McCain's or Obama's Economic Policies?

NYT writes: "CLEARLY, there are major differences between the economic policies of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.

Data for the whole period from 1948 to 2007, during which Republicans occupied the White House for 34 years and Democrats for 26, show average annual growth of real gross national product of 1.64 percent per capita under Republican presidents versus 2.78 percent under Democrats.

...if history is a guide, an Obama victory in November would lead to faster economic growth with less inequality, while a McCain victory would lead to slower economic growth with more inequality."

Honestly, I really don't care much about the equality part, but I'm all for the faster economic growth.

In the past, I'd probably done better under the McCain policies, because of the inequalities, but because I'm not working anymore and collecting a sizeable pay check, McCain's policies don't work in my favor anymore.

But I guess if one like George W. Bushes economic policies than McCain is for you.

Details of the article are HERE

Tax Cuts for the Poor Like Me

You can find out how much you'll save under Obama's tax plan HERE .

Or pay, if you're rich.

The Daily Show's "Take" 0n BO

Oh, My God, McCain just blew it!

Why did he just pick this lady from Alaska?

McCain's only offensive against Obama was that Obama is young and has little experience. If McCain's campaign was going for that angle, why did he pick this lady? She is young and has less experience.

McCain is old. He might die in office. He should have at least picked someone who has at least SOME national security experience. I'm sure this lady (can remember her name) doesn't even know where many of the countries "that are suppose to be America's enemy" even exist. I

McCain's just showed his age. Something is not functioning correctly.

It seems like McCain went for the "gimmick" to steal the limelight away from Barack after a very successful democratic convention.

Obama will be the next POTUS! Without a doubt. (I'm always amused I can write such a statements, even though I don't have a clue).

I'm Proud of Myself

I didn't watch any of the Democratic Convention!

But my guess is Obama is going to get a HUGE jump in the polls, because:

1) Right before the convention McCain couldn't remember how many houses he owns?
2) Obama picked Biden as his VP to strengthen his foreign relations and national security experience image.
3) Hillary, and especially Bill, has given Obama their blessing.

"It's Time to Stop Doing Tina"

Another Internship

It's going to be me and the 20 year olds again. I start another internship tomorrow on the feature film "Handsome Harry".

It's an independent feature from acclaimed director Bette Gordon (Luminous Motion, Variety), is in pre-production and will commence principal photography in mid-September. Handsome Harry is being produced by Jamin O’Brien (Just Like the Son, Into the Blue) and executive produced by Fred Berner (Pollock, Vanya on 42nd Street, Law & Order).

The film features a stunning award-winning cast centered around Jamey Sheridan (Ice Storm, Law & Order), Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Pulp Fiction & Armageddon), Campbell Scott (Rodger Dodger, Music & Lyrics) and Titus Welliver (Gone Baby Gone, Deadwood). Todd Thaler (The Professional, Little Children) is the casting director.

Synopsis: Handsome Harry is a unique character driven story about a man confronting his past secrets and finding his true identity, through the investigations of a crime committed thirty years prior. Handsome Harry is a love story intertwined with past reflections, dying friends, painful memories.

Hopefully, I won't be fired on the first day. I'm starting to sensor my comments.

"Totally in Agreement"

I have to admit the Republicans are doing a great job with McCain's campaign. Little of this stuff is sticking. There seems to be a lot of people in this country, who don't want a change. Change is hard for most people. Steady as it goes seems to be the easiest path in life. It's easy. So why not?

Body Count

Saddam Hussein was hung because he was a cruel and ruthless leader. During his reign allegedly 100,000 Iraqis died while Saddam was dictator of the country.

To date, since the start of the Iraq War, civilian body count is between 86,664 - 94,561.

Why are we spending tens of billions of dollars a month in Iraq? For higher food and gas prices? For the stock market to decline by 20%. For house prices to decline by 25%? Is our policy of borrowing from China and spend it in Iraq working?

Approimately, 30 - 50% of Iraqi children have PTSD from living under war.

As American children head back to school, we need to remind them what the American government has done to those who weren't lucky enough to be born in the place that starts wars, but in a place that suffers from wars.

The NYT or NBC Never Mentioned Gay Athlete

From Outsports :

"It was disappointing to see NBC not mention anything about Matthew Mitcham’s sexuality. The biggest reason for me is a journalistic reason: It’s a big story. The only openly gay male athlete in Beijing pulled off one of the great upsets at the Olympics in a spectacular fashion. If he had had cancer, or if his parents had been killed in a car crash when he was 2, or if he had just proposed to his girlfriend, they would have mentioned it. But they never showed him hugging his boyfriend, never mentioned it. They referred to “personal problems,” but I’m afraid they decided Matthew’s sexuality was off limits. A real shame."

Homophobia in sports is so prominent.


Update : NBC Apologizes

A Seven Year Old Girl's Day in NYC

"McMansion"

McCain really messed up this time. And there for a while, I was starting to like the guy, starting to think of him as the next President. Let face it the economy sucks and it doesn't look like McCain is guy who is going to fix it.

"Out of Touch Economics"

Okay, finally "No Drama" Obama starts hitting back in Republic-esque style. But like it matters what I say or think. Back to "Family Guy".

Noun, Verb, POW.

How does being a POW automatically qualify McCain to be President? He was sitting in a prison cell for 5 years. The intelligent thing to do would be to escape. He needs to start chilling on the POW stuff. It's getting to the point that when he's talking about the Iraq War, you got wonder if he's REALLY trying to relive and win the Vietnam War?

During the primaries, Biden said all Guiliani ever says in a sentence is a "noun, verb and 9/11". McCain it's "noun, verb and POW."

"The Elusive Bottom"

John Rosenberg’s Merrill Lynch economist sharp analysis of the economy:

"We are in for harder times, more bankruptcies, a major shift toward frugality and more saving, smaller cars, smaller houses, lower stock prices, lower home prices, and a handsome return from 10-year Treasuries. But the world will not end."

Back to the 70's again.

Beijing's Olympic Size Bargains

This is a great video epitomizing the sport of bargaining. Actually, its probably more of an art, than a sport. When traveling we engaged in this art fairly regularly, and especially when it was our turn to cook for the group. The group leaders would drop us - the cook group - off in some random roadside market and hands us a $100 or so, enough to feed 18 people for three meals (B,L,D). The first few times the experience was a little intimidating, but after getting over the cultural fear of negotiating. Feigning insult by their requested price, walking away only to return again is all part of the theatrics and charade. Most of the time the charade was a lot of fun and you'd psych yourself up before entering the market place. Then again, there were also other days when you couldn't be bothered to bargain - it's not without effort - and they'll quote a price of $2 for ten pounds of potatoes, and you know if you bargained you could get it for $0.25, but why bother! Hand them the $2 and be on your way.

Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)

Ehhh, it was okay, but not great. Then again, I've noticed my film watching pleasure seems to have evaporated. I used to love watching films, especially in grad school. I'd watch every and any film. Last year, other than "Superbad" (which I thought was hilarious) and a few other films, there weren't a lot of films that I enjoyed. As film watching is starting to become more and more mundane, I'm enjoying less films. Possibly it's just a passing phase. I hope.

Screenplay Feedback

Slamdance offers a service were screenwriters can submit their screenplays and for a nominal fee have an anonymous professional screenplay analyst read it and comment on it. The comments are sometime very basis like “what works” and “what doesn’t work” to very specific suggested changes. I submitted two screenplays. Below are excerpts from one screenplay "Growing Up Catholic".

Commenter #1

We consider this a very fine comedic drama. And we include all three Henrys in that commendation. The storyline builds simply, clearly and effectively. We are by no means criticizing the caliber of the dramatic writing when we say the probable cost of the project is so very modest that it could almost be done on the budget for a student produced feature film. Yet, the script offers so much story value in terms of just the right degree of humor for what remains a compellingly serious story with something important to say. Effective seriocomedy, such as this script has, is an extremely difficult and precious effect to achieve. We commend the writer for having so well achieved such a seriocomic effect.

The genius of the element is that it works because of the comedic role the alter egos are ultimately given in the treatment. Were the alter egos to function as strictly serious characters and only in strict serious context the element would have come off as content inappropriate to a naturalistic drama, or improperly mixed (inconsistent) naturalistic and supernatural genre material.

Commenter #2

The author has made a rather unfortunate choice to use “camp” to tell what should be a heart wrenching story of alienation, dogma and intolerance. The choice to have Henry talk to incarnations of himself at other points in his life does not work. It is a very unsubtle and clumsy way of showing us Henry’s inner struggle, and I am very suspicious of its effectiveness should it ever be rendered to screen. This story is too good and important to belittle with campiness.

The depiction of heaven is also very campy and it takes away from the seriousness of Henry’s odyssey. I wanted to get emotionally involved in Henry’s struggle but was constantly side tracked and taken out of the drama every time his incarnations appeared, as well as in those moments when God starts appearing.

I'm finding the hardest aspect of being a screenwriter is the varied comments. Some people like, even love, my screenplays and others HATE them. It’s not something I’m accustomed to. Who do I believe? Are the people who say they like them just being nice? Or was it the "little retarded girl" who wrote the positive comment? Why can everybody like my screenplays! It would be so much easier.

In addition to the screenplay review service that Slamdance provides, the screenplays are automatically entered into a competition. I was hoping for at least one of my two screenplays to make it into the top 10% of the contest this year, but it doesn’t look like that will happen, especially when one commenter loves it and the other one hates it. I received a similar split decision response on my other screenplay "Thou Shall Not."

Where do I go from here? I’m not sure what is next.

Independent Filmmakers Conference

To divert my attention from the plethora of Presidential Election News, I signed up for an Inpedendent Filmmaker Conference next month. I've starting to realize that no matter if I spend hours on the internet reading about the election daily or I read nothing about the election from now until election day, the outcome is going to be the same. My reading the election news isn't going to change things.

My objectives for the Filmmakers Conference is a little more offers to a be a little more productive. There're numberous speakers and a chance to make industry contacts. I really need to start putting myself out there and start making connections.

A bonus. Kevin Smith is one of the keynote speakers and a true independent filmmaker.

Stupid Election

Enough of this STUPID up coming election. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with it. New focus: I decided not to pay attention to it until after the election. Yeah, right. It's just a waste of time. No, it is really. And there are much more productive ways to waste time! I'm going to buy season tickets to the Mets or Yankees instead. Or maybe buy the first season "Gossip Girls" DVDs. There has to be someway I can waste my time more productively.

Obama Is In Big Trouble

It’s becoming more and more apparent that Obama will lose the November election.

McCain’s campaign has gone negative and on the offensive. Obama refuses to go negative. If he doesn’t, he’s going to lose in the fall, it’s that simple. And it will be his fault.

All Obama has to do is show a little gumption, get pissed off, tell a few misleading facts, lie. All politicians lie. Why does Obama think he’s above telling a few misleading lies? Clinton did it (Monica Lewinsky). W. Bush did it (Iraq War). We live in a culture of lies. Lies don’t have the social stigma they once did. George W. Bush got re-elected based on lies. As a culture we hear so many lies everyday, that we don’t care anymore.

This is one of the best NYTimes Op-ed pieces I’ve read in a long time. It describes how, even though the human brain knows something is a lie, the human brain will tends to overlook the fact that it’s a lie, if the lie reinforces beliefs already held.

About six months ago, I thought it was impossible for Obama to lose the election. I don't anymore.

Revelation

While watching McCain and Obama speak at that mega church thingy, last night I had a REVELATION: McCain isn’t George W. Bush. And while I hate George W. Bush for lying to the American people about the war in Iraq, I realized I don’t hate McCain. He seems like a decent person - old, possibly to old to be President, and without a doubt reliving the Vietnam War everyday - but a decent person. Admittedly, I was a huge Reagan back in the day. Especially after visiting the White House at the impressionable age of 19 and hearing Reagan speak. Since then I typically leaned Republican until 1992, that is, when I didn’t care any more. At that point in my life politics seemed stupid. I was in grad school and my world consisted of classes and research. It wasn’t until it became apparent in 2003 that George W. Bush led the country into a war on false pretenses. Having traveled to war ridden areas, I honestly believe no human should have to live in the mists of a war, if it can be prevented. Wars have a time and a place. Bombing Iraq was not the time, nor place.

UPDATE 8/18/08: Part of my shift in opinion of McCain was how well he answered the questions, especially the question about the three people most influenced his life. Evidently, he wasn't in the "cone of silence", where he was suppose to be, he was in his limo on route to the mega church. I'm sure his limo has a TV. The same questions posed to Obama, were also posed to McCain. McCain did seem a little too prepared.

But this is clearly an example of how much better the Republicans are at running a campaign. The know a head of time, that the two candidates are going to be asked the same questions, so why not arrive late listen to the questions a head of time, and be better prepared. It's not oncology.

Approval Ratings: The Public v. McCain

Obama Slipping in the Polls

The latest polls still have Obama slightly ahead with 300 electoral votes vs. McCain's 238 but his lead has narrowed, substantially. Last month the same website had Obama at 352 vs. McCain with 186.

Similarly another website has the race even closer Obama with 288 vs. McCain with 250, compared to month when Obama was at 295 vs. McCain at 243.

A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

That Sucks

The upstairs neighbor got robbed. She and her son didn't have much, but they took what they had. No one else in the building got robbed. Still it's a little creepy. It happened during the afternoon.

McCain For President

Cycling in Beijing

NYTimes covers Jason McCartney, a U.S. Olympic cyclist, as he takes in the the sights of Beijing on a vehicle he knows best experience cycling in the city.

His escapade brought back memories .

A Day at the Zoo

Jelani (pictured), my friend Diana's son, was visiting his godmother Maureen (pictured), who lives five minutes away from the zoo.

Dazed and Confused

If They IM'd: Paris Hilton and John McCain

Excellent! Read it HERE .

Maybe John McCain shouldn't have inserted Pop Culture, and one of it's reigning queens, into the campaign

He's the Oldest Celebrity in the World

Paris responds to wrinkly, white-haired dude.

"He's old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in buckets."

"See you at the debates, bitches."

Mets vs. Padres

I don't know how people can actually sit for four hours and watch grown men chase a ball. Every time my mind would drift (about every 10 minutes) I tried to refocus on the game, but it was tough.

My brother Ken's daughters, Gianna and Josephine. It was Josephine's birthday and she's a huge Mets fan, so I promised to take her to a Mets game. Next year, I'm thinking movies, maybe "Bad News Bears".

RTRV Film Shoot

Behind the scenes still photos of the shoot I worked on are posted HERE.

And a news article about the film in the Clifton Journal posted HERE .

Maybe I Spoke To Soon

McCain has had a recent surge in the polls, now that Bush re-election team has taken over his campaign. And it's clear the Republicans can run a campaign. They make it visceral, not cerebral. New polls show the Electoral Vote at: Obama 311 vs. McCain 227. Another poll site shows the Electoral Vote at Obama 295 va. McCain 243 . The Swiftboat Ad challenging John Kerry's Vietnam War Record didn't start appearing until August 4, 2004.

Barack Obama on Britney Spears and Paris Hilton

Washington Post writes "By featuring Paris Hilton and Britney Spears in an attack ad against Barack Obama, the senator from Arizona has risked charges of silliness to draw attention to his frequently overshadowed campaign."

The ad makes McCain appear REALLY desperate.

Similarly, McCain's campaign is trying to portray Obama as an elitist and out-of-touch with the people.

How is Obama an elitist? He was raised by a single mother, put himself through college, and earned a living as a community activist in the Southside slums of Chicago. Granted Obama is wealthy. He earned his wealth from the sales of his books and his wife's salary.

On the other hand, McCain dumped his first wife after returning for Vietnam as a P.O.W., aquired millions by marring a trophy wife/beer distributor heiress, wears $500 shoes, and owns 8 or 9 houses along with his wife.

It's going to be really hard to portray Obama as an elistist.

National polls indicate November to be a tight race based on the popular vote, but the POTUS is not elected by popular vote, he (she) is elected by electoral vote. And the electoral vote count via a summary of ALL state polls has Obama at 352 vs. McCain at 186.

A candidate needs 270 to win. Bush beat Kerry by 286 to 251 in 2004.

Obama's electoral votes have been growing weekly. If he receives 370 electoral votes, it's considered a landslide. It beginning to look like a landslide is possible.