The Hollywood Liberal

Late Late Night FDL: Peace On Earth
Peace On Earth. This Metro Goldwyn Meyer cartoon was released on December 9, 1939 and nominated for the 1940 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons. Grab your popcorn, put your feet up on the seatback in front of ya, and aim your spitballs at the ushers please. This is Late Late Night FireDogLake, where off topic is the topic … so dive in. What’s on your mind?

Peace On Earth.  This Metro Goldwyn Meyer cartoon was released on December 9, 1939 and nominated for the 1940 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons.

Directed by Hugh Harman.  Produced by Hugh Harman and Fred Quimby.  Written by Jack Cosgriff, Charles McGirl, and Khat Harman.  Voices by Mel Blanc (Grandpa Squirrel) and others.  Original Music by Scott Bradley.  Charles Wesley, hymnist, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (uncredited).

Grab your popcorn, put your feet up on the seatback in front of ya, and aim your spitballs at the ushers please. This is Late Late Night FireDogLake, where off topic is the topic … so dive in. What’s on your mind?

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Sunday Talking Heads: December 5, 2010
Crapodimonte, Let It Be, Let It Be, ..let it be, let it be.. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be … Glyne Tider must be the kick. I have to say, there are very few that appear here I do not know. And as a gen-u-ine Internets Surfer, I’m surprised I never saw this video before, thank you Laughing Squid (bookmark them, you won’t be sorry). As for the Sunday Talking Heads, “Why is it that the only job sector in our national economy that is fully employed is Village Idiot?” sez the bmaz.

Crapodimonte, Let It Be, Let It Be, ..let it be, let it be..  Speaking words of wisdom, let it be …  Gylne Tider must be the kick.  I have to say, there are very few that appear here I do not know.  And as a gen-u-ine Internets Surfer, I’m surprised I never saw this video before, thank you Laughing Squid (bookmark them, you won’t be sorry).

As for the Sunday Talking Heads, “Why is it that the only job sector in our national economy that is fully employed is Village Idiot?” sez the bmaz.

Washington Journal: 7:45am – Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors, Chief Economist & Senior Vice President. 8:30am – Floyd Abrams, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, First Amendment Lawyer. 9:15am – Erik Milito, American Petroleum Institute, Upstream & Industry Operations Director.  [It’s possible these are Monday’s listings.]

ABC’s This Week: DADT: Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark.  Lt. Col. (ret.) Bob Maginnis, Senior Fellow of the Family Research Council. R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness. Tammy Schultz, Director of National Security and Joint Warfare at the Marine Corps War College. Afghanistan, Can we win?: Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, former ambassador to the United Nations and Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, Sakena Yacoobi of the Afghan institute of Learning, George Will.

CBS’ Face The Nation: Sen. Richard Durbin, Democratic Whip, Sen. Jon Kyl, Republican Whip. Nancy Cordes, CBS News Capitol Hill Correspondent, and Jim VandeHei, Executive Editor, Politico.

Chris Matthews: Andrea Mitchell, John Heillmann, Susan Davis, Andrew Sullivan. Topics: Will Obama Grab the Deficit Cause and Drive a National Movement for Shared Sacrifice? Why are Combat Commanders and Troops Worried about Open Service by Gays?

CNN’s State of the Union: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) v Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY). Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN).

Fareed Zakaria -GPS: Bill Maher.  Niall Ferguson, Richard Haass, Gillian Tett.

Fox News Sunday: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) Chair, Budget Committee and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, (R-TX) Budget Committee.  Newt Gingrich.  Roundtable: Dana Perino, Nina Easton, Liz Cheney, Juan Williams.  Power Player of the Week:  Dr. William Gahl, Clinical Director of the NIH’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program.

NBC’s Meet The Press: Republican Leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and  Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). Roundtable: David Brooks, Tom Friedman, Katty Kay, Mike Murphy.

Newsmakers: Following the Federal Reserve Bank’s decision to buy $600 billion in Treasury debt, James Bullard, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined CSPAN’s Newsmakers to defend the move.  Though he acknowledged that they are taking a risk, Bullard maintained that the “benefits of the program will outweigh the risks.” The plan is aimed at preventing deflation by stimulating the economy through business and consumer spending.

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The Rigged Game of Climate Talks
An NGO report has found that key U.N. climate negotiations are institutionally biased against poorer nations, specifically that underdeveloped countries are less able to send delegates to meetings and often cannot understand what is being discussed at the talks. —JCL The Guardian: The UN climate negotiations are weighted heavily against the poorest countries, who cannot send delegates to key meetings, often do not understand what is being said and are unable keep up with the decisions being taken in their name, a report by an NGO that promotes fairness in the negotiations has found. While rich countries have sent more than 150 delegates each to Cancún, more than half of the countries in the world have fewer than five representatives, with 26 countries having only one or two. For every 100m people living in Africa there are three negotiators—the equivalent figure for the EU is 6.4. According to the report, based on research by campaign group UNfairplay, countries must be at as many as six meetings at the same time to follow the talks which are “cryptic”, “untransparent” and “opaque”. Read more

An NGO report has found that key U.N. climate negotiations are institutionally biased against poorer nations, specifically that underdeveloped countries are less able to send delegates to meetings and often cannot understand what is being discussed at the talks. —JCL

The Guardian:

The UN climate negotiations are weighted heavily against the poorest countries, who cannot send delegates to key meetings, often do not understand what is being said and are unable keep up with the decisions being taken in their name, a report by an NGO that promotes fairness in the negotiations has found.

While rich countries have sent more than 150 delegates each to Cancún, more than half of the countries in the world have fewer than five representatives, with 26 countries having only one or two. For every 100m people living in Africa there are three negotiators—the equivalent figure for the EU is 6.4.

According to the report, based on research by campaign group UNfairplay, countries must be at as many as six meetings at the same time to follow the talks which are “cryptic”, “untransparent” and “opaque”.

Read more

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Joblessness Ticks Higher in November
Like a recalcitrant and over-sugared child, U.S. unemployment figures just won’t settle down. The country’s jobless rate ticked up to 9.8 percent in November, a world away from economic recovery. —JCL Los Angeles Times: In a major setback for the economy, the nation’s jobless rate jumped to 9.8% in November as employers added a surprisingly measly amount of new jobs over the month, the government said Friday. The unemployment rate had been at 9.6% in the prior three months. The increase last month came as employers added just 39,000 jobs in November—a sharp drop-off from a revised 172,000 job gains in October and an average monthly gain of 86,000 this year. Many analysts were expecting that the report would show a second strong month of job growth, on the order of 150,000 or more new jobs. And there have been other signs that the long-sluggish labor market may be gaining momentum. Read more

Like a recalcitrant and over-sugared child, U.S. unemployment figures just won’t settle down. The country’s jobless rate ticked up to 9.8 percent in November, a world away from economic recovery. —JCL

Los Angeles Times:

In a major setback for the economy, the nation’s jobless rate jumped to 9.8% in November as employers added a surprisingly measly amount of new jobs over the month, the government said Friday.

The unemployment rate had been at 9.6% in the prior three months. The increase last month came as employers added just 39,000 jobs in November—a sharp drop-off from a revised 172,000 job gains in October and an average monthly gain of 86,000 this year.

Many analysts were expecting that the report would show a second strong month of job growth, on the order of 150,000 or more new jobs. And there have been other signs that the long-sluggish labor market may be gaining momentum.

Read more

Related Entries

• December 3, 2010 Ailing Spanish Economy Seeks a Cure
• December 2, 2010 Those Dreadful Geico Commercials Are About to Get Quieter

Joe Miller Calls Alaska Legal Fight ‘The Right Thing To Do’: ‘I’ll Trust God For The Ultimate Outcome’
JUNEAU, Alaska — Joe Miller is fighting as though Alaska’s Senate race has yet to occur. He has maintained a presence on TV, conservative radio…

Obama Tells Dems He’ll Oppose Tax Cut Compromise Withtout Unemployment Extension
WASHINGTON — At a meeting at the White House with Democratic congressional leadership Saturday afternoon, President Obama said he would oppose any compromise deal on…

Cenk Uygur: Is Barack Obama Stupid?
New CBS News poll out confirms every other poll we’ve seen on the topic – the American people are solidly against tax cuts for the…

Dan Dorfman: Obama Could Join the Jobless
If you back out health care, social services and temp services, the economy actually shed jobs this November — 24,000 to be precise. Now, Obama must add 13 million private sector jobs by the end of 2013 to bring unemployment down to 6%.

White House Tells All Federal Agencies To Prohibit Unauthorized Employees From Wikileaks Site
The Office of Management and Budget today directed all federal agencies to bar their employees from accessing the Wikileaks web site and its leaked diplomatic cables.

Service Chiefs: Pro- Or Anti-Repeal, They Say The Military Can Do It
The day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen again called for Congress to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the joint chiefs themselves are testifying on the Hill and, as promised, are “less sanguine” about repeal than their bosses.

The return of lynch mob mentality
Describing the subjective reactions which accompany the miscalculations of a driver who finds that the automobile he is driving is going to do a rollover seemed to be material which would provide an excellent metaphor to be applied to the sensations that were experienced by advocates of a free press while they were witnessing this […]

Leading Israeli Says Palestinians Should Just Declare a State
Jeff Halper, the Israeli activist and scholar, thinks the “peace process” is dead in the water. That sounds about right. After all, the peace process has come down to America offering Netanyahu a $3.5 billion bribe to freeze some settlements…

UPDATE Assange Wrong: WikiLeaks Do Not Advance Peace By Advancing Bibi
UPDATE Check this out. Julian Assange buys into Netanyahu line that by demonstrating anti-Iran sentiment is rampant in region, WikiLeaks will help Netanyahu achieve peace. Peace? Netanyahu? I guess Assange is no Commie, more like a Likudnik. One point worth…

The “Green New Deal” meets the “New Austerity” – Making Clean Energy Cheaper
My colleague Michael Gergen, (Partner at Latham & Watkins and Pro-bono Counsel to the Coalition for Green Capital), delivered a great talk a month ago in Milan: The “Green New Deal” meets the “New Austerity” – Making Clean Energy Cheaper…

Churches Launch Campaign For Jobless
Yesterday, a coalition of religious groups along with three U.S. Senators announced a grassroots push to help find jobs for the unemployed, in the absence of stronger action from Washington. The Faith Advocates for Jobs Campaign will organize 1,000 congregation-based unemployed worker support committees in 2011, in order to help the unemployed both find jobs […]

Yesterday, a coalition of religious groups along with three U.S. Senators announced a grassroots push to help find jobs for the unemployed, in the absence of stronger action from Washington. The Faith Advocates for Jobs Campaign will organize 1,000 congregation-based unemployed worker support committees in 2011, in order to help the unemployed both find jobs but also deal with the sometimes crushing emotional and spiritual side-effects of long-term unemployment.

“As people of faith, we call for an economy that provides a job for everyone who wants and needs one,” the group’s mission statement reads. “We affirm that all jobs should be good jobs, paying living wages and benefits, allowing workers dignity and a voice at the workplace, ensuring workers’ health and safety, and guaranteeing their right to organize unions.”

In addition to helping shepherd people through the difficulties of unemployment, the group — along with Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — also aims to organize political action around more job-friendly policies by bringing the voices of those they’re helping to Washington, In These Times reports:

“Most Members [of Congress] don’t know any unemployed people,” said Senator Brown of Ohio. But, he remarked, unemployed workers are in congregations where they receive support–even food and shelter when necessary.

Senator Casey of Pennsylvania told of unemployed workers coming to Washington to give personal testimony about their experience of living on Unemployment Insurance (UI). “They should not walk alone,” he said.

“The world would be a different place if one million unemployed workers said, ‘I need help in my fight for dignity, in my fight for work,’” Senator Sanders of Vermont remarked.

It’s not the first time religious groups have addressed the increasing needs of the unemployed. In These Times also notes that a Christian megachurch in Dallas began helping its congregants find work. “It is not just a support group to offer encouragement – though that is a vital aspect of it,” said the Rev. Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas. “But it is helping people be pro-active instead of reactive.”

There are 25 million people searching for full-time work, and the probability that they find work steadily decreases the longer they are unemployed. And, of course, unemployment benefits just expired due to Republican obstruction in Congress — creating a huge void that these groups are trying to fill in spite of government inaction.

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Senate blocks legislation to extend Bush-era tax cuts
The Senate on Saturday rejected two Democratic proposals to let tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire, a symbolic but bitter defeat that now forces the Democratic majority to compromise with Republicans or risk allowing tax breaks to lapse for virtually everyone at year’s end.

As Rangel demonstrates, shame no longer required after political wrongdoing
In Washington, shame isn’t what it used to be. That was the lesson of the showdown Thursday between Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) and the rest of the House of Representatives. Rangel’s colleagues voted overwhelmingly to censure him for ethics violations – a punishment that included a public sco…

Judge fights in Iowa, Illinois signal new era for retention elections
By the standards of today’s judicial elections, the $3 million that poured into one race for the Illinois Supreme Court this year was a large but not unusual sum. Judicial races regularly attract millions of dollars in contributions from trial lawyers, businesses and other special interests hoping…

For Obama, will it be Truman or Clinton?
In the weeks after his election two years ago, President Obama was often linked to two other presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Today, Democrats debate whether he should act more like Harry Truman or Bill Clinton to avoid becoming another Jimmy Carter.

McCain Has Blinders On Over DADT Repeal
Derrick Jackson, Boston Globe
THE PENTAGON this week gave Senator John McCain exactly what he wanted 17 years ago, and it was still not enough for him to wave the white flag on gay soldiers. In 1993, when President Clinton proposed to lift the ban on homosexual soldiers, McCain criticized Clinton for promoting the change “without consulting the people we entrust with leading the country into battle.’’ McCain said, “If there is any issue on which the president should have the advice of experts, it is this one.’’The experts have spoken. In a massive report…

Cancun Talks in Danger of Collapse
John Vidal, The Guardian
Turn autoplay offTurn autoplay onPlease activate cookies in order to turn autoplay off"¢ Latin America outraged at foot-dragging by rich"¢ Wealthy countries say little chance of deal nowThe UN climate talks in Cancún were in danger of collapse last night after many Latin American countries said that they would leave if a crucial negotiating document, due to be released tomorrow, did not continue to commit rich countries to emissions cuts under the Kyoto Protocol.The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (Alba) group of nine Latin American countries "“…

Obama Getting a Pass on Wikileaks Fiasco
Nile Gardiner, The Telegraph
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