tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post624597770608996234..comments2023-10-07T05:29:20.923-07:00Comments on McClatchy Watch: Wednesday October 21 -- Got news or an update?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-41544003162618409052009-10-21T09:25:18.630-07:002009-10-21T09:25:18.630-07:00Colorado newspaper hiring marijuana critic (The St...Colorado newspaper hiring marijuana critic (The Star online)<br /><br />...The medical marijuana review business is booming as states like Colorado and California have seen an explosion in the number of pot shops. <br /><br />...A Denver alternative newspaper recently posted an ad for what some consider the sweetest job in journalism - a reviewer of the state's marijuana dispensaries and their products. <br /><br />...The Denver paper, Westword, has already has gotten more than 120 applicants, many of them offering to do the reviews for free. <br /><br />When the newspaper settles on a permanent critic for its new "Mile Highs and Lows" column, industry watchers say, it will be the first professional newspaper critic of medical marijuana in the United States. <br /><br />There's one condition: The critic has to have a medical ailment that allows them to legally enter a dispensary, and buy and use marijuana.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-80920667325512169732009-10-21T08:59:38.752-07:002009-10-21T08:59:38.752-07:00I wonder what the Bee’s Mz. Sill would say about t...I wonder what the Bee’s Mz. Sill would say about the LA Times?<br /><br />Sac Bee's news boss Melanie Sill admits blatant bias in editorial today: <br /><br />"There's no dispute that The Bee has a liberal editorial page on most issues, though not all matters, and has mostly endorsed Democrats. We won't change our editorial philosophy to placate critics."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-74908832810380085312009-10-21T08:57:52.796-07:002009-10-21T08:57:52.796-07:00More info on layoffs at the LA Time here.More info on layoffs at the LA Time <a href="http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/10/layoffs_begin_at_lat.php" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Kevin Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04694898785243338105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-54705129407012286542009-10-21T08:50:25.527-07:002009-10-21T08:50:25.527-07:00I got a sales call from the Asbury Park Press last...I got a sales call from the Asbury Park Press last week. <br /><br />I politely explained to the young lady that called that I would not accept the paper if they delivered it to me for free. She asked me why. <br /><br />I told her, "Because the value of the paper is less than the effort to carry it to the recycle bin." <br /><br />She hung up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-16851992612549563132009-10-21T08:49:26.237-07:002009-10-21T08:49:26.237-07:00Delicious News about the LA Times. I am plagiariz...Delicious News about the LA Times. I am plagiarizing but I do love this quote. <br /><br />“I wonder what these soon to be unemployed folks with those valuable journalism and English degrees are going to do to radicalize the fast food industry.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-2077265909506064422009-10-21T08:48:36.531-07:002009-10-21T08:48:36.531-07:00Layoffs at L.A. Times PATTERICO
I’ve been hearing...Layoffs at L.A. Times PATTERICO<br /><br />I’ve been hearing rumors of layoffs at the L.A. Times for the past week or so. Yesterday I officially learned that they have happened. <br /><br />I learned this through Facebook. Tina Daunt — a columnist and former reporter whom I defended back in 2007 in a minor flap over a story about Fred Thompson — is one of the latest to be laid off, as she reports on her blog (which I saw on Facebook):<br /><br />I had a really bad day today, and tomorrow is going to be even worse. You see, I’ve been a newspaper reporter for a major metropolitan paper for a lot of years now. <br /><br />I used to believe that newspapers could weather any storm. Now I’m not so sure. There’s yet another round of layoffs, and I think my number is up this time.<br /><br />After seeing this yesterday, I headed over to L.A. Observed, which was reporting on Daunt’s message, which she has since confirmed — as well as the impending departure of another writer, Diane Haithman.<br /><br />I’m hearing rumors of 30-34 people all in all, but this is the only official news I’ve seen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-29047952968993052842009-10-21T08:28:09.593-07:002009-10-21T08:28:09.593-07:00Daily Presidential Tracking Poll: Obama at -13, 47...Daily Presidential Tracking Poll: Obama at -13, 47% <br /><br />The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President.<br /><br />Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13. <br /><br />That’s just a point above the lowest level ever recorded for this President. <br /><br />It’s also the sixth straight day in negative double digits, matching the longest such streakAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-67494001865870041612009-10-21T07:41:19.584-07:002009-10-21T07:41:19.584-07:00A reader already mentioned the Department of Healt...A reader already mentioned the Department of Health and Human Services Web site that <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/39730-1.html" rel="nofollow">urges visitors to send an e-mail to President Barack Obama praising his health care reform plan</a>. Good Lord.Kevin Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04694898785243338105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-59956246254608891432009-10-21T05:37:42.867-07:002009-10-21T05:37:42.867-07:00Grassley Warns HHS Web Site May Be ‘Propaganda’ (R...Grassley Warns HHS Web Site May Be ‘Propaganda’ (Roll Call)<br /><br />Senate Finance ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is raising concerns that a Department of Health and Human Services Web site that urges visitors to send an e-mail to President Barack Obama praising his health care reform plan may violate rules against government-funded propaganda. <br /><br />The Web page is accessed through a “state your support” button featured prominently on the HHS Web site and carries a disclaimer that the Web site is maintained by HHS. <br /><br />In a letter sent to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Tuesday, Grassley warned that “any possible misuse of appropriated funds by the executive branch to engage in publicity or propaganda in support of an Administration priority is a matter that must be investigated and taken seriously,” noting that in 2005 Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) argued that “the use of official funds for similar activities were 'underhanded tactics' and that these tactics 'are not worthy of our great democracy.'”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-46865729985400853142009-10-21T05:25:55.525-07:002009-10-21T05:25:55.525-07:00Krauthammer Lashes Out at Obama’s “Gutter-Style Ch...Krauthammer Lashes Out at Obama’s “Gutter-Style Chicago Politics” (GatewayPundit)<br /><br />First it was insurance companies, then doctors, then FOX News and now the Obama Administration is attacking the US Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. <br /><br />The purpose of the Chamber of Commerce is to fight for free enterprise. That is why they opposed cap-&-tax and the democrats’s nationalized health care plans.<br /><br />No wonder the Obama Administration hates them.<br /><br />Tonight Charles Krauthammer responded to Obama’s “gutter-style Chicago politics”:Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-13809174859484095992009-10-21T05:12:47.654-07:002009-10-21T05:12:47.654-07:00Justice Department Says Blacks in N.C. Town Can’t ...Justice Department Says Blacks in N.C. Town Can’t Get Elected Without Democratic Party Label<br /><br />(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Department of Justice is refusing to allow the town of Kinston, N.C., to hold nonpartisan local elections on the grounds that African Americans cannot win election without being listed as Democrats on the ballot. <br /><br />In a letter sent Saturday by to Kinston City Attorney James P. Cauley III, the Justice Department stated: “Removing the partisan cue in municipal elections will, in all likelihood, eliminate the single factor that allows black candidates to be elected to office.” <br /><br />The department Tuesday also refused to answer questions from CNSNews.com about the letter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-30582413183406621362009-10-21T05:09:31.839-07:002009-10-21T05:09:31.839-07:00Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room (...Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room (The Hill)<br /><br />Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) locked Republicans out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee room to keep them from meeting when Democrats aren’t present. <br /><br />Towns’ action came after repeated public ridicule from the leading Republican on the committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), over Towns’s failure to launch an investigation into Countrywide Mortgage’s reported sweetheart deals to VIPs. <br /><br />For months Towns has refused Republican requests to subpoena records in the case. Last Thursday Committee Republicans, led by Issa, were poised to force an open vote on the subpoenas at a Committee mark-up meeting. The mark-up was abruptly canceled. <br /><br />Only Republicans showed up while Democrats chairs remained empty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-82615892894454407922009-10-21T05:07:39.364-07:002009-10-21T05:07:39.364-07:00Daley: Non-Union City Managers To Take Nearly Five...Daley: Non-Union City Managers To Take Nearly Five Weeks Off (CBS 2)<br /><br />Faced with a $550 million budget deficit, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley today said that all NON-UNION city workers will take nearly five working weeks of unpaid leave next year to save the city money. <br /><br />Daley announced plans Monday to save $114 million by requiring several thousand city mangers to take 24 unpaid days off, eliminating vacant jobs, and cutting expenses like travel and supplies by $20 million.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-58741256291145407752009-10-21T05:06:39.542-07:002009-10-21T05:06:39.542-07:00Victory against Big Labor: Home health providers r...Victory against Big Labor: Home health providers reject SEIU, AFSCME power grab (Michelle Malkin)<br /><br />Over the past two weeks, I’ve reported on the grass-roots revolt by home health providers against the SEIU and rival AFSCME in Illinois.<br /><br />SEIU-endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn signed an executive order in June approving collective bargaining by “individual providers of home-based support services” — effectively busting open the doors of private homes for the Purple Shirts of the SEIU and other union competitors hungry for new dues-paying members. <br /><br />SEIU and its minions leaned hard on providers to join — even sending out-of-state workers to intrude on families with the promise of juicy benefits and health care coverage. <br /><br />Democrat officials tried to intimidate parents like Pam Harris into silence over their efforts to inform providers that they could vote for no representation.<br /><br />The thuggery backfired. Bigtime.<br />The votes were counted today and despite Big Labor’s massive coffers, manpower, and out-of-state propaganda campaign, the unionization effort was an epic fail. <br /><br />Here’s an exclusive look at the breakdown:<br /><br />SEIU – 293 votes<br /><br />AFSCME – 220 votes<br /><br />NO UNION – 1018 votesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-987864579798096962009-10-21T05:05:10.553-07:002009-10-21T05:05:10.553-07:00The State of Joblessness: The tragedy of Jennifer ...The State of Joblessness: The tragedy of Jennifer Granholm's Michigan (Democrat controlled for 50 years) WSJ<br /><br />State lawmakers will soon face large budget deficits again, perhaps as much as $100 billion across the U.S. Here's some free budget-balancing advice: Steer clear of the Michigan model. <br /><br />The Wolverine state is once again set to run out of money, and it is once again poised to raise taxes even as jobs and businesses disappear. <br /><br />In 2007 Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the biggest tax increase in Michigan history, with most of the $1.4 billion coming from business. <br /><br />The personal income tax—which hits nonincorporated small businesses—was raised to 4.2% from 3.95%, and the Michigan business tax levied a surcharge of 22%.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-14126009958224294232009-10-21T05:03:14.732-07:002009-10-21T05:03:14.732-07:00CAPITAL CULTURE: Obamas big on White House gigs (w...CAPITAL CULTURE: Obamas big on White House gigs (while Rome burns)<br />AP<br /><br />Michelle and Barack Obama sat one table over from J. Lo and Marc Anthony, and all four of them were rocking in their seats as Sheila E. shook the house — well, really the tent. <br /><br />The latest installment of the White House music series was too big for the East Room, so a high-wattage assortment of Latin musicians sent pulsating, can't-help-but-bob-along rhythms tumbling out of a giant tent on the mansion's South Lawn. <br /><br />As it happens, music of all sorts —rock, jazz, country, classical — has been busting out of the White House all year long.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-76794436683497428472009-10-21T05:01:50.960-07:002009-10-21T05:01:50.960-07:00Pelosi “very excited” that House ObamaCare bills w...Pelosi “very excited” that House ObamaCare bills will cost slightly less than $900 billion (Hot Air) <br /><br /><br />Aim high, Nancy. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday new estimates showed a healthcare overhaul drafted by Democrats would reduce the U.S. budget deficit over 10 years and cost less than $900 billion. <br /><br />The preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office moved Democratic leaders closer to finishing a merger of three separate healthcare reform bills into one for debate on the House floor... <br /><br />“We’re very excited by the CBO scores,” she said, predicting House Democratic leaders would finish their work on the merger soon...<br /> <br />“We’re in an excellent place with the cost, given the information that we have,” she said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-88517693350859333452009-10-21T05:00:59.698-07:002009-10-21T05:00:59.698-07:00Democrats skip out on Countrywide vote (Washinton ...Democrats skip out on Countrywide vote (Washinton Examiner)<br /><br />Faced with a promised vote to subpoena documents on Countrywide Financial's "Friends of Angelo" program, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee fled a scheduled 2 p.m. markup today. <br /><br />Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the Ranking Republican on the Oversight Committee, had promised to call for a vote at today's markup on whether to subpoena documents involved in the program that gave sweetheart mortgages to at least four Democratic government officials, including two senators. <br /><br />According to the Wall Street Journal, the program might have also benefitted the chairman of House Oversight, Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. <br /><br />Even if it had been ruled out of Order, Issa's motion would have received a vote. <br /><br />The committee's Democrats simply failed to appear. Republican staffers say they caught them on tape leaving by a back door at 2:35Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-29778405968015993472009-10-21T04:58:37.283-07:002009-10-21T04:58:37.283-07:00MoveOn to Dems: 'Stay off Fox'
POLITICO&...MoveOn to Dems: 'Stay off Fox' <br /><br />POLITICO's Mike Allen and Josh Gerstein wrote today on the White House strategy of trying to delegitimize Fox News. <br /><br />Now MoveOn.org is getting involved. The liberal activist organization has started a petition aimed at Democratic members of Congress, urging them not to appear on the network as long as Obama stays away.<br /><br /><br />Why am I not surprised MoveOn is co-authoring the 21st Century equivalent of book burning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-84135747992445049152009-10-21T04:56:33.328-07:002009-10-21T04:56:33.328-07:00Columbia Suspends Environmental Journalism Program...Columbia Suspends Environmental Journalism Program (Sweetness-Light)<br /><br />For the first time since it was created fourteen years ago, Columbia University’s highly regarded dual-degree graduate program in environmental journalism will not be accepting applications for next academic year.<br /><br />In a letter to faculty at the Graduate School of Journalism, the Department of Environmental Sciences, and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the program directors cited falling employment in the field, the rising costs of education, and a lack of financial aid for students as the reasons for their decision:<br /><br /><br />How is this possible? Aren’t environmental journalist jobs the greenest of green shoot jobs? <br /><br />Of course it is news like this that goes a long way to understanding Columbia’s demand for a journalism bailoutAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-69176460474734609502009-10-21T04:54:07.023-07:002009-10-21T04:54:07.023-07:00White House: Media shouldn't follow Fox (polit...White House: Media shouldn't follow Fox (politico.com)<br /><br />A White House attempt to delegitimize Fox News – which in past times would have drawn howls of censorship from the press corps – has instead been greeted by a collective shrug.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-64174457368466411572009-10-21T04:52:50.246-07:002009-10-21T04:52:50.246-07:00ACORN’s Party Likely Stole NY Election– Fraud Inve...ACORN’s Party Likely Stole NY Election– Fraud Investigation Turns Up Bogus Ballots (GatewayPundit)<br /><br />Members of the Working Families Party are accused of stealing a New York election with bogus absentee ballots.<br /><br />FOX News reported that thirty-eight forged or fraudulent ballots have been thrown out, according to records at the Rensselaer County Board of Elections in Troy, N.Y. Enough votes, an election official admits, to likely have tipped the November election to the Democrats.<br /><br />Founding Bloggers is all over the news today:<br /><br />Brian Suozzo voted with an absentee ballot in the Working Families Party primary on Sept. 15 because, as his application stated, he was “at home recovering from medical procedure.”<br /><br />Jessica Boomhower’s application said she would be attending a “work conference in Boston.”<br /><br />Michael Ward couldn’t vote in person because he was “taking care of elderly parent.”<br /><br />Kimberlee Truell was on a “Bus trip to casino,” as was Miguel Vazques.<br /><br />The only problem with these absentee ballot records at the Rensselaer County Board of Elections in Troy, N.Y., is that they’re phony, voters and investigators say — and they’ve prompted what’s being called an unprecedented investigation of suspected voter fraud.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-63566355491629869272009-10-21T04:51:38.227-07:002009-10-21T04:51:38.227-07:00CNN, Rasmussen, Harris polls: Public disagrees wit...CNN, Rasmussen, Harris polls: Public disagrees with Obama on pretty much everything (hotair.com)<br /><br />CNN: 51% disagree with the messiah, 48% do: <br /><br />RASMUSSEN: The messiah loses on 10 out of 10 issues. GOP increased its lead in 9 out of 10 categories since last month. <br /><br />But particularly note the Health Care, Social Security, Economy, and Taxes numbers. Does the Democratic Party feel like demonizing their opponents on health care rationing some more? <br /><br />HARRIS INTERACTIVE POLL: Majorities of Americans give the messiah Negative Ratings on his Handling of 12 Major issues. <br /><br />Among the lowest are unemployment, the federal deficit and the war in Afghanistan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-55124110586406092922009-10-21T04:49:37.744-07:002009-10-21T04:49:37.744-07:00WaPo/ABC poll uses skewed sample to show public-op...WaPo/ABC poll uses skewed sample to show public-option support (Hotair )<br /><br />My first clue that the new WaPo/ABC poll had big problems in its sampling came from question 38 of the raw data released by ABC last night, the generic Congressional ballot. <br /><br />Most polls have that within the margin of error; both Rasmussen and Pew have it at a dead heat. The WaPo/ABC survey has Democrats winning that matchup by twelve points, 51%/39%. <br /><br />That tends to discredit much of what the Post reports this morning:Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-90650640372595706242009-10-21T04:48:48.521-07:002009-10-21T04:48:48.521-07:00Bad News: Magazine Ad Pages Down 19% in November (...Bad News: Magazine Ad Pages Down 19% in November (Mediapost)<br /><br />The hope for a last-quarter recovery for monthly magazines is growing fainter with the release of November ad page figures from Media Industry Newsletter showing an overall 19.2% drop compared to November 2008. <br /><br />This decline is consistent with previous months -- for the year-to-date, monthlies' ad pages are down 21.6%, according to MIN. <br /><br />But even more worrisome is the suggestion that monthly magazines will be slow to feel the effects of an economic recovery, whenever that should occur. <br /><br />Out of 171 titles that provided MIN with numbers for their November issues, 144 or 84% saw ad pages decline in November 2009 compared to the same month in 2008Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com