An Open Letter to Google

Recently, my Google AdSense account was disabled for the "safety" of Google's publishers. Now first of all, I hate advertising, but one of the things that drew me to blogging was the chance to take advantage of another source of income. In a crumbling economy, a penny earned is a penny saved. Now, progress was slow, with a new blog and not very many viewers, I figured it would take a little while to reach the $100 threshold. In two months, I finally reached this number and was sitting at about $130 when, low and behold, that fateful e-mail landed in my inbox. I was shocked and immediately wrote out my appeal, feeling that I was taken advantage of. I mean, how much revenue had I just earned Google, a thousand, six thousand? Advertisers pay an exorbitant amount of money and every click must make Google a couple hundred dollars.

Now is it just me? Or does it seem like my account has been treated as nothing more than a moneymaking tool and shut down in an act of atrocity and corruption. After filing my appeal, I was told I would receive a response after at least 48 hours and have not gotten anything yet. Doing a little research, I read that people had not gotten a response in over two weeks. That is not how you treat your user Google. Instead of being treated as business assets, we should be treated as human beings, because thats what we are. As it happens to be, I had plans for that $130 dollars that I now have to suspend, and this will lead to the disappointment of a few people, one that is very close to me. Now I understand that as a business, Google may need to disable accounts for the supposed "safety" that they speak of, but in my opinion, Google has no right to take away my money, which earned at least ten times as much for them. I am very disappointed in Google's actions and will not be recommending the AdSense program to anyone as I had been doing until some progress is made in this issue.

Obama's Tax Problem

Lately its all about taxes. Tim Geithner, Tom Daschle, and tax cuts have made Obama's first two weeks a tad difficult, but I still have overwhelming confidence in him.

First of all, the mistakes made by Geithner and Daschle were errors that most average Americans could and would make. Now, this isn't to say that someone of their stature should have had an accountant that knows what he is doing, but alas, everyones trying to save money, and doing your own taxes can help.

Lets start with Geithner. Did his taxes himself with TurboTax software while working for awn international company that does not automatically deduct Social Secuirty and Payroll taxes. Geithner forgets to add these percentages and fails to pay roughly $40,000 in taxes. He pays back taxes and interest and is all good with the IRS.

Tom Daschle failed to declare that someone had lent him a car and driver. Why this has anything to do with taxes is beyond me, but it happened. So Daschle pays back his taxes, over $140,000, and is all good with the IRS as well.

Lastly there are tax cuts that the Republicans are desperately clawing for. Obama has included some of them, but doesnt seem to want to compromise more. This is good, however, because everyone knows that the multiplier effect for a dollar of government spending is greater than that of a tax cut. Marginal Propensity Consume is higher than Marginal Propensity to Save.

So these problems with the nominees can lead to two things. One; the American public sees common mistakes in these two high class men and sympathize with them, which is what seems to be happening. Two; the public is wary of these two Cabinet members and at the first chance will eat them alive, bringing much of the confidence in Obama down. Hopefully, we will never see outcome number two, but it is a possibility.

People Named Paul

People named Paul rock. Well most of them.

Paul Krugman.
Paul Volcker.
Paul Simon.
Paul McCartney.
Paul Newman.

But not Paul Wolfowitz. Sorry.

After reading Paul Krugman's suggestions to President Obama on the economy, one begins to see the staggering horror that this economic downturn truly is. When spending $775 billion will just barely keep the economy from tanking, something is horribly wrong. After 8 years of shoving the our problems under the rug, President Obama has a lot to deal with. I know everyone has been saying this for months now, but with just days till the inauguration, lets hope for the best. I'm all for increased government spending, but I also think a tax equality needs to be reached, whether it be with new rates or a new tax code. Five days and counting.

Here's to 2009

Here's to 2009. Hopefully it will be all that we expect. The Obama presidency can only bring hope from now on, instilling confidence in the nation. An end to our wars, an end to the economic crisis, an end to our oil addiction. A beginning for green energy, a beginning for post partisan politics, and a beginning of a new chapter in America.

The Worst of the GOP

I just read a disturbing story about a top GOP website designer dying in a plane crash shrouded in mystery. Michael Connell, founder of New Media Communications was a skilled pilot and the reason for the plane crash is yet to be determined. Now this is both disturbing and at the same time not surprising. So I thought back on all the "mysteries" that have occurred in the past eight years and compiled a sort of list.

Lets see first up... the Valerie Plame Affair... somebody in the Bush Administration hears something from the CIA and Robert Novak finds out and publishes an article leaking an undercover CIA agent's name. Eventually, Lewis "Scooter" Libby is indicted for some connection to the leak, but he is most likely just a scapegoat for one of the big boys

Next... Iraq and those damn invisible WMD's? Are there really any nukes? And is Al-Qaeda really based in Iraq? So far, it seems the answers to those questions are no and no.

Abu Ghraib... Since when does the US engage in sick, twisted, torture techniques? Need I say more?

Guantanamo... see above.

Attorney Gate... basically they decided to reject a bunch of smart qualified people for some Sarah Palin clones.

And lastly, those little things, like Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Jack Abramoff, Trent Lott, Tom DeLay, Larry Craig, and I probably forgot a few.

Good old Gipper, always a scandal around the corner.

Senator Franken...? (knock on wood)

Its sure got a nice ring to it. The Minnesota recount has been reviewing the thousands of challenged ballots by each campaign. Most recently, the Minnesota Star Tribune projects that Franken will win by 79 votes. Currently, Franken holds a lead of 266 votes. Could the Democrats win this seat and hold onto to the other seats vacated by Cabinet appointees to hold a 59 seat majority? The chances of the full 59 are dimming, but I can easily see 55 or 56 seats. With less than a month until the 111th Congress, what does a bigger Democratic majority and a Democratic president mean?

Responsible fiscal policy. The only Democrat who has been in office for the past 20 years was Bill Clinton, who managed to create a budget surplus. Wow. We havent had one of those in years.

A Better Global Standing. Democrats are historically less hawkish on foreign policy, but they have successfully led us through two of the biggest wars in history. With leadership like that of Wilson in WWI and FDR/Truman in WWII, we should be able to resolve our war on terror and create a global cooperation against terrorism.

Universal Health Care. It sounds relieving just to say it.

Environmentally Friendly Policies. We could just save the world. And our economy at the same time. Say goodbye foreign oil. Hello solar power.

The Kennedy Question

As a New Yorker, I'd love to see a Kennedy in the Senate. I dont care what everyone else is saying about dynasty politics. We voted the damn Bushes in didnt we? Who's the wise guy now. Then there's the comparisons to Sarah Palin, saying she is the Sarah Palin of Democrats, but about the only things they have in common are boobs and a vagina. First off, Caroline Kennedy has a law degree from Columbia. Second, she has been an active public figure for years now, and served on Obama's campaign and transition teams. Running for a Senate seat isnt running for President, or Vice President for that matter. Its not like Caroline Kennedy is a heart beat away from the Presidency. Was this the case, I might have other thoughts, but shes running to be the junior Senator from New York. Plus all the women I know are saying we need to replace Hilary with a woman. Any better ideas?

There is a great post by Chris Kelly at the Huffington Post. Check it out.