Mass Email Republican Senators!

This was a great website for the emails of All Republican Senators on Unemployed Friends.

And if that's too much trouble, try just copying these:

alan_hanson@shelby.senate.gov, jonathan_graffeo@shelby.senate.gov,
anne_caldwell@shelby.senate.gov, laura_friedel@shelby.senate.gov,
senator@shelby.senate.gov, arne_fuglvog@murkowski.senate.gov,
amanda_makki@murkowski.senate.gov, kristen_daimler@murkowski.senate.gov,
isaac_edwards@murkowski.senate.gov, althea_stmartin@murkowski.senate.gov,
kristen_daimler-nothdurft@murkowski.senate.gov, chuck_kleeschulte@murkowski.senate.gov,
lisa@lisamurkowski.com, andrew_wilder@kyl.senate.gov, elizabeth_maier@kyl.senate.gov,
lucy_murfitt@kyl.senate.gov, tim_glazewski@kyl.senate.gov, craig_wismer@kyl.senate.gov,
jennifer_romans@kyl.senate.gov, ryan_patmintra@kyl.senate.gov,
ann_begeman@mccain.senate.gov, ellen_cahill@mccain.senate.gov,
lee_dunn@mccain.senate.gov, richard_fontaine@mccain.senate.gov,
nick_matiella@mccain.senate.gov, talal_mir@mccain.senate.gov,
mark_salter@mccain.senate.gov, elissa.scannell@mail.house.gov,
joe_donoghue@mccain.senate.gov, adam_noah@chambliss.senate.gov, Lindsay_mabry@chambliss.senate.gov, saxby_chambliss@chambliss.senate.gov, justin_clay@chambliss.senate.gov, Steven_meeks@chambliss.senate.gov,
glee_smith@isakson.senate.gov, joan_kirchner@isakson.senate.gov,
michael_quiello@isakson.senate.gov, tyler_thompson@isakson.senate.gov,
Tricia_Chastain@isakson.senate.gov, Catherine_Henson@isakson.senate.gov,
molly_manning@isakson.senate.gov, chris_carr@isakson.senate.gov,
susan_wheeler@crapo.senate.gov, marques_chavez@crapo.senate.gov,
Margaret_ballard@crapo.senate.gov, staci_stevenson@crapo.senate.gov,
Roy_Hansen@crapo.senate.gov, katie_downs@crapo.senate.gov,
gregg_richard@crapo.senate.gov, energy_prices@crapo.senate.gov,
craig_ferguson@crapo.senate.gov, Mark_Shonce@Risch.senate.gov, senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov, andy_fisher@lugar.senate.gov,
georgiana_reynal@lugar.senate.gov, aaron_whitesel@lugar.senate.gov,
mark_hayes@lugar.senate.gov, casework@grassley.senate.gov,
chuck_grassley@grassley.senate.gov, aaron_mckay@grassley.senate.gov,
beth_pellett_levine@grassley.senate.gov, Kathy_nuebel@grassley.senate.gov,
david_young@grassley.senate.gov, kolan_davis@grassley.senate.gov,
sherry_kuntz@grassley.senate.gov, Betty_Burger@Grassley.senate.gov,
mike_steenhoek@grassley.senate.gov, kurt_kovarik@grassley.senate.gov,
landon_fulmer@brownback.senate.gov, glen_chambers@brownback.senate.gov,
brian_robertson@brownback.senate.gov, john_rankin@brownback.senate.gov,
brian_hart@brownback.senate.gov, brownback@brownback.senate.gov,
melanie_benning@brownback.senate.gov, Galen_Roehl@Brownback.senate.gov,
pat_roberts@roberts.senate.gov, jackie_cottrell@roberts.senate.gov,
jennifer_cook@roberts.senate.gov, mike_seyfert@roberts.senate.gov,
sarah_little@roberts.senate.gov, molly_mueller@roberts.senate.gov,
Jennifer_swenson@roberts.senate.gov, Maggie_ward@Roberts.senate.gov,
Verna_Regier@roberts.senate.gov, jim_askins@bunning.senate.gov,
Holly_santry@bunning.senate.gov, sarah_timoney@bunning.senate.gov,
kim_dean@bunning.senate.gov, mike_reynard@bunning.senate.gov,
jim_bunning@bunning.senate.gov, Fred_Karem@mcconnell.senate.gov,
Adam_Howard@mcconnell.senate.gov, Hannah_Benton@mcconnell.senate.gov,
robert_steurer@mcconnell.senate.gov, julie_adams@mcconnell.senate.gov,
scott_raab@mcconnell.senate.gov, allison_thompson@mcconnell.senate.gov,
Reb_Brownell@mcconnell.senate.gov, leann_crosby@mcconnell.senate.gov,
Moon_Sulfab@mcconnell.senate.gov, kyle_ruckert@vitter.senate.gov, Kathryn_Fulton@vitter.senate.gov, crystal_ellerbe@vitter.senate.gov,
garret_graves@vitter.senate.gov, chris_stanley@vitter.senate.gov,
shawn_geddes@vitter.senate.gov, rachael_bohlander@vitter.senate.gov,
tonya_newman@vitter.senate.gov, suzanne_gillen@vitter.senate.gov,
Steve_Abbott@collins.senate.gov, Holly_Nesbit@collins.senate.gov,
John_Richter@snowe.senate.gov, Anna_Levin@snowe.senate.gov,
Brian_Klippenstein@bond.senate.gov, Annie_O'Toole@bond.senate.gov,
kit_bond@bond.senate.gov, kara_smith@bond.senate.gov, shana_marchio@bond.senate.gov,
mike_dubois@bond.senate.gov, kara_vlasaty@bond.senate.gov,
tom_schulte@bond.senate.gov, meagan_perry@bond.senate.gov, WriteJim@mail.house.gov,
AsktheLeader@mail.house.gov, senator@demint.senate.gov, Jim_Inhofe@inhofe.senate.gov,
Adam_Brake@LGraham.senate.gov, Alana_Hyman@enzi.senate.gov,
Andre_Harper@Voinovich.senate.gov, Angela_Mikolajewski@Voinovich.senate.gov,
Angela_Youngen@Voinovich.senate.gov, Beth_Hansen@Voinovich.senate.gov,
Beth_Martens@Voinovich.senate.gov, brendan_plack@thune.senate.gov,
Bret_Bernhardt@demint.senate.gov, bryn_stewart@barrasso.senate.gov,
Chris_Joyner@burr.senate.gov, Chris_Paulitz@Voinovich.senate.gov,
chris_tomassi@enzi.senate.gov, chris_walker@burr.senate.gov,
Colin_Allen@LGraham.senate.gov, Courtney_Shadegg@Coburn.senate.gov,
Mike_Schwartz@Coburn.senate.gov, Daffnei_Riedel@thune.senate.gov,
susan_sweat@wicker.senate.gov, Terri_Moore@johanns.senate.gov, jurani@ensign.senate.gov,
Kathleen_Amacio@johanns.senate.gov, mark_williams@vetaff.senate.gov,
Hardy_Lott@wicker.senate.gov, Jason_mulvihill@ensign.senate.gov,
john_lopez@ensign.senate.gov, johncornyn@gopsenators.com

Perkins+Will Los Angeles, Architecture, and The Economic Depression

July 17, 2009 marks the beginning of the layoff process at Perkins+Will, Los Angeles. Though there have been rumblings, for example, people leaving over the past few months because of a lack of new projects for the firm, as well as four people who were laid off earlier this year, this has been the first wide-spread move. Fifteen of the staff at P+W Los Angeles were laid off on Friday. Evidently, Friday is the traditional day for such moves, presumably because that way, the ongoing staff will not become overly distressed or frightened.

But they should be. P+W, Atlanta just laid off 20 employees--no, they aren't "workers" because that is a convenient dehumanization that allows people in higher positions to forget that the people they laid off are, well, people--right after the completion of a large project they were on.

This is what happened at P+W Los Angeles. And that is just the latest in a long string of layoffs at multi-national architecture firms that a short two years ago appeared impervious to the signs of recession. Gensler, for one, began its layoff process late last year.

Indeed, the architecture field is in such dire straits right now that international firms have begun bidding for small projects that are normally the purview of small and boutique-sized firms. The first thing that disappears during an economic depression, not recession, is people's interest in building new buildings and urban projects. It's the first thing people realize they don't need more of when they can't afford to put food on the table: buildings or urban projects. Suddenly, all this appears to be a luxury rather than a necessity.

Being Western Isn't Enough of a Credential Anymore

The days when being a Westerner, especially one form Western Europe (read: Britain) or from the U.S., in order to be instantly credible, experienced and desirable, are over. In what context? In the East Asia context.

Americans and Western Europeans who travel to India still experience some cache, as do those same people who also travel to other countries in South Asia. They've been colonized enough to be "used to" Westerners who treat a trip to India, for example, as a spiritual pilgrimage. Usually these same people don't subscribe to a "conventional religion" but they sure don't mind using an entire country to activate their "spirituality."

But more and more, partly because much of East Asia was not colonized by these same Western countries, Americans, Brits, French, they aren't instantaneously viewed as more capable, more skilled, more intelligent, or otherwise more informed, than the indigenous peoples. Travel to any of the major cities in China, for example, and one will find more sophistication in the young people than anything Americans might offer. More ambition, better gadgets, and for those born in the city, better educated.

It must be so disappointing for travelers who assume that just because they are less than stellar in their own country, either sexually or professionally, they can still establish their cultural hegemony over there. Well, they can no longer.

Being Euro-American just isn't enough of a credential anymore. Wherever one goes in East Asia, one will find that not only can they do things just as well, they can often do it better, with better technology. It can be done more quicker, and their adoption of newer, more sustainable and efficient technologies is far more rapid and agile than the slow process made in Euro-American countries. Except perhaps those in North-western Europe, where many of these technologies originate.

Nevertheless, the idea of the BRIC economy is more than merely the latest wave of strong, developing economies. It is of cultures that are rapidly gaining on those of the West, building upon both their developments and their mistakes. Americans in particular should take note and stop being so arrogant.

Republican Solution to Everything: Cut Taxes

While it has been repeatedly reported that the Republicans are being obfuscatory in their total lack of support to help this sinking recessive economy, the most interesting aspect of their ideological quandary is their lack of any alternative suggestions. Other than cut taxes.

Which is patently unhelpful. Unemployed, homeless people who lost both job and home do not need tax cuts. They need housing. And most importantly, they require jobs. Jobs that will secure a home, any kind of home, rented or bought, for the foreseeable future. That is what is required.

It's unconscionable that the fat cats called Republican congressmen and women, who have no worry about their own livelihoods, are pushing only federal tax cuts as their solution to a problem that is complex and deep. Conservatism is not working. It hasn't since Bush's infamous tax cuts. Numerous tax cuts. That, coupled with intense deregulation, lack of governmental oversight, and the evidently uncontrollable urge towards cronyism, has led to a worldwide recession.

It was unthinkable that anyone could see that reality and not understand that tax cuts would not help. People don't need a one-time five hundred dollar check from their government. What people need when they don't have employment is, guess what? Employment. People need more services until they can afford to buy them through their future employment. People need housing.

And what is even more unconscionable is that Republicans forget those millions of working poor, who make minimum wage and can't feed and house themselves properly, let alone any children or spouses they might have. Don't believe it? Read Nickel and Dimed, written by Barbara Ehrenreich. She has a Ph.D. and she could not make a living earning minimum wage.

One really wonders exactly how privilege has blinded Republicans into thinking that, as long as they stick with their outmoded, privilege only wealthy-white-people policies, they will eventually convince the poor masses Republicans have their best interests at heart. On the other hand, it worked for eight years with Bush.

Big Three Auto and Congress

it may be old news, but there are still some issues regarding the Republican Senate's refusal to help these three automakers.

1) The hypocrisy of being willing to help the financial world with $700 billion, which demanded absolutely no oversight in comparison with a paltry $14 billion is truly shameless and shocking

2) The demand by Republican Senators for concession from unions is somewhat justified because, after all, some of their workers get $80/hr. Most people with Ph.D.'s don't even get that. But here is the problem: the issue at stake was not that unions should "bend" and be more transparent for these Republicans. It was that these senators came from southern states who didn't have those automakers in their states, so they didn't care if tens of thousands of newly unemployed men and women might join the unemployed rolls. It wasn't happening in their backyard. It was the worst kind of Nimbyism combined with a not-so-subtle attempt to gut unions.

3) What happened to all the other news out ther? Like what's happening to other economies around the world as a result of Bush running our country into the ground? What is happening to state economies?

4) As for the automakers themselves, here is what I would like: stop being arrogant. Design cars that people want. If Honda and Toyota are more successful, don't you think there is a reason for it? Stop designing stupid cars with giant engines that get 14 miles to the gallon because in America, "bigger is badder and better." Stop being arrogant and offering what you want. Design what the people want: cars that are fuel efficient and sleekly designed. What is wrong with American designers designing bulky gas-guzzlers with dipping noses that supposedly connotes "sleek" in all American cars. Why does it appear as if American car makers always pick their industrial designers from the dregs of classes from ArtCenter while Honda and Toyota get their best and brightest?

5) In terms of layoffs, the automakers might consider beginning with laying off its management, since they are the incompetent people who have made these decisions that have led to your current crisis?

6) As for Senate Republicans, the hypocrisy of their decision to save the financial industry but not to save the auto industry at a mere fraction of the cost, is glaring and unconscionable. And the protest that what they want is "oversight" rather than that they merely wanted to gut the unions is equally repugnant.

The Correlation Between Bush and Aggressive Americans

The holiday season just seems to bring out the worst in people. Did you read about the poor man who was trampled to death in a Long Island, NY, Walmart? That's right. On Black Friday, people were just sooo anxious to spend as little money as possible that they lined up before 5 am, started getting antsy and angry and when the doors opened, they trampled an employee to death on their ways towards those all-important bargains in Electronics and whatever other useless items they don't need.

But that isn't the point. The point is that ever since Bush has instituted his policy of "The Rules Don't Apply To Me (or My Minions)", Americans of the less-intelligent, less-humanistic, less-inclined-to-care-about-anyone-else-in-the-first-place stripe have been taking their cues from him.

Case in point: at a Manhattan Beach, CA, Target, I espied an angry woman with a sheepish-looking husband in tow. In the passenger seat. As I walked to my car, I saw her on another aisle and a man who saw I was leaving decided to claim my soon-t0-be-vacant spot. He dutifully turned on his blinking lights and began the wait. I loaded my items and as I shut my trunk, I saw the angry woman driving up towards me. She saw me leaving and then turned on her light. I then saw the man who had been waiting point to her, himself and then my spot. Which triggered a spate of obscene gestures. He then pointed at her, himself and my spot. I added my two cents by nodding an ascent. She then decided to include me in the obscenities, but of course, as she passed, she didn't have the courage to actually look at me--she could only do this at a distance. Nor did she look at the man waiting for my spot.

And a year ago, I was actually run into a wall along PCH near Malibu because someone was impatient with me driving the speed limit. It was right out of some C-movie, this enormous truck of the type that people buy because they feel inadequate in other ways, was tailgating me. I was in the slow lane and at 9 at night, it wasn't like PCH was particularly crowded. Plenty of room and two other lanes for this person to drive in. But no. He decided it was better to flash his brights. At a stoplight, I figured, okay, now he'll finally move over. And he did. Once we started again, he decided that he wanted to teach me a lesson. He literally drove into my lane. Along a certain stretch, near Pacific Palisades, there is a retaining wall to keep the hill from turning into a mud river during rainy season. And there was just no place for me to go. So I jammed into the wall. I couldn't believe it. I was pregnant at the time, too. So that was particularly fun for me. When he realized what he'd done, of course he sped off and the police said there was nothing they could do. Of course not.

This aren't the only examples of aggression by people whom we are led to believe by the media are model citizens, i.e. they're white. In Cape Cod three years ago, I recall driving around the various towns and seeing stickers that said "Kill the French" simply because they think, rightly so, that our Imperialist Invasion of Iraq was wrong. I guess it's okay to kill, maim, or otherwise be aggressive towards anyone who disagrees with us. Must be nice to be Conservative and have such a simplistic, and yet terrorizing, view of the world.

The Auto Industry's Woes

On the November 17, 2008 edition of The World, a story was heard on not only the future of foreign auto car makers, but what a Detroit lobbyist thought about the current woes of Chrysler, GM and Ford. The gist was that this lobbyist rejected the idea that the Big Three were out of touch with the American consumer. That the fact that over 40% of domestic car sales were for foreign-designed, but domestically produced cars was somehow not an indictment of American auto-makers' designs that emphasized gas-guzzling SUV's. The fact is, it isn't that American automakers are not making what American's want, but that somehow, Americans just want something different.

That would be the doublespeak they call a "distinction without a difference."

Because, frankly, the American automakers have not been serving their market. They have ignored the market, that thing that Big Business in America so often touts as the indicator and regulator extraordinaire.

But now that the Big Three have finally had to admit that they were not listening to the market, they don't want to take the consequences for their actions. In other words, these three, who would be so quick to sacrifice other businesses to failure don't want to take that responsibility themselves. Instead, they want a bailout.

It is clear how "Big Business" works: the rules of the "Market" apply to everyone else. But when we are failing, we want special treatment.

Let's Talk About The Other Jobless Rate

I want to repeat again that the media needs to address the invisible cohort of those entering the job market after pursuing higher degrees: without any sign of work in their specialized fields, this cohort will have an even more difficult time than those who have just lost their jobs because of the following reasons:

1) They do not qualify for unemployment benefits
2) They have typically very high student loans they need to begin repaying
3) Their training is very specialized and thus there are fewer jobs available to them
4) Because they do not qualify for unemployment benefits, they do not qualify for any other government aid, either

It would be nice if both the media and the government were to address these issues.

On the Economy

Kenneth Rogoff, Professor at Harvard, had some interesting commentary to make today on The World regarding the inadequacy of the G-20 summit.

Some highlights include that he places today's global economic recession--let's not call it a "downturn" anymore, shall we--on the shoulders of the U.S. The last twenty years, yes, that implicates the vaunted Clinton years, of a U.S. economic policy that made certain all the other Western European countries knew that the U.S. thought its own policies were superior. Eminently superior. And that, moreover, our version of irresponsible deregulation, one that begin with Clinton but was embraced far more stridently by Bush and his cronies in the Administration, as well as its supposed superior free market, has actually failed. What was lacking, according to Rogoff, was the unwillingness of the U.S. representatives to the G-20 summit should have at the very least acknowledged the U.S.'s looming role in creating this global recession.

The Unspoken Cohort of this Recession

It is irritating that people are constantly talking about the "downturn"--who was the brilliant person who came up with that euphemism?--always talk about people losing their jobs.

But not about those people who have not been able to find jobs over the past year. These are people who hold multiple degrees. They are not competing in the job market with the people who just lost their jobs at Linens 'n Things or even will be losing them at GM, DHL, or any of these other corporations. No. These are people who occupied upper tier management positions in specialized fields. And hold multiple graduate degrees within those specialized fields.

And the worst part of this particular cohort is that they don't qualify for unemployment benefits. Instead, they live on their 401k's or what little savings they have left. While it is devastating that people are losing their jobs, from where I stand, at least they have benefits they can look forward to. And Congress is contemplating extending unemployment benefits for those who have already been on them for a while. Again, relatively speaking, the appear "lucky."

But not being able to find a job after going to school at least seven additional years to the four for a B.A. is absolutely devastating. Because the likelihood is that while receiving that additional education, that person was not being paid, or if they were for being either a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant, the actual pay is enough to qualify one for food stamps and other Federal Aid.

It would be nice if, finally, the mass media would address this very significant cohort of the population in their stories, rather than just focusing on the easy, sensationalist stories regarding lay-offs in large corporations.

The Bailout: Republicans Advocate Big Government

In case this is of concern, the tab is $700 billion dollars.

See the LATimes

The irony of course is that this is bigger government than anything ever done in the past by either party. But the hypocrisy is that Republicans are always clamoring for "smaller government."

Translation: We don't want to pay for any programs that do not directly benefit our own pet projects, i.e.earmarks. Sarah Palin's Bridge to Nowhere ring any bells? Indeed, it appears Republicans are not concerned with helping anyone who actually needs it:

1) Children without health care insurance: we're only discussing giving them reasonable ACCESS, here.
2) Single parents: Because, after all, they must be colored, right?
3) Lower ratio of Teacher-to-Student: Let's just test our students, rather than actually improving teacher pay, infrastructure, and access for all people, no matter their social and economic class, let alone their race.

It certainly does appear that Republicans are for Big Government--when it suits them.