Life after college

President Barack Obama at the State Of The Union

This post originally published here on the Current TV News Blog.

I’ve been out of college for a little while now.

Six months, two weeks and one day to be exact.

Thing is, I’m not totally sure what I’m doing.

Then again, who is?

Options for college graduates are slim in this economy. And recovery isn’t happening overnight.

Jobs — or at least good ones — are still hard to come by.

One in 10 people in this country are unemployed. In California, it’s one in 12.

Fewer than 20 percent of 2009 grads that applied for a job have one, according to this survey. And it’s no better back in school.

State universities have been cutting courses and programs, like labs for science classes and student exchange programs. All with fewer days of education and tuition fees that keep increasing.

President Obama addressed the needs of the middle class during his first State of the Union address yesterday and expectations were high. He has plans on the way to help the job market, reform higher and lower education, cut taxes and keep his presidency accountable.

They’re minor in comparison to last year’s massive bailouts and the struggling healthcare overhaul, but not a bad start.

While the president attempted to bring back some of that hope we’ve all been missing, I was still left uneasy about the state of the nation.

My generation is experiencing the toughest times our age group has ever seen.

Today’s students, while often supported by their parents, have it harder than ever: we’re constantly under pressure to perform.

Between SAT scores, AP classes and GPAs, there’s always a new way of evaluating how qualified we are for the next step.

Yet, when do we have time to actually figure out what that next step is?

Personally, I’m in a hurry to stop losing money. I work part-time and freelance on the side, but the freelance market for writers isn’t exactly what it used to be.

Savings is a thing of the past. While my parents supported me through college, the deal was you’re on your own once you finish.

So I’m thrown into the wild with $15,000 in debt, not enough work in the field and little time to figure things out when rent is due each month.

There doesn’t appear to be any clear-cut path anymore.

“A high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job,” Obama told the nation yesterday. Yeah, well neither does a college degree.

But at least he’s listening. “In the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college” was another line from his speech.

It was our generation that ushered him into office, after all, so we should be entitled to some high expectations.

Obama is promising a $10,000 tax subsidy for community college students and loan repayment reform that forgets a students’ debt after 20 years.

He’s also planning to give tax breaks to parents with kids in college, extend unemployment and create new green jobs.

It all sounds great. Let’s just hope it happens — sooner, rather than later.

For now, empower yourself: understand your student loans, watch the job market, and hold our president to his promises.

What is this? A corporatocracy?

Today, our good friends in the government approved the merging of Ticketmaster and Livenation. The Justice Department, who oversees antitrust policy, says the joint will “preserve competition.”

I sincerely hope they are kidding. If we’re lucky enough to see ticket prices go down, the fees will surely only go up.

The latest in major corporate mergers gives the new company, Livenation Entertainment Inc. an 80 percent stranglehold on not just the concert market, but the music business as a whole.

The merger doesn’t significantly expand the market share of either company. Instead, it creates one company that will have a hand in just about every corner of the music business. – WSJ

This vertical integration gives one corporation a piece of the pie in just about every aspect of music from ticket sales to artist management and concert promotion.

It might as well be Clear Channel all over again. Which, if you don’t recall from the early ’00s, was the corporate juggernaut of last decade, (still) running the majority of radio stations and live music events, along with all the advertising needed to create one giant load of synergy. The conglomerate’s practices weren’t exactly friendly, and it pretty much forced any significant artist to run with Clear Channel stations and venues for fear of being dropped from of all of the subsidiaries.

For a much more recent example, we need only look back a little more than a month. General Electric just sold NBC Universal to Comcast on Dec. 9. With 51 percent in Comcast’s pockets (49 percent is still owned by G.E.), the nation’s largest cable provider now has even more power over what transmits through our tubes and how much it costs.

Consumer choice seems all but lost.

Perhaps today’s merger was unstoppable, but we have most assuredly created one more monster:

Live Nation stages more concerts and concert tours than any other promoter, and owns or operates 75 major venues in the U.S. Ticketmaster sells tickets for the majority of major sports and entertainment venues in the U.S., and has an artist management division that handles the affairs of hundreds of the biggest acts in pop, rock and country. Ticketmaster’s Front Line Management unit represents over 200 acts, ranging from veterans like the Eagles and Journey to newcomers like Miley Cyrus and Kings of Leon. – Wall Street Journal

The only good news? A few restrictions thanks to Obama’s new antitrust chief Christine Varney:

•Livenation Entertainment Inc. will not be able to retaliate against artists that use competitors for ticket services — like when Clear Channel threatened to pull bands like Blink 182 off all its stations in 2001.

•Ticketing and concert promotion will have be sold separately, not as a bundle, within the new company.

•Certain data will not be shared between departments to prevent the stifling of whatever competition is left.

Somehow, I get the feeling government isn’t really working these days. This is a failure of Washington on multiple fronts. These massive mergers are textbook cases for what our country’s antitrust laws are supposed to prevent.

Read the laws for yourself: http://www.ftc.gov/bc/antitrust/antitrust_laws.shtm

“…Certain acts are considered so harmful to competition that they are almost always illegal.”

So much for that.

High school students inundated with video fame

High school Teacher Michael Steinman wants his students to wake up.

Michael Steinman, a teacher at Pomona’s Village Academy High School, inspired his students to create a video reflection on the economic crisis called “Is Anybody Listening?” From left to right, students Chris Schultz, Maritssa Barber, and Joohee Sohn were featured in the now-famous video that earned them a visit from President Barack Obama.

It’s not that they’re falling asleep in class – they’re wide-eyed and talkative.

Rather, the juniors and seniors in Steinman’s Advanced Placement Literature and Composition class at Village Academy High School in Pomona are struggling to finish the year strong.

This is after touching thousands with a heartbreaking video that brought President Barack Obama to the high school during his trip to Southern California in March.

Reflecting on the state of the economy and its effects on their lives, Steinman’s students opened up to the world under his direction, producing a DVD made up of little more than a montage of their reactions to the economic crisis and ongoing recession.

One by one, each student confessed something more tragic than the next in the video they called “Is Anybody Listening?”

The video now has almost 60,000 views on YouTube, and people are listening – the class has had many visitors, from Obama to Whoopi Goldberg, and even a little boy who was moved by their video.

“I don’t think they even know they did it,” Steinman said. “A door has been wide opened for you guys into the world. From the president of the United States on down, you’re known for having made a statement. Are you just going to let the door dangle in the wind?”

The video’s moving effects echoed throughout the country, as the students’ story soon gathered a frenzy of media attention that included a 20/20 special and coverage on CNN, BBC, CBS, PBS, KABC, KNBC and KCET.

“They were inspired by me, but they’ve become inundated with it,” Steinman said. “If they’re gonna get out there and be Ghandis, I at least want them to get a good grade in class.”

Steinman hoped all the attention would fire his students up, but the kids are more interested in graduating high school than worrying about how to change the world.

“I don’t think its hit us yet,” said Maritssa Barba, a 17-year-old junior who comes to tears in the video explaining how her father walked out on her family. “We did it, we saw it as a project, then it got really big. And now we’re just kind of like, ‘Whoah.’”

Barba, who wants to be an actress or an environmentalist, said her dad has come back and her family is doing better.

“My mom saw it before it became a big thing,” Barba said. “She was crying. To see teenagers and see how they’re struggling, she didn’t realize that it was affecting so many people.”

Rogelio Gutierrez, an 18-year-old senior, is still shocked by the attention the video has received.

“We didn’t expect it to go nationwide. It was just a video we were going to make before Obama took office,” he said.

Seventeen-year-old Jose Lopez knows what he and his friends did, realizing a visit from Barack Obama means they made an impact.

“I don’t think we’re important, but we are,” Lopez said. “I mean the president noticed us. If that doesn’t say we’re important, then what does?”

The idea for the video came from conversations regarding the American dream, a dominant theme in class’ reading at the time, “The Great Gatsby.”

With the promise from their teacher that either Obama or John McCain would see their statement, the high schoolers revealed sad, but candid anecdotes about their parents losing jobs, running months behind on rent payments, and having trouble keeping food in the fridge.

“I had 30 kids crying,” said Steinman. “I knew that was pretty powerful stuff.”

The future physicians, doctors and actors from Pomona are the voice of the youth in America right now, but they’re not sure what to do with their newfound influence.

“They haven’t really wrapped their heads around it,” Steinman said. “A kid just wants to be a kid and doesn’t really have burning desire to change the world.”

The students have started helping others.

With Steinman’s help, they have started the Village Fund to make use of all the donations they have received.

There is $13,000 in a bank account right now that the school is finding a way to use for future Village Academy students in need.

“I think this is important not just because the president stopped by here to shake your hands. But he might not be the one that makes change,” Steinman said. “You might be the ones who make the change.”

Commiebama

Courtesy of LA Times

I love how protests and anti-events bring out the most creative opportunities.

Making Obama’s O a sickle and hammer communist symbol is pure genius!

Check out the rest of the stunning photos from the LA Times gallery on tax day tea parties HERE.

Believer

We can all breathe a proud sigh of belief today knowing that Barack Obama took the presidency.

Astounding that 2008 is a true year of progress, though highly disconcerting that gay marriage is banned for the time being. Is it odd that we can amend the Constitution with a 52% majority? Not sure where that comes from, but really…

I’m impressed by the youth turnout — 24 million, at least 2 million more than 2004. Obama really did rewrite the playbook for electioneering. I don’t think any president has made his face to the front of thousands of T-shirts worn by college-age kids. He makes a good face for Obey, that’s for sure.

—- in other news….

On Nov. 25, Fullerton’s The Living Suns will be playing U-Rock at CPP!

These shows don’t always feature bands worth talking about, but these indie prog-rockers put on a great live show. Check em out on Myspace and the buzz they’ve been generating since their recent self-titled release: The OC Register and CSU Fullerton’s The Daily Titan have been spreading the word.