Weiner Matters--He's hired new staff

I finally got Weiner Facts to work--it's such a popular website, it's hard to get in.

"Check this one out! In the past, Weiner would have to go online to Media Matters to read about what he was supposed to say that day. But now, Weiner has changed all that. He just hired someone from Media Matters to work as his press secretary!"

Weiner Facts » Blog Archive » Weiner Matters

I hope Mr. Weinger is grateful--before Glenn Beck, no one had heard of him, and in politics, name recognition is everything. Media Matters is the anti-Bush, anti-conservative, anti-American site that filters the news for liberals. It's funded, I've heard, by George Soros, the Hungarian Communist who has had great luck with capitalism.

Just 1% of Seattle Marathon money goes to charity

Maybe you should ask before you volunteer, race, walk, or make a contribution, "What percentage of the take do the charity race organizers get?" You may just be paying $30 for a $5 t-shirt and a button saying, "I did my part to defeat (disease of choice)." I checked out Premier Sports of Columbus, OH which is handling the "39th Annual Memorial Day Run." You pay an entry fee ranging from $15 to $30, depending on what and when you enter. You sign away your right to sue if Premier Sports or the sponsor are negligant (although I don't think that stands up in court) and assume all risks if you are injured. This event doesn't claim to be charity. I think Premier Sports gets everything with a token going to the Upper Arlington Civic Association. However, many events do claim to support a charity--or research for a disease--cancer, heart disease, kidney, etc. Check it out first. This marathon in Seattle contributed only about $12,000 for an event that took in over $1,000,000.

Local News | Just 1% of Seattle Marathon money goes to charity | Seattle Times Newspaper

Gershwin's Concerto in F by Oscar Levant

Speaking of George Gershwin, when I was a young teenager--maybe 13 or 14--my sister and I went to Rockford to hear Oscar Levant play. It's possible my mom drove us--I don't remember how we got there. But it seems like we were sitting about 5 ft. from him. . . maybe I was just mesmerized. He was a fabulous pianist and appeared in American in Paris (1951). I was so fortunate to grow up in a home with an accomplished musician--God knows, He moved on after he gave that talent to her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wePBkW6WMM8

Musical bargain from the Discovery Shop

Yesterday I bought a great George Gershwin CD at the Discovery Shop (Cancer resale) for $1.00. The pianist was Eugen Cicero [Ciceu]. The first 7 items are from Porgy & Bess, [orchestral] and then that is followed by 8 piano medleys performed by Circero. I'd never heard of him, so I Googled. A Romanian genius in his adopted Germany, according to this writer, who spent too much time "in his cups" and died before his time. Here's a great article. ... I do love a bargain.

Nothing can beat my Urbie Green CD I found for a dollar, though. I've seen prices as high as $200 on the internet.

FTC to Look Into Copy Machine Privacy

The problem is leased copiers--who knew they were data storage devices? Well, the bad guys probably knew--if they didn't they do now.

"During its investigation, CBS [April 19 report] found a machine used by a police sex crimes division in Buffalo, N.Y., with information on criminal suspects and domestic violence complaints. It also found pay stubs with Social Security numbers and medical records from insurer Affinity Health Plan, including names and physician diagnoses."

I guess since most businesses don't know how to overwrite the data, maybe the criminals don't either?

Technology News: Privacy: FTC to Look Into Copy Machine Privacy Breakdown

Glenn Beck launches WeinerFacts.com

The Whitehouse dot gov link to immigration issues doesn't work (404 message), but the link to Weinerfacts.com has probably been hacked, or overrun by too many people trying to read it. Glenn Beck bought the domain name and is using the web site to fight a member of Congress using McCarthy type tactics to destroy a private citizen and his business. I had to go to 5-6 urls before I could get one to link. This one worked.

Another Black Conservative: Glenn Beck launches WeinerFacts.com

Today I also listened to a YouTube audio of Michael Savage taking a call from a Florida woman named Jo. I think it is a put-on. No one, especially a woman, could be that dumb. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMK9zxb5HyE&NR=1 I think her use of the word "stash" gives it away.

Let's elect Bill Davis

"There is no such thing as improved, enhanced, more efficient or streamlined government. We have one option: more government or less government. There are no natural predators of government." Letter to the editor, Wall St. Journal, May 21, 2010.

Deepwater Horizon record was exemplary--MMS

Out of 2,896 days of operation, Deep Water Horizon received 6 citations, and none of those were very serious according to Minerals Management Service (MMS). The Deepwater Horizon's record was so exemplary, according to MMS officials, that the rig was never on inspectors' informal "watch list" for problem rigs. But now there are charges and counter charges, and Associated Press who probably doesn't have anyone on staff who knows anything about these rigs, is asking a lot of questions and posing lots of possibilities. But whereever it goes, it always comes back to the responsibility of MMS and the Coast Guard, i.e., the federal government, and the fact that almost nothing was done by this administration for 9 days. The World Socialist Website see it all as BP and Transocean's fault, because how could it blame the Obama government when it doesn't believe there should even be a private oil industry? Unless it was the government of George W. Bush and a hurricane, and then the federal, not the state and local governments, are completely to blame. That too is the socialist way. . .

MMS declined to send a witness to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s hearing Monday on the federal response to the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said. I don't understand how the government can force automobile company CEOs and bank managers to show up to be grilled, and their own guys get to duck out!

Federal Inspections on Deepwater Horizon Not as Claimed - AOL News

On Oil, Mining and Banking Media Favor Regulation, Barely Notice Failures of Regulators | NewsBusters.org

Museums Get University Bailouts

Another segment of our society who thought the bubble would never burst--private art museums. In today's WSJ we find that Magnes Museum is giving away its entire collection of prized Jewish art. Judah Magnes, for whom it is named, was a former Oakland, California resident who became a renowned rabbi, lecturer, political activist, and co-founder of Israel's Hebrew University. It was started in 1960 by the Fromer family. There is an interesting timeline (leaving out the bubble and the endowment problems) can be found at the website.



"Many museums took on debt to finance these activities (expansions)—only to have the floor fall out from under their endowments in 2008 when the market crashed. Last year, the Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, Fla., shut its doors and gave its 435-piece collection of contemporary Florida art to St. Petersburg College, after seeing its $8 million endowment shrivel to $500,000." You've got to have some pretty risky investments to have your endowment shrivel that much. So there's probably a lot more to be told about the investment advisors these museums are using.
The Magnes Museum in Berkeley, Calif., and the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Ore., Get University Bailouts - WSJ.com

Resurrgence of McCarthyism as Weiner targets Glenn Beck

Yes, I'm old enough to remember McCarthyism. I wouldn't recommend the methods, but he did ferret out a lot of active Communists. So we know from history it works. Now we see it's being used against a popular TV performer instead of movie stars and screen writers--Glenn Beck. McCarthyism is when the government tries to destroy the opposition by going after private citizens and their income. You can't accuse Rush or Glenn of McCarthyism (some confused liberals do) because they aren't members of the government. Obama has quite a stable now going after Beck--Van Jones, Jim Wallis, and Andy Stern, all advisors of the President (Jones has moved to a leftist think tank, but he's near by). Having all the broadcast news and most cable news in his pocket isn't enough. Maybe Congress could start having hearings for entertainers and talk show hosts and we could have a rerun of the 1950s. Its poll numbers could go even lower.

Disclaimer: I watch Glenn Beck, but I don't buy gold, or most of the products I see hawked on TV from beer to golf balls to Sleep Number beds. So obviously, this is motivated by politics, not by concern for the consumer, or we'd have Congress looking into a lot of advertisers.

Rep. Anthony Weiner targets Glenn Beck and Goldline International - Kenneth P. Vogel - POLITICO.com

Faisial Shahzad Planned More Attacks

Coleman bans city-funded travel to Arizona

Add Mayor Coleman to the list of officials who haven't read SB1070. Who is he in hock to? Probably the unions. They're helping with the Arizona boycott.

Coleman bans city-funded travel to Arizona | The Columbus Dispatch

Seth ponders what makes the elites

At Seth's Blog I read:

“In more and more societies, though (including my country and probably yours [and I'm including virtually the entire planet here, except perhaps North Korea] ), I'd argue that there's a different dividing line. This is the line between people who are actively engaged in new ideas, actively seeking out change, actively engaging--and people who accept what's given and slog along. It starts in school, of course, and then the difference accelerates as we get older. Some people make the effort to encounter new challenges or to grapple with things they disagree with. They seek out new people and new opportunities and relish the discomfort that comes from being challenged to grow (and challenging others to do the same).” Seth Godin (marketing guru).

In this country, in my opinion, the libertarians and conservatives are the ones doing the challenging and growing. The leftists, socialists, progressives, Marxists, etc. are lemmings, doing the same old same old that led to the enslavement and often murder of millions in the 20th century. By discouraging investment in new ideas, whether energy, education or money, they hope to retain power and squash individualism. Do they want to help the poor? Sure--until he gets to that 4th or 5th quintile and votes Republican. Then they demonize him. They haven’t had a new idea in over 100 years--it’s always, let the government do that. They don’t know how to harness the thousands of new ideas out there because it is so threatening to their political views.

The fight over Arizona's illegal immigrant law escalates to the power grid | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

Isn't it just wonderful how Obama has brought everyone together in this country as he chases after approval from foreign governments, like Mexico which has much more stringent laws than we have and deports more illegal aliens than we do? If Obama had been prudent instead of blabbing without reading SB1070, perhaps none of the state squabbles would have happened.

"President Obama, his Cabinet and other nongovernmental groups have strongly criticized the law, which takes effect in midsummer. They've threatened economic boycotts and canceled trips . . . The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-2 to boycott Arizona, . . .Now comes some hardball from a statewide elected Arizonan named Gary Pierce. He's a commissioner of the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities there. So what? you say. Well, as our beloved buddy Ed Morrissey points out over at HotAir, it seems that Arizona's power plants generate about 25% of the electricity that runs what Briton Eddie Izzard calls the City of Angles."

What do you think? Is it time for the President to read the bill and call for beer for all?

The fight over Arizona's illegal immigrant law escalates to the power grid | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

I've now read Arizona SB1070--have you?

The President hasn't. Eric Holder hasn't. Janet Napolitano hasn't. The governor of California hasn't. The principal of Highland High School in Illinois hasn't. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner hasn't. But it was read aloud on the Glenn Beck Show today. Now millions and millions know what our federal, state and local officials don't--that it cites and follows the U.S. Code, that it prohibits profiling, that it comes down very heavily on human smuggling. Too bad our president is so quick to speak without knowing anything on the topic. Maybe he can have another beer party, this time with the governor of Arizona, to thrash this out?

Pimping the poor

Somewhere I read that 12% of Ohio's population were poor by the government's designation, but that no one can live on that amount. I think quintiles work better--so I'd put it at the bottom one fifth. A designation of poverty is a little squishy by any agency's rule book--I know a 40 year old man living on disability, unemployment and Medicaid whose "income" is higher than mine because of all the government programs for which he's eligible. It allows him to build up his 401-k, because he is allowed income from part time employment without losing his benefits. Being disabled doesn't mean he's stupid--even if he could work full time (and I don't think he is able), it wouldn't pay.

I began browsing through some of the non-profits, foundations, government agencies, faith-based organizations and community organizations that assist those we used to call "the down and out" with food and nutrition needs. That could be the poor, children, elderly, disabled, homeless, and anyone with a special health problem whether gluten sensitivity, diabetes, HIV, TB, etc. All social programs are intertwined since poverty is never simple, so it's not long before you're into the medical and educational and post-prison programs, too.

In the process I came across a jumbled alphabet soup of acronyms of government agencies and programs, like TANF, TEFAP, SFPP, SNAP, and OASHF. Then I realized that those groups, programs and agencies which all had directors, assistant directors, marketers, data gatherers, IT support, boards and researchers were yet again bundled into coalitions and super-organizations which also have directors, assistant directors, boards, etc.

I'll just highlight one coalition/organization because it had four name changes in seven years, The Coalition to Protect Ohio's Future, beginning in 2003 as The Emergency Campaign to Protect Ohio's Future. But after browsing the list of 127 agencies which supported it, and looking through their lists of staff and boards and community partners, I concluded that the ratio of poverty staffer to needy recipient must be about 1:1. Another thing I noticed was that many of these coalitions and non-profits organized themselves in the early 2000s. I suspected that had something to do with the change in the Welfare law of 1996; that instead of the check going to welfare mothers it was going into the accounts of middle class social workers, researchers, and academics who run these organizations. I didn't have to look too far because one of these organizations had in fact hired another sister organization (they are very good at recycling government grants to other agencies) to research why the poor were staying poor.

"In 1996, Congress transformed the nation’s welfare system to mandate higher workforce participation by program participants. The new program, named Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), imposed a maximum five-year limit for receiving cash benefits, but also permitted states to use federal funds for many types of assistance intended to aid a person in finding and keeping a job. Such assistance can include training, transportation, and child support functions." Staying Employed: Trends in Medicaid, Child Care, and Head Start in Ohio

I also realized that I couldn't tell what these groups/agencies/coalitions actually did even by carefully parsing their vision and mission statements! Here's the mission statement for The Coalition to Protect Ohio's Future:

"To ensure support from the public, the legislature and the administration for governmental services and government funded services that support health, human services and early care in Ohio."

It sounds to me like it exists solely to make sure their supporting agencies have a funding stream, to get money, a slice of which would go to the Coalition and keep it moving on into "Ohio's future." Not a word about ending poverty or hunger, or healing the sick, or anything as grandiose as those movie star challenges on TV. And what in the world is "early care," anyway?

And one last thing. No matter the date on the study or report, it was always "in these difficult times," or "during this economic downturn," or "in this time of growing need." Virtually all these reports were written during the Bush eight years, and until Obama came along, no administration had spent more on domestic social programs than George W. Bush. These programs had enormous growth under him, and because his tax programs brought in more money to the government coffers and even the state budgets were flush with full employment tax money, it was like fertilizer for the poverty gardeners (mixing my metaphors here).

Obama Signs Daniel Pearl Press Act--protects journalistic freedom elsewhere

Oh the irony. The president who has done more to target and malign freedom of speech, print, and internet (the press) in my memory, attacking Fox News as not being "a real news organization" and has his lackies and attack dogs going after the sponsors of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, signs the Daniel Pearl Press Act, requiring "the State Department to expand its scrutiny of news media restrictions and intimidation as part of its annual review of human rights in each country. Among other considerations, the department will be required to determine whether foreign governments participate in or condone violations of press freedom."

Obama Signs Daniel Pearl Law Backing Press Freedom - NYTimes.com

And it wasn't enough that he had every major cable and broadcast company and news organization under his control carrying his water and getting him elected--he's created yet another White House news company for sanitizing his activities even more than WaPo, NYT or Katie would do for him. I guess they didn't believe Glenn when he told them they would be next after he got done marginalizing Fox.

"The White House's media management practices have drawn quiet criticism from journalists in the past few weeks. Despite Obama's campaign pledge to be open with the media, members of the White House Correspondents' Association met with Gibbs recently to complain about limitations on their access. The group is mainly upset about the relatively few informal question-and-answer sessions Obama has held since taking office. Obama had 46 such encounters with the press during his first year, far fewer than Presidents George W. Bush (147) and Clinton (252) during their first years, according to Martha Joynt Kumar, a political science professor at Towson University. However, Obama gave many more media interviews (161) compared with Bush (50) and Clinton (53) in their first years. Kumar said Obama gave more formal news conferences in his first year (27) than Bush (19), but far fewer than Clinton (45)." WaPo.

More on the message machinery and spin.

White House message machinery spinning faster than ever - McClatchy

Obama doesn't point fingers at government or environmentalists

If you Google, "blame environmentalists for oil spill" you'll get a bunch of articles, essays, blogs, and whiners on the left bad mouthing Rush Limbaugh (as though he had an elected office or owned an oil company) and someone I've never heard of, for suggesting that there would be no deep water drilling if it weren't for the environmentalists. Oh, are they outraged. But they really don't have a good answer, because it's true. Nor does Obama, whose government agencies handle all the safety and regulation of this very risky (but rarely failing) operation. He, the master of the blame game, continues to blame every thing and everyone except his own administration.

They used to drill for natural gas in Ohio and oil in Pennsylvania. No deep water spills then. Maybe if they'd listened to Sarah Palin . . .?

The Gulf oil spill blame game - How the World Works - Salon.com

Limbaugh, Environmentalists Square Off on Who is to Blame for Oil Leak - ABC News

Book Club List 2010-2011

Each May our book club selects the titles for the next September through May book year. Our rules are you have to have read your nominated title, lobby for it for 1 minute, and agree to lead the discussion. Those who don't have a title, either contribute dessert, or host an event. This year's selections are:

September: The help, by Kathryn Stockett

October: American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham

November: Jungle Jack: my wild life, by Jack Hanna

December: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks

January: Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell

February: The Glass Castle: a memoir, by Jeannette Walls

March: Animal, vegetable, miracle; a year of food life, by Barbara Kingsolver

April: The inextinguisable symphony by Martin Goldsmith

May: The year of living Biblically: one man's humble quest to follow the Bible as literally as possible, by A.J. Jacobs

Chick flicks and pop corn

My daughter and son-in-law are big movie fans. They both see them in theaters and also buy them. I still have many movies for VCR that were hers that I've never opened. So today after Sunday brunch, they sent us home with "The blind side" with Sandra Bullock, and "It's complicated," with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. I'd intended to see both when they got to the dollar theater, but I think I missed them. SIL says I'll need a few hankies for the Bullock movie.