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After a long summer of great concerts over at the Greek Amphitheatre in Griffith Park, this Sunday, November 16, is the venue's last for 2008. And what a great way to end it with jazz greats including local jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. The night will also feature the amazing McCoy Tyner Trio and the Ellis Marsalis Quintet. LAist is giving away a handful of pairs of tickets away (you can also buy tickets here not to mention a pre-show wine and cheese meet and greet with the artists).
To enter this contest, comment on this post below about what you think one of President Elect Barack Obama's top priorities should be when he takes office.
Here's how the contest works:
- Enter the contest by making a comment on this post. Comments must fit the criteria, stated below.
- The criteria of the comment is that you write what you think one of President Elect Barack Obama's top priorities should be when he takes office.
- The contest closes at 11:59:59 a.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2008.
- A group of qualifying entries will be randomly selected to receive a pair of tickets and will be notified via the e-mail connected to their LAist.com login. They must confirm the receipt of the e-mail by 12:00 p.m., Friday, October 31, 2008 or the tickets will be released to another winner.
- Tickets will be held at the will-call pick up at the event
Good luck!
Photo by McCoy Tyner via his MySpace page
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President Obama should first and foremost focus on the economy when he takes office.
I think one of the top priorities the president elect should focus on is uniting both parties. There are still conservatives who question Obama's politics. Our country and economy are hurting and only through a united front with united politics can we overcome this crisis. It is important for the president elect to hear out both sides and find solid compromises that will benefit everyone.
I think the economy should be his primary focus, escpecially concerning the "disappearing" middle class. However, the issue of health care is also important.
a new national energy policy to reduce our use of oil and coal
I think President Obama should stamp out and eradicate the surperflous redunencies in the current administration.
President-elect Obama has his policy issues handed to him on a silver platter. Everything by necessity will revolve around the current and worsening economic state. However, what I think he can and will focus on is the same thing that got him elected. Change, bottom-up, grass-roots style. His real challenge is to encourage Americans to rally to the cause like we haven't done since WWII. He is all about inspiration; inspiring us as citizens and non-citizens to work together, and sacrifice together, for the betterment of our country.
The economy is the obvious (and it seems to me, the correct) answer. As part of that though I'd really like to see the country move toward more of a "green" economy. It seems like a no-brainer in terms of potential growth as an industry--which would help us to remain a worldwide economic leader, and in terms of moving toward a more balanced relationship between man and earth.
His first priority should be to stabilize the economy. This is the key issue that will allow him to accomplish everything else in his agenda.
I believe he should sign an executive order that outlaws the use of torture and returns basic human rights to those prisoners in Guantanamo and elsewhere who are being cruelly mistreated under the auspices of U.S detainment. This will return a significant amount of internationl legiitmacy to our nation, and begin heling the wounds we have been pouring salt into since 9/11. It will also put us back in line with the rules of the Geneva Convention and restore our moral standing in the world.
Then comes the economy...
Obama's top priority is to forge real working relationships and understandings with other prominent heads of state in order to navigate the global economic downturn as a collective whole. Unilateral policies will not pull America out of the recession.
With both the economy and foreign affairs in mind, I think Obama should immediately work on creating a schedule for withdrawing troops from Iraq, which would both help change our perception outside the US and eventually lower the costs of our defense spending. That is money that is better off either not being spent (in such huge amounts) or being spent on domestic programs to help our economy.
President Obama definitely needs to address the American economy and our role in the global economy.
Then I think he should get started on dealing with the next steps in Iraq and Afghanistan while working on a comprehensive healthcare plan!
I gotta' agree, it's the economy, stupid.
like everyone else, we need to take care of the economy first. I know enough folks looking for work out there...it ain't pretty. I work freelance myself and I see this affecting my work. If I had a regular 9-5 gig, I probably wouldnt be as worried...
Increasing the transparency and accountability not only of his administration, but of all levels of government.
Torture.
America cannot tolerate torture as official policy. He doesn't need to go through congress and he doesn't need a long, complicated proposal. He can cut off that stain with a swipe of the pen and let us move on from there.
I think the first step should be to restore confidence in both the government and the economy. An interest and optimistic approach to both would go a long way in improving them. He could do this by instituting an official "strut and swagger" day, having bank tellers yell "ka ching!" when they count out your money and then give you a hi 5, and letting everyone celebrate 2 birthdays per year.
Enforce the promise of transparency by compelling the Federal Reserve to identify the recipients of almost $2 TRILLION in emergency loans. Seriously, why won't the feds readily divulge this?
Ask any of the musicians playing this sure-to-be stellar show and I'll bet you'll find one hell of a good priority for Barack Obama: pump up arts funding in our public schools.
There are a thousand-and-one things to fix in this nation and all of them are important. Few are more vital than arts education. We need to re-ignite the imaginations and dreams of our children.
Barack Obama's top priority has got to be focusing the time and money of this government on finding a dog for the White House that is not from a puppy mill. This is the number one concern for rich white people, and should be for the rest of the country.
Just kidding. Fix the economy, stupid.
President Obama's first priority should be to rescind the many unnecessary and unconstitutional expansions of executive power by the previous administration by way of reversing executive orders and rescinding signing statements. This includes closing the Guantanamo Bay prison facility. This would be a bold statement to the country and the world that we are still a country that values liberty and believes in a system of checks and balances.
President Obama first needs to find some way out of the economic mess we're in. I'm talking some way that doesn't involved dumping billions of dollars on the institutions that made the mistakes that got us here. Reform the SEC, reform mortgage qualifications, and get rid of conflict of interests in the credit-ratings companies. Then solve the rest of the world's problems. For sure!
Taxes. Given his education, thoughtfulness, experience, and communication skills, he should be able to make the case (better than anyone) to the American people that higher taxes for the better off is not an impediment economic growth. In fact it's what the founding fathers would have espoused. Given the number of expenses that future generations will be forced to endure on behalf of the boomers, we might as well get started now finding revenue streams. While it won't matter much as there will be losses for days, fixing the treatment on carried interest for private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds is a safe place to start. Preserving and strengthening the estate tax is good. Raising the top marginal tax rate (slowly) to 40% would be good. He could also increase solvency of Social Security by taxing income above the current cap of $112k at 1% or 2%. This is a relatively painless increase, but would do wonders at ensuring that those who retire or are forced out of work can have at least something rely on.
economy, economy, economy...then get out of iraq, and don't build up troops in afghanistan.
I believe President Obama's first dealings as President was already stated during his acceptance speech, which was revitalizing the economy and patriotism in the U.S. Taking the same course as FDR did when he came into office to revitalize the economy with public works, as well as Clinton and the Americorps program. Obama was very sensitive in using the term "public service" because that can mean many things on both sides of the party lines, including the military, however, I believe it struck a special nerve to the "Joe the plumbers" out there, that stabilization will be the main dish on this menu. Stability and excitement will spark the new trend and provide a fertile area to lay down an infrastructure for all the other agendas, including foreign policy, healthcare, as well as the woes of the federal reserve.