President Obama's Town Hall on CNBC

I've included the video of the CNBC town hall meeting between President Obama and voters. I like to think that CNBC is not too friendly to the President, or unfriendly for any particular reason, so I don't think the audience is stack up for or against the President.

I just think that anyone a President interacts with ordinary Americans, it is worth watching, especially in an election year.

It's called "Investing In America".

Lost Decade - When Does It Start?

We're a couple of years into the recession. Okay, officially, we're out of it with some economic growth. For us on Main Street, the recession is ongoing. The job market is weak and the Feds are a bit worried that we might slip back into more economic contraction.

So, the worry how is that the United States might slip into a "Lost Decade" much like what Japan went through in the 90s.

Will we? And at what point will we are we officially in it?

The WSJ has a good post on what happened to Japan and what they went through provides us with a good lesson on how to avoid it. However, with the country so polarized, GOP and Democrats rather play poltics than work for the national economic interests, and a general feeling that the US has lost its edge, things cannot be looking good.

At least not from where I'm standing.

However, I have to confess that economic policies might stave off a worse economic calamity, it will be up to the American ingenuity and can-do spirit that will bring the US back from this slumber.

For now, I think the public is a bit tired. Tired of Washington, broken promises, and just a general breakdown in trust.

But it's okay. We'll be back. We always do. Each time, stronger than the last.

More at Yahoo (WSJ).

Ecosystem Argument Against Fossil Fuel - More than About Birds

Politico offered a very good and compelling reason for why we need to quit our addition to oil. The focus of the post is on the environment.  However, it's more than just about birds, crabs, and baby turtles.  

We do owe it to the future generations to make sure the planet is not in a worse shape than we took reign of the from those who came before us but more importantly, it's the sustainability of the future we need to concerned about as well.  After all, the future generation will need to contend with 7 to 8 billion humans on this planet, 1.5 billion more than when we first started with in our current generation.  

If we are to discuss oil and the ecosystem, it has to be more than just the environment.  It's also about security, the global climate, and the amount of resources we are using up. The issues of conservation and recycling should be part of he discussion and equation of to any solutions we device.

Naturally, efforts are being made, both small and large - public policies such as trading greenhouse gas and promotion of renewable energy to individuals trading in their SUVs for zero-emission vehicles.  We also have to face the question of the tipping point and whether we are passed that. But regardless of whether we are or not, mitigating our current impact on the whole ecosystem, which includes political and natural, is paramount.

A lot of dates I'm reading about green efforts are twenty to forty years away (2030-2050) - target dates by NGOs and governments to curve greenhouse gas to levels back to those in the 90s or requiring a certain amount of our energy come from renewable sources. Still, there is much we can do today.

More at Politico.

Obama Bored With Blackberry, Let's Help Him Appreciate Mobile And Govern At The Same Time

POTUS is bored with his Blackberry. It’s not because it’s a bad device. Well, it certainly isn’t sexy and cool like the iPhone or the Galaxy but RIM devices never claim to be. Rather, there seems to be very little interaction between President and the 10 or so White staff who might have access.

So what’s the point of such a device? Well, here’s an idea for anyone with some skills to make it happen. President Obama or any future President can take advantage of this.

Politics in Mobility: The McCain Technology Platform

On Sunday, we shared our views making broadband access through the country.  We don't endorse a particular path regarding mobile broadband but we do believe it is essential.

On that note, CNet News has reported that Arizona Senator John McCain's Presidential campaign has issued its technology platform.  It's a worthy read but as to what these statements mean in practice, we won't ever know until it happens, will we?  I glanced at the post and the text of the platform and it is very pro-business, if that's your cup of tea.

Here are the main points:

• Promise to protect intellectual property.
• Keep out regulation.
• Commits to fair and open trade.
• Encourage Investment - clouded with some stuff about capital gains and corporate taxes.  I'm good with lower cap gains taxes but it doesn't make me want to invest more.  It makes me happy I can keep more.  But I'm small fry.
• R&D tax credit to be made permanent.
• First-year expense of new equipment and tech.
• Keep taxation from the Internet.  Unfortunately, it doesn't say anything about the states.  
• Foster a competitive workforce.

Here are a few of particular interests to mobile warriors:

• Wants consumer freedom to choose.  "free to use the applications and services they choose; free to attach devices they choose, if they do not harm the network; and free to chose among broadband service providers."
• Opposes higher taxes on wireless services.  Here is what's important.  The campaign opposses " new state and local discriminatory taxes and fees on wireless services".  
• Will fully fund America Competes Act.  Retrain displaced workers and changes to the community college system.  Targeted programs for minorities and low-income students.  Grants for wireless technology.

And hey!  Guess what?  We're on the same page when it comes to connectivity.  The McCain campaign believes a connected America (we think a wirelessly connected America) is important to "solving the problems of health care, immigration, climate change, and energy dependence all require connecting our citizens to a world-class network".  

Obviously, it sounds great on paper but if Senator McCain does win in November, he will likely have a powerful Democratic Congress to contend with.  Let's hope his past ability to work across the isle translates into a White House leadership in bipartisan efforts to offer 21st Century technology and education for America.  

Here is the link to Senator John McCain's technology platform.  Senator McCain of Arizona is the presumptive Republican nominee for the forty-fourth President of the United States.  

Later this week, we'll bring you the technology platform from the presumptive Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.  

Note:  Onxo will never pick one side over another unless we notice positions or policies that are blatantly contrary to the benefits of mobile  and Web users.  And we're not going to see that during an election year from either side.  Suffice to say, we believe there is a balanced policy that can weigh the interests of wireless providers against those of consumers.  


I guess one want to figure out who's best for mobile warriors is to see who's using a Blackberry or iPhone.  Yeah, okay.  Not funny.  Sorry...