from $213.5 million in 2008.

For the year ended DECEMBER 31st, 2009, net revenue declined 2.9% to $1,972.5 million from $2,032.4 million in 2008 and OIBDA1 increased 3.2% to $823.4 million from $798.2 million in 2008.

Arbitron’s sample methodology and panel maintenance and recruitment is inherently biased against minorities, including Hispanics and African-Americans.

Pres./CEO JOE UVA said, "UNIVISION made significant strides in many areas in 2009, even while navigating through a very challenging economic environment: we diversified our revenue streams through new retransmission consent agreements and key strategic partnerships; enhanced our future content offerings and production capabilities through the launch of UNIVISION STUDIOS; delivered strong, competitive ratings and maintained our strong leadership positions across all platforms; and effectively managed our balance sheet and strengthened our capital structure for the long-term."

Radio Revs Down 15.8%

Throughout Q4, UNIVISION reported "solid ratings in the markets measured by the

ARBITRON diary method and in HOUSTON, where ARBITRON’s PORTABLE PEOPLE METER is accredited." Revenues were down 15.8% in Q4 to $83.7 million.

UNIVISION RADIO continues to battle with ARBITRON -- refusing to subscribe to and encode PPM. UVA blasted the methodology, saying "ARBITRON’s sample methodology and panel maintenance and recruitment is inherently biased against minorities, including Hispanics and African-Americans. That has to do with in-person recruitment practices, or lack thereof, as well as, we know many minorities, particularly younger Hispanic families are cell phone-only individuals and households. Their recruiting did not reflect accurately the sampling relative to the percentage of population. This is being addressed in a number of ways.

"At the end of the fourth quarter, the House Governement Oversight Committee held a hearing on ARBITRON and required them to get back with a working solution plan to a coalition of minority broadcasters and the MEDIA RATING COUNCIL. It is still ongoing. As you’re aware, ARBITRON’s CEO resigned shortly after that hearing. We are encouraged that the new CEO is being more responsive. However, we continue not to encode in key markets and we’re not subscribing to use the ratings. We know that in order for this to fix itself we have to take some pain here, and we’re prepared to take that pain to get it fixed, because once it is fixed and is accredited by the MRC it’ll reflect an upside to this business."

CFO ANDY HOBSON also took a shot at PPM, adding "ARBITRON knows how to fix their samples -- and they’ve done it in HOUSTON, which is one of only three markets where they’ve been accredited by MRC -- out of 33 now in operation -- so they know how to do it. It’s more expense than they want to incur, and from our point of view, they need to make the right business decision as the monopolist supplier of radio research to produce intellectually honest ratings."

Closing ceremony brings upbeat end to games -- Olympics that began with luger’s death wraps up with happy celebration

story by NBC Sports news services

photos by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - An Olympics that began with the death of a luger ended Sunday with an exuberant celebration of Canada — reflecting a determined comeback by the host country's organizers and athletes.

A festive crowd of 60,000 jammed into BC Place Stadium for the closing ceremony, many of them Canadians abuzz over the overtime victory by their men's hockey team earlier in the day to give the host nation a Winter Olympics record of 14 gold medals.

The ceremony started with a tongue-in-cheek moment, as a clown raised the fourth arm of the cauldron, which had failed to come up during the opening ceremony. Catriona LeMay Doan, who was unable to light her portion of the cauldron in the opener, came out to light the torch for the finale.

The gaiety contrasted sharply with the moment of silence at the opening ceremony Feb. 12 for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year-old luger killed in a horrific training-run crash on the sliding track in Whistler just hours before that ceremony.

"The games started in very difficult conditions. ... No one will forget that," International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said before the closing. "However, you have to be fair to the organizers, you have to be fair to the Canadians, and you have to be fair to athletes and judge the games on their own merit — without forgetting what happened before."

Canadian officials ensured there was some poignancy at the closing ceremony as well, selecting figure skater Joannie Rochette as their flagbearer. Her mother died of a heart attack hours after arriving in Vancouver last weekend, but Rochette chose to carry on and won a bronze medal, inspiring her teammates and fans around the world.

"Yes, it's been a tough week for me," she said before the ceremony. "But I walk tonight into that stadium with a big smile on my face. ... I accomplished my goals, and I want to celebrate with my teammates."

The U.S. flagbearer was Bill Demong, a veteran of four Olympics who won a gold and silver medal in Nordic combined.

The athletes streamed in together, with no march of nations.

There were plenty of reasons for Canada and the United States to celebrate. The U.S. won 37 medals overall — the most ever for any nation in a Winter Olympics.

Canada, after a slow start, set a Winter Games record with 14 golds and sparked public enthusiasm in Vancouver that veterans of multiple Olympics described as unsurpassed.

Crosby’s goal wins it, Canada beats US 3-2 for the Gold Medal in the final 2010 Winter Olympics competition

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA(AP) —Sidney Crosby scored 7:40 into overtime and Canada beat the United States 3-2 on Sunday to earn its second men’s hockey gold medal in the last three Olympics.

Crosby’s shot from the lower part of the left circle eluded goalie Ryan Miller, the tournament MVP.

The United States had forced overtime on Zach Parise’s goal with 24.4 seconds left in regulation.

NY Gov. Paterson drops Gubernatorial election bid

story by AP
written by Michael Gormley
photo by AP

NEW YORK – Less than a week after declaring he would seek a full four-year term, New York Gov. David Paterson abruptly dropped his election bid Friday under pressure from Democrats concerned about his faltering agenda and criticism of his handling of a domestic abuse case involving a trusted aide.

At a news conference in New York City, Paterson cited an accumulation of distractions, but said he had never abused his office.

"But I am being realistic about politics," he said. "It hasn't been the latest distraction ... It's been an accumulation of obstacles that have obfuscated me from bringing my message to the public."

Paterson insisted that he would not resign and said he would serve out his term "fighting for the state of New York."

Paterson became governor in 2008, when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. His decision to abandon the race paves the way for state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to make an unimpeded run for the Democratic nomination.

Paterson had publicly prided himself on beating the odds, including overcoming blindness to rise through treacherous New York politics. He formally announced his campaign just last weekend, and his decision to leave the race comes just 19 days short of his 2-year anniversary as governor.

President Obama's Health Care Summit - February 25, 2010 -

video by C-Span

Morning Session


Afternoon session

Radio One scraps plan to relocate headquarters.

story by Inside Radio

Radio One won’t return to its roots after all. The company reportedly has pulled out of a plan to move its corporate headquarters from suburban Lanham, MD back into Washington, DC where founder Cathy Hughes began her radio career more than two decades ago.
The building was to be known as Broadcast Center One and mix office, retail and residential space. Developers had secured tax breaks from the city, but it appears financial reasons will keep Radio One at its current location. Despite years of delays, the developer tells the Washington Business Journal it will move forward and will look for new tenants for the Radio One space.

Rev. Al Sharpton questions Tavis Smiley on Sharpton's Syndication One daily talk radio show, about Smiley's recent commentary (previous blog) criticizing Black Leadership

Rev. Al Sharpton questioned Tavis Smiley on Syndication One's Al Sharpton Talk Radio Show, about Smiley's commentary calling out Black Leaders (that included by name Al Sharpton) to challenge President Barack Obama to address Black Issues, which Smiley presented yesterday 'live' on the Tom Joyner Radio Show. Sharpton says that Tavis "distorted" his points-of-view.

Here is the complete  -- WOW! -- interview with Tavis Smiley on Syndication One's "Keeping it Real with Al Sharpton".

Click above title or click the following link for full audio:  http://www.blip.tv/file/3259184

Tavis Smiley 'calls out' Black leaders to challenge President Obama to address Black Issues

Tavis Smiley comments this morning on “Tom Joyner's Radio Show”
http://www.tavistalks.com/sites/www.tavistalks.com/files/TavisSmileyCommentary_2010_0223_final.pdf

Tavis full transcript: “I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor.I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. This is the way I’m going.

If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way. If it means dying for them,
I’m going that way. Because I heard a voice saying, ‘Do something for others.’”

The words of the greatest American we’ve ever produced, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., talking about the choice he made not just, Tom, to identify with, but togive his life for the least among us; the politically, socially, economically disenfranchised in America.

And so Dr. King made a choice, Sybil, and we, too, must make a choice. We, too, have a cross to bear just like Dr. King.“Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone and there’s a cross for me.”

Some of us, who call ourselves Black leaders are making the wrong choice. I’m afraid this morning, Tom, that in so doing, we are misleading, misguiding, Black folk. It’s time for a course correction, not now, but right now.

Because leadership without followership is a sinkin’ ship.

Let me get straight to the point this morning by taking you back, Tom, just over a year ago in fact, when then Senator Barack Obama was elected our nation’s first African American President, and we celebrate that.
Black leaders were all over the news you’ll recall, expressing their frustration and their angst at the very suggestion that they were no longer relevant, simply because we had elected a Black president.

That notion was asinine and preposterous and they said so early and often. They argued, correctly, I might add, that it’s not either/or, a Black president or Black leadership, but rather both - and a Black president and Black leaders working together on an urban agenda for the Black masses.

But, my Lord, what a difference a year makes. Over the past few weeks a chorus of Black leaders have started singing a new song. I must have missed that choir rehearsal, J., because I don’t know the words to this new hymn.

The President doesn’t need a Black agenda, they sing. He’s not the president of Black America, he’s the president of all America, and he need not focus specifically on the unique challenges Black America is facing, they sing.

As you have probably deduced by now, I’m having some trouble learning my part and carrying this new tune.

Now, I know all too well, “God of our weary years, God of our silent tears.” I know, “Wake up everybody, no more sleeping in bed.” I know, “Hang on to the world as it spins around. Just don’t let the spin get you down. Things are moving fast. Hold on tight and you will last because someday we’ll all be free.”

I know “What’s going on.” I know “We shall overcome,” but I don’t know this new tune, the president doesn’t need a Black agenda.

And I’ve been hearing from other members, Tom of our Black chorale, all across America as well, who either, like me, don’t know these new lyrics or have heard the song but ain’t down with singing it. That said, it’s time for a choir rehearsal so that we’re all singing from the same page.

And so, our choir rehearsal will be held Saturday, March 20, in Chicago at 8:00am, at Chicago State University, with Dr. Wayne Watson.

Now, for all of those who can’t attend the choir rehearsal in person, this rehearsal will be broadcast on national television.

We’ve asked, Tom, some of the lyricists who apparently wrote this new song to show up respectfully and explain why they penned these strange words that we’ve been reading all across the press that the president doesn’t need a Black agenda.

I say this lovingly, they’re all friends and freedom fighters…but Al Sharpton, Ben Jealous, Charles Ogletree, Valerie Jarrett, Marc Morial, Dr. Dorothy Height, will also be joined by some other crooners who I think do want us singing a different song…Barbara Lee, Angela Glover Blackwell, Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, Jesse Jackson, just for example.

Other invited singers include Louis Farrakhan who hasn’t been singing much of late, but who has a solo I’m told he’s ready to share. Should be some kind of choir rehearsal to get us all singing the same song, Saturday, March 20, in Chicago, on national television.

You can register right now at www.tavistalks.com. That’s tavistalks.com. This come to Jesus meeting is free and open to the public.

And, finally, Tom, before you meet us at choir rehearsal at Chicago State, March 20th, marinate on these things if you will; questions, I want you to consider.

􀂙 Do we think that we can give President Obama a pass on Black issues and somehow when he’s no longer in office, just resurrect the moral authority to hold future presidents accountable to our concerns? How does that work? You give one president a pass on Black issues, but when he’s gone, you go right back to trying to hold the next president accountable. I don’t get how we’re going to do that.

􀂙 If we, African Americans, go silent, how do we keep our brothers and sisters in Africa and the Third World from being rendered invisible?

􀂙 Why is the Black agenda always framed, Tom, as exclusionary, reductionist, pejorative and negative? Isn’t the Black agenda the human agenda?

􀂙 Would America have even been America without her Negro people?

􀂙 If Lincoln, FDR, Truman and LBJ, all became iconic and transformational presidents by courageously confronting race can President Obama, our beloved president become a transformational president by avoiding race?

􀂙 And finally, if there is no need for a Black agenda, then why doesn’t the NAACP refund my life membership?

In closing, the words of Langston Hughes, “Looks like what drives me crazy don’t have no effect on you, but I’m going to keep on at it ‘til it drives you crazy, too.”

Former NBA player star Jayson Williams sentenced to at least 18 months in prison

story by AP
photo by AP
video by ESPN

SOMERVILLE, N.J. -- Former NBA star Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for fatally shooting a hired limo driver in 2002, ending an eight-year legal odyssey by tearfully apologizing to the victim's family. He will be eligible for parole in 18 months.

Williams, avoiding a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count that deadlocked the jury at his 2004 trial, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the death of Costas Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002. At the same 2004 trial, he was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but convicted on four counts of covering up the shooting.

The sentences on the assault and cover-up counts will run concurrently. State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman went along with a plea agreement that spelled out the five-year prison sentence and the potential for Williams to be released as early as summer 2011.

In court Tuesday, a tearful Williams turned and apologized to Andrea Adams, Christofi's sister, saying, "There's not a day I wake up that I don't feel sorry for what I did to Mr. Christofi and that I put you through this."

Adams wrote in a letter read by a court employee that the punishment "didn't fit the crime" and spoke of "eight years of agony watching Jayson Williams prance around and live his life and acting like nothing happened."

Williams paid Christofi's family more than $2 million in 2003 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

Williams had been free on bail since being charged in 2002, but was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs to begin serving his sentence.

On the night of the shooting, the 55-year-old Christofi had driven Williams and several of the basketball player's friends to Williams' mansion after taking them to a local restaurant.

Williams said at his plea hearing last month that he gave the group a tour of the house and showed them his gun collection in his bedroom. While showing off a double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun, Williams admitted, he failed to check the safety mechanism and inspected only one of the two barrels before snapping it shut.

The gun fired, striking Christofi once in the chest and killing him. Witnesses testified that Williams tried to cover up his involvement by initially placing the gun in Christofi's hands and instructing those present in the bedroom to lie about what happened.

"Had the defendant exercised one ounce of caution that night, Gus Christofi would still be alive and we wouldn't be here," Deputy Attorney General Steven Farman said Tuesday.

The legal wrangling in the case eventually took on a life of its own, beginning with a change of venue for the trial from Hunterdon County, the site of the shooting, to Somerset County.

In 2007, defense attorneys tried to get the case tossed out after Hunterdon County Prosecutor J. Patrick Barnes divulged that a white investigator in his office had used a racial slur to describe Williams, who is black, in a 2002 meeting. The dispute reached the state Supreme Court, but Coleman refused to throw out the 2004 convictions or the retrial.

Williams, who turned 42 on Monday, played nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets before a leg injury forced him to retire in 2000. He was in the second year of a six-year, $86 million contract.

Known for his gregarious personality, Williams became an NBA analyst for NBC but was suspended after Christofi's shooting. He attempted a short-lived comeback in the minor league Continental Basketball Association in 2005.

Williams has suffered several recent personal setbacks.

His wife filed for divorce last year, but has attended his recent court appearances and was in court Tuesday.

Police used a stun gun on him in a New York hotel last year after a female friend said he was acting suicidal. He was charged with assault in May after allegedly punching a man in the face outside a North Carolina bar, but charges were dropped. His father, E.J., with whom he owned a construction business, died in South Carolina in November.

Last month he was charged with drunken driving after he crashed his SUV in Manhattan. Prosecutors said his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

"To my family, please forgive me for the pain I've caused you," Williams said Tuesday as he read from a statement. "You deserve a better father, a better brother and son than I have been. I am not a bad man, but I acted badly on Feb. 14. I will work endlessly to improve myself and make positive contributions to society."

American small businesses needn't go extinct

During the past thirty years, small businesses have been closing thier doors, bought out, and all-too-often cornered and pushed out by Corporations. New-Day Corporations consolidate multiple products and services, routinely removing mom and pop small companies.as a part of a new-day business model complete with tax incentives. Multi-State/Multi-National conglomerates invest into outsourced products that are manufactored by dollar-a-day labor markets in other countries. Tax incentives for out-sourcing have been commonly granted to hire foreign labor forces and set up factories in foreign lands. Transferring Money to other lands are taxed at a lower rate. American workers are replaced in the United States by workers brought into American on a weekday pass.Wall street investors and big banks fund these companies to increase quarterly profits without fair competitive regulationa, nor concern for human safety -- especially chemical waste in land fills and in the air we breath causing high rates of cancer in "every" American family.

Well, what a beginning to introduce an article I read in the Washington Posts' Outlook section in this past Sunday's paper. The article is titled "Let's put mom and pop back in business" by Barry C. Lynn. Below Lynn gives us enough history and legislation from past Presidents' administrations, that focus our attention on the usurption of small businesses by the Walmarts, CVS's, Big Banks, etc...that have created high unemployment and underemployment, small businesses closing, and formerly franchised US factories now shut down due to low maintainance costs of factories in Shanghai, Singapore, South America, Japan, Middle East, India, etc... Even newly created factory foreign "cities" build by American....I mean....Multi-National Corporations.

How can mom and pop make a comeback when billions of dollars are invested in Mega-Corporations to corner markets? 

Here is the article with Lynn's contact information if you have any questions.

Let's put mom and pop back in business 
written by Barry C. Lynn

The dream of owning a successful small business is still alive in America and remains an essential part of our national self-image. But along the main streets and rural byways of the country today, in place of countless small businesses supporting millions of families in tens of thousands of communities, the banners of a few giant corporations now fly.

Where the independent pharmacist counted pills, we see a CVS employee. Where family livestock farms dotted the landscape, we see immense operations run by Smithfield and Tyson. Where the buttonmakers of New York and Los Angeles sold their wares, we see the imported products of Li & Fung. Where our community bank stood, we see Bank of America. Where the local grocer marketed local fruit, we see Wal-Mart. Where the local general-merchandise store stacked jeans, we see, well, Wal-Mart again.
It's not only mom-and-pop operations that are vanishing. It's also smaller advertising agencies, law firms and medical offices. It's happening, too, in the pharmaceutical and software industries, which only a decade ago displayed vibrant competition among upstart ventures. One recent study, based on data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, placed the United States second to last out of 22 rich nations in the percentage of workers who run their own businesses. Only Luxembourg ranked lower.

The American small business is increasingly becoming an American myth: Self-employment in nonfarm businesses has fallen by nearly half over the past 50 years.


President Obama is proposing various initiatives to strengthen small businesses, including a $30 billion fund for community banks that agree to lend to local entrepreneurs, in an effort to spur job creation and help the still-fragile economy. But the problems besetting small business in America far predate the Great Recession, and undoing the de facto exclusion of small entrepreneurs from so many of the country's business activities will require more than "fresh cash".

Ask an economist why so many small businesses have given way to giant chains, and you'll hear a lecture on the dynamics of capitalism and free markets, and how the creative destruction of small, independent businesses is a natural and benign process. Yet specific political moves and decisions in Washington over the past several decades have made it much easier for the people who control large-scale corporations to displace small proprietors.

One of the most important was a radical change in 1981 in the enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws. Until then, small entrepreneurs were protected by a legal framework created during the Second New Deal, which began in 1935. Many histories of the era focus on the FDR administration's initial decision to all but suspend antitrust laws. But after the Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional, the administration (along with numerous populist allies in Congress) reversed course and adopted a very aggressive competition policy designed to protect citizens against excessive corporate concentration.

In practice, this was achieved through more strategic enforcement of antitrust laws, including cases against the chain stores that emerged during the Progressive Era. For instance, the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations all took action against the A&P grocery chain, the Wal-Mart of midcentury America. The populists also promoted competition through such all-but-forgotten market laws as the Robinson-Patman and Miller-Tydings acts, which limited the ability of large trading companies to use pricing power to exert control over producers and thereby gain an advantage over smaller retailers.

Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas expressed the profoundly political goal of such legislation in a 1949 case that focused on efforts by big oil companies to control independent gas stations. "When independents are swallowed up by the trusts and entrepreneurs become employees of absentee owners," Douglas wrote, the result "is a serious loss in citizenship. Local leadership is diluted. He who was a leader in the village becomes dependent on outsiders for his action and policy."

The populists in the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations and in Congress were comfortable with concentrated economic power: They accepted outright monopoly, for instance, in the case of many utilities, as long as the public had a say in their management, and they accepted heavy industry in the hands of a few large companies, as long as they were forced to compete. But in retail and farming, the populists opted to protect the market system that allowed individual owners to deliver their products and services to their neighbors free from predation by distant powers. The result was a restoration of the republic of small proprietors established by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 19th century.

Although Americans began to hear the term "deregulation" when President Jimmy Carter dismantled the Civil Aeronautics Board, what Carter-era reformers envisioned was a shift of regulatory power from micromanaging agencies to more-hands-off antitrust officials. Soon after President Ronald Reagan took office, however, officials in his administration made clear that, to them, "deregulation" meant shifting that power from public to private hands.

Instead of protecting competitive markets, Reagan officials said they would use anti-monopoly laws to promote "consumer welfare," which they defined largely as lower prices. It no longer mattered how much power was consolidated, as long as the consolidation appeared to result in the delivery of less-expensive goods.

A generation after the introduction of this approach, the result is clear. The seemingly endless variety of products in our stores is controlled by an ever smaller number of immense trading companies that, increasingly, charge us higher prices. And we have witnessed the greatest consolidation of economic power since the days of J.D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan.

The good news is that, thanks to the ceaseless creative energy of American entrepreneurs, we are seeing a renaissance of small farms and farmers markets across the country, and a resurgence of local business communities in cities including Austin, Salt Lake City and Phoenix. But as vibrant as these movements may be, they operate mostly at the margins. Many of our most gifted entrepreneurs remain under siege by rivals armed not with better products or better business models, but more money.

Take John Cottam, who opened the Spectacle optical shop in Salt Lake City in 1985. Cottam, who in earlier ventures designed glasses for singer Elton John and the classic 1982 film "Blade Runner," told me that every day he must contend with the Italian eyewear goliath Luxottica. Over the past decade the people who run this company have rolled up control of thousands of retail outlets across America, under such brands as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Target Optical and Sunglass Hut -- many of which compete directly with Cottam.

To compound the challenge, Luxottica has also acquired many of the brands -- such as Oliver Peoples and Oakley -- that Cottam's customers expect to find at the Spectacle. "All of us little guys are nervous," Cottam said. "There's always that fear that they will control everything."

Then there's Sam Calagione, who built Dogfish Head Craft Brewery into a regional success in Delaware and Maryland. However, the shelf space across the country for his ales is limited not by the tastes of America's beer drinkers but by the people in charge of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, two foreign-owned trading companies that directly control some 80 percent of all beer sold in America.

Or consider what any American entrepreneur faces if he or she decides to go head to head in any line of business against Wal-Mart.

The woes are even present in franchising; although many franchise operations remain true to their cooperative spirit, a growing number function like pyramid schemes, with money flowing from the many small franchisees to a tiny group of managers who control the brand.

For more than two centuries, small businesses have been a prime source of wealth and well-being in America, creating jobs, bringing better ideas to market, building middle-class communities and, in the case of many immigrants, instilling the practices and values of American society. Today, we can recover the right to make a living by serving our own neighbors and our own communities through our own open markets. We may have to adapt some of our laws to account for new conditions, but the basic models we need await us in our own recent past.

lynn@newamerica.net
 
Barry C. Lynn is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of "Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction."

Credit Card Bill implemented

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 22, 2010

Statement by the President on the Credit Card Bill Implementation

Today, the major reforms of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act that I signed into law last spring take effect, marking a significant turning point for American consumers. For too long, credit card companies have had free rein to employ deceptive, unfair tactics that hit responsible consumers with unreasonable costs. But today, we are shifting the balance of power back to the consumer and we are holding the credit card companies accountable.

The new rules taking effect today mean that credit card companies can no longer retroactively increase rates or increase rates in the first year you open an account, charge misleading late fees or use over-limit fee traps. They’re now required to send ample notification if they plan to make changes to the terms of your card and they must employ clear, simple standard payment dates and times. There are new protections for underage consumers, restrictions on double billing and caps on high-fee cards. The new rules are an unprecedented step in my administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen consumer protections and enact meaningful financial reform.

These new rules don’t absolve consumers of their obligation to pay their bills, but they finally level the playing field so that every family and small business using a credit card has the information they need to make responsible financial decisions.

Apolo Ohno wins bronze, becomes most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian

photo by AP

story by AP

VANCOUVER - Apolo Ohno became the most decorated Winter Olympian in U.S. history on Saturday night, winning his seventh Olympic medal in taking the bronze in the 1000-meter short track competition.

A week ago he claimed the crown as the most successful short track skater in Olympic history when he won his sixth overall medal.

Poll Finds PBS Most Trusted Name in News

written by Marisa Guthrie of Broadcasting & Cable

A new poll finds PBS among the most trusted institutions in America and the most trusted name in news. According to an annual poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, 40% of Americans trust PBS' news and public affairs programs a "great deal." Fox News was second at 29% and CNN was third at 27%.

Additionally, when asked to chose whether news coverage, investigations and discussions of major issues on PBS programs was "liberal," "mostly fair" or "conservative," 40% chose "mostly fair." NBC and ABC were second with 33% each followed by CNN (31%), NPR (29%), Fox News (25%) and MSNBC (24%).

PBS Kids also earned high marks from the public with 67% of respondents rating children's programming "very important" compared to 49% for children's programming on cable and 44% on broadcast television.

The public broadcaster's public funding also got high approval ratings with 80% of respondents saying funding for PBS is money "well spent" and an "excellent" use of tax dollars, second only to military defense.

Additionally, when informed that public broadcasting receives 15% of its funding from the government - coming out to about $1 per person per year - 46% said this amount is "too little," 39% said it's "about right" and 11% said it's "too much."

The survey included 1,002 participants, ages 25 or older, across the country and was conducted January 4-18, 2010.

Syracuse Professor Boyce Watkins argues that Race is Heavily Implied in Media Analysis of Tiger Woods

Syracuse, NY – Syracuse University Professor and social commentator Dr. Boyce Watkins says that the recent public apology by Dr. Woods and subsequent analysis of Tiger’s mental health are all related to race and the way America has historically dealt with African American athletes.

“If you go through history and see how we dealt with Michael Vick, Ron Artest, Barry Bonds, Randy Moss and other black male athletes, you tend to find a consistent theme,” says Dr. Watkins, who does a weekly segment on the Al Sharpton radio show. “There are always value judgments about black male athletes, their character and their choices. When the athletes screw up, the world only allows them to return once they’ve been put in their place and sufficiently humbled.”

Dr. Watkins argues that African American men are perceived to be arrogant, selfish and undisciplined in their decisions, which feeds directly into the media’s interpretation of Tiger Woods and his choices.

“There were segments on major media asking if Tiger’s ego was out of control. Match that with the conversation about mental illness and poor character, and you would almost believe that no one else in America has ever cheated on their spouse,” says Dr. Watkins.

Watkins cites Glenn Beck’s comparison of Tiger Woods to OJ Simpson to be a strong case in point.

“Why would Beck compare Tiger Woods to OJ? Tiger didn’t do anything illegal, and he certainly wasn’t accused of murder. The main similarities between OJ and Tiger are that they are both prominent black male athletes who’d gained favor among whites,” says Watkins. “Oh yeah, they are both accused of hurting a beautiful white woman, which has gotten black men lynched all throughout history.”

Dr. Watkins, who is the resident scholar for AOL Black Voices, also finds it ironic that Elin Nordegren is considered to be a victim in spite of the fact that there is evidence which says she may have tried to hit her husband with a golf club.

“If Tiger had been chasing Elin out of the house with a golf club, I doubt that the media would have any sympathy for him,” says Dr. Watkins. “There is clearly a double standard here.”

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.
For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.

We Are The World -- The Video for Haiti 2010

President Obama Announces Help for Hardest Hit Housing Markets

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

____________________________________________________________________________________

President Obama Announces Help for Hardest Hit Housing Markets

Funding will Help Address Urgent Problems Facing Homeowners at the Center of the Housing Crisis

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Today, President Obama, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, announced funding for innovative measures to help families in the states that have been hit the hardest by the aftermath of the housing bubble. In each of these states, the average price for all homes in the state has fallen more than 20% from the peak.

Home prices across the country are beginning to stabilize since the Administration’s economic policies began to take effect in mid-2009. But the legacy of price declines, together with the effects of high unemployment, means that many working and middle class families in these especially hard-hit areas are facing serious challenges, in many cases beyond what their families’ resources can handle. This new innovation fund will help housing finance agencies in the hardest-hit areas and localities further respond to the most pressing problems in their communities.

President Obama said, “During these difficult economic times, we will work to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes and stabilize the housing market so home values can rise. This program will allow housing finance agencies in the places hardest-hit by the housing crisis find innovative ways to help homeowners stay afloat, and empower local agencies that know these communities best. With the help of Harry, Tim and Shaun, we’ll continue to work together to stabilize the mortgage markets and hasten our recovery.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "I have been working with President Obama and his administration on solutions to address Nevada's housing crisis for a while now and this policy will help people who are struggling. This will be an important step toward helping to keep people in their homes and assisting those who are underwater. I thank President for working with me on this important Nevada issue."

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner said, "This innovative program will allow us to work directly with states and localities to tailor housing assistance to local needs. It's an opportunity to provide additional relief to the hardest hit states while continuing to strengthen our housing market stabilization efforts."

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan said, “Although the housing market has come a long way in just one year, there are many communities like Las Vegas that are still struggling. The funding announced today will help target resources to those hardest hit markets, promoting innovation that tailors programs to meet local needs and complementing our national foreclosure relief efforts.”

A full fact sheet is below:

Help for the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets

1. $1.5 Billion to Work with State Housing Agencies to Innovate and Help Address the Problems Facing the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets

· There will be a formula for allocating funding among eligible states that will be based on home price declines and unemployment.

· HFAs must submit a program design to Treasury.

· Programs may include:

§ Measures for unemployed homeowners;

§ Programs to assist borrowers owing more than their home is now worth;

§ Programs that help address challenges arising from second mortgages; or

§ Other programs encouraging sustainable and affordable homeownership.


2. Accountability and Transparency for these Housing Programs

· All funded program designs posted online.

· Accountability for results – program effectiveness measured and results published online.

· Effective oversight under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Help for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets
This new program will apply to states that have suffered an average home price drop of over 20% from the peak. State and local Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) in each state are already familiar with the urgent challenges facing their communities and have demonstrated the ability to address these challenges. For that reason, we will work with these HFAs to expand the capacity to help address these challenges, with $1.5 billion from the funds set aside for housing under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA).

The HFAs will determine the priorities facing their local markets. The program will be under strict transparency and accountability rules. The increase in HFA activities in these areas will support families in these markets, combining with the numerous other steps the Administration has taken to address housing markets.

Funds can be used for innovation to take steps to address difficult, locally-important challenges for the hardest-hit housing markets, including unemployed borrowers, underwater borrowers, and second liens.

Programs must meet funding requirements under EESA. These include that the recipient of funds must be an eligible financial institution and that the funds must be used to pay for mortgage modifications or for other permitted uses under EESA. Treasury will announce maximum state level allocations in the next two weeks, along with rules governing the submission of program designs by HFAs, and provide a period thereafter for HFAs to submit their program designs in order to receive funding.

Illustrations of the Sorts of Programs that May be Funded in the States

Housing markets vary considerably from state to state, and often within a single state. Housing Finance Agencies are intimately engaged already in their local housing markets, and will play the lead role in determining what sorts of programs are most appropriate to local conditions. Three sorts of problems that may be addressed with funding are unemployed borrowers, underwater borrowers, and second liens:

1. Unemployed borrowers. Since the recession began in 2008, unemployment has hit many families who own homes. In previous times, when house prices were rising, families with unemployment could often sell their homes for more than they had paid, using the proceeds to tide them over.

Today, by contrast, families in states where prices have dropped more than 20% often find themselves owing more than the house is worth in the current market. Such homes are often difficult to sell, and families with unemployment often can’t pay the current mortgage and may not have enough income to qualify for a modification.

In such circumstances, one use of funds would be for HFAs to begin programs to help unemployed homeowners until they have secured a new job. HFAs can consider a variety of programs to help unemployed borrowers.

2. Underwater borrowers. For states with more than 20% home price declines, a large portion of homeowners are “underwater” -- they owe more than the house is worth in the current market. Such borrowers often find it difficult to sell their homes -- lenders may not agree to a sale that fails to pay back a mortgage in full. HFAs may experiment with programs that would assist borrowers to negotiate with lenders to write down mortgages.

3. Second liens. An important challenge can arise for some borrowers who have a home equity line of credit or other second mortgage on their home. Often, a first mortgage lender who may be willing to modify the loan by reducing principal can run into difficulties in coordinating between the first and second mortgage lender. To smooth this coordination problem, and help assure that homeowners get an overall modification that works best, funds can be used to pay incentives to the second mortgage holders, addressing this potential obstacle to reducing principal and keeping borrowers in their homes.

Tiger Woods Speech -- Video and Transcript

transcript of Tiger Woods' statement courtesy of ASAP Sports
video by espn

Good morning, and thank you for joining me. Many of you in this room are my friends. Many of you in this room know me. Many of you have cheered for me or you've worked with me or you've supported me.

Now every one of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each of you, simply and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.

I know people want to find out how I could be so selfish and so foolish. People want to know how I could have done these things to my wife Elin and to my children. And while I have always tried to be a private person, there are some things I want to say.


Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behavior. As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behavior over time. We have a lot to discuss; however, what we say to each other will remain between the two of us.


I am also aware of the pain my behavior has caused to those of you in this room. I have let you down, and I have let down my fans. For many of you, especially my friends, my behavior has been a personal disappointment. To those of you who work for me, I have let you down personally and professionally. My behavior has caused considerable worry to my business partners.

To everyone involved in my foundation, including my staff, board of directors, sponsors, and most importantly, the young students we reach, our work is more important than ever. Thirteen years ago, my dad and I envisioned helping young people achieve their dreams through education. This work remains unchanged and will continue to grow. From the Learning Center students in Southern California to the Earl Woods scholars in Washington, D.C., millions of kids have changed their lives, and I am dedicated to making sure that continues.

But still, I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you. I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did. I am embarrassed that I have put you in this position.

For all that I have done, I am so sorry.

I have a lot to atone for, but there is one issue I really want to discuss. Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that. Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever. Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.

The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame.

I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them.

I was wrong. I was foolish. I don't get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me. I brought this shame on myself. I hurt my wife, my kids, my mother, my wife's family, my friends, my foundation, and kids all around the world who admired me.

I've had a lot of time to think about what I've done. My failures have made me look at myself in a way I never wanted to before. It's now up to me to make amends, and that starts by never repeating the mistakes I've made. It's up to me to start living a life of integrity.

I once heard, and I believe it's true, it's not what you achieve in life that matters; it's what you overcome. Achievements on the golf course are only part of setting an example. Character and decency are what really count.

Parents used to point to me as a role model for their kids. I owe all those families a special apology. I want to say to them that I am truly sorry.

It's hard to admit that I need help, but I do. For 45 days from the end of December to early February, I was in inpatient therapy receiving guidance for the issues I'm facing. I have a long way to go. But I've taken my first steps in the right direction.

As I proceed, I understand people have questions. I understand the press wants to ask me for the details and the times I was unfaithful. I understand people want to know whether Elin and I will remain together. Please know that as far as I'm concerned, every one of these questions and answers is a matter between Elin and me. These are issues between a husband and a wife.

Some people have made up things that never happened. They said I used performance-enhancing drugs. This is completely and utterly false. Some have written things about my family. Despite the damage I have done, I still believe it is right to shield my family from the public spotlight. They did not do these things; I did.

I have always tried to maintain a private space for my wife and children. They have been kept separate from my sponsors, my commercial endorsements. When my children were born, we only released photographs so that the paparazzi could not chase them. However, my behavior doesn't make it right for the media to follow my 2½-year-old daughter to school and report the school's location. They staked out my wife and they pursued my mom. Whatever my wrongdoings, for the sake of my family, please leave my wife and kids alone.

I recognize I have brought this on myself, and I know above all I am the one who needs to change. I owe it to my family to become a better person. I owe it to those closest to me to become a better man. That's where my focus will be.

I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it. Part of following this path for me is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don't realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught.

As I move forward, I will continue to receive help because I've learned that's how people really do change. Starting tomorrow, I will leave for more treatment and more therapy. I would like to thank my friends at Accenture and the players in the field this week for understanding why I'm making these remarks today.

In therapy I've learned the importance of looking at my spiritual life and keeping in balance with my professional life. I need to regain my balance and be centered so I can save the things that are most important to me, my marriage and my children.

That also means relying on others for help. I've learned to seek support from my peers in therapy, and I hope someday to return that support to others who are seeking help. I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don't know when that day will be.

I don't rule out that it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game. In recent weeks I have received many thousands of e-mails, letters and phone calls from people expressing good wishes. To everyone who has reached out to me and my family, thank you. Your encouragement means the world to Elin and me.

I want to thank the PGA Tour, Commissioner [Tim] Finchem, and the players for their patience and understanding while I work on my private life. I look forward to seeing my fellow players on the course.

Finally, there are many people in this room, and there are many people at home who believed in me. Today I want to ask for your help. I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again.

Thank you.

Tiger Woods speaks

story by AP
photo by AP
written by Doug Ferguson

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods publicly apologized Friday without revealing any more details about his infidelity, and told a global audience he's not sure when he'll play golf again.


"I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable," said Woods, looking composed and speaking in a steady voice. His wife, Elin, was not with him.

As for coming back to the PGA Tour, the planet's best golfer said: "I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don't know when that day will be. I don't rule out it will be this year."

Woods talked for 13 1/2 minutes from the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA Tour. About 40 people were in the room, including his mother, with an untold number watching around the world as he made his public confession.

When Woods finished, he hugged his mother and she whispered in his ear.

"I said 'I'm so proud of you. Never think you stand alone. Mom will always be there for you and I love you,'" Kultida Woods said.

The whole event carried an air of formality, as Woods, dressed in a suit with an open-collared dress shirt, spoke from behind a podium backed by a blue curtain.

Admitting he felt he "deserved to enjoy the temptations" that came with his fabulous success, Woods said he is solely responsible for his actions. "I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior," Woods said.

Woods said he was in treatment for 45 days and will return for more therapy, adding he has more work to do to resolve his personal problems.

Woods had not talked in public since his traffic accident Nov. 27 triggered shocking revelations about Woods' serial infidelity.

As for his marriage, he said: "Every one of these questions and answers is a matter between Elin and me, issues between a husband and wife."

In Sweden, Elin's father, Thomas Nordegren, said he saw Woods' confession.

"I watched it but I have nothing to say right now," Nordegren told The Associated Press.

Elin's mother, Barbro Holmberg, declined to comment on Woods' apology, through her spokeswoman Eva Malmborg.

Friday's event was tightly controlled, with only a few journalists allowed to watch Woods live. The televised confession became a major television event with the networks breaking in to show it.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos called the speech "one of the most remarkable public apologies ever by a public figure."

No other PGA Tour player could command this kind of attention.
Woods is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. Television ratings double when he is in contention, which has happened a lot on his way to winning 71 times on the PGA Tour and 14 majors, four short of the record held by Jack Nicklaus.

And no other athlete had such a spectacular fall. Accenture and AT&T have ended their endorsement contracts with him, and Woods has become the butt of jokes on everything from late shows to Disney performances.

"I think that since Day 1, people that know him and people that don't know him, what I've heard from most people is mainly, I mean there's some anger in some corners, but mainly it is a sense of sadness," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. "He's an American hero. And he's had his issues."

"At the end of the day, he's a human being. We all make mistakes," he said. "My personal reaction was that his comments were heartfelt. He clearly recognizes that there has been serious impact to a wide range of individuals and organizations."

Woods' statement came during the Match Play Championship, sponsored by Accenture.

Ernie Els was among players who were upset to learn that Woods had chosen the week of a World Golf Championship for a public appearance that was sure to take attention away from the tournament. "It's selfish," Els told Golfweek magazine.

Former champion Nick Faldo, whose own personal life has been subject to media scrutiny over the years, watched Woods and told the Golf Channel: "It has left a big question mark: When is he going to return? We have had the apology but as golfers we are back at square one."

The companies that have stuck most closely by Woods, Nike Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc., reiterated their support.

"Tiger has apologized and made his position clear. Nike fully supports him and his family. We look forward to him returning to golf," the company said in a statement.

EA Sports president Peter Moore said in a statement: "It was good to see Tiger address the public today, and we're supportive of his focus toward family and rebuilding his life."

Woods' appearance drew reaction from all corners.

From the Olympics, American Alpine skier Julia Mancuso posted on Twitter: "do we think this is coming from the heart or the paper! come on Tiger! give us some reality here."

Veronica Siwik-Daniels, one of Woods' alleged mistresses and a former pornographic performer, watched the event with her attorney in a Los Angeles radio studio. She said she wants an apology for the unwanted attention the scandal has brought her.

"I really feel I deserve to look at him in person face to face in the eyes because I did not deserve this," she said.

Speedskater Shani Davis Wins Gold in Men's 1,000

story by AP

photo by AP

written by Paul Newberry

RICHMOND, British Columbia (AP) — The color of the medal mattered, not the color of his skin. All Shani Davis was thinking about was gold.

With a furious kick on the final lap Wednesday, Davis stuck his skate across the line and won his second straight Olympic title in 1,000-meter speedskating, the first skater to win this event twice at the Winter Games.

"That race depleted me 100 percent," he said. "I never want to leave anything on the track."

No worries there.

The Americans broke their medal drought at the Richmond Olympic Oval with a flourish, claiming two spots on the podium. Chad Hedrick, who won three medals at the 2006 games, took a surprising bronze after struggling to regain his motivation in the wake of Italy.

"I had to dig down deep and find my passion for speedskating again," the Texan said.

Davis dug deep on his final lap, knowing he needed a little more speed to catch South Korea's Mo Tae-bum. The American world-record holder swung both arms twice before leaning into the final turn, giving him just enough of a boost for a time of 1 minute, 8.94 seconds.

Mo, who won gold in the 500 two days ago, settled for silver this time, 18-hundreths behind Davis. Hedrick was next in 1:09.32.

"Those last 200, 300 meters were very difficult," said Davis, who usually leaves his left arm on his back until the last straightaway. "I was just trying to carry my speed. I could feel it leaving me. It doesn't matter what it looks like, just as long as you get across the line as quick as you could."

When he won this race four years ago, Davis became the first African-American athlete to win an individual gold at the Winter Games. This time, he simply wanted to be known for his skating.

"When you're a world champion or an Olympic champion, you get this little thing on your back called a target," Davis said. "To go out there and win the 1,000 meters twice is truly amazing."

Davis pumped his fist in the air and slapped hands with the U.S. coaches on the backstretch. Then, as he coasted around near the finish line, Hedrick skated over to shake his hand firmly and pat him on the back several times.

Tiger Woods speaks this Friday

video from ESPN
remarks from tigerwoods.com
photo by AP

Tiger Woods will be speaking to a small group of friends, colleagues and close associates at 11:00 a.m. EST on Friday at the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future, and he plans to apologize for his behavior.

While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends, and that's what he's going to discuss.

His remarks will be open to a press pool for live coverage. It is NOT a news conference.

RECOVERY ACT CREATING JOBS AND DRIVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

The Recovery Act at One Year

One year in, the Recovery Act is at work across the country creating jobs and driving economic growth. From major highway projects to green retrofits of military facilities and manufacturing of advanced batteries, more than 55,000 projects across the country have now been funded through the Recovery Act. To get an up close look at some of those projects, click HERE. This is in addition to the nearly $120 billion in tax relief already provided to American families and businesses – with more to come this year - and the billions of dollars in relief provided to shore up state and local government programs like Medicaid and education facing severe budget shortfalls.

This is what it looks like, by the numbers:

Jobs

· CBO: According to the nonpartisan CBO, the Recovery Act is already responsible for as many as 2.4 million jobs through the end of 2009.
· CEA, Other Private Forecasters: Analysis by the Council of Economic Advisers also found that the Recovery Act is responsible for about 2 million jobs – a figure in line with estimates from private forecasters like IHS Global, Moody’s Economy and even the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

The Economy

· GDP/Economic Growth: In the fourth quarter of 2009, the economy grew 5.7 percent – – the largest gain in six years and something many economists say is largely due to the Recovery Act. Before the Recovery Act, the economy was shrinking by about 6 percent.
· Job Losses: Job losses for the fourth quarter of 2009 were one-seventh what they were in the first quarter of 2009 when the Recovery Act was passed.

Recovery Dollars

Spending: Nearly 70 percent of the $499 billion in Recovery Act spending has been obligated to specific programs and projects so far, putting those dollars to work in communities across the country.

Tax Relief: Nearly $120 billion in tax relief has been provided for working families and businesses through the Recovery Act this year.


This is what is looks like, by the numbers in New York:

Total Jobs & Spending

· JOBS CREATED AND SAVED – CEA estimates that 141,000 jobs were created or saved by the Recovery Act in New York in 2009

· TOTAL SPEND – More than $23.4 billion in Recovery funds has been made available to New York – and more than $12.6 billion has already been spent.

Investing in Infrastructure

· CONSTRUCTION – 493 transportation projects have been obligated in New York, totaling over $2.2 billion.

· SMALL BUSINESS – 2,774 Recovery Act-backed small business loans have been given to New York small businesses, supporting more than $920 million in lending.

Relief to Individuals

· TAX RELIEF – Because of the Making Work Pay tax credit, 7 million New York working families will collectively receive $3.4 billion in tax relief.

· UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS – More than 1,170,000 New York residents have expanded unemployment benefits because of the Recovery Act.

· STIMULUS PAYMENTS – More than 3.4 million New York seniors, veterans and other high-need residents have received one-time economic relief payments of $250, totaling over $87 million.

Helping States

· TEACHERS – Close to 30,000 education positions were reported as funded by the Recovery Act in Q4 2009 in New York – which has received more than $2.2 billion in State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF).

· MEDICAID – The Recovery Act has already made over $7.1 billion available to help prevent additional Medicaid cuts in New York. The state of New York has spent more than $6 billion of the available funds.

Job loss: Obama versus Bush

Pulling down racial barriers, brick by brick

Today, while looking through the popular Sunday editorial section "Outlook" in the Washington Post, I came across a most revealing book review. The book is titled "Root and Branch" by Rawn James Jr. The Posts' book review by Professor Kevin Boyle recognizes NAACP Attorney Charles Hamilton Houston, whom was also a personal mentor of popular Lawyer and long-time Supreme Court Justice the late Thurgood Marshall.

A most decorated Attorney and Educator Atty. Houston headed the NAACP's newly formed Legal office in 1934, and began the NAACP's highly-touted successful, yet long, journey to "legally" end segregation. The journey to legally end segregation lasted 16 years from Houston's initial presentation to the US Supreme Court in 1938 with admitted White Supremist on its' high court -- like Justice James McReynolds whom literally turned his back on Houston's presentation -- to the successful 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education victory by the Thurgood Marshall-led team of prominent Attorneys.

Marshall worked on the NAACP Legal team that Charles Hamilton headed, and was passed the baton following the early resignation of Houston in 1949. Houston died the next year in 1950, after a series of massive heart attacks, at the very young age of 54. Prior to Houston's death, the NAACP Attorney and popular Dean of Howard University, stated that " though we are at the beginning of achieving equality, the legal struggle for civil right is over."

The review of Rawn James Jr's book 'Root and Branch' by Ohio State University's Professor Kevin Boyle, concluded with the fact that the beginning to true equality is still to date a work in progress as seventy-five percent of African-American students still attend segregated schools; most Metropolitan areas remain split along color lines; double digit unemployment amongst African-American is all too common; and African-American men are six times more likely to be imprisoned than their White counterparts.

Professor Boyle questions in his conclusion whether continued segregation is by choice.
_______________________________________________________________

Below is the book review by Ohio State University History Professor Kevin Boyle from today's Washington Post "Outlook" editorial and book review section.
_______________________________________________________________

On Nov. 9, 1938, Charles Hamilton Houston came before the U.S. Supreme Court to represent the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in one of its earliest challenges to the Southern system of segregated education. Houston was a distinguished man: Amherst Class of '15, Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard Law Review, the legendary dean of Howard University's law school, which he single-handedly transformed from a second-rate institution into a laboratory for cutting-edge litigation. But when he rose to begin his presentation that day, Justice James McReynolds, the Court's most fervent white supremacist, swiveled his chair completely around so that Houston had to speak to his back.

Maybe McReynolds couldn't stand to see what was coming.

The NAACP was already the nation's foremost civil rights organization when it hired Houston to head its newly formed legal office in 1934. He gathered around him a brilliant group of young attorneys, foremost among them a promising recent graduate named Thurgood Marshall. Together they launched a sweeping campaign designed to destroy the legal underpinnings of America's racial regime. Gradually the victories piled up: In the 1930s and '40s the NAACP convinced the Supreme Court to invalidate pivotal portions of the discrimination that poisoned the criminal justice system, the electoral process, the real estate market, and higher education. The relentless work eventually shattered Houston's health; he resigned from the NAACP in 1949, shortly before the first in a series of heart attacks that killed him at 54. Marshall took his place, guiding the campaign to its greatest victory, the monumental 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that toppled the "separate but equal" doctrine upon which Jim Crow had come to depend.

The NAACP's crusade has no shortage of historians: Richard Kluger's brilliant book on Brown, "Simple Justice," appeared 35 years ago; Mark Tushnet has written a monumental two-volume biography of Marshall; and late last year Patricia Sullivan published a marvelous new history of the NAACP, with Houston and Marshall among its central figures. In "Root and Branch," Rawn James, Jr. isn't trying to add to that imposing scholarship as much as he's trying to give it a popular spin. A Washington lawyer, he moves nimbly through the complex legal issues Houston and his team raised. To add a poignant touch, he interweaves Houston's and Marshall's powerful personal stories. And he gives their campaign a stirringly triumphal arc, the story of a whole nation being forced -- by the fierce will of two learned men -- to overcome.

That approach comes at a cost. In his determination to infuse his story with dramatic flair, James sometimes lets his prose run away from him. "Pennsylvania Avenue chortled its traffic and bustle," reads one unfortunate passage, as a "Washington winter was yielding to spring, returning sun and breeze like jewels to a lock-picked box." More important, James's understandable commitment to celebrating the NAACP's victories prevents him from grappling with some hard truths about the campaign's ability to right America's racial wrongs. It has been 57 years since Marshall argued Brown before the Supreme Court. Still, three-quarters of all African American students attend majority black schools, while most white students attend overwhelmingly white schools. It has been 62 years since the Court sided with the NAACP in its case against residential segregation, yet the nation's major metropolitan areas remain split along the color line. It's been 78 years since Houston won his first major civil rights case, in defense of an African American trapped in a criminal justice system that treated African Americans with disproportionate severity. Today black men are almost six times likelier to be imprisoned than white men. To acknowledge discrimination's enduring power wouldn't have drastically altered the story James wanted to tell. But it would have tempered it. The law is fundamental, of course. But it isn't enough.

Houston understood the limits of his achievements. "So far as our struggle for civil rights is concerned, I'm not worried about that now," he said shortly before his death in 1950. "The struggle for civil rights in America is won." But that was only the beginning, he insisted. The far greater challenge was to use the legal principles he and his colleagues had secured to build a nation "which guarantees justice and freedom for everyone." It was the most American of goals, a vision rooted in a political heritage that Houston and Marshall defended with extraordinary courage. And half a century later, we continue to turn our backs on it.

Kevin Boyle teaches history at Ohio State University. His book "Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age" received the National Book Award for nonfiction.

20-Year Anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from a South African prison

A group from the African National Congress (ANC) celebrate the 20th anniversary -- February 11th, 2010 -- of the release of Nelson Mandela from Drakenstein Correctional Center (formerly Victor Versley Prison), where Mandela spent 27-years in a South African prison. Four short years later Mandela was the first Black President of South Africa. (photo by Jon Hrusa/EPA)