• Comments Round-Up: Reactions to Occupy Wall Street
• As the Occupy Wall Street protests escalate, so do the comments. Time for a good old-fashioned round-up: Here's what people have been saying on The Brian Lehrer Show and on It's a Free Country. Read and weigh in for yourself. On the phones Tori in Brooklyn I feel like there haven't been bulleted, ideological points that they're trying to accomplish. So basically I'm like, why aren't you working? The only way we're going to be able to get anywhere is if we do it the right way, if we use proper channels. Without having a clear idea of what we're trying to accomplish, we can't really get anything done. Amy in Montclair If you don't cry, you dont get your mother. There's a huge disconnect between Main Street and Wall Street; now what we have is really a witness to Wall Street...Now we have people watching. Ziyad in Manhattan Whether you like it or not, it's a great exercise in democracy. For too long, government has had complete equity to make decisions on behalf of the people, and people really have not spoken up like they used to in the '60s and '70s...This kind of movement reminds the government, hey, there are people out there on Main Street who are suffering, and you guys aren't addressing this issue. Jimmy in The Bronx We all have tried to use the system, and we've seen the system betray us. Obama has gone the way of Wall Street and somebody has to speak up. These people are doing it, and until Obama wakes up, he's going to be a one-term president. On the web Katherine Jackson [P]lease don't make an equivalency between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party. The Tea Party, with its anti-government, pro-deregulation position has massive funding from corporate interests. Occupy Wall Street has no such funding and indeed, opposes the very interests funding the Tea Party. Of course, there are ordinary Americans in the Tea Party, independent of the backers, but there is simply no equivalence between a group whose ideology comports so easily with large scale political interests and one whose philosophy clearly does not. Michael from Brooklyn, NY Anyone making the argument that there isn't a goal and that the movement doesn't have direction just isn't paying attention. The NY General Assembly web site is where you need to look for minutes of each meeting, minutes of all the working groups, and for the "Declaration of the Occupation of New York City." (http://nycga.cc/) JS from Brooklyn I would ask those eager to be condescending and dismissive towards the protesters "lack of clear objectives" to suggest their own solution to the current dysfunctional political and economic situation. There is clearly a very complicated and massive systemic problem in this country stemming from absurd campaign finance laws, antiquated electoral and legislative rules (filibuster), massive amounts of corporate influence in the political process, and a dependence on consumerism for economic prosperity, among many other things. To acknowledge and protest the current system is not "conspiratorial" as a conspiracy implies that a handful of individuals are pulling the strings. Instead, the nature of our political and economic systems have lead us here while the majority of the public has not been paying attention. Now people are taking notice that things aren't right - and that's a good enough start for me. Marc from Brooklyn They want college loans forgiven. They want home mortgages forgiven. Let me get this straight, 'cause I used to get hit in the head a lot: these people want the benefit of these major assets?valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars?and then don't want to pay for them? Where I come from, that's called theft.
• Comments Roundup: Your Take on the Budget Battles
• Ever since Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill was revealed in Madison earlier this month, protesters have had their say. Now you have yours. The bill limits the ability of public sector unions to collectively bargain, increases required health insurance and pension contributions from government workers, and grants authorities the right to terminate any employees who participate in strikes or walkouts during a governor-declared state of emergency. Here's what you had to say about the protests in Wisconsin and the controversial cuts on the chopping block.   Unions are so principled, "pay your dues or else" just like the mob. It's a fair comparison, the mob would never allow anyone else to "tax" the businesses they ran, had to protect the franchise. What is the union response to "right to work law"? WE NEED THE MONEY. Is that a lawful principle now for anyone but sovereign elected governments? Well bully for them, they should start unionizing bank robbers! -Mr.Bad from NYC If we lose these rights in one state, it's going to be in all the states. It's just like that classic song, if they come for the Communists, they're going to come for me next...this is a threat to all unions. -Sheldon calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show from Forest Hills I am a flight attendant and work at Delta and feel that nobody should be forced to pay union dues. Legally, once a work group has a union, nobody in that work group can opt out of paying membership. Unions are a private business and are just money hungry! Delta flight attendants have voted a union down 3 times in 5 years and yet they still come chasing and trying to get in. Unions are just money making useless entities. When a company has no money, no union can force anything. -galit from Manhattan There's a reason Unions are so weak these days. Corporate interests adopted the techniques used by unions to protect workers' interests, but corporate lobbies had access to a much larger 'war chest.' -Peter Considering that the unions are willing to come to the table and negotiate, this smells like union busting. I will point out however that in some places here in NJ and elsewhere, there are laws and contracts in which the public unions can refuse to come to the table and instead the union gets automatic pay raises prescribed by the contract. A clause like that would be reason to not necessarily bust the union but to play serious hardball. -Brian from NJ I agree with the stance that this is union busting. I think there is also another motive at work here. It seems to me that Walker's effort to make union dues voluntary is an attempt to wipe out union money that can be used to support candidates who obviously would be Democratic candidates. So here is a parallel to when the Dems left Texas to avoid redistricting. It is all an attempt by Republicans to have more slanted election opportunities. -art525 from Park Slope The middle class in this nation was built on the efforts of unions to improve working condition. Often, what unions gained through collective bargaining was then made part of the non-bargained for employees benefits and wage increases. -jawbone It's ironic that Governor Walker is concerned about the cost of public employee's benefits to taxpayers, yet he has joined in the Florida/multi-state lawsuit challenging the health care reform law, which is designed to slow the growth of healthcare costs and provide increased competition and choice by establishing healthcare exchanges. Clearly, the governor is pursuing an ideological agenda that goes far beyond the professed goal of fiscal responsibility. -Nancy from NJ In Wisconsin the unions will still be able to negotiate. It's just that, if their negotiated contract boosts costs beyond overall increase in cost-of-living, the contract must then be specifically approved by the voters. How is that different from union members being able to reject contracts after their leadership finishes negotiating them? -Robert from NJ Why are government obligations for government workers pensions, etc., not seen as a form of bond just like other government issued bond obligations. How many tea bag business owners would accept their clients saying you did the work but I?m only paying 50% of the agreed price. -Tom from NYC Where are the demonstrations in support of these people in Wisconsin don't our teachers know they are next? As a retired teamster I called my local and asked if we were doing anything in support of our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and was told why what's going on in Wisconsin by one of the officials there. This is why Republican and Tea Party conservatives can get their agendas passed when they are in the majority because they stick to the party line while Democrats and liberals splinter into a hundred little self-serving groups. Local unions and action groups needed to organize and give supporters of this platform somewhere to show our support of the people of Wisconsin and our opposition to these short sighted policies that serve the purposes of only the very wealthy and their Republican toadies. -tonyc
• Comments Roundup: Your Civil Rights Stories
• Today on the Brian Lehrer Show, Sarah Keys Evans, a Brooklyn resident, Civil Rights activist and the subject of the book Take a Seat -- Make a Stand: A Hero in the Family was joined by Amy Nathan, the book's author, to talk about her arrest in 1952 that resulted in the end of race-based seating rules in interstate transportation. We also had a Black History Month history call-in and you shared your stories, too. Some of you called in with stories about your family and some shared your stories on line. There are many untold stories from the Civil Rights era ? thanks for sharing yours.   My father was pastor of a church in Michigan when on Palm Sunday 1969, April 5th, one day after the first anniversary of Martin Luther King's assasination, he preached a sermon based on the day's text, behold your King has come. He used a play on words to make the point that God speaks to us through many voices and the skin color through which the voice comes doesn't matter.  Apparently, it was the last straw. He was asked to leave and our family moved to Minnesota. - Randall My father was a son of Lutheran ministers in China and went to Yale Divinity School where he studied race relations which came to be useful in 1956 when a Lutheran denomination brought my father specifically to integrate a church in Hyde Park. Two years later, he went to the Anglewood section on the south side of Chicago for the purposes of integrating yet another congregation and while there...he realized the realtors were basically using scare tactics to cause white families to leave the neighborhood and then using strong arm tactics to get substantial profits on the resale of those properties from cronies who would buy the properties. So he decided he had to go about proving it. He spent many many months with real estate records in Chicago...and would publish them in a publication that he would distribute in the neighborhood called The Voice. - John in Ordale, calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show My family moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, in 1957. In the early '60s, some realtors were engaging in "blockbusting," using fear tactics to try to get white families to sell their houses cheaply. My parents joined a fair housing organization, which gave them a large sign to put on our lawn: "This House Is NOT for Sale." A few years later, our house was used as headquarters for an "undercover" research effort. The organization sent out black, white, and mixed couples to realtors to compare notes on what they were shown. - Joe from Brooklyn When I was a child we had a black housekeeper, Willie-Mae. She and my mother became great friends and decided that I needed to learn what it meant to be "a negro" in America during the 1950s. So I went to live for three weeks with Willie-Mae and her children in a black ghetto in Long Beach California. My experience, being a white child in the ghetto, was scary and loving...I learned what it was like to be "the other." It was a life-changing experience for me and lead my life in the direction of social responsibility. - Nan Harris from NYC My family moved to Belmont, New York, in 1965 and at that point there were very few people that lived in Belmont proper. Most of the black people lived in South Belmont, but the thing that made it so beautiful from my parents' point of view is that my brother and I were raised completely to be non-prejudice, even though we dealt with immense prejudice and that is something I hold as a mentor now teaching others. - Darryl in Brooklyn, calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show In 1951, I was 8 years living with my military family in Belmont, Alabama, and I was shopping with my mother downtown and made the mistake of drinking out of the colored only water fountain and I was immediatley surrounded by a bevy of irate white women...and my mother came flying across the store and waded through them and put her arm around me and...said we don't think like them, we're not like them, we don't believe that. - Bob in Cliffwood Beach, NJ calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show My great-great-grandfather, Eber M Pettit and great-great-great-grandfather, Dr. James Pettit were "conductors" on the Under Ground Rail Road running two stations along the Lake Erie shoreline in Western New York. They were outspoken crusaders among active antislavery activists in the area. They was on the "Main Line" funneling fugitives to Black Rock and the Niagra River for passage to Canada. Eber wrote articles in the local newspaper which were later published in a book "Sketches in the History of the Underground Railroad" in 1879. - Bill Pettit from NJ My stepfather Edward Rutledge was part of the first-wave Civil Rights movement, leading the fight for equal housing and eventually becoming one of the architects of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. His oldest son, my stepbrother Steve Rutledge joined Freedom Summer and ended up spending three years as a field secretary of SNCC, graduating from Tougaloo Southern Christian College. I remember a 6am phone call from him saying, "They just got Medgar"?and how we prayed that the same fate wouldn't meet him down there. I remember my stepfather being called in to speak with either Andrew Goodman or Mickey Schwerner by the young man's worried parents. Goodman or Schwerner was just about to go down to Mississippi and they wanted my stepfather to advise him on how to remain safe. When the bodies of Schwerner, Goodman and Cheney were finally found, my stepfather sat in front of the TV weeping. "I told him to shave off that goddam beard," he kept saying. Everytime I turned on the TV to news of Mississippi, there was my brother, being beaten and arrested. My living room was filled with two generations of civil rights workers. Their deep commitment and passion for justice is part of my own conscience and a welcome challenge to every choice I've made as an adult. - Nina d'Alessandro from the East Village, NYC My civil rights hero is my great-great-grandfather, Robert Queen. He was the first African American attorney to open a law office in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1922. My mother said he was a very quiet and composed and gentle man. He argued a case Hedgepeth v. Board of Education about seven years before Brown v. Board of Education. He argued for before the New Jersey State Supreme Court. The state constitution was changed and the New Jersey schools began to be integrated. - Kelly in Maplewood, calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show In the late 40's, my mother would walk into luncheonettes and before ordering would ask, do you serve blacks here? If the answer was no, she'd turn and walk out. - Martha on the Brian Lehrer Facebook page
• Comments Roundup: Gun Control
• Since the shootings in Tucson, we've been asking lots of questions about gun control and access to firearms. Here are some of your thoughts and reactions on this perennially divisive issue.     Carrying a gun to protect oneself from fellow citizens that also may be carrying a gun, is not a safety measure at all. I've heard military and law enforcement people well trained in the use of guns say: pulling a gun in reaction to a violent crime almost never works. It takes long, serious training in gun use, and mental training in focus and discernment, to be able to make a split second decision about whether to and how to use a gun in an emergency situation. It is rare when a responder is able use a firearm accurately enough to bring about a safe ending to a situation that involves a gunman and a number of people gathered in one place. How can we average citizens hope to bring about peace and security by adding even one more gun to the mix? -Eileen Clark from Brooklyn Amazing how when in the USA a half dozen people are shot (while tragic) is a big deal when in Iraq and Afghanistan dozens are being assassinated and blow to bits daily. How about going after Rumsfeld, Bush and Cheney for the illegal invasion of Iraq ? Have a bit of Empathy for the rest of the world the USA is Ruining ! -Jeff Pappas from Connecticut I just returned from a holiday trip home to the midwest. I was very surprised to learn how many of my friends are now carrying guns. As a lifelong supporter of gun control I initially found this circumstance very disturbing, though after listening to their reasoning (and seeing the neighborhoods in which they reside), I had to admit it was a more complicated issue than I realized. I still don't think it's the best answer, but I definitely appreciate how this kind of escalation happens so easily. -Aaron from Manhattan Why is the discussion not about regulating the amount of bullets a gun can fire at one time. Do hunters really need to fire 32 bullets in rapid succession to kill a deer. Where's the sport in that? Why is no one talking about the gun show loophole? Why does Remington continue to make a rifle that fires on its own? Rapid fire guns are meant for war, not for sport shooting and should be outlawed. The man who was carrying the gun at the Giffords slaying was afraid to use his gun for fear he would be considered the shooter by cops and eyewitnesses. If everyone carried, like in the old west, it would be a free-for-all. Ridiculous. -Katie from Huntington, NY What about police officers - should an officer who has ever taken prozac - even years before - have his or her gun taken away? -Andrea from NYC Forty-nine states can have strong gun laws, but if the fiftieth does not, the whole thing falls apart. Uniformity is the most urgent priority. -Michael Meltzer This tragic incident should start a discussion about the parity of health insurance between mental illness and physical illness. -nyorker from NYC When are we as a nation going to understand, that it's the availability of guns that is the problem here. If the federal government doesn't make a move on gun control, local governments, states, and cities need to take the lead. The idea of making guns illegal within a specified distance of a political event is a great start, a small one considering this recent event, but a great effort to begin more robust discourse on this issue. -Jackson from Brooklyn The usual standard is in these sorts of matters is to refer to mass murderers such as Jared Lee Loughner as a thug and describe him as a monster, animal, blood-lust terrorist hoodlum... but in this case, everyone is a psychiatrist with a diagnosis for this killer of a Federal Judge, and an innocent 9 year old girl and several others. The fascination with guns should stop and the violence to language when some describe political opponents must stop as well... why should we ask Alec Baldwin to mind his language and we are unwilling to say the same thing to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh? It leaves me again, wondering aloud about these permanent double standards and hypocrisies in America. First of all, this terrorist, were he an Arab, or an African or an African American, he will be castigated as a monster, animal, bloodlust terrorist hoodlum. But for some inexplicable excuse, the public and press have been strenuously building this terrorist?s legal defense by continually insisting that he is deranged, insane and his terrorism is therefore understandably expected? -Paul I. Adujie from New York City We spend too much time and energy talking about our political differences, that there isn't enough time to talk about actual solutions. -StopTheNonsense
  
• Comments Roundup: What Brings Us Together?
• On Wednesday night, President Obama spoke at the memorial service in Tucson after the Saturday's deadly shooting: "We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us. And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us." The President asked that we take a deep breath. "Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let's use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our insticts for empathy and to remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams our bound together." So, what brings us together, despite our political positions?   Here's what YOU had to say:   I had mixed feelings about the President's speech. Although at times quite moving, it seemed to, at least implicitly, support the false equivalence "both sides do it" meme so prevalent in the MSM these last few days. Brian's mention of Erik Ericson's claim that it was a rebuke to liberals confirmed my discomfort. -Mej from Manhattan OUR MISERY UNITES US People are suffering in this country like not since the Depression. There is great hardship and misery out there, unemployment homelessness lack of health care foreclosures, etc etc. While Wall St. bankers and CEO's have more than they could ever use. There is a breaking point and we are starting to hit it. Telling us to calm down and be civil to each other while we're dying, metaphorically and literally, isn't helpful. -Xtina from E. Village Sometimes finger pointing IS necessary. Just as we don't have all the facts in this incident to point towards the moronic rhetoric of people like palin,angle etc, we also don't have the facts that prove that this guy WASN'T influenced and guided by this. To just write this off as some random crazy guy w/ a gun is not prudent, in my opinion. crazy people are the ones who ARE influenced by dangerous speech, normal people can decipher but the insane can't. But what we should all do, is to not necessarily finger point but IGNORE. Ignore those that spew this garbage. msnbc,cnn,fox step up and be americans first. -Bernie from Brooklyn As someone involved in educating and raising children, I have to say that I think both Republicans, Democrats, liberals, coservatives, whatever, have a vested interest in raising children who are in engaged citizenry and I think that defeinitely means the ability to listen to people who disagree with you and hear them out and understand their perspectives because we don't just want to raise automotans who repeat and parrot what we teach them.  It think it's important both sides want kids to grow up who are critical thinkers and that involves being able to listen to people you don't agree with. -Suzanna in Columbia County, NY calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show Conservatives and liberals are bound together in the belief that capitalism is the best economic system so far conceived, even if we disagree on how much to regulate that system. -Gerard from Manhattan The background noises and roucous reactions, cheering and jeering, were almost as meaningful as the words of the President's speech in exemplifying how difficult the task of re-establishing common sense and civility to the political and social dialogue in America today .
  Let us not waste the golden opportunity that this one too common tragedy offers us to regain our humanity and goodness. -Gianni Lovato from Chatham, NY Everyone wants to improve their lives and the world. We just really, really disagree about the specifics. But I think in the end it comes down to love. If we understand that those who disagree with us love and care about their families and others just as much as we do, it makes it a lot easier to respect them as fellow human beings. Yes, there are those individuals out there who are motivated by fear and hatred, but they are the minority. Loud yes, but the minority, and I believe it's important to NOT assume that if someone disagrees with you, even if they are disagreeing really loudly, that they are a part of that minority. -Stephanie from Jackson Heights Its a breath of fresh air to hear a discussion about what unites us, instead of what divides us. Why does it always take a tragedy to bring this home? -John Matthes When I heard your "assignment" on the radio this morning, I was stumped. So, I thought, let me read what others have written. And, barring a few comments on the welfare of children or love of money - most have not listed ways in which we are united. I cannot think of a single way in which we are united. We are split down the very center literally in the country with the "blue" states on each coast and the "red" fly overs in the middle. We are split down the aisle, which at least one bright person mentioned some will not even cross to get work done. Those on the right are a nasty selfish bunch and they scare me. Those on the left are lame and ineffectual, and for that they scare me. I am scared to death of what's happening in this country. I think a war is coming. -Matt in Washington Heights What unites us? It all depends on who "us" is. We choose not to know what is inconvenient. We enjoy the freedoms this country gives us at the same time we all see the big divide between people whom choose not to be informed and those who do. Part of being American is being educated and informed. -Francisco from Los Angeles
• Comments Round Up: Your Take on DADT
• Since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was repealed by Congress on Saturday, all the pundits have had a lot to say about it. Well, so have you. Here are some of your thoughts: I am always struck by the question of the clergy in regards to DADT being repealed. No one seems to worry how they handle supporting troops that break that other law that is considered the back bone of many religions, Thou shall not kill. -JulJo from Brooklyn   This is huge! I am not in the military, I am a 40+ lesbian mother of 2. I feel like this the first step on the road to everything else for gay rights. It is the first time the federal goverment truly recognized gays/lesbian as an actual group of people. Prior to the vote, many homophobic people prefer to maginalize gays/lesbians as just people that CHOOSE to have sex with same sex partners. I think this will lead to the recognition of gay/lesbian families now that it is not hidden. Now that gay/lesbian people can be seen as heroes, it will become quite difficult to continue to deny that their families exist, should be valued and deserve all the same benefits. I also think an inadvertant consequence is that the military may become a haven for gay/lesbian youth, who are not supported by their families because of their sexual orientation, they actually choose the military so that they will have place to live, 3 square meals, training, get paid, contribute to the country and be valued. I think it is great! -Ruth from Brooklyn   Well this is nice to give gays and lesbians full access to our military-socialism economy...but this is still a classic class war move. Last week the government passes a huge handout to the rich that will redistribute billions upward and then this week they give us this cultural policy win. Well, I have a nice warm fuzzy feeling now but I don't think I can pay my student loans with warm fuzzies. -Marc   I'm calling because I'm concerned about what may be some of the same problems that women and other minorities are having in the military right now, not that I am not for homosexuals being integrated into the military, but I know from what I've been hearing all the time that women get sexually harrassed by men in the military, including rape, and I think the problem is being underestimated. People talk about gay people harrassing straight guys, but I think more of the problem will be straight guys harrassing gay people because a lot of our voluntary enlistments are from conservative parts of the country. -Ivonne from Park Slope calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show   I think it is funny that the people most for the repeal are those that would never serve their country. You will find that the Gays that serve are conservative people, honorable people that love America. -John   I fail to see how repeal of DADT can be distracting to troops on the battle field. Does?t the army train you not to be distracted on the battle field? When people are shooting at you are you really concerned about the sexual orientation of the person next to you?   -Leta from Times Square Why do homophobes think or believe that all gays and lesbians are attracted to each and every other person of his/her gender? We're just as discriminating in our choices as everyone else! -Tom from Upper West Side   I'm gay, and most of my gay friends see the repeal of DADT as an obvious thing to do. I'm frankly underwhelmed, however, that it took so much effort for our country just to allow the gay and lesbian community to openly participate in war (hooray?). My focus has been and continues to be on marriage equality. Let's get it done. -Tanner from Brooklyn   "Don't ask, don't tell" ordered military security to stop enforcing the ban on gays. But the ban still existed, and continued to be enforced, if somewhat surreptitiously. DADT is an ambiguous catchphrase. We're not asking security to resume enforcing the ban openly. Better to say, "Stop banning us," or "Let gays serve."   -Viki from Harlem The fear of pushback and harassment of GLBT service members is fair, and while it's true that there may be some initial surge in anti-gay behavior, that doesn't take into account the positive effect of soldiers coming out. As people are able to speak openly about their sexuality with their peers, this will undoubtedly have a mitigating effect and allow those with conservative views to work through and potentially reevaluate their beliefs. -Alan from Jersey City I was an army officer in the early to mid 90's when DADT was implemented. It was my responsibility to train my troops on that policy and so I can recognize that now the new policy will come into affect and will fall on those junior leaders. And in the comment earlier, 'just deal with it,' it's a little simplistic but in essence that's the beauty of military service. You can be ordered to adjust your conduct and that will happen. -Dave from Morris County calling in to the Brian Lehrer Show
• Comments Roundup: Your Take on the Tax Cuts Deal
• President Obama announced on Monday that he and Congressional Republicans have struck a deal on extending the Bush-era tax cuts. How does this affect you? Here's what YOU had to say: I'm a Democrat, and I think both parties are betraying the American people after what was apparently just lip-service to tackling the deficit. -Estelle in Austin, TX I basically think that the Obama administration made the only possible choice at this time, and because I thought other issues are fundamentally more important for the economy than tax cuts. To me, the betrayal happened a long time ago. Obama has, for godknowswhatreason, chosen a conspicuously ineffective strategy in dealing with Republicans, and has stuck with it through loss after humiliating loss. He is either stupid, which I do not believe, or he fundamentally believes that progressive Democrats are a bigger obstacle to his success than big business, big banks and big Republicans. Curses on his head. The biggest curse on our heads is that we have no better alternative than to keep trying to reason with him and his banker minions. -Brownell in Manhattan I volunteered for Obama and have defended him since his election, but this "compromise" is it for me. I have lost all hope. How can he not stand up against the continuation of deficit-increasing tax cuts, particularly for the rich? How can he not go to the country, as often and as loudly as necessary, and point the finger for failure to do the good (stimulative, not to mention compassionate) stuff right at the Republicans who are holding everything up for the sake of continued tax cuts for the rich?? Was my husband right? Should I have supported Hillary? -Chris in New York City I am actually very happy with this compromise. This is one of the rare instances where a compromise between two ideologies has actually produced sound policy. Most credible economists agree that what we need right now is short-term economic stimulus and a medium-term plan to reduce the deficit. This compromise accomplishes the former (stimulus) by keeping taxes from going up and extending unemployment benefits. Now if Congress would pass the Deficit Commission's plan but put in a provision that says that it wouldn't kick in for 2 - 3 years (when hopefully the economy will be much better), we would be in a very ideal place. Regardless of whether or not one agrees with this, people on the left and the right need to realize that growing the economy and balancing the budget are two mutually exclusive policies that are diametrically opposite of one another. Both are absolutely imperative, but we cannot do both at the same time. Since most economists (and, I believe, most people) agree that growing the economy (and thus jobs) should be the priority, we should focus on that first and then worry about the deficit. This compromise is a big step forward for growing the economy. -Dan in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Barack Obama does not understand that plutocrats' tax cuts are inversely correlated to job creation, and that the salve of unemployment extension was not a concession he obtained from the GOP, but a cruel joke on their part: Obama's Government can pay for the jobless victims of corporate greed, which will force Obama into an even more humiliating posture next time, and even more manufactured hysteria about the even greater debt. And he will never explain why the nostrums he offered didn't work, because now he owns the policy and will be blamed for everything- Repubs are laughing their heads off. -"Left of Dem" in New York The theory that if the Bush tax cuts expire it will affect those making over $250,000 and then they will not create jobs is pure propaganda. First of all, if you're making $255,000, your increased tax burden would be only on the additional $5000, not the whole amount. The Republicans are as good at propaganda as the old Soviets were. I am now looking to support another Democrat to primary President Obama. I love him, and his family, but he thinks compromise means giving in to Republicans. I'm done. -Katie in Huntington, NY If Obama had not cut a deal on this, you could forget about DADT, the Dream act, and more once the new congress gets in next month. -RLewis in New York Republican's keep saying the midterm election sent a message. Really? What about the election in 2008? Republicans never seemed to respond to or respect those results! Why is it that Republicans manage to rule whether they are in the majority or not? The Democrats are barely worthy of being a party, at all. Where is the organization, the discipline, the consistent messaging from the Dem's? Obama waited until weeks before the conclusion of the election cycle to say that his administration had accomplished so much, including a tax cut for the middle classs, but nobody knew it...  We need this great communicator to communicate... finally! We need fireside chats; we need a constant, intelligent conversation to combat the brainwashing effects of the conservative juggernaut. The media is no longer the liberal media, if it ever was. The media is manipulated by an angry crowd now and it's all very scary. -Hillary in New York While I'm personally disappointed by many of the areas where Obama caved, I can't get outraged. First, the extension of unemployment is absolutely essential for millions who literally have no other options right now. Second, this is how politics works, however distasteful. If you come up with a compromise that outrages both bases, and nobody else is really happy about but will go along with anyway, that usually means you've hit the right middle ground. Anything farther to the left or right would lose the support of the opposing party. -Ken in Little Neck, Queens I need my unemployment benefits. As a 50+ teacher, this will not help me get a job, but it will help keep my family together. I wonder if any of the politicians think about the fact that sometimes this is what it boils down to: helping people live. -Jane in Glen Ridge, NJ What I like in this package, which seems to have been slipped in, is the improvements in the earned income tax credit--that's the poor, folks--the people we keep forgetting about when we talk about the middle class. I have lots of concern for the middle class, but it would be nice if the poor were mentioned now and then. -RJ in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Don't call them the Bush tax cuts anymore. Call them the unpaid for Obama tax cuts now. -Bobby in the East Village, Manhattan  
• This Week in Rut or Recovery
• Two years after the financial collapse, some are in a recovery, others are stuck in a rut. We asked It's a Free Country readers to share their stories about how the economic slump has changed their lives in ways both big and small. We asked a simple question: Are you seeing signs of a rut or a recovery? Are the signs in your community? In your home? In your workplace, if you're lucky enough to still have one? After a week that brought us gloomy new unemployment numbers and a second draft of the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan, here's what people had to say. Got a Rut or Recovery story of your own?  Share it at It's a Free Country»» Want to see what others are saying? Explore the map, slideshows, and story archive here»»   My cousins own a restaurant/bakery in Boerum Hill in Brooklyn. They have had a really rough year or two. They sell a lot of pies, etc, for Thanksgiving and she always makes beautifully decorated cookies that look like turkeys. Last year, she had to give them all away - people will buy a pie, but wouldn't waste money on something like a $4.50 cookie that is just an extra. This year, she sold more than half of the turkey cookies. I call it the Turkey Cookie Index. An economic indicator that people are more willing and able to buy a little something extra that they don't really need this year. -- Jennifer   I graduated in June with a M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. After six months, I found a job as a Barista. I am sitting on almost $140,000 in debt and no one will take on an entry-level candidate. The only advice I keep hearing is, "Good luck. Hang in there." -- Louis I was laid-off from a good paying job in advertising in November 2007, just at the very beginning of the mortgage crisis. My wife and I had just bought an apartment (yeek!) and we were about to have a baby (double yeek!). I struggled to find another full-time job, taking any freelance work I could find. Regardless of money, navigating the health insurance wilderness was no easy task, though we were able to pay-out-of-pocket into a plan through Freelancer's Union. Many waves of layoffs were taking place all around me. After several months, I decided that if we were to live with this level of uncertainty, I might as well strike out on my own and form my own business. I invested in some video equipment, and I began my own web design and video production business. It seemed insane at the time, and fall 2008 was extremely difficult-- but three years later, I'm still working, and while my profits are small, my business has grown. We've made many changes-- we eat many more meals at home, I work from home, gift-giving is curtailed from multiple gifts to one or two, our vacations have been limited to visits to friends and family-- but slowly we seem to be stabilizing. -- Matthew I live off Steinway St. in Astoria, a street known for shopping, and mostly clothing stores. In the last couple of years, independent stores have been closing, leaving mostly chain stores and a lot of empty storefronts. In the last few months, I've noticed the storefronts are reopening--but the new shops are all food stores (bakeries, smoothie places, even an organic grocery), which is odd for Steinway. My guess is that people are still buying necessities like food but not spending on more discretionary items. -- Sandra I live off Steinway St. in Astoria, a street known for shopping, and mostly clothing stores. In the last couple of years, independent stores have been closing, leaving mostly chain stores and a lot of empty storefronts. In the last few months, I've noticed the storefronts are reopening--but the new shops are all food stores (bakeries, smoothie places, even an organic grocery), which is odd for Steinway. My guess is that people are still buying necessities like food but not spending on more discretionary items. -- Sandra This story comes from my mother, who is a perennial recipient of mail-order catalogues. This holiday season she has noticed a proliferation of goods embossed with a version of the 1939 poster issued by the British Government as Hitler's Luftwaffe geared up for attacks on the U.K.. The slogan: "Keep Calm and Carry On" was designed to assuage the fears of an understandably nervous public. That it would re-appear today is not surprising given The Great Recession. But the message of uplift, to me anyway, is also pernicious because it asks us to part with our money (to purchase the totebag or handtowel - see .jpg) in spite of a real need for fiscal responsibility. -- Amy My extended family used to exchange presents, but last year we started a "not junk up the earth" game where everyone dumpster dives or thrift shops for one gift and a "rob your neighbor" game ensues. More fun, less spending. -- Lisa Working at a law firm that handles major corporate restructurings and chapter 11 bankruptcies, I've had a fairly secure position from which to witness this economic recovery. The stimulus stopped the bleeding, and the recovery is in full swing. The problem is that much of the country is not included in the recovery. We constructed an economy that excludes certain portions of the population. From decaying inner cities to never-developed portions of Appalachia, millions of Americans are literally unemployable. After the recession, millions more workers are now superfluous. This recession, triggered by Wall Street recklessness, has exposed the effects of decades of neglect. Entire industries have cratered. Our infrastructure is collapsing. Schools are not preparing students for a 21st century economy. College leaves millions saddled with debt. ?Middle class,? which once meant a life of economic security, now means living in a constant state of anxiety. Don?t blame President Obama, or even George Bush (though he didn?t help). This crisis is 50 years in the making. But investors should be pleased; corporations are raking in record profits. The United States adopted corporate values as its own, and now the economy is doing just fine without many of us. -- Jay Until the Obama administration recognizes that the Fed has done all it can with monetary policy and that initiatives in fiscal policy are now required, we are in a rut. That doesn't mean we need to extend tax cuts for the rich or provide more additonal stimulus to for public works! It means we need to provide incentives for new business formation, research and development and retrain housing and construction workers in skills in other fields [the housing market will take a long time to recover]. The government needs to reduce military spending [see Cato Institute study], commit to energy independence at all costs and provide real tort reform to lower healthcare costs. Abandon the Federal pension program and move to 401k contributions, drop Congress? health care and pension plans so they are on par with the rest of America. To help the consumer dig out of the hole, bring back tax deductions for credit card debt [along with a sunset clause] since financial firms won?t provide a break for their 29.9% rates though they are paying only 0.25% funding cost and give a tax break to those who cannot refinance their mortgages due to credit issues. We?ve bailed out Wall Street ? but how about us consumers? Until we are healthy, this economy is going nowhere and we have been all but ignored! -- Michael
• Comments Roundup: Should Unemployment Benefits be Extended?
• With federal unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the year, today marks a crucial deadline for Congress to decide whether or not to extend them into 2011. Here's what It's a Free Country readers and Brian Lehrer Show listeners?both employed and jobless?have to say. I think they should put an end to the extended unemployment payments. I have a nephew who is 26, and he worked for the first time only for 6 months in 2008 before was laid off. He has been collecting unemployment payments ever since. It has made him lazy, most stores are hiring but he refuses to go out to look for work and there are many people like him. Put an end to it. -- Sylvia Isn't it true that the unemployment rate for people with a college degree is less than 4 percent? Seems to me the way to get a job is to have a degree. [It's 4.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. -Eds.] -- hjs11211 It seems to me that the people who are responsible for causing the economic meltdown have no business making the decision to stop or extend benefits. I also find it disconcerting that the government should be using their authority or power to push ideology and delve into social psychology - i.e. unemployment benefits make people lazy. If the economy were strong, there would be jobs to be had by all - even the lazy ones. Republicans believe in social Darwinism, and cutting benefits is in line with this thinking. -- jake from NYC I like to take this moment to point out that these unemployment benefits that are out there were paid out by the people who are using them. I have spent my whole life paying into this, 20yrs and plus. I get very angry when the government says "Hey we can't help anymore"...I'd like to ask then where did all that money go we have been paying into for precisely this moment in history. -- Sunshine Hernandez from Bushwick what if you fall into the classification of a freelancer? freelancers, even those who have been one, rather successfully, for several years are also facing joblessness or severe underemployment now. the system as it stands does not allow us qualify for benefits, yet we're taxpayers while employed, same as everyone else. many sectors of the business economy depend upon this type of worker. what can be done for their contribution to the economy? it's rare that we have a choice to work as permanent workers if the trend looks otherwise. -- thatgirlinnewyork from Manhattan If you end the unemployment benefits, it will not only affect the unemployed person, but you'll also have an impact on the larger economy. People use their benefits to pay their rent and mortgages, groceries, utilities, student loans and small pleasures like coffee or a new pair of socks. My question is how would ending unemployment benefits affect the people who are not receiving benefits, but benefit from the money spent by the unemployed? -- LL from Brooklyn I've been unemployed for six months. I have now sent out 270 resumes. Because my job expertise is in the non-profit sector, it is particularly challenging: non-profits are struggling to keep afloat as corporations and foundations reduce their grants. Ironically, it is in the non-profit sector that we find job training organizations, family support counselors, and inexpensive health clinics. I hope that as the economy slowly recovers, that more jobs will be available in these areas - their existence ensures that people like me can get the support we need as we look for work. -- Karen Taylor from Flushing I suggest that if Congress doesn't want to pass unemployment benefit extension without a way to pay for it, each member offer up his or her salary for the year; and try to live on the amount of unemployment benefits they will offer for our citizens. I know their salaries are only a drop in the bucket; but the exercise could be beneficial to improving the empathy toward those having trouble finding work in this economy. -- Marissa from Manhattan I have been out of work for almost a year, before this I have worked continually since I left HS in 1970. And before that every summer while in JHS, I worked (in construction off the books) alongside my father. My parents are from the old school, they believe in hard honest day work. They instill the sense ?rugged individualism? in me. When I was growing up my father had to work 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet, while my mother travel from end of Brooklyn to the end of the Bronx to clean & cook for Doctor. I would rather be working than to collect money from anyone even when it?s the money I was giving to the government for over 40 years. I have been in IT since I started college in 71 and now most companies will not hire me at my age even if I as for ½ the salary I was making. In the long run the jobs are just not out there. Most companies are not hiring, they are just sitting on the money. This is my theory why we can find jobs. I call it the Obama factor. Most business (own or run by CEO that are Republican) are helping in keeping the unemployment high so that Obama will not be electable for the next term. The American public will not vote for this president again if unemployment stays this high. If the GOP becomes the CEO of the country then we see private industries hiring pickup. -- Stephen from LI NY The devil is in the details. Linking unemployment benefits to government labor statistics is a good idea. It lessens the chance of political game playing with an issue that has painful effects on millions of lives, and the ripple effects of a mass unemployment shock on society. We know there are too many powerful political factions today that feel that a mass devaluation of American wages and compensation from high unemployment is a very profitable and positive thing for some person?s boardroom. This is not going to keep a consumer driven economy going. Even labor department stats are still vulnerable to political manipulation and spin. The unemployment percentage everyone uses, 9.6% today, is not the total picture. Many times politicians during the last decade or more said we had ?full employment?, but the monthly jobs created were way below the numbers necessary to achieve this, and the job market in the US has been shrinking in so many industrial sectors for years and years. Besides the fact that average length of employment is tragically low by any standard, the underemployment category is at least 50% higher then 9.6%. I believe these are people still looking for another job to replace the one they lost, are taking on any part time work temporarily, and can?t afford to choose to work part time permanently. To make sure a few powerful politicians in Washington don?t cause pain and instability to the public, and society, at large for the benefit of a few small profitable interests, I think they should link unemployment benefits to job market growth, and include more unemployment categories. This way no one can play a shell game of offloading mass amounts of people from the unemployment numbers and claim they are working fulltime when their not. -- c kaufman from NJ
• Comments Roundup: The De-Klein of NYC Schools
• Emotions always run high in conversations about public education, and that's been true again in the weeks following the announcement of Joel Klein's departure from the New York City Schools. Mayor Bloomberg's selection to replace him as chancellor, magazine publisher Cathie Black, has been met with a mix of emotions, primarily scorn and confusion. An advisory panel's rejection of Black for chancellor has only added fuel to the fire. Following the panel's decision, and Joel Klein's appearance on The Brian Lehrer Show this morning, here's what WNYC listeners and It's a Free Country readers have to say. After a FULL body scan as well as a pat down, no traces of educational qualifications or experience were found on Cathie Black. -- notbloomberg Chancellor Klein's statement that the first reading program he introduced that failed was at the recommendation of his deputy chancellor for instruction precisely underscores the need for a chancellor with an education background. He would have known if it was an effective program based on his own experience and knowledge about teaching and learning. The fact that he has 6 deputy chancellors (not all are educators, by the way, and all earning 6 figure salaries) also points to a top heavy organizational structure that doesn't have adequate expertise in education, instead treating the system like a corporation, focusing solely on results. A chancellor should be able to discern effective instructional strategies and discuss the merits with pedagogical personnel and other superintendents to determine what would work best for the school system. -- Diana from The Bronx, NY If schools hire and retain teachers based on their budgets, the most senior (read: expensive) will find it harder to find jobs. They end up on the absentee reserve. So Joel Klein's call for eliminating the reserve and ending the last-in first-out principle means that some effective, well-qualified teachers will be deep-sixed. -- Alex Marshall from NYC I sit at home despite 40 years of teaching chemistry, 30 at the college level and 10 at the HS level because of the Klein/Bloomberg administration. It would be nice if Klein's policies could really identify bad teachers, but sometimes principals, especially from the "Leadership Academy," target excellent teachers. I went to PEP meetings where Mr. Klein was on his Blackberry while parents were speaking their concerns. He has been a disaster for NYC public schools. Teacher experience should be harvested, not subjected to slash and burn. -- Dr. Bob from The Bronx Mr. Klein, just because you have graduated more students doesn't mean they've learned anything. Your failure to understand that has been one of the hallmarks of your wholly counterproductive leadership of the New York City schools. -- Ken from Little Neck Why must we pay two people to do one job? If you need a top educator to really run the joint hire a top educator. A commenter below suggested Diane Ravich. Good suggestion. Here's another: Carmen Farina. NYC is big city. There must be someone who can do this. -- mc from Brooklyn Cathie Black, like Klein before her and Bloomberg, pays lip-service to public education. But her actions, like those of Klein and Bloomberg, betray unalloyed disdain and contempt for public education. In Black's case, add solid evidence of a very mediocre intellect and you have a recipe for failure. The key fact is that public schools are NOT a business. Applying the for-profit dogma -- the failed Wall Street dogma -- to KIDS is revolting. -- Hugh Sansom Mr. Klein, I'm at a top school of education now, and I'm considering becoming a teacher in NYC after I graduate, but I'm worried that the political climate is becoming increasingly hostile to teachers. I'm afraid that the profit motive and corporate influence in the classroom is causing business-minded politicians like you and Mayor Bloomberg to seek to "manage" teachers, rather than to truly support them as needed. What does it mean when the former schools chancellor is hired by a media mogul (Rupert Murdoch) that openly refers to the US education system as an untapped $500 billion business sector? Do you expect me to want to become a teacher when I hear something like that? -- Peter in Queens Klein and Bloomberg were all about spin, not achievement. They endlessly touted their stellar gains in test scores, until it was demonstrated that the tests were dumbed down and the students hadn't improved. Now he slips out the back door to the master of spin (and sleaze), Murdoch, while Bloomberg tries (so far unsuccessfully) to saddle us with another empty suit specializing in spin. Unfortunately for all of them, the parents and public are now onto their cynical mismanagement for their own benefit. -- Susan from NYC It's not a secret that Rupert Murdoch wants to control as many of our channels of information as he can get his hands on, and squeeze out alternative voices. Part of that far-right agenda is explicitly the elimination of publicly funded education. The thought of his agenda having a clear pipeline into our city's curricular and information technology choices really terrifies me. Especially considering that Ms Black has no background with which to evaluate differing curricular choices, it does not seem unlikely that if confirmed she would rely upon her predecessor to recommend and sell the city his new boss?s educational materials. And if that's not the point, why did Klein get the job? Obviously it is his connections to the city system -- much like a former Congressman turning around to lobby his colleagues for a business interest. I hope that his movements in his new job will be followed by your reporters with great diligence, so the parents of NYC school children can see what Murdoch is going to be trying to sell the country's largest public school system. -- JR from The Bronx Dr. Steiner's proposed compromise would not stem the criticism regarding Ms. Black. The appointment of an education advisor is useless unless there is a mechanism for this advisor to have some control over Ms. Black's decision process. Otherwise, it is too easy for Ms. Black to announce she has been advised by person, and is setting a policy despite such, without mentioning what the advice by the education advisor was. In a similar vein, the State Law mandates that Community District Education Councils advise the Chancellor regarding policies that affect education policy in their District. This law has been mostly ignored, and when adhered to, no meaningful action was taken in response to that advice. Maybe the compromise is a way for the Mayor to save face by using it as an excuse to withdraw Ms. Black's waiver request due to impermissible meddling by Dr. Steiner. -- Rob Caloras from Little Neck
• Comments Roundup: Your Money Saving Tips for NYC
• New York City has reached out to you to help them think about how to save money. You had LOTS of ideas for energy saving and thrifty-ness. Here's what you had to say: How about adding revenue by charging for the Staten Island Ferry using a Metrocard? -- George from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
  I've worked in several high schools where the heat is on so high during the winter (and spring and fall) that classroom windows must be left open or the air conditioners have to be turned on. How about turning down the heat? -- Mike
  Solar charged LED outdoor lighting on Streets, Bridges, Traffic Lights, etc. -- Dave from Queens How about charging cyclists for licenses and registration fees for their bicycles? That should bring in some revenue. -- Jay I have an idea. Maybe someone in the city government should go out and tell me why there are eight guys standing around a hole watching the one guy do something in the hole on every major roadway in this city on a daily basis. For example, can someone from the city tell me why and how the project to "modernize" the Gowanus Expressway is in a constant, decades long state of being repaired? -- Bernie from Brooklyn Start issuing tickets for violation of the law that makes it illegal for vehicles to idle for more than three minutes. --Bobbie from the East Village, Manhattan Sweep a street only once. Do we really need to sweep street 4 times on alternate side day? And why are the sweepers even out when alternate side day is suspended? They just end up driving down the street and not sweeping anything. --Joseph from Brooklyn Start fining people for jaywalking. Traffic would move more smoothly and the city would make tons of money. --Eugenia from Harlem Please enforce the no honking law!! It was agreed to be important enough to make a finable offense. It needs to be enforced. It is a constant barrage of noise pollution, and it makes people sick -- waking from sleep, emotionally exhausted, road rage, high blood pressure, etc... If the officer already posted on E.63rd between 1st and 2nd had honking fines pre-written, you could pay down the deficit fast while making the city more livable. --Christine from Manhattan How about traffic light cameras? This would bring in revenue in a big way! NYC drivers seem to think a red light is just a suggestion they should stop.
  This would make the city safer too! --Evan from Brooklyn Inter-agency correspondence is still largely paper and US mail based. This is slow, costly, and inefficient. --Dan from Staten Island Bring back hotel and commuter taxes ? two of the most rational taxes ever. We employ many police, fire, sanitation, etc. because of tourists and commuters.
  These taxes would not reduce tourism and private sector employment! --David from Riverdale  
• Comments Roundup: Your Shot at Cutting the Deficit
• After playing the New York Times' "budget puzzle" many of you shared your thoughts and solutions here and on the Brian Lehrer Show about how you'd help balance the federal budget.   Here's what you had to say:   I solved the budget crisis mostly on the revenue side. I removed the Bush tax cuts for the rich, created a millionaire's tax, carbon tax, and bank tax, returned the estate tax and investment rates to Clinton levels and raised the Payroll tax cap. I capped medicare growth, however, this will require medical care regulation through reform not through taxation. Over-utilization is the major problem here, i.e. doctors make more money when they provide more medical care. A cost incentive that must be outlawed. I also eliminated loopholes but kept taxes slightly higher and reduced the mortgage income tax deduction. -- Brian in Brooklyn I accomplished balancing the budget through 59 percent spending cuts and 41 percent revenue increases. When the health care bill came out last year I was just really disappointed that they gave up on the idea of trying to get universal coverage for people...I guess I always thought in the back of my head that the way you could achieve universal health care coverage was through military cuts and I was really struck on the puzzle by how little savings there really is to gain by cutting the defense budget. -- Matt in Long Island, on The Brian Lehrer Show Reverting to Clinton-era economics is the easiest way to solve the budget issue. If we didn't call them "Clinton-era" would the obvious choices be chosen? -- Dan in Brooklyn I solved it... And, with a cringe, I raised my own taxes and added more years before I can retire. But we all have to share the pain. Tax savings/spending cuts ratio in my solution is 18/82. I don't like the job losses that will come from this, but what are the options? -- E. Rorschach in Manhattan Cut the military budget and tax the rich. -- Kathy I wish the Times has focused more on inter-generational priorities. Like many people, I chose to raise the Social Security eligibility age to 70. With a growing life expectancy, and the system's insolvency, this seems an obvious move. But this is essentially penalizing a bunch of people who are teens or in their twenties right now for the mistakes their parents, and their parents' elected representatives, made over the last 20 years. So here's a bit of political suicide ? since we are asking so much of today's teens, how about the CURRENT crop of retirees forgo ONE year of benefits in exchange for their kids foregoing FIVE years. Who is willing to step up to this? Certainly one year without expenditures would put Social Security solidly in the black. -- Ben in Park Slope What about raising the corporate tax rate? This was cut decades ago under Ronald Reagan. At the time corporations were not seeking lower rates and were making excellent profits. Perhaps this is a good time to raise them. -- Accra in Queens
• Comments Roundup for October 20th
• Buzzing »» Paterson Video | Big Cuomo Lead |Wonk Wars Mr. Donovan is fixed on ?corruption in Albany?, but I haven?t heard a word from him on how the banks and Wall Street are screwing us every day all day. Crooked politicians eventually pay the price. Have the CEO?s of the banks and investment houses which took the US economy down the toilet paid for their sins? -- Andrea on Republican AG candidate Dan Donovan »» Join the conversation I used to work for the NY AG, and I think the AG needs to put its *own* house in order before it can root out corruption. My NYAG office was rife with waste and inefficiency. The NYAG is blowing untold taxpayer dollars on shoddy investigative work, bad record-keeping, and employees just sitting around on the clock. -- Anonymous comment on the Attorney General's race  »» Join the conversation Right on. These 'turncoats' who are turning to the Republican party are ignoring the facts. Obama has faced a nightmare of opposition. Two years of a presidency vs. eight years. No president is an angel but our current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania ave is one who is truly concerned about the future of America and not in lining his pockets. The excitement generated by the Obama campaign should easily have been reignited but instead the Palin's and Limbaugh's ad nauseum of the land have been able to enlist numbers I'd rather not think about. Why can't the people who are disappointed with Obama see the phony filters the media is training them to look through? This president and his party deserve our solid support. The party of 'No' deserves exactly that. -- Timsored on the turn towards Republican candidates »» Join the conversation
• Comments Roundup for October 19th
• Buzzing »» Gov Debate Reaction | Counties That Count |Immigrant Mobilization | Repeal Obamacare? I can't believe that I'm doing this. But, I'm going to defend Carl Paladino. This debate may not have in any way been perfect for any of the candidates for NY Governor. But, Every one of the 7 had a chance to get out their message. And, as for the New York Times holding this event in contempt; well, they definitely need to come down out of their ivory tower and remember that we the people are going to be the ones who elect our next governor. I think the way that the 'secondary' candidates are covered in the media is quite a shame. The Rent Is Too Damn High Party candidate to the Roger Stone-advised Ms. Davis, deserves as much respect as Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Paladino. And, to think, I'm going to vote for Andrew Cuomo and I begin my email in defending Carl Paladino. I guess strange things happen all the time in this world. Even if the media doesn't like it - All Candidates Are Equal. Not all of them may have a chance for electoral victory, but, at least they should have a chance to have their ideas and voices heard in the public arena. Vote! Vote! Vote! -- AH from NYC on last night's governor's debate »» Join the conversation Reality TV at its best...the cast of characters was a great lead in to the Real Housewives of Atlanta tonight. Only in NY could this happen. -- Dahlia from Long Island on the debate  »» Join the conversation Mostly on board with Brian's take, Cuomo was allowed to mouth his rose-garden strategy talking points, saying little, and Paladino was seriously overshadowed by the 3rd Party candidates. That said, I thought the other candidates were great. Even the ones I don't agree with brought energy, and almost all of them brought a level substance to the stage missing in Cuomo and Paladino. Especially with Hawkins and Barron, voters got to hear that there were alternatives to the tired frames set up by the legacy media types asking the questions. -- Gregg from SoHo  »» Join the conversation Reshma makes a lot of sense when she cautions against unrealistic expectations. It took Bush and his cronies 8 years to create the comprehensive disaster Obama inherited and it will take more than two years to clean up the mess. By the way, if anyone was paying attention during the past 2 years it has been the Republicans with their negative, uncooperative actions who have slowed any chance of bringing effective, positive change to this country. As a former, lifelong Republican I am embarassed by the deterioration in the quality of it's leadership. For shame. -- Dennis from NYC on Republican backlash coming this fall »» Join the conversation Mr Holdt left out a very important argument against passing pieces of the healthcare bill separately: you can never pass all the "popular" provisions without the additional customers brought by the individual mandate. The insurance lobby would never stand for it. That enticement of young, healthy people forced to buy insurance brought them onboard. If the Republicans take control it won't be Repeal and Replace, it'll be Repeal and Ignore. -- Michael from the Bronx on Republican pledges to repeal health care reform »» Join the conversation
• Comments Roundup for October 11th
• Buzzing »» Paladino on Gays | Comptroller Debate | ARC Tunnel | Funeral Protests Mr. Paladino is campaigning for Governor and is expressing his view. This view is one of the things that the electorate will consider on election day. This country, lest we forget, was built in part on free speech. Let Mr. Paladino say what he wants to say. He is entitled to his opinion on this and every other issue. Isn't this exactly what we want to know. how the candidates feel about the issues of the day? Doesn't this help us to decide which candidate is worthy of our vote and which one is not? Why do we cherish the right of free speech and then demonize someone when he exercises his right to speak freely? -- John from Westchester on Republican candidate Carl Paladino's stance on gay marriage. »» Join the conversation I initially felt the media was really ganging up on this guy a little unfairly until I read this! This comment is especially hard to digest, given the string of gay teenage suicides surfacing in the news over the past few weeks. This guy is a loose cannon and a gay pride parade is no more disgusting than grown adults binge drinking and causing mayhem on the streets of new york during St. Patrick's day parade. At least drag queens are entertaining. -- Dan from NY. »» Join the conversation I agree with Bob's comments that this is not a NJ issue. I think Federal DOT should have had the lead on this project all along. In addition, New York City Metro region needs a comprehensive transportation overhaul. Commuter trains should not terminate at Penn Station, they should run through. This will expand track capacity and make it possible for NJ riders to easily access Long Island and vice versa. Three commuter rails are not efficient. Using some of those redundancies would also free up rail yard capacity. -- Martin from Brooklyn on Bob Hennelly's post, Stucknation: Tunneling Through Muck and Mire »» Join the conversation I really like the idea of referendums; however, I am also skeptical of the idea because of how the system appears not to work in California... Obviously, with referendums, you need to have a well informed public; not to mention, the ballot measures need to have a well written, well explained, non-partisan write-ups... This way even if someone is not well versed on a subject, they can still make an informed vote. -- Norton from Nutely, NJ on Reshma Saujani's post, Having Your Governmental Cake And Eating It Too»» Join the conversation
• Today's Comments Roundup: Gerrymandering Edition
• Buzzing »» Weird Districts | Non-Partisan Redistricting | Hudson Tunnel | Wonk Wars! My 11yo son saw a news item on redistricting on NY1 the other day and now says he wants to be "Abraham Lincoln riding on a vacuum cleaner" for his Halloween costume. -- Jean in Brooklyn on weird congressional districts, such as NY's 51st »» Join the conversation My own congressional district, NJ-13, has the distinction of being one of the few non-contiguous districts. Despite being in one of the nation's most densely populated areas, it wanders through 4 counties and 17 municipalities. The prinicipal political reality behind its lines has been to make sure that Jersey City is split into three different districts, and its electoral weight diluted in the district to the benefit of the North Hudson Democratic machine. -- Paul from Jersey City on his weird district »» Join the conversation New Jersey's 5th - a little hat on the garden state -- @schill tweeting us about their her home district »» Find us on Twitter Why have mapped districts at all? For example, why not have the whole of New York's congressional delegation determined by state-wide general election: the first twenty-nine past the post win? It would essentially rob lower density areas, like Upstate, but it would get the state legislature out of the district-drawing business, which let's be honest, is corrupt down to its marrow. -- Marc on the politics of redistricting »» Join the conversation
• Today's Comments Roundup: Tea Party Edition
• Today on It's a Free Country we discussed whether or not the Tea Party is good for America, both in this live chat and on our website. Here is a sample of the discussion on the web. Buzzing »» Tea Party | Live Chat Transcript | Paladino vs. Press The Tea Party is good in the sense that at a base level it does raise awareness of issues and positions that have become dormant to the American consciousness. However, there is no denial that most members are angry without true education on the issues. Using talking points and bumper sticker slogans as arguments, and rallies for strength in numbers visual without any kind of substance in their activism is just as dangerous as the emotionally based voting for candidates who are in no way qualified for office, i.e. Paladino. It would be nice if the media would stop treating this movement as anything more than a wild fringe hivemind. --Dave from Brooklyn »» Join the conversation. While I do not agree w/ their goals, deplore most of what they say, am SUPER frustrated w/ their lack of knowledge, and I am frightened to think of them getting too much power (i.e. a "tea party" president in 2012), I think they are good for America. What's good is that people are getting involved, working together, and it is democracy at work. --Patti MacCracken on Facebook »» Join the conversation. The Tea Party is a 3rd choice for Americans to get the attention of politicicians. We want to let our representatives locally and in DC know that citizens are unhappy with the status quo, with continued over-spending, ear-marks, and special interests placed (hidden) into major bills such as the Health Care Reform, TARP, etc... Time for fiscal conservatism. Tea Party organizations are made mainly of independents and conservatives, also some democrats. Read the research, don't listen to the gossip and fall for the lies anymore, attend a local meeting and see for yourself. --Lisa from Bergen County, NJ »» Join the conversation. And here's our favorite exchange from the live chat, which fostered some great back and forth. Check it out and see the full transcript here: J.W. from Connecticut - I favor government that aids the individual who needs help and leaves the individual alone when they are doing just fine. There is a delicate balance to be struck between those two things, I feel. Olivia Jane NYC - JW: can you define "individuals who need help"? Maria G, Brooklyn - I don't see how you can both help someone who needs help and leave others alone. Presumably those who are doing fine need to at least be taxed? J.W. from Connecticut - Olivia Jane - thats a very very broad group of people so I don't know if i can. Someone having a heart attack, someone in a car accident, and so on, of ocurse...but then you get to ppl in the grey area... J.W. from Connecticut - and that's where the ;delicate balance' comes in :) Maria G, Brooklyn - But let's say you help someone who has a car accident. The efficient way to do that is by preventing the car accident in the first place. Maria G, Brooklyn - And that requires government affecting people who are just fine
• Today's Comments Roundup
• Buzzing »» Tea Party | Stimulus | Polling | Krugman vs. Gingrich The Tea Party to me appears to be a successful re-branding of the Libertarian party. It's an expanded libertarian party that now includes social conservatives, conspiracy theorists and gun nut militia types. The Tea Party is good for America because they are pushing forward the debates that need to happen on whether we truly want to eliminate the social safety net or fully fund it, whether we want the Govt to invest in infrastructure and industry (ex. alternative energy) or leave it the to the private sector, and whether Federal regulation on business protects us or hurts us. I think it forces the left to educate the country that Fed regulation and investments benefit the country and it forces the right and left to deal with our underfunded government. -- Marcus from Greenpoint on whether the Tea Party is good for America. »» Join the conversation It depends what you mean. Is the Tea Party as a movement pushing the country in a positive direction? No. Is the Tea Party winning elections good? Yes. The quicker we put them under serious scrutiny and put them in positions of power the sooner it will be revealed that they have no coherent platform and no idea how to actually run a government. -- Terrence from Staten Island »» Join the conversation What is this "likely" voter stuff ? Are you taking the subject's word for whether s/he will vote? Have you ever studied how true this is? How would you? Sounds like the loudest people have the biggest effect. Polls affect behavior - - sometimes people don't vote for the candidate they favor if they believe the candidate has no chance.
  People, remember the only poll that really matters is the one on election day! -- Henry from Katonah on a conversation with three pollsters about how they could have arrived at such different results in recent NY Governor race polls »» Join the conversation I think the stimulus (TARP) was just about right in size and scope. Even Keynes argued in his theory that government intervention was only meant to be short term in duration, to "prime the pump" and not a long term solution. It was to be a quick shock absorber meant to keep a crash from becoming fatal, like inflatable crash bags kick in during an automobile to save your life from the full impact. -- Jgarbuz on whether the Obama stimulus had its intended effect »» Join the conversation Obama and his party oversold the stimulus and practically nothing the government could do would have more significantly improved the economy by now. The right is manufacturing and manipulating discontent to continue the policies which helped get us into this mess in the first place. -- Ron on the legacy of the stimulus »» Join the conversation
• Today's Comments Roundup
• Lot's of interesting comments, on-air and online, today at It's A Free Country. Check out some highlights, then visit the comments page for each conversation to see more and add your voice. It may not even be a matter of forwarding alone -- I've forwarded messages I find offensive with my own message attached: "Can you believe this?" "This is horrifying!" "What the hell?" etc. etc. It's the WAY that he forwards it that tells us whether he finds pleasure or pain in demeaning other people. -Lauren from Brooklyn on Carl Paladino's email habits. [Join the Conversation] While I can understand people questioning Paladino's character, it ceases to amaze me how they can often wear blinders. While you are at it take a look at the two sex discrimination lawsuits that AG Cuomo "acquired" during his tenure at HUD. Or can we please get an answer as to where the $26 million in his coffers came from? Seems to me he has already been bought. -BigMax on the judging Paladino's character [Join the Conversation] Given that both established parties will fight to keep themselves in power, it sounds like Mr. Lazio is suggesting that we (the voters) abandon the two party system in New York. Is that what he is suggesting? -Don from Long Island in response to Rick Lazio, former candidate for Governor who called into the Brian Lehrer Show [Join the Conversation] Newt doesn't know as much about history as he thinks he does. In that clip, he also said that tax cuts we're the key to economic growth and deficit reduction in the '90s. If I remember correctly, the Clinton Admin reluctantly raised taxes early in his term to reduce the deficit. That move has been widely credited by most economists as what helped create surplusses and economic boom of the 90s. - BeninBrooklyn on the back-and-forth between Paul Krugman and Newt Gingrich on economic policy [Join the Conversation] OMG, why can;t Krugman talk about actually making the government efficient rather than soaking people for more money allowing it to continue to grow out of control. BTW, in the 90's economy we did not compete against China or have 2 wars, the situation is completely different. I am amazed that people win Nobel prizes based on their politics these days. -Kendra from Brooklyn on Krugman's economic outlook [Join the Conversation]

• Christie Vetoes Health Insurance Exchange for New Jersey
• In rejecting the online marketplace, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey cited a pending Supreme Court challenge to the Affordable Care Act, but his mov...
• The Powers of New York: The Heavy Hitters
• How four of the most powerful players in the New York region shape policy, and lives.
• New Jersey Troopers Suspended After Alleged High-Speed Parkway Escort
• A lawyer for one of the troopers called the suspension of his client a public relations move made in the heat of a news media spotlight that had inten...
• Christie a Favored Vice-Presidential Pick, Polls Find
• Among the favorites in two new polls: Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Rick Santorum, who recently suspended his presidential campaign.
• Opinion Report: Cutting Costs
• A summary of what's on today's editorial page.

• CoryBooker: RT @meetthepress: Our roundtable Sunday: @CoryBooker, GOP strategist @murphymike, CNBC's @JimCramer, & Wall Street Journal's @KimStrassel
• CoryBooker: RT @meetthepress: Our roundtable Sunday: @CoryBooker, GOP strategist @murphymike, CNBC's @JimCramer, & Wall Street Journal's @KimStrassel
• CoryBooker: RT @CityofNewarkNJ: Yearlong Streetscaping Projects to Begin on Clinton, S. Orange Avenues http://t.co/fcwYxsP8 . For more info: http:// ...
• CoryBooker: RT @CityofNewarkNJ: Yearlong Streetscaping Projects to Begin on Clinton, S. Orange Avenues http://t.co/fcwYxsP8 . For more info: http:// ....
• CoryBooker: RT @PennGSE: Great shot - @sbanchero, @corybooker w/ @EdWriters superhero cape, and @chendrie at #ewa12. Photo by @dwmoran http://t.co/u ...
• CoryBooker: RT @PennGSE: Great shot - @sbanchero, @corybooker w/ @EdWriters superhero cape, and @chendrie at #ewa12. Photo by @dwmoran http://t.co/u ....
• CoryBooker: Do, and never be done. Give, and never give up. Freedom isn't free and those who seek liberty must bind themselves to service and sacrifice
• CoryBooker: Do, and never be done. Give, and never give up. Freedom isn't free and those who seek liberty must bind themselves to service and sacrific...
• CoryBooker: RT @awonderouslife: Cory Booker is so great! The @CoryBooker Guide To Twitter http://t.co/xSTWgTgF
• CoryBooker: RT @awonderouslife: Cory Booker is so great! The @CoryBooker Guide To Twitter http://t.co/xSTWgTgF
• CoryBooker: Please remember for urgent & possibly dangerous situations call 911 and our city help line for all issues is 973 733 4311 thanks. @Salli456
• CoryBooker: Please remember for urgent & possibly dangerous situations call 911 and our city help line for all issues is 973 733 4311 thanks. @Salli45...
• CoryBooker: On it. RT @Salli456: Down tree limbs and wire on ellery ave btween neitherwood and Ivy! NO ONE has come to assess it.
• CoryBooker: On it. RT @Salli456: Down tree limbs and wire on ellery ave btween neitherwood and Ivy! NO ONE has come to assess it.
• CoryBooker: #LetsMove! RT @GenMillsGives: Thank you, Mayor! RT @corybooker: #FF ? our awesome #LetsMove and #CoryBookerChallenge partner- @GenMillsGives
• CoryBooker: #LetsMove! RT @GenMillsGives: Thank you, Mayor! RT @corybooker: #FF ? our awesome #LetsMove and #CoryBookerChallenge partner- @GenMillsGiv...
• CoryBooker: Make sure you're registered! New laws have made it harder to vote since 2008. Check http://t.co/qYOiMvII to make sure you know how
• CoryBooker: Make sure you're registered! New laws have made it harder to vote since 2008. Check http://t.co/qYOiMvII to make sure you know how
• CoryBooker: I missed it. Please call 973 733 4311 about the problem. Thanks! RT @wanniedd: u never answer my tweet about light camera on bergen & avon
• CoryBooker: I missed it. Please call 973 733 4311 about the problem. Thanks! RT @wanniedd: u never answer my tweet about light camera on bergen & avon
• CoryBooker: #FF ? our awesome #LetsMove and #CoryBookerChallenge partner -- @GenMillsGives
• CoryBooker: #FF ? our awesome #LetsMove and #CoryBookerChallenge partner -- @GenMillsGives
• CoryBooker: Check out new iPhone/iPad app 4 the #CoryBookerChallenge! http://t.co/LZTss7sI #LetsMove!
• CoryBooker: Check out new iPhone/iPad app 4 the #CoryBookerChallenge! http://t.co/LZTss7sI #LetsMove!
• CoryBooker: Just awarded $100 prize 2 latest winner of the #CoryBookerChallenge! Get in the game: http://t.co/5jBN2taq #LetsMove!
• CoryBooker: Just awarded $100 prize 2 latest winner of the #CoryBookerChallenge! Get in the game: http://t.co/5jBN2taq #LetsMove!
• CoryBooker: RT @ILANA_at_SGA: Nice job @CityofNewarkNJ @CoryBooker-Panasonic Chief Named "Smart Growth Visionary" 4 Choosing #Newark @NewJerseyFutur ...
• CoryBooker: RT @ILANA_at_SGA: Nice job @CityofNewarkNJ @CoryBooker-Panasonic Chief Named "Smart Growth Visionary" 4 Choosing #Newark @NewJerseyFutur ....
• CoryBooker: Good to hear. Thanks for letting me know RT @JustinFreid Thank u much, Mayor Booker. A dispatcher did eventually answer & was very helpful.
• CoryBooker: Good to hear. Thanks for letting me know RT @JustinFreid Thank u much, Mayor Booker. A dispatcher did eventually answer & was very helpful...
• CoryBooker: ?Lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at you.? David Brinkley
• CoryBooker: ?Lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at you.? David Brinkley
• CoryBooker: If ur still having problems, call my office. I dm'ed u # RT @JustinFreid My car was towed, no police lines are answering, what should I do?
• CoryBooker: If ur still having problems, call my office. I dm'ed u # RT @JustinFreid My car was towed, no police lines are answering, what should I do...
• CoryBooker: Thanks 4 this overly generous blog RT @SackHeads I find the mayor to be a man of honor and his words. http://t.co/NR20Fh6f #blog
• CoryBooker: Thanks 4 this overly generous blog RT @SackHeads I find the mayor to be a man of honor and his words. http://t.co/NR20Fh6f #blog
• CoryBooker: My team tells me the grass will be cut in Washington Park tomorrow RT @cryscrys31: Grass needs to be cut at wash park http://t.co/K9qsICwT
• CoryBooker: My team tells me the grass will be cut in Washington Park tomorrow RT @cryscrys31: Grass needs to be cut at wash park http://t.co/K9qsICwT
• CoryBooker: "In life you don't get everything you pay for but you must pay for everything that you get." Frederick Douglass
• CoryBooker: "In life you don't get everything you pay for but you must pay for everything that you get." Frederick Douglass