Are the president’s naps more important than yours?

Watching the State of the Union last night while playing your Poland Spring drinking game, you noticed the prez up the ante on minimum wage, proposing to hike it to $9 an hour, which is even more than New York’s Gov. Cuomo was seeking, which is kinda nice when you consider how many laid off professionals end up doing crap jobs for vomit pay these days. And there was talk about overall economic stability, and increasing American output by stealing Apple jobs from struggling Taiwanese workers. But where was the real talk of progressive reform that our nation’s overburdened and overloaded workers are demanding? We’re talking the third rail of office politics: Naps. Naps, not apps! What do we want? “A place to lie down for a few minutes!” When do we want it? ”Sometime around 2:30 would be great!”

We need them, now more than ever, as described in this New York Times story from last week about how relaxation increases productivity. And part of that relaxation is, of course, the simple nap, which does so very much for us, says Science: (more…)

Be sure you don’t upstage the guests of honor. via BET

We’re sure you’re trying to push the memories of the past four years of electioneering, what with polls, percentages, poor debate performances and trying to drink through them. But now it’s all finally over and we can get on with the fact that our taxes have increased thanks to congressional dithering. Oh yeah, and there’s the inauguration on the 21st. If you enter this contest before midnight, January 14th, you could win a free flight to DC, free accommodation, and, unlike the thousands of schmucks standing in the cold, free tickets to the Inauguration Ball. Thanks, Obama Democratic Governors Association. (more…)

Four more years!

We’re sure everybody could use a laugh amid all the power outages and mop-bucket showers while the city recovers from Sandy. And for laughs, where do we turn but the presidential election, where Squarehead McBainpants has all but faded away from the spotlight while Barack Obama goes around being, you know, actually president. So Jimmy Kimmel, who has brought his show to BAM for a week, went to Levels Barbershop in Clinton Hill to ask about Mitt Romney’s chances in the black community. Biting political hilarity ensues. Oh, and Brooklyn-born Kimmel is wearing a Nets jacket. (more…)

Baracktoberfest is upon us.

Sweet Biden of Zion we’re all super political this week. It’s almost like there might be a close national election going on or something. If you believe the theory that Obama purposefully threw the debate to gin up more fundraising and grassroots support (surely crazier things have happened in politics), your latest chance to support him in Brooklyn comes this weekend, and it involves beer. This Four More Beers tasting event at Burnside in Williamsburg on Sunday costs $25 for four beers (plus cheese curds), 80 percent of which goes to Obama’s campaign; or you can upgrade to more expensive packages too. That’s the same day as this ice cream and cupcakes fundraiser, btw. (more…)

Obama supports your ice cream bailout.

For those of you who might have liked to attend yesterday’s Baracklyn fundraiser at Brooklyn Bowl but had no hope of affording the $250 entry donation, here is a much more low-key alternative. The Candy Rush will be hosting an Obama fundraiser this Sunday from 10am-1 pm, at their shop at 735 Franklin Ave. All you have to do is make a $10 minimum donation (cash or check) and you get free Blue Marble ice cream, BCakeNY cupcakes, and live music, which probably adds up to more than $10 all told.

If you have any questions you can contact Raquel: raquelcrowhill at hotmail.com for more information.

Shoe rental is still extra.

So, you want to participate in the the most important election of your lifetime (other than the last presidential election, and the one after this) but you’ve already put in time at the phone bank. Short of committing light voter fraud by not updating your voter registration from its current Pennsylvania swing state status, what else can you do?  The folks behind Baracklyn, an Obama fundraiser being coming to Brooklyn Bowl on Monday, would like you to participate in our democracy the old-fashioned way: by opening your wallet, or just handing it over to them, really. Guests include Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Jonathan Safran Foer, and a performance by Steve Earle (and there’s free babysitting too). Should you do it? Cynical opinion-mongering awaits you below! (more…)

You won’t be calling President Obama. He’s been campaigning since before it was cool.

We here at Brokelyn are very excited about the next presidential election, since our broke asses rely on the government for our fair wages, unemployment and access to affordable health care. I know you’re thinking, “New York State will have no problem re-electing our hipster, dumpster-diving, student loan-paying president! What can I do?” The answer is to think about states that are not New York. Or New Jersey. We can have an impact on these battleground states, without ever leaving Brooklyn, just by using the phone. (more…)

Four years later and STILL no hoverboards?

Are you better off now than four years ago? Well, are you? It’s a dubious framework for a question, especially one meant to define an entire campaign, because there are so many factors involved that go beyond just who happens to be sitting in the Oval Office at the time. But it is, of course, the question the Republicans are hanging their (diamond-studded cowboy) hats on this year. As VP nominee and world’s greatest marathoner Paul Ryan said in Greenville yesterday: “The president can say a lot of things, but he can’t tell you that you’re better off.” Can’t he? (more…)

Outfitters are people, my friend.

For anyone with actually had doubts, Urban Outfitters revealed itself as just another heartless corporation when this whole donating-to-Santorum controversy popped up a ways back. Now the hipster Walmart has eschewed Che Guevara in lieu of a new T-shirt mascot: Mitt “Americia” Romney. This line of Romney shirts would be some mawkish form of irony (UO’s bread and butter) were the election over, much like this Nixon tee, but with the heat still on and the outcome unclear, is there any other way to interpret the wearing of it as an endorsement of Mittens? (more…)