The Hollywood Liberal

Park Hijab Rule Angers Muslim Crowd
A melee broke out Tuesday afternoon at a Rye, N.Y., amusement park when around 30 to 40 Muslim visitors became angry that the park was enforcing its ban on hijab headgear by prohibiting the women from wearing their traditional head coverings on some rides. Police from at least nine agencies converged on the park beginning at 3 p.m. after county police sought assistance. Two visitors were charged with felony assault and another 13 people were arrested, most for disorderly conduct, police said.

Late Late Night FDL: Born This Way
Lady Gaga — Born This Way, from the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Lady Gaga — Born This Way, from the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

What’s on your mind?

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Not a good sign
We have a familiar youth unemployment problem…not that we’ll do anything about it either before or after the rioting.

About those youth protestors in Great Britain this Summer (and France last Summer — and yes North Africa and Syria this Summer) all driven in no small part by economic frustration and a feeling of powerlessness combined with abuse in varying degrees.

And now WELCOME TO MODERN AMERICA!

In July, the employment-population ratio for youth—the proportion of the 16- to 24-year old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed—was 48.8 percent, a record low for the series, though only marginally lower than in July 2010. (The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.)

Completely fell off the cliff in the latter Bush years and has not improved, and there’s no impetus to improve it.

But hey Washington, you just go on letting the tea party decide things.

(h/t Amped Status)

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Don’t Even Ask

By Mr. Fish

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Infants More Likely to Survive in 40 Countries Other Than U.S.
The World Health Organization reported that babies born in the U.S. are more likely to die in their first month of life than are babies born in 40 other countries, including South Korea, Cuba, Malaysia, Lithuania, Poland and Israel. While the average number of infant deaths in the U.S. is down by 26 percent over the last 20 years, other countries made more progress, according to the WHO report released Tuesday. The U.S., ranked No. 28 in the early 1990s, is now No. 41, tied with Qatar, Croatia and the United Arab Emirates. Considering that infant mortality rates remain a common indicator used by health officials and economists to determine a country’s overall health and development, the U.S. is left to face questions about why its ranking has sunk so low. —BF MSNBC: One of the bigger challenges in the U.S. is complications from preterm birth, [said study researcher Joy Lawn of the Save the Children Foundation]. The U.S. rate of preterm birth is double that of countries in Europe and Northern Africa, she said. Babies who are born preterm need extra care that is often expensive. While there are few things that can reduce preterm birth, she noted that disadvantaged people in the United States may be less likely to receive proper care for preterm infants. Still, the toll of neonatal deaths is much worse in other countries. In Afghanistan, one in 19 babies dies in the first month of life (53 per 1,000 births). Five countries account for more than half of the world’s newborn deaths: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China and Democratic Republic of Congo. India has the most newborn deaths, with 900,000 per year, the researchers said. If progress is not made to reduce the number of newborn deaths, the portion of child deaths that occur in the neonatal period is likely to increase in the future, the researchers said. Read more

The World Health Organization reported that babies born in the U.S. are more likely to die in their first month of life than are babies born in 40 other countries, including South Korea, Cuba, Malaysia, Lithuania, Poland and Israel.

While the average number of infant deaths in the U.S. is down by 26 percent over the last 20 years, other countries made more progress, according to the WHO report released Tuesday. The U.S., ranked No. 28 in the early 1990s, is now No. 41, tied with Qatar, Croatia and the United Arab Emirates.

Considering that infant mortality rates remain a common indicator used by health officials and economists to determine a country’s overall health and development, the U.S. is left to face questions about why its ranking has sunk so low. —BF

MSNBC:

One of the bigger challenges in the U.S. is complications from preterm birth, [said study researcher Joy Lawn of the Save the Children Foundation]. The U.S. rate of preterm birth is double that of countries in Europe and Northern Africa, she said. Babies who are born preterm need extra care that is often expensive. While there are few things that can reduce preterm birth, she noted that disadvantaged people in the United States may be less likely to receive proper care for preterm infants.

Still, the toll of neonatal deaths is much worse in other countries. In Afghanistan, one in 19 babies dies in the first month of life (53 per 1,000 births). Five countries account for more than half of the world’s newborn deaths: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China and Democratic Republic of Congo. India has the most newborn deaths, with 900,000 per year, the researchers said.

If progress is not made to reduce the number of newborn deaths, the portion of child deaths that occur in the neonatal period is likely to increase in the future, the researchers said.

Read more

Related Entries

• September 1, 2011 Dodging Missiles With Russian Smugglers
• August 31, 2011 Moammar and Dick

Eric Cantor: Disaster Relief Funding Has ‘No Strings Attached’
RICHMOND, Va. (AP/The Huffington Post) — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says he never suggested that disaster funds for victims of Hurricane Irene should be…

WATCH: Diane Sawyer’s Blockbuster Jackie Kennedy Special
ABC is scheduled to air never-before-heard interviews with Jackie Kennedy on September 13. On Wednesday, the network released its first trailer for the show. The…

Woman Files Nation’s First Lawsuit Against Fetal Pain Abortion Ban
BOISE, Idaho — An eastern Idaho woman has filed what is believed to be the first lawsuit in the nation to directly challenge the constitutionality…

Sec. Kathleen Sebelius: New Rules Protect Consumers From Insurance Industry Abuse
Beginning today, the deck is no longer stacked in insurers’ favor. The next time your insurance company tries to raise your premium by double digits, they’ll have to explain themselves.

Jon Huntsman’s Jobs Plan Cements Shift From Green Republican To Energy Hawk
WASHINGTON â?? As recently as June, an environmental website declared former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman the “greenest” of the Republican presidential candidates. But the “jobs…

Limbaugh Pushes Myth That Unemployment Benefits Have “No Stimulative Effect”

Rush Limbaugh claimed that “there is no stimulative effect of unemployment benefits.” But economists agree that unemployment benefits do have a strong effect on job creation and growth.

Limbaugh Claims Unemployment Benefits Have “No Stimulative Effect”

Limbaugh: “There Is No Stimulative Effect Of Unemployment Benefits — None Whatsoever.” From the August 30 edition of Premiere Radio Networks’ The Rush Limbaugh Show:      

[T]his regime, from Pelosi to any number of people, try to make the claim that unemployment benefits stimulate the economy. Jay Carney even said, “Oh yeah, I mean, it really works out there, you putting money in people’s pockets that they’re gonna go spend, they’re not ganna save it. And so, yeah, it’ll stimulate the economy.”

Where does the money come from? You have to take it away from somebody before you give it to somebody else. It’s a wash. There is no stimulative effect of unemployment benefits — none whatsoever. Whether you borrow the money, or print it, or get it via taxes, you still have to take it from some place in the private sector to give it to somebody else in the private sector. It zeros out. And probably is a net negative because it also has the added benefit of promoting laziness, slothfulness. The longer you pay people not to do anything, the longer they’ll not do anything. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 8/30/11]

But Economists Agree That Unemployment Benefits Have A Strong Effect On Job Creation And Growth

Dean Baker: Unemployment Insurance “Stimulates The Economy” By “Put[ting] Money In … [The] Pockets” Of People Who Are “Very Likely To Spend” It. In an email to Media Matters, Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, stated:

UI stimulates the economy for the same reason that tax cuts provide stimulus to the economy, they put money in people’s pockets. However, UI benefits will provide more stimulus per dollar because they are going to people who we know are very likely to spend the money. A large portion of money paid out in tax cuts are likely to be saved, especially if they go to the wealthy. [Email to Media Matters, 8/30/11]

Mark Zandi Estimated That Extending Unemployment Benefits Provides Significant Stimulus. In 2008 congressional testimony, Mark Zandi, Moody’s Economy.com chief economist and a former adviser to John McCain, ranked extended unemployment benefits behind only food stamps in terms of economic “bang for the buck.” The Economic Policy Institute created the following graphic based on Zandi’s figures:

[Mark Zandi testimony via Economy.com, 11/19/08;  Economic Policy Institute, 10/22/08]

CBO Scored “Increasing Aid To The Unemployed” As The Highest-Scoring Policy Proposal To Stimulate Economy. In a January 2010 report on “Policies for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2010 and 2011,” the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that extending aid to the unemployed would have one of the strongest stimulative effects on the economy:

Policies that could be implemented relatively quickly or targeted toward people whose consumption tends to be restricted by their income, such as reducing payroll taxes for firms that increase payroll or increasing aid to the unemployed, would have the largest effects on output and employment per dollar of budgetary cost in 2010 and 2011. [CBO, 1/14/10]  

According to a table in the report, CBO estimated that increasing aid to the unemployed would have the greatest effects on GDP per dollar of budgetary cost and the second highest cumulative effect on employment of the policy options considered.

[CBO, 1/14/10] 

Two Top Officials Resign Over ATF’s Operation Fast And Furious
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DOJ Has More Questions About South Carolina’s Voter ID Law
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Report: ATF Director Melson To Step Down Over Fast And Furious Program
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Welcome to Rick Perry’s Texas!

Obama Approval Hits New Low
A new Quinnipiac poll finds President Obama’s approval-disapproval level has shrunk to an all-time low of 42% to 52%.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “President Obama has hit a low 42% approval in the past, but this is his highest disapproval rating. Ominous for him is that the share of voters who think he has strong leadership qualities has dropped from 64% to 33% in January to 50% to 48% now. Voters say 54% to 42% that he cares about their problems, but that is not impressive since it is a measure on which Democratic presidents historically rate well.”

“The best news for the president is that voters still blame former president George W. Bush rather than Obama for the economy by 53% to 32%. One can only imagine what Obama’s approval rating might look like if that ever changes.”

No U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq Last Month
For the first time since the American invasion of Iraq, an entire month has passed without a single United States service member dying, the New York Times reports.

“The milestone is particularly remarkable because it comes after 14 troops were killed in July, making it the most deadly month for the Americans in three years, and it has occurred amid a frightening campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations from Sunni insurgents that killed hundreds of Iraqis, resurrecting the specter of the worst days of sectarian fighting.”

Obama Relents and Reschedules Speech
President Obama will now address a joint session of Congress next Thursday to lay out his plan for jobs and the economy, the Washington Post reports.

“The date is one day later than the president requested earlier Wednesday, but that date conflicted with a scheduled debate of Republican presidential candidates in California, drawing objections from GOP lawmakers.”

“The agreement followed an afternoon full of political maneuvering, injecting still more ill will into the ongoing fight between the White House and Congressional Republicans in their attempts to gain the upperhand in the debate over how to solve the nation’s ongoing economic problems. And both sides quickly pointed fingers at one another for the scheduling problem.”

The Fix: “No one wins a process fight: If Obama had doubled down on the Sept. 7 date, the coverage leading up to the speech would have focused heavily — if not exclusively — on the process (why the White House had done it, etc.) of the speech rather than the policy of it. Process battles, while beloved by reporters, are rarely a good thing for politicians and policy-makers.”

Exclusive Video Report: Nurses Speak Out In Favor of Wall Street Transaction Tax to Heal America
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President Obama Joins the Cult of Economics Deniers
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