This blog is mainly about the spectacular train wreck at The Sacramento Bee and its parent company, the McClatchy Company. But I also post about current events, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, politics, anything else that grabs my attention. Take a look around this blog, hope you enjoy it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday October 23 -- Got news or an update?
If you have news or an update, leave it in comments. . . .
Tom Maguire has the list of people who recently attended a 2-1/2 hour off-the-record briefing with President Obama at the White House:
• Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post. • E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post. • Ron Brownstein of Atlantic Media and formerly with the LA Times. • John Dickerson of Slate Magazine. • Rachel Maddow of MSNBC. • Frank Rich of the New York Times. • Jerry Seib of the Wall Street Journal. • Maureen Dowd of the New York Times. • Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. • Bob Herbert of the New York Times. • Gloria Borger of CNN. • Gwen Ifill of PBS.
Once again it looks like the White House has time for its troops in the media but not our troops in Afghanistan.
Obama: Republicans "Do What They're Told" (Real Clear Politics)
OBAMA: Sometimes Democrats can be their own worst enemies. Democrats are an opinionated bunch.
You know the other side, they just kind of do what they’re told.
Democrats, ya’ll thinkin’ for yourselves. I like that in you, but it’s time for us to make sure that we finish the job here, we are this close and we’ve got to be unified.
Time Warner Inc's (TWX.N) magazine division Time Inc plans another round of job cuts as advertising declines erode revenue, a source familiar with the unit said on Thursday.
The job cuts at Time Inc -- which publishes Time magazine, People, Sports Illustrated and Fortune -- would be at about the same level as the division cut last year, the source said.
Time Inc. cut more than 600 positions, or more than 6 percent of its workforce, in that round.
Whitlock's apology to Limbaugh: Mistakes undermined message (kansascity.com)
Let me first apologize to Rush Limbaugh.
Last week in explaining why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell needed to put an end to Limbaugh's latest publicity stunt, I attributed racially insensitive quotes to Limbaugh that I read in two Missouri newspapers, saw on CNN and confirmed through a Google search.
Prior to posting the article, I never found a denial of these quotes by Limbaugh, and had no reason to believe those statements were not true.
Obama Escalates Feud: Administration Attempts to Exclude Fox News from White House Pool
Just when you thought the White House couldn't possibly do anything to make their bizarre feud with the Fox News Channel an even larger spectacle - the administration manages to take it to another level.
snip
On the Oct. 22 broadcast of Fox News Channel's "Special Report," host Bret Baier revealed a White House pool announcement was offering Kenneth Feinberg, the "Special Master for Compensation," better known as the White House "pay czar" for interviews - all except for one network - Fox News.
Rush: If Fox News Is Talk Radio, MSNBC and CNN Are Pornography
"Obama is out there saying that Fox News is talk radio. I am living rent-free in this guy's head. Fox News is talk radio. If that's true, MSNBC is pornography and Obama likes MSNBC. CNN is child-porn."
White House makes 'enemies' of Bush allies--Wrath rains on Chamber of Commerce, insurers, banks (The Washington Times)
The Obama White House has deliberately placed favored Washington institutions of the Bush years in its crosshairs, a sign of an escalating battle between the Democratic administration and some of the city's pre-eminent power players.
In recent days, the administration has attacked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the insurance industry for opposing key administration objectives, has criticized the nation's largest banks and financial firms for outsized executive pay, and has tried to delegitimize the Fox News Channel by mocking its objectivity.
Pay Czar Acted Alone To Cut Executive Pay (Dear Leader votes PRESENT, again) fox news
White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg did not seek President Obama's approval to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives.
White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg was the driving force behind the move to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives, and did not even seek the president's approval before making his decision.
Beginning Wednesday, most of Newsday.com content will only be available to subscribers of Optimum Online, Newsday, or those willing to pay for it.
Those who are not customers of Optimum Online or the newspaper - both owned by Bethpage-based Cablevision Systems Corp. - will have to pay a $5 weekly fee.
Capping a tumultuous year for business magazines, Fortune is planning to publish about one-quarter fewer issues annually and make other changes, joining the ranks of publications scrambling to reinvent themselves in the advertising downturn.
Fortune's new publishing schedule is part of a remodeling at the magazine that is expected to result in staff cuts and a sharper focus on the long stories that have been its trademark.
It isn't clear yet how many people might lose their jobs.
The revamp is a prelude to broader staff cuts at Time Inc., the Time Warner Inc. magazine unit that includes Fortune, according ...
The Congressional Scam that Failed (American Thinker)
A funny thing happened on the way to one of the biggest scam attempts in history. It got ratted out. And Capitol Hill got an earful.
So the U.S. Senate failed by seven votes to invoke cloture on Wednesday and push forward a bill that even had Washington Post editorialists gagging on its duplicity.
Thirteen Democrats joined all 40 Republicans to reject 47-53 a free-standing Medicare bill, S. 1776, that would have pushed up the national deficit by a quarter of a trillion dollars over the next 10 years.
The reason it's a scam is that by separating it from the proposed $856 billion Baucus health care bill, Obama could claim that he was keeping his promise not to sign any health care reform that "adds one dime to the federal deficit." Sure, just carve it out, pretend it has nothing to do with health care, and dump it on the taxpayers.
That's what passes for "transparency." It's right up there with voting on a bill that hasn't even been written yet, which is what two Senate committees have already done.
Former Bergen County political boss Ferriero found guilty in corruption case (Corzine pal) www.nj.com
BERGENFIELD -- The former northern New Jersey political boss Joseph Ferriero was found guilty by a federal jury this afternoon, according to a report in The Record.
During the third day of deliberations, Ferriero was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud and two counts of mail fraud, according to the report, but was acquitted on five other mail fraud counts.
Corruption scandal plagues Oakland City Hall (KGO-TV)
The audit is 123 pages and it looked at hiring practices between 2003 till 2008. The city auditor says it confirms what many people in Oakland already believe to be true, that there has been corruption in City Hall when it comes to hiring city workers.
"The city's hiring system as it is, is broken and needs to be fixed," said City Auditor Courtney Ruby.
A system with no checks and balances -- that's how Ruby describes Oakland's hiring policies. An independent audit by her office found multiple examples of favoritism, nepotism and poor personnel management creating the appearance of wrongdoing throughout City Hall.
"This audit was triggered by an ongoing perception throughout the city that a lack of leadership and accountability has allowed for unfair hiring activities," said Ruby.
Why Is GE Exempt From Government-Ordered Pay Cuts? (JamieWearingFool)
Since the government is now deciding who gets paid what at companies that received bailouts, it begs the questions:
Why are employees of General Electric, owner of MSNBC, Obama's favorite network, exempt from these pay cuts?
Oh, they have a loophole as noted in this item from a few months back? How convenient.
General Electric, the world's largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government's key rescue programs for banks.
At the same time, GE has avoided many of the restrictions facing other financial giants getting help from the government.
The company did not initially qualify for the program, under which the government sought to unfreeze credit markets by guaranteeing debt sold by banking firms.
But regulators soon loosened the eligibility requirements, in part because of behind-the-scenes appeals from GE.
Rattner defends rescue of automakers, says some money is gone(GM got $50B, but now worth $25B) (WP)
The U.S. government's stake in General Motors is currently worth about $25 billion, or about half the amount it poured into the ailing automaker, the former chief of the Obama administration's task force on the auto industry said Wednesday.
But in his most extensive remarks since leaving the post in July, Steven Rattner defended the Obama administration's decision to rescue U.S. automakers.
Rattner said there's "a good chance" the United States can recover the $30 billion invested in GM by the Obama administration, which required the company to shrink and reorganize in order to get the money.
But of the other roughly $20 billion previously lent to GM, he said, "I don't think we are going to see [it] again."
The U.S. government should abolish its sanctioning of marriage, argued Cass Sunstein, President Obama's regulatory czar.
Sunstein proposed that the concept of marriage should become privatized, with the state only granting civil union contracts to couples wishing to enter into an agreement.
Sunstein explained marriage licensing is unnecessary, pointing out people stay committed to organizations like country clubs and homeowner associations without any government interference.
"Under our proposal, the word marriage would no longer appear in any laws, and marriage licenses would no longer be offered or recognized by any level of government," wrote Sunstein and co-author Richard Thaler in their 2008book, "Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness."
In the book Sunstein explains his approach would ensure that "the only legal status states would confer on couples would be a civil union, which would be a domestic partnership agreement between any two people."
Figures. Pornographic Anti-Christian Harvard Art Show Funded By Obama’s Safe Schools Czar (Gateway Pundit)
Obama’s Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings funded a pornographic anti-Christian art show now on display at Harvard University.
Mass Resistance reported: If you want to know what Americans can expect in public schools, look no further.
Kevin Jennings is Barack Obama’s “safe schools” czar in the US Department of Education.
He’s also the founder of the national homosexual group GLSEN, which sets up “gay straight alliance” clubs in high schools and middle schools across America.
GLSEN is officially supported by the Massachusetts Legislature. Jennings is also a former member of the radical homosexual group “Act Up”, and he contributed to this depraved and offensive museum exhibit on “Act Up” now at Harvard University.
Obama's EEOC Nominee Would Redefine Marriage (CNSNews.com)
"We want to change the American workforce and revolutionize social norms...Our current public policies undermine the moral and political unit of same sex couples and families and that's a moral wrong that needs to be rectified."
Chai Feldblum, Nominee to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Source Chai Feldblum, Obama's nominee for the EEOC, aims to fundamentally change America's definition of marriage.
Feldblum is perhaps the nation's leading LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights activist. A graduate of Harvard Law School, once Legislative Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she's now Professor of Law at Georgetown University. She's also a self-avowed lesbian.
Feldblum describes herself as a legislative lawyer, a term she claims to have coined. These are attorneys who "practice law in a political, advocacy context."[1] Her long-standing agenda as a LGBT legislative lawyer is clear.
Malcolm X was bisexual. Get Over It (The Guardian)
Black History Month should help break down homophobia by celebrating the sexuality of black heroes such as Malcolm October is Black History Month in Britain – a wonderful celebration of the huge, important and valuable contribution that black people have made to humanity and to popular culture.
It is also worth celebrating that many leading black icons have been lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), most notably the US black liberation hero Malcolm X.
Twice-Weekly 'Midwest City Sun' to Fold (Editor and Pubisher)
CHICAGO After nearly three decades of publication, the twice-weekly Midwest (Okla.) City Sun is folding with its final edition on Oct. 28, Publisher Lance Moler said in an article posted on its Web site Thursday.
The Sun, owned by Birmingham, Ala.-based Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI) was launched in March 1980. It served communities in eastern Oklahoma County.
The paper was the last remaining in the Okalahoma County Newspapers group. Ten employees will lose their jobs when the Sun folds.
25 comments:
FYI, I'll have info on Thursday's meeting in Tacoma a little later this morning.
White House Emails MSNBC During Broadcast to Correct Them (GatewayPundit)
“The White House did just e-mail saying that interaction with Jake Tapper was not heated.”
The Obama White House emailed MSNBC during a live broadcast to “correct” them on their coverage of the administration’s attacks on FOX News.
It was nice of MSNBC to admit that they were taking direction from the White House. It’s not like it was a secret.
So when can we expect the White House to call the Glenn Beck hotline guy sporting the Mao outfit?
“President Approved Punditry” PATTERICO
Tom Maguire has the list of people who recently attended a 2-1/2 hour off-the-record briefing with President Obama at the White House:
• Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post.
• E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post.
• Ron Brownstein of Atlantic Media and formerly with the LA Times.
• John Dickerson of Slate Magazine.
• Rachel Maddow of MSNBC.
• Frank Rich of the New York Times.
• Jerry Seib of the Wall Street Journal.
• Maureen Dowd of the New York Times.
• Keith Olbermann of MSNBC.
• Bob Herbert of the New York Times.
• Gloria Borger of CNN.
• Gwen Ifill of PBS.
Once again it looks like the White House has time for its troops in the media but not our troops in Afghanistan.
Obama: Fox Not A 'News Outlet'
Pres. Obama has described Fox News as "operating basically as a talk-radio format" rather than as a "news outlet."
Obama: Republicans "Do What They're Told" (Real Clear Politics)
OBAMA: Sometimes Democrats can be their own worst enemies. Democrats are an opinionated bunch.
You know the other side, they just kind of do what they’re told.
Democrats, ya’ll thinkin’ for yourselves. I like that in you, but it’s time for us to make sure that we finish the job here, we are this close and we’ve got to be unified.
Time Warner to cut Time Inc jobs (Reuters)
Time Warner Inc's (TWX.N) magazine division Time Inc plans another round of job cuts as advertising declines erode revenue, a source familiar with the unit said on Thursday.
The job cuts at Time Inc -- which publishes Time magazine, People, Sports Illustrated and Fortune -- would be at about the same level as the division cut last year, the source said.
Time Inc. cut more than 600 positions, or more than 6 percent of its workforce, in that round.
Whitlock's apology to Limbaugh: Mistakes undermined message (kansascity.com)
Let me first apologize to Rush Limbaugh.
Last week in explaining why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell needed to put an end to Limbaugh's latest publicity stunt, I attributed racially insensitive quotes to Limbaugh that I read in two Missouri newspapers, saw on CNN and confirmed through a Google search.
Prior to posting the article, I never found a denial of these quotes by Limbaugh, and had no reason to believe those statements were not true.
Obama Escalates Feud: Administration Attempts to Exclude Fox News from White House Pool
Just when you thought the White House couldn't possibly do anything to make their bizarre feud with the Fox News Channel an even larger spectacle - the administration manages to take it to another level.
snip
On the Oct. 22 broadcast of Fox News Channel's "Special Report," host Bret Baier revealed a White House pool announcement was offering Kenneth Feinberg, the "Special Master for Compensation," better known as the White House "pay czar" for interviews - all except for one network - Fox News.
Rush: If Fox News Is Talk Radio, MSNBC and CNN Are Pornography
"Obama is out there saying that Fox News is talk radio. I am living rent-free in this guy's head. Fox News is talk radio. If that's true, MSNBC is pornography and Obama likes MSNBC. CNN is child-porn."
White House makes 'enemies' of Bush allies--Wrath rains on Chamber of Commerce, insurers, banks (The Washington Times)
The Obama White House has deliberately placed favored Washington institutions of the Bush years in its crosshairs, a sign of an escalating battle between the Democratic administration and some of the city's pre-eminent power players.
In recent days, the administration has attacked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the insurance industry for opposing key administration objectives, has criticized the nation's largest banks and financial firms for outsized executive pay, and has tried to delegitimize the Fox News Channel by mocking its objectivity.
Pay Czar Acted Alone To Cut Executive Pay (Dear Leader votes PRESENT, again) fox news
White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg did not seek President Obama's approval to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives.
White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg was the driving force behind the move to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives, and did not even seek the president's approval before making his decision.
RIP, news embargoes (Newsosaur.com)
Add news embargoes to the growing jumble of detritus in the hellbox of journalism history.
In an age of insta-news, embargoes are so meaningless and unenforceable that they aren’t worth the pixels they are printed on.
As a consequence, publicity seekers are on notice that they no longer will be observed here.
I am sorry to see embargoes go, because they were useful while they lasted. But that was then and this is now.
Newsday.com moves to subscriber model (Newsday)
Beginning Wednesday, most of Newsday.com content will only be available to subscribers of Optimum Online, Newsday, or those willing to pay for it.
Those who are not customers of Optimum Online or the newspaper - both owned by Bethpage-based Cablevision Systems Corp. - will have to pay a $5 weekly fee.
Fortune Magazine Cuts Back Number of Issues (WSJ)
Capping a tumultuous year for business magazines, Fortune is planning to publish about one-quarter fewer issues annually and make other changes, joining the ranks of publications scrambling to reinvent themselves in the advertising downturn.
Fortune's new publishing schedule is part of a remodeling at the magazine that is expected to result in staff cuts and a sharper focus on the long stories that have been its trademark.
It isn't clear yet how many people might lose their jobs.
The revamp is a prelude to broader staff cuts at Time Inc., the Time Warner Inc. magazine unit that includes Fortune, according ...
The Congressional Scam that Failed
(American Thinker)
A funny thing happened on the way to one of the biggest scam attempts in history. It got ratted out. And Capitol Hill got an earful.
So the U.S. Senate failed by seven votes to invoke cloture on Wednesday and push forward a bill that even had Washington Post editorialists gagging on its duplicity.
Thirteen Democrats joined all 40 Republicans to reject 47-53 a free-standing Medicare bill, S. 1776, that would have pushed up the national deficit by a quarter of a trillion dollars over the next 10 years.
The reason it's a scam is that by separating it from the proposed $856 billion Baucus health care bill, Obama could claim that he was keeping his promise not to sign any health care reform that "adds one dime to the federal deficit." Sure, just carve it out, pretend it has nothing to do with health care, and dump it on the taxpayers.
That's what passes for "transparency." It's right up there with voting on a bill that hasn't even been written yet, which is what two Senate committees have already done.
Former Bergen County political boss Ferriero found guilty in corruption case (Corzine pal)
www.nj.com
BERGENFIELD -- The former northern New Jersey political boss Joseph Ferriero was found guilty by a federal jury this afternoon, according to a report in The Record.
During the third day of deliberations, Ferriero was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud and two counts of mail fraud, according to the report, but was acquitted on five other mail fraud counts.
Corruption scandal plagues Oakland City Hall (KGO-TV)
The audit is 123 pages and it looked at hiring practices between 2003 till 2008. The city auditor says it confirms what many people in Oakland already believe to be true, that there has been corruption in City Hall when it comes to hiring city workers.
"The city's hiring system as it is, is broken and needs to be fixed," said City Auditor Courtney Ruby.
A system with no checks and balances -- that's how Ruby describes Oakland's hiring policies. An independent audit by her office found multiple examples of favoritism, nepotism and poor personnel management creating the appearance of wrongdoing throughout City Hall.
"This audit was triggered by an ongoing perception throughout the city that a lack of leadership and accountability has allowed for unfair hiring activities," said Ruby.
Why Is GE Exempt From Government-Ordered Pay Cuts? (JamieWearingFool)
Since the government is now deciding who gets paid what at companies that received bailouts, it begs the questions:
Why are employees of General Electric, owner of MSNBC, Obama's favorite network, exempt from these pay cuts?
Oh, they have a loophole as noted in this item from a few months back? How convenient.
General Electric, the world's largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government's key rescue programs for banks.
At the same time, GE has avoided many of the restrictions facing other financial giants getting help from the government.
The company did not initially qualify for the program, under which the government sought to unfreeze credit markets by guaranteeing debt sold by banking firms.
But regulators soon loosened the eligibility requirements, in part because of behind-the-scenes appeals from GE.
Rattner defends rescue of automakers, says some money is gone(GM got $50B, but now worth $25B)
(WP)
The U.S. government's stake in General Motors is currently worth about $25 billion, or about half the amount it poured into the ailing automaker, the former chief of the Obama administration's task force on the auto industry said Wednesday.
But in his most extensive remarks since leaving the post in July, Steven Rattner defended the Obama administration's decision to rescue U.S. automakers.
Rattner said there's "a good chance" the United States can recover the $30 billion invested in GM by the Obama administration, which required the company to shrink and reorganize in order to get the money.
But of the other roughly $20 billion previously lent to GM, he said, "I don't think we are going to see [it] again."
ACORN Asking Laid Off Workers to Defraud Government (American Spectator)
ACORN is asking workers it is laying off to continue working at ACORN as "volunteers" but to apply to the government for unemployment benefits.
Sunstein urges: Abolish marriage
The U.S. government should abolish its sanctioning of marriage, argued Cass Sunstein, President Obama's regulatory czar.
Sunstein proposed that the concept of marriage should become privatized, with the state only granting civil union contracts to couples wishing to enter into an agreement.
Sunstein explained marriage licensing is unnecessary, pointing out people stay committed to organizations like country clubs and homeowner associations without any government interference.
"Under our proposal, the word marriage would no longer appear in any laws, and marriage licenses would no longer be offered or recognized by any level of government," wrote Sunstein and co-author Richard Thaler in their 2008book, "Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness."
In the book Sunstein explains his approach would ensure that "the only legal status states would confer on couples would be a civil union, which would be a domestic partnership agreement between any two people."
Figures. Pornographic Anti-Christian Harvard Art Show Funded By Obama’s Safe Schools Czar
(Gateway Pundit)
Obama’s Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings funded a pornographic anti-Christian art show now on display at Harvard University.
Mass Resistance reported: If you want to know what Americans can expect in public schools, look no further.
Kevin Jennings is Barack Obama’s “safe schools” czar in the US Department of Education.
He’s also the founder of the national homosexual group GLSEN, which sets up “gay straight alliance” clubs in high schools and middle schools across America.
GLSEN is officially supported by the Massachusetts Legislature.
Jennings is also a former member of the radical homosexual group “Act Up”, and he contributed to this depraved and offensive museum exhibit on “Act Up” now at Harvard University.
Obama's EEOC Nominee Would Redefine Marriage (CNSNews.com)
"We want to change the American workforce and revolutionize social norms...Our current public policies undermine the moral and political unit of same sex couples and families and that's a moral wrong that needs to be rectified."
Chai Feldblum, Nominee to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Source Chai Feldblum, Obama's nominee for the EEOC, aims to fundamentally change America's definition of marriage.
Feldblum is perhaps the nation's leading LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights activist. A graduate of Harvard Law School, once Legislative Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she's now Professor of Law at Georgetown University. She's also a self-avowed lesbian.
Feldblum describes herself as a legislative lawyer, a term she claims to have coined. These are attorneys who "practice law in a political, advocacy context."[1] Her long-standing agenda as a LGBT legislative lawyer is clear.
Malcolm X was bisexual. Get Over It
(The Guardian)
Black History Month should help break down homophobia by celebrating the sexuality of black heroes such as Malcolm
October is Black History Month in Britain – a wonderful celebration of the huge, important and valuable contribution that black people have made to humanity and to popular culture.
It is also worth celebrating that many leading black icons have been lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), most notably the US black liberation hero Malcolm X.
Twice-Weekly 'Midwest City Sun' to Fold (Editor and Pubisher)
CHICAGO After nearly three decades of publication, the twice-weekly Midwest (Okla.) City Sun is folding with its final edition on Oct. 28, Publisher Lance Moler said in an article posted on its Web site Thursday.
The Sun, owned by Birmingham, Ala.-based Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI) was launched in March 1980. It served communities in eastern Oklahoma County.
The paper was the last remaining in the Okalahoma County Newspapers group.
Ten employees will lose their jobs when the Sun folds.
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