Last week the best radio show ever, This American Life, tackled the housing and credit crisis by talking to some of the real people involved with packaging junk no-proof loans into “sensible” investments. In the words of host Ira Glass and friends, it all comes back to “The Giant Pool Of Money.” [This American Life]
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Barack Obama just delivered these remarks (as prepared) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He was introduced by Senator Claire McCaskill…
It’s great to be here in Missouri with my good friend Claire McCaskill. This is a state that voted for change when you sent Claire to the Senate in 2006; you voted for change in February when we surprised the pundits and pulled out a victory; and this is a state where we will compete to win when I am the Democratic nominee for President.
There is a lot of talk these days about how the Democratic Party is divided. But I’m not worried, because I know that we’ll be able to come together quickly behind a common purpose. There’s too much that unites us as Democrats. There’s too much at stake for our country. And there will be a clear choice on November 4.
Now there’s one thing we know for sure about this election. The name George Bush will not be on the ballot. The name of my cousin Dick Cheney will not be on the ballot. But while the Bush-Cheney ticket won’t be up for reelection, the Bush-Cheney policies will, because John McCain is running for four more years of the same approach that has failed the American people.
There is a reason that a record number of Americans think that we’re on the wrong track. We’ve lost hundreds of thousands of jobs just this year. The cost of everything from health care, to a tank of gas, to college tuition has skyrocketed while wages have stayed stagnant. Millions of American families are facing foreclosure. We’re spending tens of billions of dollars fighting a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged.
Meanwhile, Americans have lost faith that Washington can or will do anything about problems they face day in and day out. Because the troubling statistics only begin to tell a story found in communities and at kitchen tables across the country. It’s a story of empty factories shut down forever because the jobs have been shipped overseas and nothing took their place. It’s the story told by a mother who can’t sleep because she can’t afford health care for her sick child; a father who lost his job but can’t afford a tank of gas so that he can look for a new one; a family that doesn’t know where they’ll be living in a month or a year because they’re about to lose a home.
It’s a story of an American Dream that is slipping away. And what the American people need at this defining moment is leadership that restores the fundamental American belief that you can make it if you try in this country – that your dreams matter more than the demands of special interests or the convenience of political posturing. That’s why I’m running for President. That’s why we’ll be united as Democrats. Because Washington has failed the American people, and this election is our chance to turn the page.
John McCain has served his country with honor, and I respect that service. But for two decades, he has supported policies that have shifted the burden on to working people. And his only answer to the problems created by George Bush’s policies is to give them another four years to fail. Just look at where he stands and you’ll see that a vote for John McCain is a vote for George Bush’s third term.
Four more years of George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans who don’t need them and didn’t ask for them.
Four more years of a health care plan that works for the healthy and the wealthy while tens of millions go without care, and families struggle with rising costs.
Four more years of a President who supports privatizing Social Security.
Four more years of a war that has cost us thousands of lives and a trillion dollars without making us safer, while we run up a mountain of debt that is mortgaging our children’s future.
Four more years of a White House that is run by the kind of lobbyists who run John McCain’s campaign, while Washington tells the American people – “you’re on your own.”
Well we know that the American people cannot afford any more of the Bush-McCain program. Not this time. Not when the stakes are so high. Not when the opportunities are so great. We need a new direction in Washington. We need new leadership in the White House.
We know that government cannot solve all of our problems, and we don’t expect it to. We don’t want our tax dollars wasted on programs that don’t work or perks for special interests that don’t work for us. We understand that we cannot stop every job from going overseas or build a wall around our economy, and we know we shouldn’t.
But that is not an excuse to spend another four years doing nothing to reclaim the American Dream for working people. We’re the nation that built the largest middle class in history. We all have a stake in each other’s success. We can’t continue an economic program that rewards Wall Street at the expense of Main Street because then we all end up hurting. It’s time to end a failed approach that tries to build prosperity from the top down, and renew our common prosperity from the bottom up.
Instead of a tax code that rewards wealth and not work, we’ll provide an income tax cut of up to $1,000 for a working family, and eliminate income taxes altogether for any retiree making less than $50,000 per year.
Instead of more inaction on health care, we’ll finally bring this country together, stand up to the drug companies and insurance companies, and make health care affordable and accessible for every single American.
Instead of putting a secure retirement at risk, we’ll safeguard Social Security, we’ll protect pensions instead of CEO bonuses, and we’ll help all Americans save more so they can have a retirement that is dignified and secure.
Instead of gimmicks like a gas tax holiday that rewards the oil companies while doing nothing to lower gas prices in the long-term, we’ll raise fuel efficiency standards, invest in alternative energy, and create millions of Green Jobs that will free this country from our addiction to oil.
Instead of a blank check to fight an endless war in Iraq, we can end this war, restore our military, finish the fight against al Qaeada, and invest some of those dollars to put millions of Americans to work rebuilding our roads and bridges, laying down new rail lines and new broadband, and making sure that all of America can compete and win in the 21st century.
That’s the new direction we need in this country. The other party has already decided to run on the failed policies of the past; that’s why we need to be the party that stands for the future. Everywhere I go, I meet Americans who can’t wait another day for change. Change that refuses to let lobbyists drown out the voices of the American people.. Change that puts folks back to work. Change that finally delivers on the promise of health care you can afford, and an energy policy that makes sense. Change that leaves behind partisanship that stands in the way of progress, because we’re all in this together as Americans.
This is our chance to build a new majority of Democrats and Independents and Republicans who know that four more years of George Bush just won’t do. This is our moment to turn the page on the divisions and distractions that pass for politics in Washington, so that we can write the next chapter in the history of American prosperity for all Americans.
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Time and again we’ve seen that personal connections are the key to growing this movement, and today has been no different. Motivated by the chance to connect with another supporter and double the impact of their donation, thousands of people have made contributions today, many of them for the first time.
Here are just a few:
Katrina:
I was waiting for the right time to donate because I didn’t have much to give at this place in our lives. Because of you our donation will have more impact. Thank you for the audacity to believe in real change and a real hope for our country!
Kathryn:
Thank you so much for making my contribution count for a little more. I am not generally a campaign contributor … I just want to be able to make a difference in getting this country back on the right path to what it has been and can be for all of us.
And Kyle:
Together we are going to make history! Thank you for matching the money I am donating to the cause! It means a lot to me that people from all over the country are coming together to say YES WE CAN!!!!
If you make a donation now, your contribution will be matched by a fellow supporter, doubling its impact. You’ll see the name and hometown of the person who matched your donation, and you’ll be able to share your own story of why you were moved to donate.
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Reader Christina has a (broken) water heater from Sears. It’s covered under a warranty, but Sears isn’t willing to replace it. She’s been without hot water for 3 weeks and Sears just doesn’t care.
Name: Christina | Address: [redacted] | City: Tulsa > >| State: OK | Zip: [redacted] | Country: USA | Day Phone: [redacted] | > >Evening Phone: [redacted] | Email: [redacted]
I am disgusted about the service that I have received from your workers. I know that sears doesn’t care about its customers nor does it stand behind its worthless products that it sells. I will not waste more of my time explaining this to you for the 100th time, you should be able to look at my account and clearly see that your stupidity and lack of customer service is my problem.
I have been waiting two weeks to get a water heater replaced. I was supposed to get a call yesterday and didn’t. I was supposed to get it installed today and didn’t. Big surprise, you don’t care! I want you to reimburse for the water heater, the permit, the warranty, and to be compensated for the stress of not having hot water for three weeks while you did nothing. While no one called me, no one did anything. I will contact my lawyer, I will report you to the BBB.
You don’t deserve to be in business and hopefully someone will put an end to sears soon. DO NOT CALL ME!!! I refuse to get stressed out listening to your scripted, we’re sorry, we’re going to do everything we can to help you out because your important. If I was, I would have hot water by now. You may email your response, if you can not honor my request you can send this to the corporate office and have the president of sears look at it. if he wont, then we will settle this in court. I fully expect for you to do the right thing for a change and get my water heater out hear within 24 hours and mail my check for my trouble of buying from sears to begin with which I WILL NEVER DO AGAIN!
Sears replied:
Where was this water heater purchased? Was this through your local Sears or over the water heater sales line? If this was purchased through the store, we at Sears.com would not have access to your order and would need to direct you to the store.If this was purchased through the sales line, what phone number was used and what name would it be under? Did you get a reference number? We would need some kind of information from the order to get the order to pull up. I have even tried calling the installation department as well as the service line and your name or phone numbers did not bring up any results.
I personally have not seen this order and would like the opportunity to try and get this resolved for you. I also understand that you have probably heard that before and do not feel like hearing it again, but I would like to try to help you with this. Even if the order was placed through the store, if you call us, we could even help by doing a conference call to the store and to the installation department and try to figure out what went so horribly wrong and see what can be done to get your water heater installed.
Our number here at the water heater sales line is 800-877-6420. My name is Grant and I am here most evenings, minus Sunday and Wednesday. If you would like to give me a call, my extension is 10093. If I am on a call, you can leave your name and number with whoever you talk to and I can call you back.
At this point and after reading your e-mail, I do not blame you for being angry. If you feel like you need to pursue this further legally, I would need to refer you to the legal department at 847-286-8371.
I know you do not want more apologies, but I do feel sorry that this has happened and do regret the inconvenience that this particular situation
has caused you.
If you feel so inclined to ask for my assistance, please give me a call, or e-mail me back, I have marked your e-mail so I can take ownership of
any further correspondence and will do what I can for you.
Look for Great Ideas throughout the store and find Sears exclusive innovations from great brands like Sony, Kenmore, NordicTrack, Craftsman and Reebok.
Grant B. Sears.com Customer Care
Christina replied:
You can not find my information because I have called you all a million times and told you my new number but nobody seems to want to write it down.The old number is [redacted] The new number is [redacted] The cell number is [redacted]
This is suppose to be a replacement because the other piece of crap water heater I got from you guys broke AGAIN! For God’s sake just look at your own website, nobody has anything good to say about your water heaters. Its all people who are mad because their water heater is doing the same thing mine has. They should last more than a year.
I don’t know why you cant look me up by anything but my number, you had my name and address what kind of shitty customer service is this?
If you can give what I have asked for by all means, otherwise, you will need to forward this on to your corporate office because I will not be swept under the carpet. I will not be ignored, every day I go without hot water is one more day that I take the time to spread the word about how sears has treated me.
Sears replied:
Dear Ms. [redacted]:
Thank you for visiting Sears.com, we appreciate hearing from you.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the information you requested via e-mail. We encourage you to contact our Installation department by telephone, at (800)859-6000.
Thank you for choosing Sears for your home service needs.
Sincerely,
Larry D Sears Holdings Corporation
Christina replied:
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:28:21 -0500
I got a call saying that you can not find anyone to install my water heater which is suppose to be covered under my warranty that I paid for. This is unacceptable! I will not pay someone to install your piece of shit water heater and only be reimbursed $219. I have called 5 companies in the Tulsa area and the quotes they have given me have ranged from $500-$700 depending on what all they have to do. You are not going to get away with this.
I want to be refunded to total price of the water heater plus tax, I want to be refunded for all of my warranties, and I want the cost of installation. I will go to another company. I refuse to have anything to do with you ever again.
You can not do this to me, I have the warranty which guarantees you to replace my water heater and installation, not a portion of the installation.
And I don’t want any stupid vouchers for sears!
Christina
You could keep arguing with Sears, or you could just sue them for breach of warranty in small claims court. The limit in Oklahoma is $6,000, which should cover your complaint. You may think suing a huge corporation like Sears is futile, but it’s not. Here’s a story from one reader who sued Best Buy over a defective washing machine and won. We’d also report Sears to your attorney general.
Before you put on your lawyer pants, you might want to try Sears’ public relations number: 847-286-8371.
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While Jeff Cannizzaro was off fighting in Iraq, he was also fighting Sprint. Jeff suspended his phone while overseas, but left some money in the account. While he was away, Sprint kept deducting small amounts from his balance. His wife kept calling and writing emails, trying everything they could think of to get Sprint to stop deducting the money. Nothing worked.
When Jeff got back in September, he tried writing the CEO. That didn’t work either. It took help from the local media to encourage Sprint to give Jeff his money back.
From King 5:
Sprint wouldn’t talk to KING 5 specifically about his case, but they did act fast.“I got a call from someone from Sprint apologizing, saying it must have gotten lost in the shuffle and we’re really sorry about the inconvenience and there will be a check in the mail overnight to you,” Cannizzaro said.
Cannizzaro said Sprint owed him $48. In the end, Sprint sent him a check for $100.
“I’m very glad KING 5 is willing to help me out in this situation,” he said.
Hey, Sprint. This type of customer service isn’t really scalable. It’s not cool to outsource your simple billing problems to the local TV station. Ya know?
Fort Lewis soldier battles cell phone company over bill [King5] (Thanks, Landon!)
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The Charlotte Observerreports…
Reps. Watt, Price are endorsing Obama
Two N.C. superdelegates will endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president Wednesday.
Reps. Mel Watt and David Price planned a conference call to announce their decision to endorse Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
The entire N.C .delegation had endorsed former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, and until now only one had announced an endorsement of either of the two remaining candidates. Rep. G.K. Butterfield also endorsed Obama.
Price and Watt are two of the state’s most influential representatives in Washington. Price, a former Duke political scientist, is a Democrat from Chapel Hill first elected to Congress in 1986. He is the most senior Democratic congressman from North Carolina and he chairs an appropriations subcommittee.
Watt, a lawyer, is a Charlotte Democrat first elected in 1992. He is chair of a financial services subcommittee — a key post for his hometown — and is a past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Please consider making a match today to help carry this movement ot victory in North Carolina…
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Canada is about to become the first country
=1365998400&en=4000c2c9f48ae647&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink”>”Canada Likely to Label Plastic Ingredient ‘Toxic’” [The New York Times]
(Photo: ToastyKen)
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SIOUX FALLS, SD – Today, twenty-five of the thirty-five South Dakota Democratic State Legislators endorsed Barack Obama, citing him as the only candidate who can unite Americans for change that matters in the lives of working families in South Dakota.
South Dakota Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem said, “Senator Obama inspires all Americans, regardless of party, race or economic circumstance. He is the best chance we have had in years to lift the spirit and lead the way.”
South Dakota House Democratic Leader Dale Hargens said, “Senator Obama has given us a reason to believe that we can change the way things are done in Washington. He will be able to bring an end to the bitter divisions in our nation’s capital that hinder good decision making and prevent implementation of sound solutions.”
Senator Obama said, “I’m proud to receive the backing of these legislators today. We are working hard to strengthen our growing grassroots movement for change in South Dakota before the primary on June 3, and we’re grateful that these leaders will help build our support throughout the state.”
Obama has the support of Former Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and has been endorsed by Senator Tim Johnson and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Last week, six Tribal Leaders from South Dakota endorsed Barack Obama.
Below is the list of South Dakota State Legislators Endorsing Barack Obama today:
Senator Julie Bartling
Senator Gary Hanson
Senator Scott Heidepriem
Senator Alan Hoerth
Senator Jim Hundstad
Senator Sandy Jerstad
Senator Tom Katus
Senator Frank Kloucek
Senator Ryan Maher
Senator Ben Nesselhuf
Senator Jim Peterson
Senator Nancy Turbak Berry
Senator Theresa Two Bulls
Representative Jim Bradford
Representative Quinten Burg
Representative H. Paul Dennert
Representative Richard Engels
Representative David Gassman
Representative Clayton Halverson
Representative Dale Hargens
Representative Larry Lucus
Representative Garry Moore
Representative Eldon Nygaard
Representative Bill Thompson
Representative Tom Van Norman
Help us grow the movement in South Dakota and beyond. Your voice and your contributions matter more than ever — it’s what keeps this thing going. Make a match today.
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In case you missed it, Michelle was on Colbert last night and the other Obama was on HBO Real Sports shooting hoops . Check it out…
We really do need a leader who can deliver in those critical moments. Obama’s the one…
The personal finance blogger at Can I Get Rich on a Salary has detailed nine ways he believes people can become rich. His list includes the following:
1. Visionary
2. Ridiculous Talent
3. Blind Luck
4. Opportunistic Luck
5. Small Business Empire
6. Small Business Investment
7. Highly Aggressive Investment
8. Skilled Investor
9. Slow and Steady
These can be divided into three basic groups:
1. Extraordinary skill/ability that only a handful of people possess.
2. Luck that rivals (or is worse than) the odds of getting struck by lightning.
3. A series of tasks almost anyone can do if they are disciplined enough.
Obviously, option #3, which relates to the “slow and steady” approach, is the most viable choice for the vast majority of people. And yet there’s that issue of discipline that almost makes this solution as likely as golfing better than Tiger Woods or finding oil in your back yard. Why is that?
The 9 Or So Paths To Getting Rich—And My Purported Analysis Of Them [Can I Get Rich on a Salary]
(Photo: Getty)
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