Student Loan Companies -- Destroying America

I just received an email from Citi, my student loan provider, and I am FURIOUS!!

Not only are they draining Americans of bajillions of dollars every year, these scam artists have now taken the time to draft an email telling me why the federal Direct Lending Program will hurt people. They couldn't be more wrong - greedy bastards.

In Obama's budget cuts, he has proposed that the federal government issue all federal loans directly, rather than referring them to private lenders. I remember seeing Hillary stump about this, and nothing on her platform got me more excited than this idea. The loan companies want nothing to do with this, of course, as this would severely slash their profits.

The money that the government saves by not outsourcing these loans to private lenders will go directly to increase Pell Grants, which would allow SO many more students access to college. The email I received from Citi is below, and their reasoning seems to be nothing more than the typical capitalist argument of "let the markets decide." I feel like I become more of a left-wing nut everyday, I realize, but give me a break Citibank.

WaPo has a great article here to make sense of what Obama is doing.

May 7, 2009


Dear CHARLES LEIZEAR,

Thank you for the opportunity to help you obtain the education of your choice. As a student loan provider for the past 50 years, Citi has provided financial aid assistance to millions of students and parents nationwide.

Given the challenging economy and continued increases in the cost of higher education, it is critical that the U.S. student lending system serves the best interests of students and their families. If you believe that competition and choice among student loan providers is valuable, you have an opportunity to make your voice heard.

Why Get Involved?
The government budget outline proposes offering federal student loans solely through the federal government's Direct Lending Program starting July of next year. While this proposal will not impact a borrower's ability to obtain a federal student loan, it will eliminate your ability to choose a student loan provider. It will also substantially increase the national debt since each and every federally-insured student loan will be funded by the Federal Treasury through the issuance of treasury securities. This proposal impacts you as a citizen - both as a taxpayer and as a borrower.

Why Does Competition And Choice Matter?
Without private lender involvement through the Federal Family Education Loan Program, students and their families will not enjoy the benefits that competition has made possible for more than 40 years. This competition has provided not only a choice of lenders, but also innovative products and services, such as:

• a variety of borrower benefits that lower your cost of borrowing
• financial literacy programs that educate you on how to borrow responsibly
• web-based tools and resources to advise you about your financing options
• default prevention services to help you pay back your loans

Competition also has driven increased customer satisfaction as a result of the responsiveness, personal attention and on-campus support that student loan lenders have provided to borrowers and schools nationwide.

Make Your Voice Heard
If you value the ability to shop for, evaluate and choose your student loan provider, make your voice heard by contacting your Members of Congress and by signing one of the online petitions that support borrower choice and competition in federal student lending.

Sincerely,

The Student Loan Corporation

Secretary Clinton - Greatest American

I'm currently watching Hillary's welcome remarks at the State Department ... it makes her campaign rallies look tame. Her hair is amazing, the crowds are growing wild, and she looks absolutely stunning. Very exciting to see her passion behind everything from national security to development. Obama and Biden came to State yesterday to show their support - I'm so excited to see how things go!!

One of my fav lines: "There is nothing I welcome more than a good debate!" .... ohhh how I miss those

Ahhhhh ::swoon:

The Era of Clinton, Remembered...

Next week we'll officially enter the Obama Era, but before we do here's a quick (and totally indulgent) reminder of the good old days of Clinton (The First)'s reign. I promise this will be the last Clinton remembrance/ Clinton "shoulda been" for at least a little while. Old folks will remember that "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow" was WJC's campaign anthem...

Enjoy!

I don't like the name Roundup anymore...

* Via TechCrunch, here, who gets these deets from Glassdoor, we have the best and worst places to work for the year.  I have taken a select few of the Top 20 to work for: Netflix (3), Whole Foods (6), Google (7), Caterpillar (16), and Apple (19).  The number 1 and 2 worst places, respectively to work are DHL Express (USA) [luckily they won't have to worry about that for long :-/] and United Airlines.

* BP is offering free WiFi at gas stations?  USA Today, here, seems to be under that impression, so we don't know if its actually fact or completely made up.  Interesting idea BP, hoping to be the next hangout?

* Rebuilding Place in Urban Space has an interesting take, here, on Washingtonian's article about Arlington and Alexandria possibly becoming the 51st state.  Why doesn't DC join in on the action?  Makes sense to me ... better than retrocession into Maryland.

* Engadget has the scoop on Ford's self-parking car - just something else that lazy Americans really need.  It should be available in two Lincoln models by 2010 ... interesting.

* Lifehacker has the deets on how to learn sign language - here.

* GGW thinks that Apple should stop toying around and design a building that the Georgetown ANC would actually like - something in the federal style.  If they wanted glass, stone, and metal - they can go build in Gallery Place or Logan.  Good point - here.

* The Clintons will be with America's Mayor on NYE assisting him in dropping the ball in Times Square.  Excitement.  Via Perez - here.

* Columbia Heights Streetscape project website is up and running - here.

* New Georgetown blog ... I personally like Vox Populi, but I'll be adding the Georgetown Metropolitan to Reader to check it out.  I'll let you know what I think.  Of particular note is that Mr. GM (as he annoyingly likes to call himself), has found the back door into Nextbus' WMATA page.  Go here and select your route, then select your stop - and you have the next bus information ... nice!

* LOL ... Cite H:

* Got an hour and a half to kill ... or just want to see a really great documentary via Joe.My.God. - The Times of Harvey Milk is up on Hulu.  I embedded it below, but you can feel free to click through because I think it'd be annoying to watch in this window.  The full link is here.  Watch:

Clinton, Russians, and Gays

Hello and Happy Monday! I haven't had to work in almost two weeks due to my fateful trip to Pittsburgh, so it's been a bit of a rough and hectic morning back at work in DC.

Luckily, I've had the time to look at some of the day's goings-on. In addition to some of the stories from SHEAm (including the new library policies..) , here are a few I'm following:

** Bill and Hillary Clinton are among the most admired people in America! USA Today (I know, hardly a Pulitzer shoe-in...) conducted its annual poll and found that Barack Obama tops the list of admired men (the first president-elect to top the list in more than 50 years) while Hillary Clinton topped the most admired woman list this year and has won 13 of the last 16 years!. While it's admirable that Obama tops the list, President Bush has topped it for the last several years, and presidents are commonly the headliners.

More interesting to me is that Hillz can lose her presidential campaign and still hold the number 1 slot, especially given all the attention for Sarah Palin these days. Go Hillary!!

For the record, Palin was 2nd, Oprah was 3rd, Condi 4th, and Michelle Obama 5th. On the male side Bush was a distant 2nd, John McCain was third while Pope Benedict XVI, Rev. Billy Graham, and Bill Clinton all tied for fourth.


**In other political news, the Republicans are at it again. In the fierce fight for the Republican National Committee Chairmanship, the hits have turned racist. RNC candiate Chip Saltsman's gift to the members of the RNC (who elect the Chairman) was a CD supposedly set to lampoon liberals. Among the titles: "We Hate the USA", "John Edwards' Poverty Tour," "Wright place, wrong pastor," "Love Client #9," "Ivory and Ebony," "The Star Spanglish banner," and worst of all "Barack the Magic Negro," a spoof of "Puff the Magic Dragon". Unsurprisingly, several of these first aired on Rush Limbaugh's show. While it's one thing for an 'entertainment' figure to broadcast these (though still hard for me to believe), it's much worse for the potential leader of a major party to flagrantly distribute these as a means of campaigning. It's so absurd it's almost comical to think that a candidate for the GOP (a party with at best a reputation (fair or not) for being a generally exclusive club of olf white rich men) sending out such blatantly racist material in an effort to gain votes. SNL couldn't have written it any better.

While many have come to Saltman's defence, including Ken Blackwell, an African-American competitor for the RNC Chairmanship, even some in the GOP leadership are reaizing how bad this kind of stuff is for the party. Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer had this to say:

"As the GOP Chairman in one of our nation's most ethnically and culturally diverse states, I am especially disappointed by the inappropriate words and actions we've seen over the past few days," Greer said. "I am proud of those party leaders who have stood up in firm opposition to this type of behavior."

“In Florida we have worked hard to reach out to ALL citizens to promote the Republican Party's principles and values while ensuring that our commitment to African Americans, Hispanics, and other minority communities is sincere and credible. Actions such as the distribution of this CD, regardless of intent, only serves to promote divisiveness and distracts us from our common goal of building our party.

“Today, the GOP has an unprecedented opportunity to embrace change and inclusion, and we are either going to welcome this opportunity fully or watch it slip through our fingers. We can only achieve success if Republican leaders reject racial or any other acts that divide us and instead embrace what unites us as a nation.”

At this rate maybe the Republicans will just continue to implode no matter what happens with President Obama and the new Congress.


**The Sky is Falling! Now from the WSJ courtesy of Hayes: A Russian academic predicts the end of the U.S.... in 2010. Igor Panarin has been predicting for years that the US would fall apart due to moral and economic collapse that would spark a civil war. Only now he's getting media attention. He's not a crackpot and seems to be well respected in Russia, this is a bit unnerving. While I have a really hard time thinking there is much behind his predictions, it's still a little scary to think about, especially since he's being given some real attention and being taken seriously by some. How will it happen? Well:

Mr. Panarin posits, in brief, that mass immigration, economic decline, and moral degradation will trigger a civil war next fall and the collapse of the dollar. Around the end of June 2010, or early July, he says, the U.S. will break into six pieces -- with Alaska reverting to Russian control.

But what happens to the rest of country?

California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.

Scary thought! What do you think? Is this possible in the next year or two? In 10 years??

Be sure to check out the map at the bottom of the article showing what used to be the US...


** Other news from the wide world of Russia: In a television poll, Russians selected Josef Stalin as the third-greatest Russian ever. Yes, the same guy who killed millions of his citizens in the purges in the 1930s... Good job Russia! Maybe we shouldn't take that last story so seriously...


***Now for some stories from the gay world:

*A direct link has finally proven what most people have known all along: that homophobic families who reject LGBT teens cause great harm to the teenagers. While the findings won't as a surprise to most people, this is one of the first times a peer-reviewed article with significant data will appear in a major medical periodical.

The article, entitled "Family Rejection as a Predator of Negative Health Outcomes in White and Latino Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young Adults", will appear in a January edition of Pediatrics.

Dr. Caitlin Ryan, the Director of the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, who led the project had this to say:

"For the first time, research has established a predictive link between specific, negative family reactions to their child’s sexual orientation and serious health problems for these adolescents in young adulthood—such as depression, illegal drug use, risk for HIV infection, and suicide attempts.

"The new body of research we are generating will help develop resources, tools and interventions to strengthen families, prevent homelessness, reduce the proportion of youth in foster care and significantly improve the lives of LGBT young people and their families."

Some shocking statistics from the study:

LGBT young people who are rejected are 8.4 times as likely to attempt suicide, 6 times more likely to be depressed, 3.4 times more likely to use drugs, and 3.4 times as likely to engage in unprotected sex as others their age.

Hopefully this leads to some changes in policy and practice!

*Marriage! A member of the New Hampshire state house has introduced a measure to allow gay marriages! While NH is ahead of many states by already allowing civil unions, State Rep. Jim Splaine is introducing a bill for full marriage equality. Hopefully he's successful! While there have been some major setbacks recently (read Prop 8), luckily we can still look to the progressive northeast for some sanity. Read the entire story here.

* Victory in LA! A gay couple that has already adopted a young son (who remains unidentified for his own sake) won a victory in Federal Court over an issue in Louisiana. LA authorities had refused to list both fathers' names on a birth certificate for the son (who was adopted out of state). Because both men were legally recognized as the adoptive parents of the child in New York, the full faith and credit clause of the constitution is in effect. Federal District Court Judge Jay Zainey didn't even require a trial, but ruled on the face of the issue that Louisiana must publish the birth certificate with both men's names! Congrats!

More to come later, but this will do for now...

Enough is Enough...

Hello all! It's been a few days since I've posted, so I thought I'd throw something up here. SHEAm has some great posts below and he covers most of the big stories that this week. Definitely take a look, especially his post on Friedman's column and the latest news with DC Circus

Just a quick rant for a moment:

Enough with this Obama-Lincoln business. Ever since election day Obama and his team have been straining credulity to compare the President-elect with our 16th Prsident. It started with this whole team of rivals b.s., then it was the 'transformational' nature of both 16 and 44, the Illinois connection, Lincoln's bicentennial, taking the same train route to Washington that Lincoln did, and now Obama is planning to use the same bible as Lincoln for the inauguration. But let's be clear:

Abraham Lincoln came to office amidst the gravest crisis ever to grip the country and while history has (appropriately) judged him to be one of the greatest presidents ever to serve, at the time things were hardly as clear-cut. Lincoln won a bare plurality of 39.8% of the vote in 1860 in a 4-way race. The Civil War broke out shortly thereafter and it was Lincoln's leadership that helped bring that dark chapter to a close and guaranteed his place in history. One of his many admirable decisions was to he chose a Cabinet consisting of men of different political stripes in an effort to help unify the country.

By contrast, though we are facing a financial crisis that should not be underestimated, we are not facing a crisis remotely comparable to the Civic War. While Obama will surely be tested and there are many unknown obstacles yet to come, we do not find our country on the brink of extinction. Our country is not nearly so divided, and Obama won a much more clear-cut victory. This "team of rivals" the press is making so much noise about is a team of almost all Democrats and nearly everyone is ideologically in line with Obama, even his vanquished foe, Sen. Clinton. I see nothing whatsoever wrong with that and I completely believe that to the victor goes the spoils. But a Lincoln-esque team of rivals? Give me a break.

The roundup...

Quick and easy ...

* Merry Christmas Eve!

* Yesterday GM closed its two biggest SUV factories - Janesville, Wisconsin (a plant which has been open for over 90 years) and Moraine, Ohio.  This move follows in the footsteps of Chrysler closing its Newark, Delaware SUV plant last Friday.  Each of the Big Three is now left with only one plant dedicated to producing SUVs - an odd thought in a consumer society that was once so dedicated.  The Paper of Record reports - here.

* Obama promised change, and people expect it, whether or not he mentioned it specifically.  The Paper of Record reports on people around the country hoping/expecting a massive shift in American food policy from the Obama White House.  I join them in that expectation, considering our food/farm policy is based on almost century old concepts and ideas.  Here.

* The Paper of Record and Danger Room both have leads about the changes that lie ahead for the State Department under Hillary Clinton.  In an era where the Pentagon has become so large that most diplomacy is handled through their staff offices - some argue that a Department of State should just be merged into the DoD.  Thankfully Clinton and Obama are reversing that trend, and at a breakneck pace.  The world needs to know the the US is their friend, not just a mighty military power, and the State Department has set out to do that.  Both USAID and the Foreign Service are recruiting and hiring people in record numbers - preparing for the new roads that lie ahead.  [Foreign service hires, here; Clinton expanding DoS role, here; Danger Room on it all, here]

* Via We Love DC, here - which references WaPo, here.  Why do you never see Metro in films?  Because Metro has the most ridiculous rules ever in regards to filming.  No shooting.  No jumping faregates.  No death.  And of course, no eating or drinking.

* The end of Paper Transfers -- January 4th, I can't wait.

* GGW has the new committee assignments for the DC Circus, chosen by Ringleader Gray.  Tommy Wells has been placed on Graham's Public Works & Transportation committee, which GGW says is a great thing as Wells showed up to meetings when not even on the committee and is very pro-smart growth.  Here.  CityPaper has a full rundown of committee assignments, here.

* WaPo, here, has Michael Brown's appointment to the WMATA Board, as an alternate, by Gray.  And our good friend Jim Bojangles Graham was reappointed.  Bojangles currently serves as Vice-Chairman, and his reappointment will hopefully solidify him as Chairman.  If Bojangles does good as WMATA Chairman, I might think about forgiving him.

I Don't Mean to Rant...

But what is with the President-Elect's decision to invite Rick Warren to speak/give the invocation at the Inauguration?! I've spoken with a good number of people about this today, and while I see some of the calculation that likely went into this decision, and even some of the potential payoffs for Obama, I'm left scratching my head. What happened to the principled man we heard so much about in the run-up to election day?

Now in the interest of full disclosure I'll reveal a few things: I initially (and quite fervently) supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. After much soul-searching and a much-needed catharsis I supported and voted for Senator Obama. While I realize identity politics is a murky bog to wade in to, I think it's clear in today's political climate that identity politics plays a role (whether we like it or not) in governing, elections, and politics.

Apparently I wasn't alone. Approximately 73% of LGBT Americans supported Senator Obama and his pledge of support for equality issues. We raised and donated money, called our friends and neighbors, canvassed, and rallied just like every other community supporting Senator Obama. Unlike many other majority Democratic constituencies, GLBT Americans are not being quite as insistent for Cabinet representation and other concessions. We'd be happy to be certain we can't be fired from our jobs for being gay (though a Presidential appointment here or there would be nice).

I'll admit, I really liked that in many of his major speeches, including his election night speech, Obama mentioned gays and lesbians and promised to be inclusive and sensitive to the needs of this oft-neglected community. Even if he doesn't support full marriage equality, at least he has pledged to work on the military policies, workplace discrimination, and hate crimes that so greatly effect us. But beyond lip-service, the new president must be ready to actually put his neck on the line and be that change he so often speaks about. Will it be popular? Not with everyone, but often the most ingrained injustices are the hardest to make this country face. As the first African-American president I'm sure he's experience that first-hand. But after all the effort we as a community put into his election, the supposed avatar of new politics is ignoring all our work and giving one of our greatest detractors a very prominent victory. How sobering.

I completely support reaching across the aisle, speaking to those who disagree with us, and seeking a common understanding to accomplish the many things Americans will need from our 44th President. But there is a time and place for that. Whatever happened to 'dancing with the one who brung ya'? Or 'to the victor goes the spoils'? Using this time and this place to let a man who has called for a veritable jihad on the marriage equality movement and helped to pass Prop 8 in California is dastardly. Meet with him. Talk with him. Find a middle ground on the issues you can work together on. But granting him this grand pulpit emblazoned with the Seal of the President is simply reprehensible.

I'm sure Rev. Warren has given a sermon or two about turning the other cheek when one has been wronged - but how many more times must the GLBT community be slapped in the face?

In Other News...

Bailouts, Blago, 'Bama, oh my!

Maybe it's just me, but I'm tired of hearing about money we're never going to see again, maddeningly corrupt politicians, and that Obama guy. So here's the real news of the day...


Feudalism is dead! Long live the Queen!
Yes, feudalism. The tiny island of Sark, a 2sq mile pseudo-sovereign part of the Channel Islands (U.K.), has decided to give-in to 19th century convention and dismantle its feudal system. The island held elections on Wednesday and will seat its new legislature in January. Sark is internationally recognized as the very last place on Earth with a feudal system. It's only one baby step at a time though: as a British crown dependency Queen Elizabeth II is still their monarch.

Also of note, the Seigneur (feudal lord) of Sark has the sole right to keep pigeons and unspayed female dogs on the island. Talk about perks...


Viva la vino!
Per DCist, the fight to celebrate Barry O's inauguration in true American style continues. Long story short: DC decided to let drinkers drink all night before/during/after Inauguration Day. A couple of teetotaling U.S. Senators wagged their fingers and said it was a bad idea. So the DC Council Chairman told them to mind their own business. Now there's a petition and all kinds of protesty ways to get involved and Kwame Brown wants to hear from you. So do your patriotic duty!


Poor, Poor Hillz
As if things haven't gone bad enough for poor old Hillary Clinton, now they're cutting her salary. Because of a teensy little section of the Constitution, Hillary's salary as Secretary of State will be $4,700 less than that of current SoS Condoleeza Rice. The Constitution prohibits members of Congress from later benefiting from salary increases they voted for so Hillary will have to return to the former (not-so-shabby) salary: $186, 600.

This, of course, comes on the heels of Hillary investing more than $10 million of her & Bill's money in her less-than-successful presidential campaign. Oh yeah, and then there's all that other debt from the campaign that she's still trying to pay off. Again, duty calls.