I think trying to tie the recession with "Octomom" was a bit of a stretch. Still, am comforted by the fact that a "Lady Who Lunches" like Peggy Noonan is feeling the recession in the Upper East Side like this lady who barely lunches here in the East Village :

If you want to feel the bruise of what's happened, pick a neighborhood full of shops and go up and down the street. Here's Second Avenue in the 80s. A jewelry and consignment store on 84th has a new sign on the window: "We Buy Gold." Paul is at the counter, spraying the tarnish off a silver chain. How's business? "No buyin', no sellin', no nothin'. It's a joke. People scared. They're in shock." Nearby, an empty storefront, a bar that had been in business only 10 months. The sign on the window—you see it all over Manhattan now—says, "Retail Space Available." Next door, in a small beauty salon, the owner says "We're trying to survive." In September business plummeted. It's down "at least 30%," she says. July and August had been surprisingly good; her clients didn't go away on vacation. In the fall they were fired. "They lost the job, so they don't need to cut and color so much."

In a liquor store just off 82nd, the owner, from India, says volume is still high but profits are down. "In business, if you have a product under $15, is good. People used to spend $70, $80 on a bottle of wine, all the bankers, the young kids. Nothing moving more than $15."

On 81st, the kosher restaurant has closed. On 79th, the Talbots is gone. "Left a few months ago," says the doorman next door.  read more »

Thanks to the efforts of mass transportation advocates led on the ground by Transportation Alternatives, Streetsblog, and, nationally by Transportation For America and in Congress by NYC's own Congress Member Jerrold Nadler , the House of Representatives has voted to increase the mass transit portion of the stimulus package by $3 billion (check here for a blow-by-blow of the debate & vote)

Update. So much for Bipartisanship The stimulus package passed the House Tuesday night 244-188. Not one Republican voted for the stimulus, 11 Democrats voted against. The Times added a great map which identifies the 11 Democratic nay-sayers and GOP allies by district. Moveon seeks ad cash to soften GOP Senators' stimulus opposition.  read more »

I don’t know if you’ve been following it, but the first signs that the in-coming Obama administration will be center-right in character have – on a policy level – emerged in the new administration’s plans for stimulus or recovery spending. Many people like me quietly (or loudly) worried that the cabinet & White House appointments were Clintonian in character. The appointments of Senator Clinton, Rep. Emmanuel and the rest worried me, but I’ve thought that – if the team were led in a progressive direction, having centrist Democrats on board could be handy.

However, Obama-inspired press leaks about the stimulus package have made clear than on a policy basis, the far right of the Republican party may be accommodated with useless tax cuts while the needs of the nation may be ignored. The New York Times and Washington Post carried the news a couple of days ago and its very bad.

Mr. Obama plans a $750 Billion stimulus, $300 Billion of that will be spent on tax cuts . The reason this is a ghastly idea, from the point of view of softening the nation’s deepening depression is that the $300 Billion is – in essence – money thrown away. The stimulus value of the proposed tax cuts is very, very small, as compared to other ways of spending the money.  read more »

This comes from Sustainable South Bronx:

November 12th--'GREEN-COLLAR' JOBS: A Solution to NYC's Environmental and Workforce Ills?

Join SSBx's Executive Director Miquela Craytor on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, from 10 am to 12 pm for a seminar on green collar jobs in New York City.

Across the U.S., labor and political leaders advocate investment in a green economic recovery to boost employment and address climate change. Last year, Congress passed the Green Jobs Act which, if fully funded, would allocate $125 million to train workers in green trades. The Presidential candidates have sought even greater investments in green infrastructure.

What exactly are 'green-collar' jobs--and how can New York City create them?

Location: Theresa Lang Community & Student Center, Arnhold Hall
55 West 13th Street bet, 5th & 6 Aves, 2nd fl., Manhattan

SPEAKERS:
Echo Cartwright, Assistant Secretary for Energy and Environment, State of New York;
Miquela Craytor, Executive Director, Sustainable South Bronx;
Ramón Cruz, Vice President for Energy and Environment, Partnership for NYC;
Ed Ott, Executive Director, New York City Central Labor Council  read more »

The Jewish morning prayer service ends with the Psalm of the day. Psalm 82 concludes the service on Tuesdays, which is also Election Day in this Country. I find it an interesting coincidence that the Psalm, written more than two millennia ago and admonishes hypocritical leaders who favor the powerful over the poor, is read on Election Day. When I read it, I always imagine a biblical era prophet chastising contemporary Republicans.

The Birnbaum Siddur or Prayerbook reads right to left with the odd pages written in Hebrew while the even pages contain translations of the Hebrew text in archaic King James style English. I choose to pray with Birnbaum when it's an available option, over books with easier to understand English, because I'm used to its liturgical translation. Although I know how to read Hebrew and recite some prayers in that ancient tongue, I understand little of the language and pray mostly in English. Using other English translations throws me off.

Containing just 8 sentences, Psalm 82 is among the Bible's shortest chapters. Below is the Birnbaum version of the Psalm.  read more »