Entrepreneurship For Next Generation Not A "Cupcake Walk"

Entrepreneurship for the next generation was the center of discussion at a roundtable hosted by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.), chair of the Senate Small Business Committee.  The roundtable kicked off with a round of Georgetown Cupcakes, provided by founders Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis, who were accompanied by other frustrated young entrepreneurs from around the country.

“We basically started by maxing out all of our personal credit cards and putting in our personal life savings,” said LaMontagne.  “When we went to expand our business, banks still wouldn’t give us the time of day, even though we were a proven business with a strong cash flow [and] profitable.” 

Landrieu had a very strong opinion of banks who do not extend a line of credit to small businesses with success like Weeks.

“I am dead serious as the chairman of this committee, if we cannot get community banks in America to lend money to businesses like this, maybe they don’t need to exist,” said Landrieu. “We don’t have jurisdiction over banks, but I most certainly can make their life miserable.”

Lynn Ozer, Vice President of Small Business Lending at Susquehanna Patriot Bank, answered the questions young entrepreneurs have been continually asking, Why?

“The banks feel you have to come to the table with something. You can’t be 100% financed by the banks, they expect their to be some capital on your part to be invested in the business,” said Ozer.  “This economy has created more and more entrepreneurship just by the nature of people losing their jobs. What do they turn to but themselves.”

- Robert Hune-Kalter, Talk Radio News Service

Republican Senators Release List Of The Worst Stimulus Projects

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

On Tuesday, Republican Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) released a list of the worst projects created by the Recovery Act of 2009.

Titled “Summertime Blues,” the document lists 100 projects that McCain and Coburn believe to be the worst examples of “waste and mismanagement.” To see the list, click here

Democrats Avoiding Obama In Midterm Campaigns

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

With midterm elections coming up, it is reported that several Democratic candidates are subtly staying away from President Obama on their campaign trails.

“Obviously [Obama’s] ratings aren’t where he wants them to be and that’s going to hurt him in some parts of the country,” said Robert Erikson, a professor of political science at Columbia University in an interview with CNN. “So a Democratic candidate will then think that he or she can show their independence best by discreetly not being present [with the president.]”

For more details, click here.

ISAF Sending Helicopters To Pakistan

The U.S. led International Security Assistance Force will provide Pakistan with helicopters to help the country grapple with the effects of massive floods.

While the helicopters were initially expected to arrive Tuesday, there have been delays due to poor weather. The vehicles will be coming from Afghanistan and will hold U.S. crews.

Seven U.S. helicopters already in the country and operating under Pakistan’s Interior Ministry have rescued 733 people to date, according to the State Department.

Panel Paves Way For Ground Zero Mosque

The Landmarks Preservation Commission in New York City voted 9-0 this morning against granting historic status to a building located blocks from where the World Trade Center used to stand. The ruling opens the door for an Islamic mosque to be constructed on the site where the 152-year-old building will be demolished…