Convergence of Relevant Stuff

Last night, President Obama recorded a series of national network and cable news interviews about the urgent need for an economic recovery plan. Watch the video and share it with your friends and family:

Sprint  announced layoffs of over 8,000 workers today across the board and across the country.   Sprint  one of the big three wireless companies continues to real from bad business decisions and bad customer service. The layoffs are the latest  result in the in Sprint’s attempts to  control the  business landscape and satisfy shareholders. Will it work?  It it will be difficult.

Laid off or lose your job at no fault of your own? Hyundai has a deal for you. The Korean auto maker offered a deal where you can return the vehicle you purchased from them, with no questions asked, when you are laid off, suffered accidential death, or any other event that is no fault of your own.  Sound too good to be true? Check out the link to the story. This is the latest in a series of  incentive offered by the car dealer to spur car sales for a  struggling economy.

On January 20, Barack Obama will be sworn in as our 44th president.

We’ve designed some cool shirts to commemorate this historic day. And if we all wear them on Inauguration Day—to school, or work, or to the inauguration itself—we’ll show that Obama’s got widespread support for big progressive change.

We’ll send a shirt to anyone who contributes $12 or more to our big campaign to pass Obama’s change agenda—and we’ll deliver it in time to wear on Inauguration Day. Click here to get yours, then tell all your friends:

http://pol.moveon.org/o-shirts/?id=15212-9160348-HxuZXwx&t=4

Barack Obama has said many times that he can’t deliver universal health care or a sweeping clean energy policy on his own. We all need to do our part.

So we’ve launched a campaign called “Real Voices for Change” to make Obama’s progressive mandate impossible to ignore. We’re organizing grassroots events. We’re putting together a major ad campaign. And MoveOn members are already out gathering messages of support from their neighbors.

We’re going to make sure the voice of the people speaks louder than the HMO lobbyists and oil companies.

But in order to hit the ground running the minute Obama becomes president, we need resources now. And that means we all need to help out. Please chip in $12 or more today, and we’ll send you an Obama shirt in time for Inauguration Day. Click here:

http://pol.moveon.org/o-shirts/?id=15212-9160348-HxuZXwx&t=5

The economy has caused more than enough turmoil in the lives of people. Corporations have mismanaged funds and made many bad business decisions and workers are left to suffer. Many have been laid off and find themselves suddenly in the work force after many years of devoted service to their respective companies.  Companies continue to have a plan  before the layoffs and after.  The ultimate idea is to bring in less experienced workers  and to pay them at a lower salary, all to improve the bottom line. Nearly always the new employees  are brought in without benefits, and many times work as contract employees, saving the  company hundred’s of thousands of dollars.

Another ploy used by numerous companies is to eliminate positions and then distribute the work to remaining staffers. Most layoffs involve severance pay and benefits for a specific period of time. This is usually based on years of service with the company.  The problem is many workers are being laid off after age 50, which   leaves them in a dire position.   At age 50 or above it is increasingly difficult to find work; because employers are  reluctant to hire workers in this category.

How did we get in this position? There is not one clear answer to this question. Mismangement, bad management decisions, and one obvious culprit; greed. Corporate greed has spread across this country like a wild forrest fire and we are paying the price for it in plant closing, bankruptcies and layoffs.  We are in for a  very long haul to  improve a dire employment situation.

This letter was sent to Move On members-

Hundreds of thousands of us nominated and voted, and now the results are in—we know where to focus MoveOn’s efforts for the next year.

We asked you to vote for your three top goals, but after looking at the results, it’s clear that four rose above and beyond the rest.

Here’s how it worked out, in descending order:

1. Universal Health Care

2. Economic Recovery and Job Creation

3. Build a Green Economy and Stop Climate Change

4. End the War in Iraq

(Check the P.S. for a link to the full results, including the percentage of folks who voted for each goal.)

The agenda you set is bold, ambitious—and it is exactly the change America needs.

Of course, these aren’t the only things we’ll work on together—we’ll work on other issues as they come up, too. But the four big goals listed above will be our top priorities.

Over the course of the week, we received more than 78,000 nominations, 1.6 MILLION ratings and 806,707 votes.

And we also received a lot of emails—stories from so many MoveOn members who’re personally affected by these issues. Notes like the one below are a reminder of why these goals are so critical.

“I lost a daughter to cancer in July after a fight she couldn’t win because she had no insurance. When President-elect Obama said no one in these United States should die of cancer because they didn’t have insurance, I knew we had to work to get him elected. My daughter had to go to a county hospital where they died one by one in Houston, TX, one of the cities with the best cancer hospitals. That is when I joined MoveOn and worked with them online and in my city to register and get out the message to vote. My daughter passed away wishing her death would not be in vain. Yes We Did.”—Martha T., Abilene, TX

Click here to read more of these stories on each of the four priorities—and to see the full results for all 10 finalists:

Move on poll results

So, thank you for lending your thoughts, your nominations, and your ratings to this process. It’s a huge, exciting agenda!

The following is a transcript of President-elect Barack Obama’s weekly radio address:

PRESIDENT-ELECT: Over the past few weeks, Vice President-Elect Biden and I have announced some of the leaders who will advise us as we seek to meet Americas twenty-first century challenges, from strengthening our security, to rebuilding our economy, to preserving our planet for our children and grandchildren. Today, I am pleased to announce members of my science and technology team whose work will be critical to these efforts.

Whether its the science to slow global warming; the technology to protect our troops and confront bioterror and weapons of mass destruction; the research to find life-saving cures; or the innovations to remake our industries and create twenty-first century jobs – today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation. Its time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore Americas place as the world leader in science and technology.

Right now, in labs, classrooms and companies across America, our leading minds are hard at work chasing the next big idea, on the cusp of breakthroughs that could revolutionize our lives. But history tells us that they cant do it alone. From landing on the moon, to sequencing the human genome, to inventing the Internet, America has been the first to cross that new frontier because we had leaders who paved the way: leaders like President Kennedy, who inspired us to push the boundaries of the known world and achieve the impossible; leaders who not only invested in our scientists, but who respected the integrity of the scientific process.

Because the truth is that promoting science isnt just about providing resources – its about protecting free and open inquiry. Its about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. Its about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when its inconvenient – especially when its inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States – and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work.

Dr. John Holdren has agreed to serve as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. John is a professor and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvards Kennedy School of Government, as well as President and Director of the Woods Hole Research Center. A physicist renowned for his work on climate and energy, hes received numerous honors and awards for his contributions and has been one of the most passionate and persistent voices of our time about the growing threat of climate change. I look forward to his wise counsel in the years ahead.

John will also serve as a Co-Chair of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology – or PCAST – as will Dr. Harold Varmus and Dr. Eric Lander. Together, they will work to remake PCAST into a vigorous external advisory council that will shape my thinking on scientific aspects of my policy priorities.

Dr. Varmus is no stranger to this work. He is not just a path-breaking scientist, having won a Nobel Prize for his research on the causes of cancer – he also served as Director of the National Institutes of Health during the Clinton Administration. I am grateful he has answered the call to serve once again.

Dr. Eric Lander is the Founding Director of the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard and was one of the driving forces behind mapping the human genome – one of the greatest scientific achievements in history. I know he will be a powerful voice in my Administration as we seek to find the causes and cures of our most devastating diseases.

Finally, Dr. Jane Lubchenco has accepted my nomination as the Administrator of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is devoted to conserving our marine and coastal resources and monitoring our weather. As an internationally known environmental scientist, ecologist and former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Jane has advised the President and Congress on scientific matters, and I am confident she will provide passionate and dedicated leadership at NOAA.

Working with these leaders, we will seek to draw on the power of science to both meet our challenges across the globe and revitalize our economy here at home. And Ill be speaking more after the New Year about how my Administration will engage leaders in the technology community and harness technology and innovation to create jobs, enhance Americas competitiveness and advance our national priorities.

I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery; if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in things unseen, then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity.

Thank you, and happy holidays everybody.