Zandi: Hiring Tax Credit Can Create 250K Jobs
03.05.2010
Mark Zandi > View profile
Despite doubts among many lawmakers that the measure will create many jobs, the House passed legislation yesterday giving companies that hire the jobless a temporary payroll tax break.
The measure passed, 217-201, on a mostly party-line vote. The bill also extends federal highway programs through the end of the year.
Some Democrats think the approximately $35 billion bill - blending $15 billion in tax cuts and subsidies for infrastructure bonds issued by local governments with $20 billion in transportation money - is too puny, while others say the tax cut for new hires won't generate many jobs.
However, the pressure is on to address jobs and deliver a badly needed win for President Obama and a Democratic Party struggling in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 2 midterm elections. Further jobs measures are promised.
Economist Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com said the new hiring tax credit could spur creation of about 250,000 jobs. The economy has shed 8.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. (Philly.com) > View article
Scott's “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” Gets an Update
02.25.2010
David Meerman Scott > View profileTwo and a half years ago, the first edition of “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” hit the shelves. David Meerman Scott’s guide to using social media and other online tools for marketing was a game changer. It provided an education for anyone wanting to build connections online, whether they were marketing products and services or just wanting to drive more traffic to a blog. Last month, the second edition of the book came out. I received a review copy and I’ve been going through it. (WebWorker Daily) > View article
Nathaniel Frank's DADT Op-Ed on Huffington Post
02.17.2010
Nathaniel Frank > View profileTo a degree that has caught even longtime advocates off guard, the substantive debate about whether to end "don't ask, don't tell" has rather suddenly been resolved. The impassioned statement by Adm. Mike Mullen, the first sitting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to call for an end to the ban, reflects a sea change in military culture that some have been expressing for years: the young, professional troops of the U.S. military simply don't care that much if their unit mates are gay. In 1993, Bill Clinton, Gen. Colin Powell, and Sen. Sam Nunn were confronted everywhere they went with angry troops demanding to be reassured that gays would not be allowed to foist their lifestyles on their pristine fighting force; but this week Adm. Mullen was so taken aback by the silence of troops in the wake of his call for repeal that he raised the issue himself in recent conversations, prompting crickets from service members and a change of subject to matters far more pressing to them. (Huffington Post) > View article
David M. Scott in SES Webcast Interview
02.10.2010
David Meerman Scott > View profileInternationally known Internet marketing strategist and author David Meerman Scott will be featured in a free Search Engine Strategies (SES) webcast. Scott is the author of the recent hit book “World Wide Rave” in which he describes the concept of a particular business or brand becoming known worldwide through online buzz, which in turn results in increased sales and recognition. The second edition of his BusinessWeek bestseller (published in 24 languages), “The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly,” was published in January. (PR Web) > View article
Lt. Dan Choi featured in NY Times
02.01.2010
Lt. Dan Choi > View profile
WASHINGTON — President Obama and top Pentagon officials met repeatedly over the past year about repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law that bans openly gay members of the military.
But it was in Oval Office strategy sessions to review court cases challenging the ban — ones that could reach the Supreme Court — that Mr. Obama faced the fact that if he did not change the policy, his administration would be forced to defend publicly the constitutionality of a law he had long opposed. (NY Times) > View article
Gary V: A Guru Who Can Get You Rich
01.22.2010
Gary Vaynerchuk > View profileIt's happening— can't help it. Gary Vaynerchuk is getting me all worked up. In his spartan office in lower Manhattan, I'm getting the Crush It! religion. "Can I tell you why it's huge?" he asks. "Because it's real. Seriously, I mean, like, I'm getting goose bumps." He holds out his arm, and for a moment I'm actually surveying his flesh for evidence of just how exciting this all is! (Details) > View article
John Yoo: No Terror Trials in NYC
01.22.2010
John Yoo > View profileJohn Yoo, former deputy assistant attorney general in the office of legal counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice during George W. Bush's first term, sat down with me last week prior to his talk before a Manhattan audience of the Federalist Society to promote his new book, Crisis and Command. He told me this interview was his first and only "blogger interview" as part of his book tour. (Huffington Post) > View article
The NY Times on Crisis and Command
01.22.2010
John Yoo > View profileIn “Crisis and Command,” his sweeping history of presidential prerogatives, John Yoo argues that national security crises inevitably ratchet up the power of the president at the expense of Congress. “War acts on executive power as an accelerant,” he writes, “causing it to burn hotter, brighter and swifter.” In “Bomb Power,” Garry Wills argues much the same thing, adding that the advent of atomic weapons has made this concentration of power in the White House even greater. “The executive power increased decade by decade,” he writes, “reaching a new high in the 21st century — a continuous story of unidirectional increase.” Where the two authors disagree is on whether this trend should be celebrated or denounced. Yoo finds increased executive power appealing and in accord with the Constitution. (NYT) > View article
David Meerman Scott: Social Media All-Star
01.14.2010
David Meerman Scott > View profileMarketing strategist and author. Scott was well ahead of the curve in 2007 with his best selling book, "The New Rules of Marketing & PR." He appears to have another winner in the book, "Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs" -- as a contributing author and editor. Scott is very generous with his time and is an active contributor across the Web and on the speaking circuit. (Clickz) > View article
Lt. Dan Choi To Appear At Iowa LGBT Youth Conference
01.04.2010
Lt. Dan Choi > View profileLt. Dan Choi has been scheduled to be the keynote speaker at Iowa’s 5th Annual Governor’s Conference on LGBT Youth on February 18th, 2010 at Drake University. (Lezgetreal) > View article
Ray Kurzweil Reinvents the Book
12.29.2009
Ray Kurzweil > View profile
Ray Kurzweil, who thought up pretty much everything, ever, has entered the e-book fray. Due to debut at CES in Las Vegas next week, Kurzweil’s Blio comes from a completely different angle than the current e-ink readers.
Blio is not a device. Rather, it is a “platform” which could run on any device, but would be most obviously at home on a tablet. The software will be free and available for phones, netbooks and so on. (Wired) > View article
David Meerman Scott is a NY Times must-read
12.28.2009
David Meerman Scott > View profileRegarding books to read in the coming year, I have many Wish Lists at Amazon.com. What I really need is more time, not more titles. Regardless, here are a handful of books that top my ever-expanding reading list... (NY Times) > View article
Mark Zandi on Ben Bernanke's Chances for a 2nd Term
12.17.2009
Mark Zandi > View profile
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has been praised by President Obama and hailed by most mainstream economists for bold policies that played a critical role in pulling the U.S. economy back from the brink of disaster.
The Fed chief even won a celebrity accolade Wednesday when Time magazine named him Person of the Year.
But instead of basking in glory, the 56-year-old professorial Fed chairman is fighting for his job -- and for the survival of policies at the heart of efforts by the central bank and the Obama administration to keep the nation's fragile recovery on track.
Although Bernanke is expected to win support from the Senate Banking Committee today and eventually be confirmed by the full Senate for a second four-year term, he remains under continual attack in Congress.
In recent months many members of Congress from both parties have berated the Fed and its chairman, in part over the Fed's failure during the housing boom to stop reckless behavior by banks and in part because of public indignation over billion-dollar bailouts for Wall Street. The anger has fueled drives in both chambers to curb the Fed's power and subject its actions, including monetary policymaking, to congressional scrutiny.
"It is ironic that he's under such criticisms given that he played such a key role in ending the financial crisis," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think if the Fed hadn't acted aggressively and reduced rates to zero, the financial system would still be in disarray and we'd still be in a recession." (LA TIMES) > View article
John Fund: Harry Reid's History Lesson
12.08.2009
John Fund > View profile
Majority Leader Harry Reid tarred opponents of his health care bill yesterday as the equivalent of those who opposed equal rights for women and civil rights for blacks.
In a remarkable statement on the Senate floor, Mr. Reid lambasted Republicans for wanting to "slow down" on health care. "You think you've heard these same excuses before? You're right," he said. "In this country there were those who dug in their heels and said, 'Slow down, it's too early. Let's wait. Things aren't bad enough' -- about slavery. When women wanted to vote, [they said] 'Slow down, there will be a better day to do that -- the day isn't quite right. . . .'"
He wrapped up his remarks as follows: "When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today."
Senator Reid's comments were quickly condemned. "Hyperbole. It is over the top. It reminds me of earlier people talking about Nazis," said Juan Williams of NPR and Fox News, author of "Eyes on the Prize," a definitive history of the civil rights movement.
Historians also faulted Mr. Reid's curious reference to the Senate civil rights debates of the 1960s. After all, it was Southern Democrats who mounted an 83-day filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. The final vote to cut off debate saw 29 Senators in opposition, 80% of them Democrats. Among those voting to block the civil rights bill was West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who personally filibustered the bill for 14 hours. The next year he also opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mr. Byrd still sits in the Senate, and indeed preceded Mr. Reid as his party's majority leader until he stepped down from that role in 1989.
The final reason Mr. Reid's comments were so inapt and offensive is that the battles for women's suffrage and civil rights he referred to were about expanding freedom. That's not what the 2,074-page health care bill being debated in the Senate today does, with its 118 new regulatory boards and commissions. Mr. Reid may reach his needed 60 votes to pass his bill this month, but he is pursuing it using the most tawdry and deplorable of tactics. (WSJ) > View article
Terry Jones Profiled in Successful Meetings
12.08.2009
Terry Jones > View profile
Innovation is more important than ever as the country emerges from the "great recession," says 61-year-old Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.com and chairman of Kayak.com.
"A lot of people confuse innovation with invention. According to Wikipedia, invention is the art of creating something new. Innovation is taking a good idea and putting it to work," he says.
That's exactly what Jones did when he created a web site through which consumers could check airfares, a first in the world of the Internet that was still in its infancy. His brainchild went on to become Travelocity, a national brand with more than 40 million members, 1,200 employees, and $5 billion in travel bookings at the time he left. Today, the company is even bigger. (Successful Meetings) > View article
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