Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg visited Washington DC joined by Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to ask for fiscal help from the federal government for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
In New York City, the public and private losses caused by Hurricane Sandy, which were not covered by private insurance come to $15.2 billion. New York City’s recovery is vital to America’s continued economic recovery and growth.
Read the Mayor’s remarks delivered yesterday at the U.S Capitol Building at http://on.nyc.gov/UdLnVc.
Highlight from the remarks: “We haven’t waited for the help that we hope to get from Washington to come, but given the scale and the impact of the storm, Federal assistance is clearly warranted.”
Luckiest bird alive: ”This Friday, July 6, 2012, photo, shows a 70-day-old golden eagle in Ogden, Utah, that was feared lost but found burned alive on June 28 behind a charred tree, about 25 feet below the nest that was burned to a crisp in the 5,500-acre Dump Fire near Saratoga Springs. The raptor was taken to the Wildlife Rehbilitation Center of Ogden where it was nicknamed ‘Phoenix.’” Do yourself a favor and click the full-resolution version of this photo. (photo by Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune/AP)
If the same percentage of adults were in the workforce today as when Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 11.1 percent. If the percentage was where it was when George W. Bush took office, the unemployment rate would be 13.2 percent.Ezra Klein • Remarking on declining labor force participation in the US. It’s often noted that official unemployment numbers understate the real percentage of people out of work, as they only tally people actively searching for a job. One consequence of this is that when labor force participation decreases—that is, when unemployed folks just give up and stop looking for work—employment actually “increases.” That’s why only 115,000 jobs were added last month, yet unemployment decreased from 8.2% to 8.1%. Since Barack Obama took office, labor force participation has declined 2%. It’s now at 63.6% which, Klein notes, is “a level not seen since the early days of the Reagan administration.” Here’s a chart. source (via • follow)
It was very touching. I thanked her for her service, wished her well, and she just looked beautiful.Gabrielle Giffords shooting survivor Pat Maisch • Describing her impression of the resigning Congresswoman at her “Congress On Your Corner” event, which Giffords resumed on Monday, over a year after the shooting that nearly killed her. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords thanked the survivors and heroes from that day. Maisch was the one who wrestled the gun away from the shooter. Although Giffords has made incredible strides in her recovery, the Congresswoman has decided to leave office this week — but not before watching Obama’s State of the Union address tomorrow; she’ll be there in person. source (via • follow)
Where does haiti stand after the deadly 2010 quake? While about $15 billion of aid money is still missing in Haiti, progress is still being made. “Recovery is here. It is painfully slow, it is agonizing to watch, but it is recovery,” said Harvard professor Paul Farmer. He has spent three decades in Haiti and is opening a new hospital. Big factories could also stimulate the country’s economy, creating 20,000 jobs at just one plant. Progress can also be measured somewhat superficially; HuffPo “Good News” writer Cameron Sinclair finds the silver lining in other ways. He noted the lesser-but-still-positive positives of Haiti, such as its fast WiFi and rich history. (Perhaps that’s looking too hard in the forest to see trees, but y’know.) So, while recovery is still being sought after, it is still coming. And in some ways, it is already here. (Photo by Ken Cedeno / The Washington Post) source
Speaking of Gabby Giffords, here’s how she spent her day: While the Congresswoman certainly didn’t have an easy time of it, she led the Pledge of Allegiance at a candlelight vigil today honoring the victims of last year’s Tucson shooting, where she nearly died. According to those at the memorial events today, the community finds strength in her recovery. “It’s given everybody a lift to see how she progressed,” said preschool aide Cheryl Lillie, 57. (Photo by Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times)
Almost nobody’s talking about one of the central points that everyone who has analyzed this situation makes – including the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission – which [is] you shouldn’t do any of this until the economy is clearly recovering.Bill Clinton • Discussing the deficit-reduction fight going on in Washington, with dealing over the debt limit functioning as a negotiating tool for the GOP to push for spending cuts. This is an angle that’s been taken by many mainstream economists (though obviously, the world of economics can be as contentious as anywhere else), namely that the ability to put off paying down the deficit for a while, though it may not jive with the popular notion of fiscal responsibility, is a valuable tactic to avoid straining the economic recovery. To use an overly simplistic metaphor, if we were to gain thirty pounds over the course of a year, working out twelve hours every day wouldn’t be a healthful way to slim back down. It takes a while to gain the weight, so it’s only natural and measured that it’ll take a while to safely cast it off again. source (via • follow)
» Not all is rosy in Bailoutville: One of the biggest issues we still face are the dual sinkholes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have reportedly cost taxpayers $150 billion and we like to think of as dual sinkholes. And some legislators feel that the effect has set us up for having to bail out unsuccessful companies in the future.
good news on the lara logan front. It’s being reported that Logan has been dismissed from the hospital following her “brutal and sustained sexual assault” in Cairo. While an unnamed source claims that, fortunately, Logan’s assault was “not a rape,” we can hardly imagine of the terror of it, especially in the context of a wild, tumultuous scene in Tahrir Square. Logan is reportedly in surprisingly good spirits, and is home with her family. Best wishes for her, and for her recovery. Relatedly, though, film critic Roger Ebert had this to say: “The attack on Lara Logan brings Middle East attitudes toward women into sad focus.” We’re all for somberly analyzing the broad implications of specific events, but really? Unless you can’t imagine a woman in America being sexually assaulted in a chaotic mob, it seems a little cheap and easy to paint a whole part of the world with the brush of this horrible event. Still, better than Nir Rosen’s analysis was. source
Gabby Giffords recovering well, beginning to regain speech faculties: Great news: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is regaining the ability to speak. Sources wouldn’t divulge her first words, other than they involved her asking for toast. Good luck, Gabby! source
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#@#$%!.tumblr.com
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This is what the return of the Internet looks like. A leap. That leap, of course, looks like a victory. To the Egyptians who now have thousands of e-mails to check and thousands of tweets to pore over – we salute you. source
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