"Justice is what Love looks like in Public"

http://callandresponse.com/trailer.html

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

It Has Dropped

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/arts/music/25kany.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

See kids, Thanksgiving wishes DO come true!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i3727898fb2739b048b1dc9309544e4d3

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Obama's first grade: A+ from Brooks

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/opinion/21brooks.html?th&emc=th

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

"At the edge of apocalypse"

Speaking to a friend in the auto business last night, it is easy to UNDERESTIMATE the new reality should the Big 3 go bankrupt outside of Washington hand-holding. His suggestion was not outright bankruptcy, but a DC-managed "effective bankruptcy." There are many reasons:

The unions need busted but that takes political will - GM cannot do it, the government must force it. The loaded cost (all-in) for a senior assembly-line worker is near $72 per hour! GM's medical benefits cost per worker, per year are $15,000 - the average company's medical benefits cost is $7,000. This is simply unsustainable - the unions need to be busted and the government, the DEMOCRATIC government, must do it.

The economic realities of Big 3 Bankruptcy are unimaginable. If things stay as they are, 5,000 car dealerships will go out of business. If GM goes bankrupt, that number is at least 10,000. On top of that, GM has 250,000 employees who would have just lost their jobs. Add to this the number of suppliers that would collapse and the inevitable effects on Honda and Toyota and you now have the systemic collapse of the entire auto industry, even bringing the healthy manufacturers down.

All of this would result in 2.5 to 3 million people out of work in a matter of weeks. You now have, within 90 days, 2.5 to 3 million home foreclosures - this is now much bigger than currently imagined.

This friend went on to say:

"We've seen a housing crisis, a credit crisis, a banking crisis, and now a manufacturing crisis in a matter of months. This is unprecedented...there's usually been one factor to point to, but this is EVERYTHING. You being young, at your age, this taste will be with you for the rest of your lives - you will never forget this time.

And you are also witnessing a failure of leadership, of political will. No one is standing up and offering any kind of perspective, with any kind of fervor or direction-setting. Leadership is not reactionary and that is all we have right now."

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

The Big 3

Point: Rick Wagoner, CEO of GM

Counter-Point: Mitt Romney, the should-have-been candidate

Gonna have to agree with 'ole Mitt on this one...

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

2012? Obama Mama?

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

What Are You Doing Sunday, November 23rd?

I know what I'll be doing. Who's hosting?

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

One Of The Most Important Questions Anyone Must Face

Especially in light of the era of change upon which we now embark. Click here.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Never Underestimate The Onion

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

The Story

This is a rough one on the McCain camp. Not too surprising, but interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06mccain.html?pagewanted=1

And on the Obama camp. And this one will continue to be interesting. This is only part 1 of 7.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582/output/print

(This might not be as interesting to everyone as it is to me. And, funny thing, Obama isn't in spellcheck yet.)

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

I Think I Already Saw One Of These On MFD's Truck

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Q

Do it.

http://www.qideas.org/event/

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Before It Is Lost - 2 Points

1. Some historical perspective provided, interestingly, by the New York Times. Both Clinton and Bush thought they had redrawn the political maps...something we find unbelievable at this point but which, at the time, sounded right to those who had won.

For example, if you look at the county results in Florida, Obama only won three counties more than Kerry in 2004 and it gave him the state. In Ohio, he won 5 more. Both states went for Obama by around 200,000 voters each. That is no landslide. Governing is the next test.

2. This second point is directed at fellow blogger, YBS, in regard to the "live blogging" post and my view that "NBC is the fairest of networks."

While I did not actually say that NBC is the fairest of networks, that is beside the point. My comment was made while watching (an intoxicated) Brit Hume on Fox News, which, let's be honest, is definitely not fair or balanced unless you are watching two televisions at the same time, one tuned to Fox News and the other to MSNBC. Both have made blatant decisions to move toward one ideological perspective.

YBS must also be unaware of the reaction within NBC News (network) to their cable network's leaning, something I believe, actually legitimizes the attempt by NBC News toward journalistic credibility - something unquestioned under the editorial leadership of the late Tim Russert. I can no longer stomach FoxNews or MSNBC. NBC News, while currently leaderless, provides some idealogical moderation under Williams and Brokaw, as does CNN (although, Wolf Blitzer leaves much to be desired).

In all, I challenge YBS to stop arguing for the legitimacy of Fox News (and thereby quit living up to his initials) and I leave him with words from Washington Post columnist, Howard Kurtz, and from the executive producer of BBC World News America, Rome Hartman (pictured above):

Prime-time viewers of Fox News and MSNBC get vastly different perspectives on the campaign that sometimes approach mirror images. This goes well beyond the hosts' political views to the booking of guests and the way stories are framed, pumped up and sometimes ignored. In that sense, the programs reflect the increasing polarization of the media world, where columnists, strategists, bloggers and radio talkers have built thriving careers catering to those who already agree with them. As high-profile hosts adored by fans and derided by critics, Hannity and Olbermann provide a case study in the power of ideological punditry.'

Hartman:

Viewers are retreating into their own cocoons. If you have a business culture where the boss says one thing and everybody toes the line and says 'Boy, boss, that's right, you're right,' well, that's a business that's not going to last very long.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

So yeah....

Sitting here with several distinguished members of the Y-Report. Kind of a somber mood here, given how things seem to be going with the national elections. Jayber lightened things up moments ago by calling NBC the fairest of the networks. Silly Jayber...

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Finance + Sports = Barack Obonga

Don't know if anyone reads The Sports Guy on ESPN.com, but you should. At times, he can be hilarious.

This is one of those times.

In a column on the NBA getting "it's curves back," he uses the term "sunk cost" and proceeds to explain it:

What is a sunk cost? In financial terms, it's a lost cause -- you're paying for something that has lost its value to you. Let's say I spent $200 on one of those beautiful, 6-foot-high, glass-blown water bongs and named it Barack Obonga. And let's say I smoked a little too much of the special hydro weed they give to cancer patients, decided someone was watching me through my front window, ran outside in my underwear with a baseball bat, and eventually spent the next two hours sitting in a tree waiting for the imaginary guy to come back before my neighbors called the police. And let's say the whole experience made me say, "You know what? I need to quit smoking pot, it's making me a little crazy." Maybe I'd try to sell the bong on Craigslist to no avail, and none of my friends would take it because there's nothing grosser than owning someone else's bong. At that specific point, Barack Obonga would become a sunk cost; that money is out the window. It's gone. I need to accept this fact and move on.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

How Show We Then Vote?

I was going to save this until after today, election day. But as I read it again, I think it is a voice that must be heard. A good and thoughtful voice. Not always to agree with, but to, at the very least, think about. Derek Webb and electoral conscience.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Derek Webb: Mockingbird...free

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck

The single most epic Xylophone solo of all time.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

WINDMILL INNOVATION

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

A Date With Scarcity

David Brooks today:

We’re probably entering a period, in other words, in which smart young liberals meet a stone-cold scarcity that they do not seem to recognize or have a plan for.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Our Boy, Mike Allen

http://www.newsweek.com/id/166849

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

McCain on SNL

Affleck is scary on Olbermann:

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Worth Reading

Two long-ish pieces from the New York Times Magazine. Very interesting going into the home stretch. ("long-ish" shouldn't be scary...don't let 'Google make you stupid')

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26mccain-t.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/magazine/31bush-t.html

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

It Just Makes You Happy

So, you might have seen Matt a few years ago in a (bad) dancing video...but not like this. More people joined in, and it's just that much better.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

A Musical Road!

This is awesome:

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Krauthammer, Never One to Mince Words

He's voting for this guy.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Obama a BMW, McCain a Ford

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/e3ib59b5b9afcb9854b9f74892e8678d8c6

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Patio Man - David Brooks

Sound familiar?

He is the quintessential suburban American, the service economy worker, the guy who wears khakis to work each day, with the security badge on the belt clip around his waist.

He lives in northern Virginia, along the I-4 corridor near Orlando, Fla., in or near Columbus, Ohio, along the Front Range of Colorado, in the converging megalopolis between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and in many other places.

He has a house — worth less and less — in a relatively new development. He’s holding off on the new car. He’s trying not to look at his retirement account balance. But he’s happy with the new street-scape shopping area where he and his family can stroll before a movie.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/opinion/21brooks.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

(I've been alerted that "some" may have a hard time getting to the NY Times articles on this blog. As a free-market capitalist, I believe it is the God-given right of every man and woman to have a FREE NYTimes.com subscription. Sign up today, it's "all the news that's fit to print.")

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Palin and Poehler

These are just hilarious:

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Coca-Cola: Building a Better Design Machine?

Pretty cool article about Coke's "Design Machine" that has increased efficiency in creating localized ad collateral and reduced overall expenses by over 30%.  This will likely become a hot trend and we will see lots of ad agencies and consulting firms offering to create these systems for other large mega-brands in the next few years....

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

When the Oracle Speaks, One Should Listen

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17buffett.html?th&emc=th

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

What Can Happen In 19 Days?

Politico Playbook : 19 Days - Debate Reaction

Politico Playback:

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Third and Final (thankfully) Debate

Wouldn't it be nice if a moderator said "Excuse me, I was looking for a little more depth when I asked that question. I believe you recited that exact same answer last week..."

- Borrowing money from China to give to Saudi Arabia.

- I will go line by line through the federal budget.

- We've got to get spending under control. I'll take a hatchet, then a scalpel. This guy got an earmark for an overhead projector. Did you hear that? An OVERHEAD PROJECTOR.

Name that candidate.....then name which debate the line appeared in. Hint: they can all be found in more than one!





Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Watch This

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Why How Matters

“UBS bank’s motto is: ‘You and us.’ But the world we created was actually ‘You and nobody’ — nobody was really connected in value terms,” said Seidman. “Parts of Wall Street got disconnected from investing in human endeavor — helping business to scale and take up new ideas.” Instead, they started to just engineer money from money. “So some of the smartest C.E.O.’s did not know what some of their smartest people were doing.”

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/opinion/15friedman.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Big Government Ahead

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/opinion/14brooks.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Morning Reading 10.13.08 : On (government-observed) Columbus Day

ESSENTIAL READING - From the cover of Newsweek - There Is A Silver Lining

All the more reason to pick up The Snowball

Playbook Monday : 22 Days

DRIVING THE DAY – John McCain will unveil a new, Salteresque stump speech today designed to get voters and reporters to give him one more look. The campaign provided this excerpt: 'Let me give you the state of the race today. We have 22 days to go. We're six points down. The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them.

'What America needs in this hour is a fighter; someone who puts all his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people. I come from a long line of McCains who believed that to love America is to fight for her. I have fought for you most of my life. There are other ways to love this country, but I've never been the kind to do it from the sidelines.'

Maybe 3 weeks too late...

Kristol in yesterday's NY Times with what might be the best advice for John McCain: be yourself...again.

Freidman on A Post-Binge World:

“I have no idea what the stock market is going to do next month or six months from now,” Warren Buffett told CNBC on Friday. “I do know that the American economy, over a period of time, will do very well, and people who own a piece of it will do well.”

And another recommendation for David Smick's The World is Curved.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

One Number....For Life

I signed up for Grand Central a while back and the features are great.  The general concept is that you get a number assigned from Grand Central and based on your phonebook settings, you set which lines you want to ring when certain people call.  So, if my buddy calls, I want it to go ring my cell phone.  If my boss calls during business hours, I want it to ring my office phone and cell phone, etc.  

In addition, there are great features like call recording, a visual voicemail inbox, and the ability to keep your number forever.  If you get a new cell number or change jobs, but have your personal business contacts using your grand central number, you just adjust your grandcentral settings and you are good to go.   

Neat product......recently acquired by Google.  I'll go ahead and predict they do some promotion of this service when the Google phone is released.

Visit Grand Central

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

The Scandal of the Conservative Mind

Brooks, the voice of reason, on both the loss of conservative intellectualism and the class warfare being stoked by Palin.

And Noonan, the weekly touchpoint of sanity: 'Winning campaigns are built on love. This is the time for "McCain is the answer," not "The other guy is questionable."'

It is asking a lot to ask a political animal to be thoughtful, because they find meaning in action. They are propelled through life by the force of their hunger. But now and then you want to see them think. You want to see them speak the truth. This is one of those times.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com

Remembering the Free Market

John Stossel....the David Hasselhoff of intellectuals.....thank you,  thank you very much!!  Your burly mustache....impressive.  Your thoughts on Free enterprise in light of all the bailouts...utterly refreshing.  It's amazing how quickly so many are turning their backs on the core economic principle that has made this nation great.

A fantastic article entitled "Try Free enterprise" by the Stoss.

Brought to you by theYreport at y-report.com