I.O.U.S.A. on Oscar Shortlist, National Debt on Twitter, and more

A chance to expose how extremely in debt our country is.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Peter G. Peterson Foundation <info@pgpf.org>
Date: Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 11:15 PM
Subject: I.O.U.S.A. on Oscar Shortlist, National Debt on Twitter, and more

In This Newsletter I.O.U.S.A. Makes Academy Award Short List | Follow the Debt on Twitter David Walker Roll Call Special | The Government We Deserve I.O.U.S.A. Makes Oscars Short List For Best Documentary Feature We're proud to announce that our critically acclaimed film I.O.U.S.A. has just received another honor - and with it, the film is now a step closer to earning one of the highest awards a documentary can receive. I.O.U.S.A. is officially on the short list for an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category. The film, directed by Sundance veteran Patrick Creadon (Wordplay), is among the 15 documentary features that will now advance in the voting process designating the final five nominees for next year's Academy Awards. An Academy Award nomination would be more than just an honor for I.O.U.S.A. With the audience that the broadcast attracts - more than 30 million for last year's ceremony alone - an Oscar nomination would be another chance to show the entire nation just how alarming our current economic situation really is. Watch I.O.U.S.A.: Byte-Sized - The 30 Minute Version of I.O.U.S.A. So continue spreading the word about I.O.U.S.A., and then watch to see if the film earns a coveted position as one of the final five nominees. The Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009. The 81st Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009. For more information about I.O.U.S.A., or to view our 30-minute "byte-sized" version of the film online for free, visit www.IOUSAtheMovie.com. National Debt Clock Ran Out of Digits Now Follow the National Debt on Twitter. In October, the National Debt Clock in New York City ran out of digits because of the escalating fiscal burden on our government. The clock serves as a reminder to everyone who passes that the government owes more to the public (in the form of Treasury bills and savings bonds), and more to itself (in the form of money it borrows from one pot to spend on another) with each passing single day. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation has found a way for everyone to follow the debt using Twitter at http://twitter.com/nationaldebt. What is Twitter? Twitter is one of the newest social networking services through which each user answers the question "What are you doing?" using 140 characters or less. The answer to that question is known as a "tweet," and it's visible by those who "follow" you. By "following" others, you'll get their latest updates. It's free, easy to use, and by "following" the national debt on Twitter, you'll receive a daily "tweet" of the national debt as reported by the Treasury Department. Although this official number is the most commonly-cited national debt, it doesn't scratch the surface of the actual federal fiscal burden. Click here to learn more. Visit http://www.twitter.com/nationaldebt to start following the national debt today, and whether or not you're on Twitter please help spread the word! Congress, New President Must Put Our Fiscal House in Order By David Walker, Special to Roll Call Great challenges can bring great opportunities, and the current economic crisis is no different. As President-elect Barack Obama considers how best to turn the economy around, he needs to focus not only on today, but also on how to return the country to a more fiscally responsible and sustainable path over time. Our nation's short-term budget deficits will unavoidably get worse before they get better, due in large part to the current recession, recent and future "bailout packages," and a likely dose of additional economic stimulus that hopefully will be targeted, temporary, and reasonably sized and structured. As a result, Obama will need to juggle competing demands in a much tougher budget environment than he and his economic team anticipated during the campaign. Read More... David Walker is the President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and served as the United States Comptroller General and head of the General Accountability Office (GAO) from 1998 to 2008. You can read David's bio here. The Government We Deserve By Gene Steuerle At last the election is over. Yet there is no rest for the weary. Not two hours passed before President-elect Obama was being called upon to act. Many demand that he immediately propose reforms to their favorite programs, especially those he supported during the campaign. Yet the most dangerous thing he can do at this point is to jump into making individual, one-off policy decisions, especially before he's got a full budget picture of how everything adds together - not just for this year, but for the eight years he hopes to be President. Read More... Gene Steuerle writes The Government We Deserve column regularly, and serves as the Vice President of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. You can read Gene's bio here. *You are receiving this e-mail because you registered at www.PGPF.org or www.IOUSAtheMovie.com, or because you signed up through another site to receive messages from the Peterson Foundation about the fight for fiscal responsibility. If you feel you are receiving this message in error, or if you would prefer not to receive e-mails from us, please click here to immediately unsubscribe.