Archive for May 2013
The Huffington Post is at it again … now they are trumpeting the cause of the anti-Koch brother factions that are lobbying to keep the non-left-leaning Kochs from buying the Tribune Company. They ran a copy of the above ad in a story this week, all a part of their coverage of the movement to make sure the Koch brothers are not allowed to purchase the eight newspapers owned by the Tribune Company.
Here’s what the Huffington Post had to say:
The fight is on against possible Koch Brothers ownership of the Tribune papers, which include the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.
Unions and liberal advocacy groups are planning protests and running ads (see photo below) on the Los Angeles Times and New York Times websites starting Thursday, according to liberal groups Courage Campaign Institute and Forecast the Facts.
And they have the leaders of the California state legislature behind them. Darrell Steinberg, the California Senate President pro Tem, and John A. Pérez, the speaker of the California Assembly, said Wednesday that they would oppose the sale, the New York Times reports. Both men control seats on the boards of California’s major pension funds.
“I oppose it,” Steinberg said of a possible sale to the Los Angeles Times. “I believe newspapers are a public trust. The Los Angeles Times has a long and respected tradition of community leadership and impartiality. The Koch brothers have a long and demonstrated history of a rigid political ideology.”
About one-quarter of the assets held by Oaktree Capital Management, the leading shareholder in the Tribune Company, comes from public pension funds, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. In a letter sent Thursday to Bruce Karsh, president of Oaktree and chairman of Tribune Company, ten public employee unions warned that a sale to the Koch brothers “would be adverse to the retirement security of public employees whose pension funds you are responsible for managing and investing.”
The letter said the Koch brothers are “anti-labor, anti-environment, anti-public education and anti-immigrant.”
My favorite, though, is their quote from an LA City Councilman Bill Rosendahl:
Rosendahl also introduced a motion last week to pull city pension money from the investment firms that own the Los Angeles Times if they sell the publication to buyers who do not support “professional and objective journalism.” The motion was also signed by Councilman Dennis Zine and Councilman and mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti.
The statement that whoever owns the LA Times must be dedicated to “professional and objective journalism” … is just political-speak for they just can’t want journalism that conflicts with the interest groups running scared from a potential sale to the Libertarian, anti-government Koch brothers.
Nowhere in the Huffington Post do they offer any sort of contrary opinion. Nowhere in the article is there any attempt to give the opinion of the Koch brothers. Buried in the 14th paragraph is a quote from a spokesperson for the Kochs … that was addressed to the LA Times. The Huffington Post, apparently can’t be bothered to speak with the Kochs, and they certainly haven’t quoted anyone speaking to the advantages that might be gained through their ownership.
Current management of the LA Times seems to be on board, too. They’ve accepted an ad from the same CourageCampaign.org that created the above ad … here’s what LATimes.com looked like Friday morning:
Click through the ad to their website, and here’s the lead paragraph:
The Koch Brothers are the worst of the worst. Oil and gas billionaires, they’re known for buying elections, funding anti-science organizations, union busting, dodging taxes, and twisting democracy any way they can to promote their personal agenda.
The truth is, I’m totally neutral in this ownership controversy. I am a daily subscriber to the LA Times. I do want truthful, objective journalism. I have no faith I’m going to get that from the current management of the Times, when they’ll take ads with hyperbolic rhetoric fighting against their potential future employers. What are those people thinking?
Journalism, I mourn for thee.
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Journalism, I Mourn For Thee (Part 2)
Journalism, I Mourn For Thee (Part 1)
Huffington Post
A month ago, the new Scarlet Columbine, Aquilegia formosa, had one lonely flower. Today, it’s bursting with blossoms … and still looks like a very wacky thing. Love it!
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Scarlet Columbine
A wonderful photo essay from Denver Post’s PLOG, shot by Mark Hirsch.
Click on the photo to see some of his daily photos of one tree, which he entitled That Tree and posted on Facebook each day.
Day 200, October 9, 2012. In what is probably one of my last photographs of That Tree with corn still standing in the field, I wanted to make one last sunset photo before the harvest.
The first Boy Scout Jamboree was held on the Capitol Mall. Here, a picture from SHORPY – Boy Scouts sightseeing on Capitol Transit buses, Washington, D.C. May 1937.
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Some Pictures From A Brownie
Rush is heard on the EIB Network … “Excellence in Broadcasting.”
This is not a political piece. It’s a media piece. And the media coverage of the Rush Limbaugh Show is generally deplorable.
This week, we’ve been hearing from the media and financial reporters how the CEO of Cumulus Media, Lew Dickey, is saying that the controversy surrounding the Limbaugh show is depressing his advertising sales.
I’m going to stick to facts … not my political agenda. Here are the facts:
1. Rush Limbaugh is the # 1-rated radio show host in America. That was true 10 years ago, it was true last year, and it’s true today.
2. A little over a year ago, Rush gave a description of a woman that was rejected by the Republicans as an expert to provide testimony before congress … but did testify to the Democrats in congress. This woman, Sandra Fluke, said that she believed birth control should be provided to her free as a part of Obamacare. Here’s how Wikipedia describes the incident:
On February 29, 2012, Rush Limbaugh labeled Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” based on her speech before House Democrats. Fluke appeared to support mandating health insurers to cover contraceptive costs. Limbaugh stated:
“[Fluke] essentially says that she must be paid to have sex—what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.”
Political figures, including President Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner, voiced disapproval of Limbaugh’s comments. On March 3, Limbaugh apologized to Fluke for his comments, saying his “insulting word choices” were meant to be “humorous”, and that he never believed her to be a “slut” or a prostitute. Fluke rejected the apology as dubious and inadequate.
3. After these comments (and before them, for that matter), Limbaugh was lambasted by the left. Many advocacy groups attacked him, and continue to attack any advertiser that buys ads on his show.
4. What financial impact these moves have had is not public knowledge. Both sides declare victory, and neither position can be proven. Have advertisers left the Limbaugh show? Yes. Have others joined the show? Yes.
5. It’s also true that Cumulus has its own shows … and replacing Limbaugh with a show that they own might be more lucrative … but perhaps not, given that Limbaugh is the top-rated radio host in America.
6. Limbaugh always refers to himself as an entertainer … “with talent on loan from God.” He’s not a politician, and he’s not required to be anything but entertaining. Which he is, to the largest group of radio listeners in America (are you getting this?).
7. Limbaugh is a divisive, lightning rod personality that is hated by much of the left and loved by much of the right. Personally, I deplore his spiteful descriptions of people like Sandra Fluke … even as I applaud the ratings and revenue he has delivered to radio broadcasters over the last 2 decades. And that he continues to deliver as the top-rated radio personality in America.
8. Limbaugh is syndicated by the Premiere Radio Network, which is owned by Clear Channel. He is not a part of the Cumulus radio network, as the Huffington Post article claims.
9. His show is carried by over 500 radio stations, including 40 significant stations owned by Cumulus.
10. Cumulus also owns competitive syndicated radio shows, including shows hosted by Mike Huckabee and Mark Levin. (note: they are not as big of a deal as Rush. Huckabee is thinking about cancelling his show now, actually.)
11. The CEO of Cumulus, Lew Dickey, has blamed Limbaugh for revenue losses at his stations. Limbaugh’s spokespeople have stated that the problem is the Cumulus stations, not the Limbaugh program.
12. Limbaugh has intimated, through his spokespeople, that he may leave the Cumulus radio stations; his contract with them is up at the end of this year.
13. Is this bad for Limbaugh? Unclear. Is this bad for Cumulus? Unclear.
The truth is that radio networks are very competitive, and Limbaugh’s show is owned by the largest radio group, Clear Channel. His show does appear on many important stations owned by the # 2 radio group, Cumulus. If Limbaugh’s show comes off Cumulus stations, that could hurt Cumulus (as they would be losing the #1-rated host in America). If Limbaugh’s show moves to Clear Channel stations, that could be good for Clear Channel … who wouldn’t want the #1-rated host, if they were available?
HOWEVER, the Huffington Post column today was absolutely inaccurate. Even the headline implied an untruth:
Cumulus CEO On Rush Limbaugh Ad Drop: ‘The Facts Are Indisputable’
The truth is, the facts ARE disputable. And in any event, the Cumulus CEO is hardly an impartial bystander. He’s got an agenda … and millions of dollars at stake. He’s making a case to his investors that he should drop the top-rated radio show in America, saying it’s costing them money. Is that true? Well, he said it was. Would he take a position to gain a competitive, commercial advantage? You bet.
The Huffington Post column by Jack Mirkinson continues to paint a very twisted portrait of the situation. All of the “experts” quoted in the article are either representatives of the viewpoint of the left (Media Matters, Mediaite) or they are direct competitors for advertising dollars with the Limbaugh Show (Dial Global, Cumulus). I don’t know Mr. Mirkinson, but it appears that he knows how to write a hatchet job. It doesn’t appear, at least in this case, that he understands how to report opposing viewpoints.
Be careful of the “facts” reported by today’s media, people. With the extreme revenue pressure being felt by media, you never know if what media is reporting is properly vetted, effectively edited, or merely provided by an advocacy group or a corporation with a hidden, competitive agenda.
For balanced coverage of Limbaugh’s situation, I highly recommend Tom Taylor Now, a radio industry newsletter (that’s free!). Tuesday’s edition, with Limbaugh’s situation covered in story #2, is here. An indisputable truth is that Rush Limbaugh has been a very successful radio host for many, many years. He has millions of loyal listeners, and he has station owners that fight for the right to broadcast his show.
That’s true.
It’s also true that Limbaugh is a very controversial figure that many people want to fail.
But he hasn’t done that yet. No matter how loudly that viewpoint may be shouted from biased publications such as the Huffington Post.
Disclaimer #1: I work for a radio industry software supplier. Our products are competitive with other products owned and sold by both Clear Channel and Cumulus subsidiaries. The stations owned by Clear Channel and Cumulus are not our customers.
Disclaimer # 2: I worked for many years selling advertising to companies currently owned by both Clear Channel and Cumulus. I no longer do so.
Disclaimer # 3: I worked with Tom Taylor for a couple of years, and he’s the best journalist working in the radio industry. In my humble opinion.
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New York Daily News
New York Daily News Update
Huffington Post
New York Magazine
Yahoo News
Bust of Pyrrhus, or Pyrros, King of Epirus (319/318 BCE–272 BCE)
Today I give homage to King Pyrrhus of ancient Epirus. It was his single-mindedness as a general that eventually gave the name to our SoCal ecosystem.
King Pyrrhus led his army into battle at Asculum against the army of Rome in 279 BC. Pyrrhus won, but is said to have remarked, “One more victory against the Romans and we will be ruined.” This is the source of the term “Pyrrhic Victory” – a victory so costly that it destroys the victor.
Such is the Southern California ecosystem. Plants grow in our canyons and on our rough, undeveloped hillsides … and those plants are called fuel. That fuel will burn; it’s only a matter of when. The worst fires will be driven by winds blowing from the east to the west, which are unusual and called Santa Ana winds.
This last week, an unseasonal fire started, driven by Santa Ana winds from the desert. Our prevailing wind is from the ocean – a wet wind, obviously. However, when the winds turn around and blow from the east, they are blowing from the hot, dry desert, and that scorched wind sucks whatever moisture might remain in the brown hills. One spark, and fire starts. With a 40 – 70 MPH wind driving the fire (Santa Anas can be nasty), the fire department literally can do nothing but get out of the way and try to protect homes in the path of the fire.
Wind gusts can go over 100 MPH. Embers can get in the wind, causing the fire to jump as much as a 1/2 mile at a time. Santa Anas are scary when the sparks fly.
We have a Pyrrhic Ecosystem. It will burn.
The current fire, which is called the Springs fire, is still burning. It has already burned from Camarillo to the ocean. The size of the burn is 28,000 acres. That’s 44 square miles. That’s well over twice the size of Manhattan in New York City. And this huge area was completely burned in about 2 days.
Here’s a great map from Discovery magazine showing the burned area in red:
Luckily, as of this writing the fire is now 60% contained, and this weekend saw much cooler temperatures, the wind slacking considerably … there was even a little rain in our neighborhood on Sunday. This fire’s worst days are over, it appears. It should be contained relatively quickly now.
This fire is a long way from my home, fortunately. It’s about 30 miles away as the crow flies … and, importantly, it’s far downwind from us as well. The fire area is about due southwest of us, so we were in no danger from this fire.
But are Santa Anas a danger? Yes. Because our hillsides will burn, just as they did in 2007. That year, we had fires literally on all 4 sides of our house, but none got closer than a half mile. Absolutely too close for comfort!
I’ve had two occasions since we moved to Southern California when the smoke was so dense and close that it turned the daylight orange. Those were very bad days. On the other hand, that is two days spread over 35 years.
Southern California has many things to recommend it. Yes, we have earthquakes … and bad ones strike every few decades. Yes, we have really bad winds and fires every few years. But California is a really big place, and most of the catastrophes don’t hit your neighborhood, thankfully.
We don’t have floods. We don’t have tornadoes. We don’t have 100% humidity. We don’t have snow in May (I’ve actually had two days of snow at my home in those 35 years). And it will be about 72 degrees in my neighborhood sometime during the day, about 330 days every year.
But there is a cost for living in this temperate climate. There is a cost for living in a place where you can be surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon. And I say you can be surfing and skiing, because you won’t be seeing me doing either of those!
I’ll proclaim my victories in other areas. Hail, King Pyrrhus!
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LA Times Fire Updates
Discovery Magazine
I swear this is true. The names have been changed to protect, uh, me He.
He: What is this?
She: Larb.
He: Larb?
She. L. A. R. B. Larb.
He: Why are we having Larb for dinner?
She: I was hungry for Larb.
He: How do you get hungry for Larb?
She: I like Larb.
He: I never get hungry for Larb. I don’t even know Larb. Why are you hungry for Larb?
She: When I go out for Thai food, I have Larb. Unless I have Bun. And it’s not a bun. And I like Larb.
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: I didn’t give you the hot Larb. You wouldn’t like it.
He: Should I use the sauce?
She: Yes, but not too much. It has some pepper in it.
He: I like pepper.
She: But I know you don’t like spicy foods, so don’t have any.
He: I like spicy foods.
She: No you don’t.
He: I don’t know what I like?
She: It doesn’t matter. Eat your Larb.
He: So I put it in a lettuce leaf?
She: I prefer the cabbage.
He: So why are there lettuce leaves? Is the cabbage too spicy?
She: It doesn’t matter. Eat your Larb.
He: OK.
She: And put some rice in it, too.
He: Is that why there’s rice on the table?
She: Eat your Larb.
He: OK.
She: I found the recipe online.
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: Really. Want to see it?
He: Uh, no.
She: Oh, this is really hot. My mouth is on fire.
He: It has pepper in it.
She: (drinks her Bulleit)
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: It’s good. I love the fresh flavors. Lime. Cilantro. Mint. Cabbage.
He: Cabbage flavor? Really?
She: Eat your Larb.
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: This doesn’t taste like what I had yesterday.
He: You had Larb yesterday?
She: Yes, and it didn’t taste like this.
He: I thought you were hungry for Larb.
She: I am.
He: But you had it yesterday?
She: Yes, I had it yesterday.
He: But you were hungry for more today?
She: Yes. I like Larb.
He: But this doesn’t taste like what you had yesterday?
She: No.
He: So are you hungry for this Larb, or yesterday’s Larb?
She: I like this. I like Larb. Don’t you like it?
He: Why am I eating Larb?
She: I like it. Go ahead. Drink your bourbon. I like it. Go ahead and blog about it. I don’t care. I like Larb.
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(ed. note: Larb is a minced meat salad. It’s the national dish of Laos.)
(further ed. note: She likes it.)
(final ed. note: He is not allowed to eat the hot stuff, but at least She prepared some Larb without the heat. He prepared the Bulleit, and all was well.)
Larb recipe on Grit & Glimmer blog (probably not the one used in the above Actual Conversation)
1933 photo by Elias Goldensky
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)
The 32nd President of the United States, 1933 – 1945
AKA: FDR
From: New York
College: Harvard, Columbia Law School
Married to: Eleanor Roosevelt
Children: Anna, James, Franklin (I), Elliott, Franklin (II), John
Party: Democratic
Previous Jobs: Lawyer, New York State Senator, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York
In His Words: “Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.”
“I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.”
“This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.”
“Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
“In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.”
“We must be the great arsenal of Democracy.”
“We do not see faith, hope, and charity as unattainable ideals, but we use them as stout supports of a nation fighting the fight for freedom in a modern civilization.”
“These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala. Well, of course, I don’t resent attacks, and my family doesn’t resent attacks, but Fala does resent them. You know, Fala is Scotch, and being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers in Congress and out had concocted a story that I had left him behind on the Aleutian Islands and had sent a destroyer back to find him – at a cost to the taxpayers of two or three, or eight or twenty million dollars- his Scotch soul was furious. He has not been the same dog since. I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself – such as that old, worm-eaten chestnut that I have represented myself as indispensable. But I think I have a right to resent, to object to libelous statements about my dog.”
Not true: Hyde Park on the Hudson, a movie about FDR and his relationship with “Daisy” Suckley, was widely panned as poor history. It misstated the relationship between these two very good friends, and doesn’t portray events in a historically accurate way. For example, the cottage featured in the movie was not actually a surprise to Daisy; rather, she and Roosevelt collaborated on its design. Enjoy the movie if you like … but don’t look to it for history.
True: FDR and his wife called each other “CP,” a term of endearment that was short for “Certain Person.”
Roosevelt was the first President elected with a physical disability.
He was the first person to lose the election as a Vice Presidential candidate, and then win as the Presidential candidate.
A case can be made that Roosevelt was a racist. After the 1936 Olympics, all of the white athletes were invited to the White House. The black athletes, including the 4-gold medal winner Jesse Owens, were never acknowledged by Roosevelt. During the war, he ordered the internment of over 100,000 US citizens of Japanese descent.
FDR built a swimming pool and a movie theater in the White House.
Roosevelt was the first President to appear on television.
Roosevelt’s “New Deal” redefined the role of government in America. The new federal involvement in matters traditionally handled by the private sector was anathema to the conservatives of his day. His engagement in solving America’s economic problems, however, resulted in his election to an unprecedented 4 terms.
FDR worked at improving his reading speed. Eventually, he was able to absorb an entire paragraph at a single glance.
Roosevelt’s White House pet was a black Scottie named “Fala.”
In high school, I learned that FDR’s “New Deal” helped end the Great Depression and fueled the recovery. In college, I learned that the build-up of the war machine is actually what caused the recovery, and the “New Deal” actually had little impact on the economy. My conclusion: Democrats love it, Republicans hate it, and such is the nature of political discourse. It was true in the 70s, and it’s true today. Unfortunately.
The Official Portrait: Frank O Salisbury painted the image of FDR that ultimately became the Official White House Portrait. The original was painted in 1935, and now hangs in the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Salisbury made 5 copies, each with slight variations from the original. One of these is in the FDR Library, and the last, painted in 1947, hangs in the White House.
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Freedom From Want
New York Times: Tapping The Inner Dog
Cole Withrow, in a picture on the “FreeCole” facebook page.
This story has gone viral in the 48 hours since the incident … and it’s currently a tragic affair.
One honest mistake that he immediately tried to correct … and an Eagle Scout and high school senior is facing prison.
The story is still developing, but here’s where we are as of this writing:
1. David “Cole” Withrow, from Princeton, NC, went skeet shooting with friends over last weekend.
2. He left one (or perhaps two, reports vary) shotgun(s) in his truck by accident, which he discovered when he reached for a book bag in the Princeton High School parking lot Monday morning.
3. After locking the guns in his truck, he went to the office, and called his Mom to come get the guns. He knew they were not allowed on school property, but also knew he was not allowed to leave school grounds once he had entered them that morning.
4. School officials overheard the conversation. Cole was arrested and expelled from school.
5. North Carolina mandates a 1-year expulsion for bringing a gun onto a high school campus.
6. After initially standing by his expulsion, the Johnson County Superintendent Ed Croom, has now offered Cole the opportunity to serve a 10-day suspension and then finish school on another campus. He will not be able to attend the graduation ceremony with his class.
7. He still faces the felony charge.
8. His college admission is also now unclear. Scholarships may be voided due to the felony arrest. However, Liberty University has stepped forward to award Cole a scholarship & make sure he can finish high school over the summer, in time to enroll at Liberty this fall.
9. His family isn’t commenting to the press, and the legal proceedings continue.
#FreeCole
“Zero Tolerance” is fine … until you come up with one of those shades of gray situations, which this obviously is.
Yes, Cole made a mistake by forgetting that he had guns in his truck. Once that mistake happened, he apparently had no option but to be arrested, expelled and imprisoned. Really? It’s a wrong law, and I hope that Princeton High School, Johnson County and North Carolina can see their way clear to appropriately extricating all involved parties from this mess.
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UPDATE: Cole “Knew” The Guns Were In His Vehicle
WRAL.com
The Blaze
WTVD-TV, Raleigh-Durham
