Happy Mother’s Day!

Anti-Hillary Birthday card still on super market shelves (by NewHampster at Partizane)
WTF? I saw this back during the primary but one assumes things like this and the Hillary Nutcracker* would be gone by now. I was getting a birthday card for my 92 year old dad when this card just jumped off the shelf. Nearly a year since she withdrew and American Greetings and Shaw’s see fit to keep this crap on the shelf…

I hope folks … write the people in charge.
American Greetings Consumer Relations consumer [dot] relations [at] amgreetings [dot] com
Shaw’s Super Markets feedback [at] shaws [dot] com

On the other hand, Bill Clinton is doing something constructive for Mother’s Day:
A Mother's Day Message from President Clinton
In honor of Mother's Day, President Clinton and two moms who are leading the fight against childhood obesity in their own communities offer tips on what you can do in your local schools to help kids lead healthier lives.
Click through to watch the video.—Caro

WHCA dinner features jabs at Obama’s use of teleprompters, Michael Steele, and John Boehner’s tan. (Think Progress)
Tonight was the annual White House Correspondents’ Associaton dinner in Washington, D.C. During his speech, President Obama made fun of his reputation for using teleprompters and poked at House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Fox News (Glenn Beck could be spotted pumping his fists), and RNC chairman Michael Steele. As the comedian this year, Wanda Sykes made jokes that were considerably more controversial than the comedians from the past couple years — about Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) and abstinence, Rush Limbaugh’s kidneys failing, and how Keith Olbermann should waterboard Sean Hannity.
Oh, no, President Obama! Don’t mention the TELEPROMPTERS! You’re not allowed to make fun of them! Click through to watch the video highlights.—Caro

Don’t Quit Your Job if you can Help It! (by dakinikat at The Confluence)
April’s employment data was released [Friday]. We now stand at an 8.9% unemployment rate which represents a 26 year high. Every one appears to be spinning away the bright side of over 5[3]9,000 lost jobs with the refrain that at least it’s not as bad as it was in January… [This graph] from the NY Times as presented by its blog Economix … compares the current recession to previous recessions. As you can see, we’re still straight off the cliff at this point.

Actual U.S. Unemployment: 15.8% (Economy Watch, Washington Post)
This morning's news that U.S. unemployment has hit 13.7 million, pushing the rate to 8.9 percent, tells only half the story of this recession. The total number of Americans who are not working full-time but ought to be is actually about 22 million, or 15.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics… The number was 8.7 percent in December 2007, when the current recession began. That means the number of the unofficially unemployed has shot up 7.1 percentage points since then. By comparison, the official unemployment rate has risen 3.9 percentage points since December 2007. This suggests that a greater percentage of people are becoming disenfranchised from the workforce than are getting laid off.

Nevertheless,
American Optimism Grows (Political Wire)
A new McClatchy/Ipsos poll finds the public mood "appears to be lightening," with 55% of Americans saying they think the country is moving in the right direction and only 38% saying it's on the wrong track. Just a month ago, the right track/wrong track margin was 45% to 48%. In addition, President Obama remains highly popular, with 65% of Americans approving of how he's handling his job and 31% disapproving.

But,
World's Happiest Places (Yahoo Travel, thanks to Lambert at Corrente)
Where in the world do people feel most content with their lives? According to a new report released by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, … Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list, ranking first, second and third, respectively. Outside Europe, New Zealand and Canada landed at Nos. 8 and 6, respectively. The United States did not crack the top 10. Switzerland placed seventh and Belgium placed tenth.
No, wait! They’re are all gol-danged SOSHULISTS in them thar countries! Soshulists cain’t be HAPPY, can they??!!—Caro

Under Restructuring, GM To Build More Cars Overseas (Washington Post, thanks to Tengrain at Mock, Paper, Scissors)
The U.S. government is pouring billions into General Motors in hopes of reviving the domestic economy, but when the automaker completes its restructuring plan, many of the company's new jobs will be filled by workers overseas.
We’re lending them money to move jobs offshore?—Caro

Losing Your Job: A Blow to Your Health Too (Time)
Kate Strully, a sociologist at State University of New York in Albany[, in] her new study published in the journal Demography, Strully analyzed a variety of job loss situations — including being fired or laid off or losing a job after the entire company shut down — and found that job loss may indeed trigger serious physical and physiological illness… More intriguing was the long-term effect job loss appeared to have. Even if some of these people found new jobs soon after losing their first one, they were more likely to retain the legacy of poor health from having once been unemployed.

So may we please have affordable health care?
Baucus v. Democracy (by David Swanson at After Downing Street, thanks to Susie at Suburban Guerilla)
I can't recall a better corporate news video segment in at least the past decade than the story that Ed Schultz [aired Friday] on MSNBC in which he interviews Margaret Flowers of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and Senator Debbie Stabenow on the topic of healthcare reform…

Click here for more politics and media news headlines.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com