• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 9th on 09:02

    March 9, 2011 /

    These are my links for March 9th from 09:02 to 09:16:

    • Poll Watch: 64% of Americans see U.S. on wrong track – Americans, who are suffering from high gasoline prices, believe the United States is on the wrong track by a large margin, presenting a fresh challenge for President Barack Obama, a Reuters/Ipsos poll said on Wednesday.
      The proportion of Americans who believe the country is on the right track dropped 7 points in the past month to 31 percent, and 64 percent think the country is on the wrong track.

      It was the highest number of people in an Ipsos poll who believe the country is going in the wrong direction since Obama took office in January 2009.

    • NPR exec Ron Schiller leaving immediately; will not join Aspen Institute – NPR executive Ron Schiller already accepted another job and was expected to leave the network in May. But Schiller's incendiary comments caught on a hidden camera, and released Tuesday morning, will speed up that departure. [See update]

      Schiller–who was both president of the NPR foundation and a senior vice president for development–announced Tuesday night that he's leaving NPR immediately and reflected on his controversial comments directed at Republicans and the Tea Party movement.

      "While the meeting I participated in turned out to be a ruse, I made statements during the course of the meeting that are counter to NPR's values and also not reflective of my own beliefs," Schiller said in a statement. "I offer my sincere apology to those I offended. I resigned from NPR, previously effective May 6th, to accept another job. In an effort to put this unfortunate matter behind us, NPR and I have agreed that my resignation is effective today."

      NPR chief executive Vivian Schiller—who's not related to the outgoing executive—said in a statement that "Ron Schiller's remarks are contrary to what NPR stands for and deeply distressing to reporters, editors and others who bring fairness, civility and respect for a wide variety of viewpoints to their work everyday." (Vivian Schiller also resigned shortly after this post went up).

      Update: Ron Schiller will not be joining the Aspen Institute as planned, according to a spokesman for the organization. "Ron Schiller has informed us that, in light of the controversy surrounding his recent statements, he does not feel that it's in the best interests of the Aspen Institute for him to come work here," the spokesman said in a statement to The Cutline.

      =========

      He can kiss his fundraising career good bye.

    • NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns After Board Decides She Should Go – NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller has resigned, NPR just announced.

      This follows yesterday's news that then-NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller (no relation) was videotaped slamming conservatives and questioning whether NPR needs federal funding during a lunch with men posing as members of a Muslim organization (they were working with political activist James O'Keefe on a "sting.")

      Vivian Schiller quickly condemned Ron Schiller's comments, and he moved up an already-announced decision to leave NPR and resigned effective immediately. But Ron Schiller's gaffe followed last fall's dismissal of NPR political analyst Juan Williams, for which Vivian Schiller came under harsh criticism and NPR's top news executive, Ellen Weiss, resigned.

      ===========

      Not going to have to worry about that federal funding now because there will be NONE.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 7th through March 8th

    March 8, 2011 /

    These are my links for March 7th through March 8th:

    • Redevelopment agencies: California State controller reports numerous failings by redevelopment agencies – City redevelopment agencies improperly shortchanged schools by more than $40 million last year while allocating millions of dollars in public money for such things as a luxury golf course and a lobbyist, state Controller John Chiang said in a report released Monday.

      Chiang's report, adding fuel to the argument that redevelopment agencies are sucking up precious funds with little to show for their efforts, was immediately condemned by redevelopment advocates as politically motivated. A furious battle is playing out between the state and cities over the governor's proposal to scrap redevelopment entirely.

      Cities launched a statewide radio ad blitz and petition-gathering campaign Monday urging legislators to protect the state's approximately 400 municipal redevelopment agencies. Gov. Jerry Brown is recommending that much of the $5 billion a year in property taxes they collect be sent instead to schools, counties and the state.

      One ad called the move "a scheme" that will "put thousands more out of work."

      The California Professional Firefighters and the California School Employees Assn. countered with a campaign on radio stations in Sacramento. "While deputies are facing layoffs, fire stations are closing and local school funding is slashed, redevelopment agencies are spending taxpayer money for stadiums, parking garages and 'mermaid bars,' " one declared.

      +++++++

      Read the entire article.

      California Redevelopment Agencies have been full of abuse for decades. Before there was plenty of tax base to steal from the state, so the California Legislature turned a blind eye.

      No longer.

      I mean look at Thousand Oaks and its blighted Civic Arts Plaza and new City Hall.

      Then, look at the surrounding Thousand Oaks Blvd area which the Redevelopment Agency was formed to help.

    • NPR Executives Caught On Video – Better off without Federal Funding – Later in the lunch, Schiller explains that NPR would be better positioned free of federal funding. “Well frankly, it is clear that we would be better off in the long-run without federal funding,” he says. “The challenge right now is that if we lost it all together we would have a lot of stations go dark.”

      When one of O’Keefe’s associates asked, “How confident are you, with all the donors that are available, if they should pull the funding right now that you would survive?,” Schiller answered this way: “Yes, NPR would definitely survive and most of the stations would survive.”

      That is precisely the opposite answer Schiller’s boss, NPR CEO Vivian Schiller (no relation), gave at a press conference Monday in Washington. “We take [federal defunding] very, very seriously,” she said. “It would have a profound impact we believe on our ability – of public broadcasting’s ability – to deliver news and information.”

      At the Café Milano lunch, Schiller said he’s “very proud of” how NPR fired Juan Williams. “What NPR stood for is non-racist, non-bigoted, straightforward telling of the news and our feeling is that if a person expresses his or her opinion, which anyone is entitled to do in a free society, they are compromised as a journalist,” he said. “They can no longer fairly report.”
      With that, Schiller once again directly contradicted NPR’s public statements. At her Monday press conference, Vivian Schiller apologized for the way it handled the Williams matter. “We handled the situation badly,” she said. “We acted too hastily and we made some mistakes. I made some mistakes.”

      +++++++

      Read the entire piece.

      Defund these idiots and they should fire this idiot for being a moron, especially with regards to Juan Williams.

    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Millionaire Michigan Dentist Richard Ludwig Finds Credit Card in Florida Parking Lot, Uses it To Buy Pizza – ARRESTED – Millionaire Michigan Dentist Richard Ludwig Finds Credit Card in Florida Parking Lot, Uses it To Buy Pizza – ARRESTED
    • President 2012 Pennsylvania Poll Watch: Obama 43% Vs Romney 36% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Pennsylvania Poll Watch: Obama 43% Vs Romney 36% #tcot #catcot
    • Day By Day March 8, 2011 – Bean There | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 8, 2011 – Bean There #tcot #catcot
    • Wisconsin GOP President 2012 Poll Watch: Ryan 30% Vs Huckabee 17% Vs Gingrich 12% Vs Palin and Romney 9% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Wisconsin GOP President 2012 Poll Watch: Ryan 30% Vs Huckabee 17% Vs Gingrich 12% Vs Palin and Romney 9% #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-08 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-08 #tcot #catcot
    • Capitol Alert: Amazon sales tax bill stalls in Assembly committee – Amazon sales tax bill stalls in Assembly committee – Probably Temporarily
    • Amazon sales tax bill stalls in Assembly committee – Probably Temporarily – Hotly contested legislation aimed at compelling Amazon and other on-line retailers to collect California sales taxes stalled Monday — probably temporarily — in the the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee.

      Committee chairman Henry Perea, a Fresno Democrat, placed the bill on the committee's "suspense file" after a lengthy hearing but the committee's majority Democrats appear from their comments to be ready to approve it. Perea said the vote may come within a few weeks.

      Backed by a coalition of public employee unions and California's brick-and-mortar retailers, including Wal-Mart and The Home Depot, Assembly Bill 153 is patterned after a New York law that is now undergoing judicial scrutiny. State tax officials say it could raise as much as a billion dollars a year if enacted.

      Technically, Californians who buy goods from out-of-state on-line sellers are liable for "use taxes," equivalent to sales taxes, on their purchases, and there's a line on personal income tax returns for reporting such purchases. But very few buyers pay use taxes, and state officials say there's no practical way to collect them.

      The Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that states cannot compel mail order retailers to collect sales taxes unless they have a "physical presence" in the state, such as a store. New York's law contends that when Amazon or another on-line retailer uses "affiliates" in the state to serve customers, it creates a "nexus" that satisfies the Supreme Court decision.

      Amazon, however, warned in a letter to state officials last week that if Skinner's bill, or one of the other similar measures, becomes law, it will cancel its contracts with thousands of California affiliates. Other mail order networks have made similar threats, the committee was told.

      +++++++

      The Dems will pass this bill but since this is a tax increase, they will need a 2/3rds vote to pass the full Assembly and Senate

    • Flap’s Links and Comments for March 7th from 14:53 to 16:13 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for March 7th from 14:53 to 16:13 #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012: Sarah Palin to Forego NBC-Politico GOP Presidential Debate for Colorado Tribute to the Troops | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Sarah Palin to Forego NBC-Politico GOP Presidential Debate for Colorado Tribute to… #tcot #catcot
    • Video: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – The Choice | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Video: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – The Choice | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
    • Video: The Game Is On, No, Not for President – Sarah Palin Vs. Kathy Griffin | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Video: The Game Is On, No, Not for President – Sarah Palin Vs. Kathy Griffin | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's D…
    • Flap’s Links and Comments for March 7th from 14:20 to 14:26 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for March 7th from 14:20 to 14:26 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 3rd from 20:23 to 20:32

    March 3, 2011 /

    These are my links for March 3rd from 20:23 to 20:32:

    • Jim DeMint: Public Broadcasting Should Go Private – When presidents of government-funded broadcasting are making more than the president of the United States, it's time to get the government out of public broadcasting.

      While executives at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) are raking in massive salaries, the organizations are participating in an aggressive lobbying effort to prevent Congress from saving hundreds of millions of dollars each year by cutting their subsidies. The so-called commercial free public airwaves have been filled with pleas for taxpayer cash. The Association of Public Television Stations has hired lobbyists to fight the cuts. Hundreds of taxpayer-supported TV, radio and Web outlets have partnered with an advocacy campaign to facilitate emails and phone calls to Capitol Hill for the purpose of telling members of Congress, "Public broadcasting funding is too important to eliminate!"

      PBS President Paula Kerger even recorded a personal television appeal that told viewers exactly how to contact members of Congress in order to "let your representative know how you feel about the elimination of funding for public broadcasting." But if PBS can pay Ms. Kerger $632,233 in annual compensation—as reported on the 990 tax forms all nonprofits are required to file—surely it can operate without tax dollars.

      The executives at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which distributes the taxpayer money allocated for public broadcasting to other stations, are also generously compensated. According to CPB's 2009 tax forms, President and CEO Patricia de Stacy Harrison received $298,884 in reportable compensation and another $70,630 in other compensation from the organization and related organizations that year. That's practically a pittance compared to Kevin Klose, president emeritus of NPR, who received more than $1.2 million in compensation, according to the tax forms the nonprofit filed in 2009.

      ++++++

      Agreed

    • The Kochs fight back – Listing Who, What and Why – Faced with an avalanche of bad publicity after years of funding conservative causes in relative anonymity, the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, Charles and David, are fighting back.

      They’ve hired a team of PR pros with experience working for top Republicans including Sarah Palin and Arnold Schwarzenegger to quietly engage reporters to try to shape their Koch coverage, and commissioned sophisticated polling to monitor any collateral damage to the image of their company, Koch Industries.

      At the same time, through their high-priced lawyers, private security detail and influential allies in conservative politics and media, the Kochs have played hard ball with critics and suspected foes.

      Young environmental activists who pranked them have been hit with a lawsuit seeking more than $100,000 in damages, and the leak of an internal document describing their political activities resulted in an investigation – complete with document analysis and interviews of suspects – that eventually identified the mole.

      Both their new openness and their aggressive – and sometimes secretive – tactics were on display before and during the Kochs’ closed-door, invitation-only four-day annual winter meeting of conservative donors and leaders that concluded Tuesday with a breakfast at the pricey resort that hosted it here in the Palm Springs suburbs.

      +++++++

      Read it all.

      I missed this piece a month ago when I covered the Koch Conference in Ranch Mirage

    • The Enquirer’s Edwards Source’s Story – Observations by Mickey Kaus – Everybody’s favorite Rielle Hunter source, Pigeon O’Brien, tells her story in the Huffington Post.  I learned some things: 1) A lot more people were investigating the Edwards/Hunter sex scandal than I’d thought. It wasn’t just the National Enquirer and Sam Stein of HuffPo. Other campaigns and other publications were calling O’Brien for confirmation. Which raises the question: If so much of the MSM knew or suspected the story was true, why was it subequently so easily cowed by the efforts of John and Elizabeth Edwards to cover it up? 2) After Edwards’ first semi-confession, when he swore he couldn’t be the father of Rielle Hunter’s child, MSM reporters took his side with O’Brien:

      Rielle was flown out of the country and Edwards “confessed” on television (the first confession, the one in which he denied he was Quinn’s father) but included a troubling aside that he’d been with her at the hotel late at night because of her “troubles.” The press leaped on this and my phone rang all night: She’s blackmailing him for Andrew Young’s baby! Appalled, I spoke out and was told again and again, off camera, “Why do you defend her? Edwards says she’s a slut. Who knows whose baby that is?”

      ++++++++

      Read it all

      I first learned of the National Enquirer and the entire flap through reading Mickey's blog