The Stubborn,The Stupid,The Bat Crap Crazy.

With Wisconsin Governor Walker threatening martial law on the Wisconsin Teachers Union for having the temerity to question his divine right as Wisconsin Chief executive and with NewCon posterboy New Jersey Governor Bam Bam Bigelow spewing into any microphone he can find, there are some other news items not receiving nearly enough attention. Until now.

• Missouri State Senator Jane Cunningham wants to repeal child labor laws.
• South Dakota State Representative wants to expand justifiable homicide to include protecting an unborn child.
• Also from South Dakota is a bill requiring all adults to own a gun. Imagine this campaign from the South Dakota Bureau of Tourism, "Relive the exhilarating days of American History. The Wild West comes alive in beautiful pacifist free South Dakota." Or something simpler from the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce,"South Dakota: We've got you in our crosshairs." The mind reels with imagination.
• Georgia State Representative Bobby Franklin wants to do away with the drivers license. 
• In the US Congress, 210 U.S. Representatives have signed on to H.R.3, which redefines rape as forcible rape. This bill does receive coverage, just not enough. 210 elected officials actually endorsing the concept of forcible rape therefore establishing the concept of consensual rape makes me want to vomit.

Why is this significant to the 99ers? 99ers need jobs. Until there are jobs available, jobs that pay a living wage, 99ers need a safety net.  Given limited resources (have you seen the US budget?) the conversation about how to allocate those resources to create a sustainable economic recovery is a very serious discussion. Part of that discussion must be how long to extend the safety net to the unemployed. Implicit in that discussion is that the current consideration of unemployment benefits to 99 weeks and no more hasn't been a discussion. To this point, politicians talk about TierV have employed the ostrich method of confronting a problem. Taking the point further, 14 weeks of additional extended unemployment benefits called for by H.R.589 are helpful, but what happens afterwards? Jobs will not magically appear and since 99ers will soon start celebrating their 1st anniversary of 99erhood, H.R.589 is simply insufficient.

The discussion about how to achieve the most effective results is an adult conversation.  It covers serious territory with the harsh reality that some (millions?) will not receive what they seek. That will be painful and ugly debate, sacrificing some for the sake of others. How do you have this conversation about survivors and casualties with people that want to redefine rape, repeal child labor laws or eliminate drivers licenses? You can't have that conversation with bat crap crazies and that's a real problem for 99ers.  Did I mention that Chris Christie has to be a posterboy because he won't fit in an 8"X10"?  

Time for UCubed to stop chillin'.

UCubed is an unemployment advocacy group organized under the auspices of the IAM.  The organizational skills and resources Unions can offer the unemployed are (to borrow a marketing campaign) PRICELESS. I can only imagine the assistance UCubed can provide once they actually start.


I apologize, the above is a cheap shot.  This is not intended to be a condemnation on UCubed, merely a strongly worded critique. Simply put, the 99ers and the soon to be 99ers desperately need UCubed to reach it's potential beginning today.


We are a week+ beyond the State of the Union Address. President Obama deftly avoided any mention of the 99ers and the ongoing unemployment crisis during the State of the Union. The UCubed response was a strongly worded "Shame on you, Barack Obama" (thanks, Hillary). I ask, "Is this the best the power of 31 million can offer?"


99ers are fighting and losing a major public relations battle.  Just yesterday @ReThePeople tweeted
"# 99ers have to realize they are playing a suckers game. Since you are only fighting for #TierV benefits, only your little group is affected".  @ReThePeople appears to be in tune with current events, but in this case he is so wrong. First the agenda of the unemployed has always been and continues to be jobs, jobs,  jobs but until there are sufficient jobs, a safety net is necessary. Second, the argument for extending unemployment insurance beyond 99 weeks has as much to do with sustaining the economic recovery as it does with sustaining the unemployed. 99ers are not fighting for themselves alone, they are fighting for today's economic stability and the future of our country. Still the need for UCubed to get aggressive goes beyond PR.


On Sunday Donalee King asked if the violence in Egypt is merely a foreshadowing of events in the USA. Well Donalee, yes it is.


I have been a proponent of aggressive but peaceful demonstrations in the street. Organized, time limited displays with a specific purpose.  Be it cardboard box villages in front of an elected officials office or blocking access to a public building at 5 PM, it is vital to involve/educate the entire community about the plight of the 99ers. UCubed has the best ability to arrange these type of protests and keep them peaceful.  If peaceful protests are not arranged angry people will take to the streets. (I'm assuming the current strategy of call/fax/email/tweet/angry,astonished posts will continue to yield the same results: NOTHING.) When that anger boils over, violence will follow. Violence often has random results and a corresponding violent response in an effort to quell the violent outburst will result in even more random results.  This is one of many reasons why it is important to channel the growing anger of the unemployed now, and UCubed (or another funded, staffed advocacy group) needs to take the lead.


Their have been many suggesting that each homeless, hungry or dead 99er is the responsibility of a President and Congress that fail to react to this crisis appropriately.  We know the Congress and President will continue to respond in their ostrich like manner. The next group of hungry, homeless or dead 99ers is our responsibility and it starts with our advocacy organizations that know better. UCubed, I'm talking to you.

99ers, it's time to change our message

It appears 99ers are the gangrenous little toe of the body politic. Just as a diabetic would amputate the little toe for the sake of the entire body, so too are the 99ers being cut off from the conversation on assistance for the long term unemployed. Consider the National Employment Law Project (NELP)'s statement about the compromise extending tax cuts for all:  nothing about the 99ers. Rather than being angry or frustrated (although both are appropriate and well-earned), I have a list of do's and don'ts, ending with a suggested change of message.

Don't beat up friends like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Debbie Stabenow or other legislative friends for not accomplishing all needs of the 99ers.  If Pelosi had the votes in the House, there would already be TierV.  If she had nearly enough votes, she'd have twisted arms and there would already be TierV. As for Sen. Stabenow S3706 hasn't gone  far,but she took a shot. Along with the McDermott/Berkley proposal in the House of Representatives, the total proposed TierV pieces of legislation in the entire 111th Congress was 2. Do not target failed attempts when at least these legislators (imperfect as they may be) tried.  If we 99ers did not generate enough public support to move these bills along, we share the failure.

Do continue to reach out to Congress, no matter how frustrating the endeavor.  The best time to call, fax, email elected officials is right now.  The second best time to reach elected officials was yesterday. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

Don't threaten to vote for politicians that will never advocate for 99ers to punish lawmakers that did not support 99ers sufficiently. Worse yet, don't withdraw from the process as a way to motivate Congress.  Apathy is the antithesis to motivation.  Voter disinterest did not gain leverage for 99ers.  99er detachment helped create a tax compromise with unemployment funding that does nothing for 99ers.

Do stay involved in the political process. It's easier to achieve policy objectives by stating what you'll do as opposed to threatening to withdraw. Withdrawing from activity creates a vacuum. This political vacuum will be quickly filled by other advocates with diametrically different goals. The results will be a disaster.

Don't continue admonishing those that ignore 99ers. It's time to stop screaming at President Obama, Congress and labor organizations that have thrown the 99ers into the trash.  It's not that elected officials don't deserve to be lambasted. Unfortunately the verbal attacks of incredulity have failed to produce results. 99ers continue to be ignored by elected officials, going on 9 months. It's also time to move the 99er stories of personal disaster to the back burner. This is not to diminish the countless tragedies of the long term unemployed but the populace doesn't give a damn.

Do reframe the discussion. The CBO says the best way to stimulate job creation is unemployment benefits. Put a human face on the fact that unemployment insurance goes beyond helping the unemployed..  Testimony needs to come from small business in areas of high unemployment. These business owners need to express their fear of business failure as extended unemployment benefits discontinue because the unemployed can longer buy from these businesses. Similarly, homeowners groups in areas of high unemployment need to talk about plunging neighborhood home values as foreclosures skyrocket (again) because extended UI dollars are no longer available.

It appears the tax compromise is going to pass with nothing for the 99ers and little to slow the increasing growth of 99ers.  The only way continue the fight for 99ers is to tell stories from non-99ers affected by discontinued unemployment benefits.

This is compromise? I'd hate to surrender.

I am sure that had there been a network interview of Robert E. Lee after his surrender at Appomattox, Gen. Lee would have talked about the need to compromise to avoid holding the populace hostage via partisan bickering.  "Sure, I gave up some things but I got to keep my sword.", General Lee would have said. Since President Obama is a fan of history perhaps this was his model for accepting the "compromise" on tax cuts for the rich.

Monday night's agreement to extend tax cuts for all for two years and unemployment benefits to 99 weeks for 13 months is truly bipartisan. There is plenty for anyone to dislike:

1. Rich folks can dislike helping the lazy unwashed masses that refuse to find a job.
2. The working poor can dislike that they received nothing from this agreement. Their earnings leave minimal tax burden. The burden of the working poor is working and still being poor.
3. Small businesses can dislike that for all the agreement has to offer it will have minimal effect in stimulating demand. Demand more than anything drives small business and the economy.
4. Same for the middle class. Whatever benefits they derive from this agreement, without growing demand and growing American manufacturing, the middle class continues to shrink.
5. Future generations can dislike paying for the always burgeoning bank accounts of the wealthy.  This agreement make the bill for future generations more expensive.
6. 99ers can dislike the whole agreement.

Ezra Klein points out the real good in this compromise is it creates a framework of future bipartisan agreements. Mr. Klein has a great point but that thought goes in the wait and see column.

There is loads of bad in this compromise with the Republicans. Most obvious is the contempt this agreement shows for the long-term unemployed. With 5 job seekers for each job, if you're unemployed for longer than 99 weeks,  you're on your own. For those with reinstated unemployment benefits, if you've received more than 43 weeks of benefits, you'll probably be a 99er sooner than you think. If you'll still be eligible for benefits in 13 months, you'll be back in this fight after Thanksgiving, 2011.  If you think job search statistics will improve significantly over the next 13 months, God bless your optimism.

The to do list is simple: scream loudly and scream often.  To simplify this call to action, here are some easy suggestions: Click the link on the right side of the blog and sign the petition. Here are links to 2 other petitions. (if you're not on Twitter you can cut and paste to Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi). After you've signed these petitions, pass them along to your friends. Call, fax and email your Representatives and Senators. Request extended funding and additional weeks of unemployment benefits. Without these two improvements ask them to vote against the bill. Do not go quietly into the night, some will not make it to the morning.

More of the same.

It appears Congress and the White House have reached a compromise on extending expiring tax cuts that would includes funding current unemployment extensions for 13 additional months. 99ers will be left to fend for themselves.  Why have the 99ers been abandoned by everyone except Ed Schultz?

To understand the predicament of the long term unemployed during the Great Depression of the 21st Century, it's important to review some pertinent facts:

1. The unemployment rate is somewhere between 9.8% and higher. That makes the employment rate 77% or higher. It is very hard for the 77% employed to fathom why anyone is involuntarily unemployed for greater than 99 weeks, even in a weak economy.

2. The current model of issuing unemployment benefits via "weeks" is inadequate given current economic conditions. With five seekers for each job and an unemployment rate predicted to hover above 8% through 2012, a safety net for the unemployed should be tied to the unemployment rate.  Benefits should continue until the unemployment rate is down to 'X' not an arbitrary designation of weeks.  Unfortunately no one will commit to structuring unemployment insurance accordingly.

3. The argument in favor of adding a TierV has too often been made from the POV of the 99ers. (These people need the safety net to survive.) Unemployment advocates (I include myself) should have jumped on the Republican meme that small businesses are the primary creators of jobs.  The success of small business depends more on demand than tax cuts. Therefore it is vital that the unemployed have a minimal amount of money to support these small businesses.

What is left to do? The aforementioned compromise has not net been voted on in Congress.  Now, more than ever is the time to bombard elected officials. It is also important for all unemployed to stick together. Given the statistics above there are going to be more 99ers each week. Attrition (death and  homelessness) will reduce the amount of 99ers but not nearly by the numbers joining the ranks of the 99ers.  Eventually, something will be done. I am hoping for the best.

Oh, Joy.

Yesterday I criticized NELP, Working America and UCubed. These organizations with budgets and paid professional staff have failed miserably in assisting the 99ers. Their inability to be proactive brings us to December 3,2010 and the 99ers ignored again in an attempt to re-establish extensions for the unemployed in weeks 27-99.

What should NELP, Working America and UCubed be doing? Watching Joy Behar. Last night, Ms. Behar opened her HLN talker reminding everyone that Sen. Scott Brown was the latest Grand Obstructionist Party member to block a vote on funding unemployment extensions. She then suggested that all effected by Sen. Brown's vote drop in on his $100 a plate holiday dinner funder on Friday Night, complete with time and address. I have Joy, deep in my heart.

In summary, in a 30 second intro to a show that included an update on a Hollywood murder and an interview with the Hasselhoffs, Ms. Behar offered an idea that is more creative than anything 3 worker advocacy groups have done in 2 months. NELP, Working America and UCubed are you listening?

Finally, as you head out to do some holiday shopping this weekend, don't worry about the malls being crowded with 99ers.  Unless of course NELP, Working America and UCubed get off their ass.

Here we are again.

Day 2 of the unemployed held hostage and the 99ers are ignored. Again. For the third time this year.  At least extending tax cuts will continue to spur the economy.  What? Unemployment benefits are more effective than tax cuts? So why do we continue to engage in counterproductive economics? It's the American way.

99ers should not be surprised at our current plight.  99ers have been ignored since (before) Jim Bunning staged his one man show of arrogance. Sen. Bunning's show was so successful, it reappeared in summer stock. As we approach Christmas,"Waiting for Congress" has been made into a winter holiday special. The common theme of these three extravaganzas? Nothing about the 99ers, which means nothing for the 99ers. This is like going to the Emergency Room for a cough. The Triage Nurse mentions your intestines are hanging out and you choose to treat just the cough. How did we reach reach this nadir of lunacy? There are many directions to point a finger, I am aiming at NELP, UCubed and Working America.

99ers should not be surprised we have reached this point. Except for occasional whispers to the contrary, Congress has been shouting opposition to TierV since spring. It's easy to suggest 99ers should have organized more effectively. There have been great grassroot groups, UWAG and Unemployed Friends are just two of many. These are primarily volunteer organizations. NELP, UCubed and Working America have professional staff and budgets. The staff may be small and the budget limited, but 99ers budget? 99ers are trying to keep the utilities on in a house they might lose to cook food they can't afford to buy. NELP, UCubed and Working America should have been doing more this whole time.

The One Nation Working Together rally was great.  That rally was two months ago.  Since then there have been call rallies, fax rallies, email campaigns. Obviously these attempts have been ineffective and done nothing to generate public opinion. 99ers are told time is dear and unemployed between 26 and 99 weeks need all efforts to continue to fund their benefits. NELP, UCubed and Working America should have never let it come to an either/or decision. As soon as Jim Bunning started his one man show in March, NELP, UCubed and Working America should have been screaming every day that 99ers be included in any extensions. These professional organizations were neglectful and now claim they must concentrate their efforts for those with extensions previously approved.  Okay, what about the rest of us.

I don't know how this will wind up.  I fear it will end with discord between 99ers and less than 99ers. Unemployed eating their own.  Which makes sense, because it's the only food many of us can afford.

Holiday shopping list.

Last night at midnight 800,000 exhausted unemployment benefits. The benefits should be restored by act of Congress but Congress rarely acts as it should.  Those 800,000 join 5 million+ 99ers.  Some 99ers have been without an unemployment insurance safety net since March, 2010. If corporations are sitting on tons of cash because of uncertainty (although no thesaurus lists greed as a synonym of uncertainty) what about the 5.8+ million of us that don't have an ounce of money? Happy holidays.

Channukah begins tonight at sundown.  Thanks to my wife's wizardry, we have stuff for the kids.  I'd love to help spur demand during this season but I lack the resources. Therefore, the rest of my list must suffice with non-monetary items.

So here is my "shopping list" for this holiday season:

Congressional Republicans -  a conscience

Congressional Democrats - a spine

President Barack Obama - a beer summit with Candidate Barack Obama

The Tea Party - the realization that a patriot is not a xenophobe and liberty does not include fear-mongering

Sarah Palin - a copy of Mein Kampf and an understanding of irony

Those that voted Republican out of spite or did not vote because you did not get enough from Obama -        nothing, you're already getting all that you deserve

The 99ers - a job for each and everyone. (I'd include fair paying job with benefits, but this blog is not fantasy)

Me - I've got supportive friends and family in every sense of the word. I want for nothing.

With 24 shopping days left until Christmas, this list is short and likely incomplete.  Please add recipients and the gift(s) you would bestow. Whatever you choose, please keep the gift in your price range.

Abandoning the 99ers and receiving nothing.

As usual, the always relevant Donalee King was her eloquent mix of facts and fury on Thanksgiving. In synopsis, Donalee makes the case that everyone (I take editorial license to exclude Ed Schultz) from Sen. Stabenow to unions to advocacy groups to rally organizers have lied to the 99ers. The 99ers have been encouraged to lend their voice to every Democratic and unemployment cause only to have Tier V (or any talk of extensions beyond 99 weeks) excluded from last minute negotiations to extend unemployment benefits past November 30, 2010. She proposes lobbying the new Congress to strip NELP of funding as part of the presumed upcoming austerity program in January.  She continues by withdrawing her support from any extension that does not help the 99ers and concludes telling the Dems to grow a set and combine extending expiring tax cuts with long term extension of unemployment benefits beyond 99 weeks. It's hard to argue with Donalee but I do want to disagree at least in part.

I heartily agree with combining tax cut and unemployment benefit extensions in the way only a self promoting blogger can.  I suggested this combination on August 27, 2010. Extend long term unemployment benefits (including TierV, VI or Tier XX if necessary) for the same period as tax cuts for the ultra wealthy. The CBO reports unemployment benefits are 5 times more effective than extended tax cuts in creating economic production. Given this obvious logic I can only assume the conversation will still be about tax cuts with unemployment benefits being at most a footnote.  On that count, big thanks to both Congress and major media outlets.

I split with Donalee on her decision to "unsupport" the less than 99ers.  As a 99er, I can't understand Donalee's frustration but I am fully aware of my anger. As a 99er, I was able to cross each week off the calendar, fully aware when my unemployment safety net would end.  For those under 99 weeks of benefits, a sudden end (for example, tomorrow) is even more unsettling than being a 99er.  I speak from personal experience.  I went through the Congressional "June Swoon" when no one beyond 99 weeks received benefits previously approved.  The idea that unemployed planning on up to 99 weeks of benefits cut off at 26 weeks is as unsettling as the lack of support for 99ers.  Still, I can't agree on the actions of NELP, unions, etc.

Although flummoxed at the piss poor economic policy of not continuing unemployment extensions given the high unemployment rate and stagnant job creation the stupidity of Congress never surprises me.  If my advocacy groups must abandon my needs to serve millions of others I realize I might get left out. But NELP, AFL-CIO, Working America, One Nation Working Together and others have flushed me like blue ice and gotten nothing.  Don't jettison my needs without getting something for the rest of the unemployed.  At the end of the day I fear not only will I be left out (and me and my family are my primary concern) but so will everyone else beyond 26 weeks of unemployment benefits.  The war analogy fits here, don't make me a casualty for nothing.

On a final note, Donalee's Thanksgiving article ends with a description of her personal desperation. Donalee, don't give up, now or ever.  Your talent shines through. Any organization would be blessed to add your ability and passion.  Don't let short sighted idiots get you down, you are way too good for that.

Today is November 3, 2010. Make it count.

Senate races in Colorado, Alaska and Washington are too close to call.  It is still too soon for analysis and too early to make predictions for 2012.  I remember November 4, 2008. Two years is a very long time.

The future for the unemployed however, looks uncertain.  No extensions are funded beyond November 30, 2010.  Anyone receiving benefits beyond 26 weeks will be cut off beginning in December.  The incoming Congress appears unfriendly and potentially hostile to the plight of the unemployed.  99ers and all unemployed must target the lame duck session of Congress (beginning Nov. 15, 2010) for any help. Grassroots lobbying on behalf of the 15 millions+ unemployed begins today.

UWAG has suggestions. I expect other unemployment writers, bloggers and advocacy groups will also have recommendations for action. I suggest calling/faxing the Whitehouse, Sen. Reid and Speaker Pelosi.  I would contact each of these three today, tomorrow and each day after until there are extended unemployment benefits beyond 99 weeks. Each day is precious, don't waste a single one.

Postscript: Donalee King wrote last night about the potential of violent protests. I don't disagree but I hope she is wrong. Violence doesn't solve anything and only delays reaching goals.

Mignon Veasley-Fields, Role Model, Hero but only half right.

When I got a chance to review email Friday night, I found another outstanding article from Donalee King. Donalee reviewed an exchange between Ed Schultz and Mignon Veasley-Fields. Ed Schultz has been the strongest media voice advocating on behalf of the 99ers. Ms. Veasley-Fields, a 99er has also been an advocate for the unemployed, consistently available to educate about the plight of the 99ers.  When Ms. Veasly-Fields (I know her as @agape122) speaks for the 99ers, she speaks for me.


In conversation with Ed, Ms. Veasley-Fields laid blame for the failure of S3706 on both parties in Congress.

"Well Ed, yes, we have committed that we are going to encourage our fellow 99ers to vote for either party that their choice. However, ??Ed, yesterday was very disappointing for us. And even though we are trying to tell them to vote, many of them are not going to vote even though the No NOVO says to go ahead and do this. They were disillusioned by what they saw on the Senate floor yesterday. We were grateful for Senator Stabenow for her effort, but we thought it was just sort of put together really quickly like a dog and pony show in order to get us to vote for them. This is a sentiment across this nation." Ms. Fields told Ed.


Schultz countered: "But if the Republicans, but Mignon, if the Republican Senator had not stood up, this would have gone through, and you would have had the votes, and you would have gotten an extension. It's the Republicans. Why take it out on the Democrats, the majority Party that time and time again has been there for the unemployed?


"To which Mignon replied: "Well you know, Ed, we have gone back in the history of the tiers. We as 99ers have tried to figure this out ourselves. What has happened is we can remember the time in which the Republicans said, "Sure, get another tier. Use the stimulus funds. And the Democrats said, 'No, we need to find sourcing for unemployment.' So now we're thinking back on that, and we're realizing it's not the Republicans. It was the Democrats that caused us to be in the situation that we're in. We want the Democrats to come back before this election, and we want them to come back and rectify this, Ed."


I don't need to comment on the actions of the Republican caucus, their actions are self-declaratory. So I am going to concentrate on the Democrats and their total mismanagement of  the legislative process.


Even before Senator Bunning blocked benefits in February, the Republicans made their strategy obvious: Party unity to block everything.  Still the Democrats attempted to include the Republicans in the legislative process.  Memo to Charlie Brown (as played by Harry Reid): No matter what Lucy (as played by any Senate Republican) says, nor how much you want to believe her, as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, Lucy will pull the football away.  You will always land flat on your back, every time. As long as the Dems continue to play Charlie Brown, progressive agenda items (extended unemployment benefits) will remain blood battles. Until the Democrats approach the unemployment safety net and job creation together as a long term issue the results will be substandard.


Use of  "dormant" stimulus funds to pay for any Tiers of unemployment benefits is questionable politics and curious policy. Politically, I doubt the Republican's sincerity (see memo to Charlie Brown above) in voicing this suggestion. Ignoring Tea Party crazy candidates,  Republican Senators are the party of David Vitter, John Ensign and Jim DeMint; hypocrisy and arrogance defined.  As for policy, the "unspent" stimulus funds are already allocated to specific projects. Spending these funds on a safety net today makes them unavailable for job creation tomorrow. Without continued job creation there will be a greater need for the same safety net in the future, merely shifting burden within the same demographic. This type of "Darwinism" is often replicated in a laboratory experiment: Starve some mice,  put 1 or 2 pieces of cheese in their common area and watch the mice fight it out. As policy this tactic is a favorite of the wealthy. Keep the disadvantaged fighting amongst themselves. While competing against each other for limited resources the disadvantaged won't organize for their common good. The result maintains the status quo, a primary goal of well healed conservatives and totally contrary to a progressive agenda. 
Hungry and homeless are neither progressive nor conservative issues. Hunger and homelessness are human issues. Unfortunately the current conservative responses to these social issues are...? I don't know the conservative response to hunger and homelessness because I haven't heard any. Clearly, I disagree with using unspent stimulus funds to pay for extended unemployment benefits. But it's okay to disagree with someone, even a hero like Mignon Veasley-Fields. It's counterproductive to squabble like hungry lab rats.

Do you agree or disagree about using stimulus funds for unemployment? What about unity of message for the 99ers?

What is equitable? Equity.

As Congress prepares to return to work for a mere 3 weeks, it's important to define what we want. As a group, we the unemployed want 1) the extensions approved 18 months ago fully funded through 2010 2) extensions beyond 99 weeks. Unfortunately, no elected official wants to champion going beyond 99. Until current extensions are funded nothing will be done. Realistically, no one will champion unlimited extensions, so we must be precise in articulating our expectations.

What do I want? Equal treatment under the law as almost any other person. Since recent court decisions imbue corporations with personal rights, this is a great place to start. Just as the banks were bailed out for the good of the country, I would like the same. Not for my good, but because it is good economics. Auto manufacturers were propped up not for the sake of the corp., but to minimize collateral damage. Add more weeks not for me but for the stores I frequent and the property values of my neighbors. When I get healthy, I wish to continue to pay a disproportionately low share of tax. I would like to borrow gobs of money at 0%. I want to invest that money to grow my profits and justify obscenely large bonuses. Not for my sake but for the good of the country. (I apologize for the last few sentences of liberal diatribe. Like gas it surfaces at inopportune moments). What do I want? I want to be considered the same as the big corporations, because as a group we are just as significant. I will give specifications in my next post.

Like the rest of the country, I am unable to fathom the extent of the crisis in the Gulf. I wish Congress could fix it with the wave of a pen. I am sure they would if they could. I don't want to equate the country's chronic unemployment with the Gulf disaster. The circumstances are different but the results might have similar effects on our country. Ironically, Congress could mitigate the effects of long-term unemployment with just a wave of the pen.

I plan to start a conversation on delivering our yet to be crafted message on Facebook at UBO21C, please join in. Also follow on Twitter @UBO21