By Nezua, The Media Consortium MediaWire Blogger

It was immediately obvious this week that the Mumbai attacks would be the source of much loss and pain in India. As the US is a land of immigrants, it is always worth remembering how connected to any world event some segment of our population will be in these moments. So is the case now, and Rupa Dev of New America Media presents us with insights gleaned from interviews with a collection of young South Asian Americans in Mumbai Attacks Hit Home For Young South Asian Americans.

Today's the day that the Big 3 automotive CEOs return to the Senate to beg for a bailout. For instance, GM is asking for $18 Billion, and, to show sincerity, the GM President drove his two other buddies from Michigan to DC in a hybrid Chevy Malibu. And he has joined them in saying he'd settle for a $1.00 salary this year (but has not mentioned any multi-million dollar bonuses or stock option plans.)

[editor's note, by Pravin] Changed the diary title(Is Obama risking jading the young generation) because rereading it, I realized it just makes my outlook even more negative than I intended. When I have to clarify my support for Obama in multiple responses, it is time to acknowledge some sloppy writing that could be construed as giving up on Obama. I intended to put out all the doubts I had so that I could read any rebuttals to fill in any information I was missing out on and feel better about the direction we are headed in. It was not meant to be dismissive of Obama this early. I also regret putting the windfall taxes part so early in the diary as it puts the wrong emphasis on what I was going for.

Obama ran on a campaign of change. Sure he needs to play the Washington game a little bit and come up with some choices that won't please us. But is Obama going too far?

Obama so far hasn't really shown that he is willing to live up to some of his campaign promises already and he hasn't even taken office yet. Now, let me make it clear that I do understand it is still early. But I am just concerned about some troubling signs and hope we do not have business as usual go on in Washington.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/03 /the-debate-over-obamas-fi_n_148225.html

President-elect Barack Obama has quietly shelved a proposal to slap oil and natural gas companies with a new windfall profits tax.

An aide for the transition team acknowledged the policy shift Tuesday, after a small-business group discovered the proposal -- touted throughout much of the campaign -- had been dropped from the incoming administration's Web site.

"President-elect Obama announced the policy during the campaign because oil prices were above $80 per barrel," the aide said. "They are below that now and expected to stay below that."

Seriously? How the hell do they know that gas will stay below 80? I don't mind Obama changing course on some proposals. But he indicated none of this foresight that oil will go under 80. So how the hell does his people know that it will stay under 80 a month later? Do not insult my intelligence.

Obama has already gone against the spirit of his selling point of the foolishness of the iraq war by not hiring anyone of note that showed the same wisdom on the war early on. Seriously, I understand the need for balance, but the balance seems so far tilted in favor of the status quo he claimed to want to change. Where is the change? By change, it doesn't mean just be an improvement over Bush. That is not enough. That is a pretty low bar to set.

Obama continues to wuss out on the bailouts by letting Bush do more fuckups without offering anything of substance. Is the Democrats plan to let Bush mess up the economy so much in the next two months that anything Obama does will come across as an improvement?

Here is an opinion piece from WSJ(Take it for what you will considering the bias of the source) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122834956865577699.html:

Some Bush officials feel those plans may not be able to wait until the Jan. 20 transfer of power. As early as next week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will decide whether to seek the second tranche of $350 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to help rescue the nation's financial sector. To access that money, Mr. Paulson must present to Congress not only his plan for the money, but also detailed plans from the next administration, which would spend the bulk of it. Mr. Obama told reporters Wednesday he didn't need to deal with the issue yet. "Until Secretary Paulson indicates publicly that he's drawing down the second tranche, the second half of the TARP money, it would be speculation on my part to suggest that [the first tranche of] that money is going to be used up," Mr. Obama said. Treasury officials have grown frustrated with the Obama transition team's unwillingness to engage in specifics. Mr. Paulson has to consult with the Obama team on any big moves, in particular on plans for how the next $350 billion should be used. While Treasury has been in frequent contact with the Obama team, there is uncertainty about what it wants to do with that next batch of money. Many within Treasury believe the next administration is trying to keep its distance in an effort not to be painted as endorsing any of the Bush administration's plans. Mr. Obama also hasn't discussed one of his hot-button issues -- foreclosure-mitigation efforts -- with the Paulson team. While Mr. Obama has talked about helping homeowners, his aides haven't presented Treasury with any type of plan they would like to see implemented.

Obama's people seem more concerned about the Washington conventional wisdom. Well a lot of people watch the Daily Show. So far Obama's people who seem pretty careful in managing his reputation risk making Obama seem like just another politician as he looks less than dynamic in recent Daily SHow episodes.

His approval rating is high for now. I am hoping all these appointments are just politically calculated and he has a secret masterplan to make sure these people tow the line he promised during the campaign. Until then, he needs to hear from honest critics, not to keep him down, but to keep him honest for his own benefit. It is easy to fall prey to Washington thinking.

THe country needs more than a status quo. Problems like CEO unaccountability have been problems even before the Bush years. It's not enough to hire mostly former Clinton and Bush people.  

We're worried about the potential for massive unemployment, right?  Most estimates put it at 8% unemployment next year, with more dire predictions pegging it at up to 15%.

The problem of unemployment might be especially bad among young people, many of whom have no experience or past skills to market, just potential. Worse still, with unemployment comes crime.

That's why I propose as part of stimulus that the federal government make community college enrollment free for the next 2 years and subsidize state universities; in exchange we ask these schools to increase enrollments and create buzz in their local communities spurring students to go to college to get an AA or BS or MS degree.

How much will this cost?  Let's figure that out...

The fight I'm about to chronicle is a deeply personal one, and its winners and losers are yet to be determined. The combatants include my wife, my brother, my sister-in-law and me: two Muslims, two Jews and a Babylon-sized grudge against carols, Christmas trees and fruit cakes.

(Proudly cross-posted at C4O Democrats)

I guess not. Believe it or not, most Americans don't hate queer people.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


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UN on Gaza: People are going to start getting hungry.

The situation in the Gaza Strip is shifting from "collective punishment to genocide." Jamal Al-Khudari, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and head of the popular committee against the siege in Gaza said that a few days ago.

The trickle of humanitarian aid previously allowed into Gaza, on which 80 percent of the population depended, has now been stopped for days by the Israeli army. The delivery of medical supplies and industrial fuel donated by the EU has also been blocked. The fuel was needed to power Gaza's sole power plant, which has now shut down, leading to rolling blackouts throughout Gaza. A ship from Libya carrying over 3000 tons of aid for GAZA was turned away by the Israeli navy. The US is seemingly oblivious to an atrocity conducted by its best friend in the Middle East, Israel.