Video: President Obama speaks at fundraiser for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine

They Got Nothing

Bill Maher tries to answers the question 'How F#@ked Are We?'

It's not time to point blame and we all are in this together. I get that. I also agree with Bill Maher, that there are some who are more responsible than others. Or maybe it is the word 'complicit' that I am thinking of.

As Maher mentions, most of the rest of us, right or wrong, are not experts in finance, although we too made mistakes, engaged in risky ventures such as buying a first home, the big players, the movers and shakers lead the way and set the tone in this country, and apparently around the globe as well.

We already soaked the rich? The rich are hurting too. Maher attempts to redefine hurting. Hurting is when you are used to three meals a day, and now you are only getting one he says.

It is also about where you are getting that meal from. Although it should not be an indignity to ask for help, go to a food pantry, stand in a welfare line to get food stamps or other assistance, it actually is when you have been used to taking care of yourself and doing your very best for yourself and your family.

I doubt that many rich people, although they too have lost during this meltdown, are suffering the same indignities as those formerly of the middle who are now on the bottom.

It's rather a challenge to feel sorry for the rich, and the rich would do well to recognize how fortunate they really are. Folks in the middle and the bottom have to rationalize through these difficult times by trying to see and acknowledge the material and non material parts of our lives that are good; that we can feel grateful for. That staves anger and resentment.

Erin Burnett of Anchor of CNBC 'Street Signs' and Cory Booker, Democrat and Mayor of Newark, New Jersey.

Give 'em heck New Jersey Mom - It's not empathME It's empathWE - ok that was probably pretty lame on my part

Women Like Me--Michelle's speech and PUMAs

by nj mom

Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 09:07:43 AM PDT

By all measures, you’d think I were a Republican.

Having put on hold 10 years ago a very successful career, I am a dedicated full-time mother with three young children who is an active community volunteers and, yes, even occasionally bakes cookies. As a practicing Catholic, I go to church regularly, think life is sacred and work actively to instill a sense of values in my children.

I could be a Republican but yet I am a true progressive Dem, bringing my children with me to political rallies, the Million Mom March, door-to-door canvassing, phone banks, and most recently the Women for Obama event in NYC. I’m not alone—there are millions of women like me. Michelle's speech gave me hope that the Obamas get women like me.

• nj mom's diary :: ::
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While I understand the struggles of the generation before me, I am often frustrated by some proclaimed feminists' narrowness in defining a fulfilling life. I exist in the grey edges of the traditional democratic demographic. I could easily be Republican, but I’m not. Understanding women like me can grow our coalition. An enthusiastic supporter of Obama, I waited and hoped he’d bring a nuance understanding of today’s women’s issues in the same way he has a nuanced understandings of race. With Michelle Obama’s speech last night, I have hope.

If I ask myself, given my profile, what makes me a passionate, active progressive Democrat, it comes down to one main thing: empathy and a deep understanding of the value of community. It is the "we" and not just the "me". read more here