Click here to view this media David Gergen thinks what’s left of the middle class in America had better be ready to take their medicine after we bust the budget with these tax cuts for the rich. How could America possibly survive if we asked the wealthy in this country to pay their share? GERGEN: I just want to come back to one point Anderson. For the last two days we’ve been hearing about protecting the middle class… protecting the middle class. When we get serious about deficit reduction, you know who’s really going to get hit hard? It’s going to be the middle class. A lot of the mortgage deductions are going to get trimmed back. A lot of those things are going to get trimmed back and you know, I think that Washington is not being straight with people. Yes we’ve got this… we have a need to get these tax cuts extended. It has to be done and so forth and so on, but trouble is coming for the middle class and the sooner the president and the Congress full level with the American people, the better. Gergen’s example of cutting back on the mortgage deductions rings pretty hollow with me since I believe they were only talking about mortgages over $500,000 and even then I’m not sure if they meant loan for that amount or the interest up to that amount, and getting rid of it for second homes. That’s not going to affect too many that would be considered “middle class” unless you live in some of the most expensive areas of the country and I’d be shocked if they didn’t make some exceptions for that. What he’s really talking about here is going after Social Security. He’s been touting going after that surplus so our government doesn’t have to reimburse the treasury for those funds for some time now. I’m sick to death of these hacks who are considered the “serious people” in our political circles telling the rest of us how we’d better be ready to tighten our belts while we make sure the crooks on Wall Street and big corporations and the rich are never asked to be patriotic and care that America doesn’t end up being a third world country. It’s just disgusting and it looks like they’re happy to be taking us there fast. And for all of his “concern” for the middle class, the ones who are really hurting are the poor. Of course we got no mention of how those tax cuts for the upper earners are going to help their situation. What we need to be “leveling” with each other about is what we need to do to get people back to work in jobs that pay well and how to rebuild the middle class. Not how we should just be accepting that we further destroy what’s left of it.
Continue reading …Only a few days after Radio Shack unveiled the first iPhone sale in recorded history , Best Buy’s done one better — it’s offering up the 8GB iPhone 3GS “to qualified customers” without charging a cent for the handset. Yes, that’s a free iPhone, not counting the AT&T ball and chain, for the likely-far-less-than-one-day supplies will last, and so we imagine a fair number of you will start queuing up right now to get in on the action. Not a bad way to move surplus inventory and head off perennially rumored CDMA juggernauts at the pass — promise them the free iPhone, then lock them into those two-year contracts. It’s hard to resist! Best Buy makes iPhone 3GS free on contract tomorrow, December 10th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …BEIJING – A Chinese group has awarded a peace prize to a Taiwanese official too surprised to travel to Beijing to accept the award apparently created to counter the Nobel prize honoring an imprisoned dissident. Instead, a young girl accepted the Confucius Peace Prize and money on behalf of…
Continue reading …We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Terrillo, who seems eager and excited to make the leap up from the point-and-shoot universe. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com . “I really want a new camera, but not a point and shoot — more like a DSLR or a Micro Four Thirds. My budget is $300 but I can go up to $400 if there’s sufficient reason. I really want to get a new camera before Christmas. Any suggestions?” Suggestions? Boy, are there. The interchangeable lens / Micro Four Thirds market has exploded this year, making up nearly all of the news that flowed from Photokina in September. Panasonic’s GF2 has seen glowing reviews, as has Sony’s NEX line. So, readers, what do you recommend? Speak out in comments below. Ask Engadget: best Micro Four Thirds / interchangeable lens camera on a budget? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …We all know this, right? We all know the birther goal is to delegitimize this country’s first African-American President. It’s just code for racist and even supremacist attitudes. Some things just shouldn’t be articulated and this is one of them. When we’re at a place in our discourse where we’re chortling over the elected President of our country possibly being banned from one of the states he is governing, we have a serious problem. Think Progress : Today, a right-wing organization called Judicial Watch hosted a panel discussion on the “current and upcoming fights over immigration enforcement” featuring Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce (R). Pearce, the author of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, railed against the Obama administration for “siding with a foreign government” against the state of Arizona. However, looking on the bright side, Pearce joked that Obama may not want to come to Arizona as they will require him to show his papers: A little levity is okay, I hope cause I like to [inaudible] at most things. But I can tell you that the best thing about [SB]-1070 is that Obama may not be visiting Arizona because we actually require papers now. Here’s another gem, this one aimed at Grijalva: During the panel discussion, Pearce also suggested that Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) should run for “presidente” of Mexico. When does free speech become seditious? Inquiring minds want to know.
Continue reading …Have you ever received a PDF in your email, only to find yourself weeping moments later after accidentally printing 349 copies and murdering six or seven endangered trees in the Panamanian rain forest? It’s more serious of a problem than you may realize. In order to solve spontaneous bouts of Accident Print Syndrome, the World Wide Fund For Nature has created the WWF file format. We’ll let the entity itself explain: The WWF format is a PDF that cannot be printed out. It’s a simple way to avoid unnecessary printing. So here’s your chance to save trees and help the environment. Decide for yourself which documents don’t need printing out – then simply save them as WWF. For now, it’s only readable on a Mac, which means that WWF files also cannot be printed from a PC. We’re envisioning a world of college professors using these to prevent printable study guides, but so as long as hackers also exist in that same universe, those who prefer their documents on paper — and HP’s ink department — will probably figure out their own road to nirvana. Must to the dismay of Ma Earth, of course. WWF file format: it’s like a PDF that’s impossible to print originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …For well over two years, the liberal media have made fun of how Sarah Palin answered Katie Couric's ridiculous question concerning what she reads. On Thursday, Chris Matthews, along with MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe, made it clear that no matter how the former Alaska governor answered that question, she was going to be ridiculed (video follows with transcript and commentary): read more
Continue reading …SAEED KAMALI DEHGHAN and IAN BLACK JUBILANT CAMPAIGNERS have claimed victory in the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman whose sentence of death by stoning for adultery triggered an international outcry. Images from Iran’s state-run Press TV showed her meeting her son Sajjad at her house in Osku in northwest…
Continue reading …MARK WEISS in Jerusalem CONTACTS ARE continuing between Israel and Turkey over a compensation deal for the nine Turkish activists killed in clashes when Israeli commandos intercepted the Gaza-bound international aid flotilla in May. Israel is also likely to express “regret” and “sorrow” over the incident, even though Ankara is insisting on a formal apology to the Turkish people. Turkey, once Israel’s…
Continue reading …“Less” and “later” are some of our least favorite words, but they may apply to the Mac App Store, as one source claims it will miss Christmas, and another says the marketplace will have fewer features than its iOS counterpart. First off, The Loop ‘s Jim Dalrymple believes that December 13th isn’t the magic date , claiming that his inside sources say the store will actually arrive in January — which, we must admit, would still be within the window of Apple’s October promise to launch within 90 days. Second and perhaps more importantly, 9to5 Mac reports that App Store developers are being told that their Mac endeavors will have a number of substantial limitations, namely no Game Center support, no in-app purchases , and no ability to offer demos, trials or betas. Sounds like those high-denomination iTunes gift cards you’ve been stockpiling in your basement will finally come in handy. Mac App Store launching in January sans Game Center and in-app purchases? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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