News Forum Home Page: "
The end of analog TV
MSNBC, by Michael Rogers Original Article
Posted By: Photoonist - 4/25/2005 3:06:56 PM Post Reply
Depending on the outcome of discussions in Congress, television as we know it may end at exactly midnight Dec. 31, 2006. That�s the date Congress targeted, a decade ago, for the end of analog television broadcasting and a full cutover to a digital format. If enforced, that means that overnight, somewhere around 70 million television sets now connected to rabbit ears or roof-top antennas will suddenly and forever go blank, unless their owners purchase a special converter box. "
Monday, April 25, 2005
Monday, April 18, 2005
Chronicle weather depression!
Leave it to The Chronicle to find the down side of everything.
Too-nice weather has some downsides
Saturday, April 16, 2005
By John S. HausmanCHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
It's official: The first two weeks of April were the warmest ever in Muskegon.
And one of the sunniest and driest. Unfortunately for firefighters, the dryness is expected to continue at least until the middle of next week in most places.
You've heard of too much of a good thing? Maybe this is it.
For April 1-14, Muskegon's average daily temperature -- that's the midpoint between each day's high and low -- was 51.8 degrees, breaking the previous early-April record of 51.7 degrees in the first two weeks of 1895, according to the National Weather Service's Grand Rapids office.
The "normal" average temperature for April 14 in Muskegon is 44 degrees.
And so far this month, Muskegon has received only a trace of rain, recorded on April 7. The last measurable rain was March 31, when Muskegon got a paltry 0.04 inch, and the last decent drenching was March 30, when we got a half-inch.
Meteorologist Mark Sekelsky said above-normal temperatures will continue through next week with highs at least in the 60s each day, possibly hitting 70 degrees Monday (the average high for April 15 is 54 degrees).
Other than a slight chance of scattered rain Sunday night, the first appreciable chance of showers or thunderstorms is expected to be Tuesday night, with 30 to 40 percent probability of rain each day from then into next weekend, Sekelsky said. "It looks like in most places next week we'll be seeing a shower or thunderstorm," he said. "We could certainly use the rainfall. It's been very dry."
That gets no argument from Muskegon County firefighters, who have been dealing with a rash of grass fires and expect to see more before the rains come.
"It's extremely dry," said Robert Grabinski, Muskegon Township's deputy fire chief. "Any kind of wind at all, and even a little campfire gets away from somebody and gets going really good. We advise people not to burn."
The state has imposed a ban on burning brush, and firefighters are asking people to refrain from recreational fires -- even in small backyard firepits. A gust of wind could start a grass fire, and Muskegon Township had exactly that happen last week, Grabinski said, leading to the loss of two neighbors' backyards, a snowblower and other equipment stored in garages.
"Until we get some significant rain that starts greening things up, it's best that they do no fires," Grabinski said. "I look to be pretty busy this weekend."
Some people have even started watering lawns and flowers, unusual for mid-April. But a local nurseryman says that's not necessary.
"They don't really need it," said Wally Weesies, owner of White Lake Nursery Inc. "It's plenty early. The grass is still in a semi-dormant state. It's OK to water, but it's not necessary," Weesies said.
The same goes for spring flowers, he said. "It's not an emergency to water them yet; it's OK to," Weesies said. More important, he said, is to clean up flower beds, cutting off old perennials and sprinkling a little fertilizer on in preparation for when the rains do come.
© 2005 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission
Too-nice weather has some downsides
Saturday, April 16, 2005
By John S. HausmanCHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
It's official: The first two weeks of April were the warmest ever in Muskegon.
And one of the sunniest and driest. Unfortunately for firefighters, the dryness is expected to continue at least until the middle of next week in most places.
You've heard of too much of a good thing? Maybe this is it.
For April 1-14, Muskegon's average daily temperature -- that's the midpoint between each day's high and low -- was 51.8 degrees, breaking the previous early-April record of 51.7 degrees in the first two weeks of 1895, according to the National Weather Service's Grand Rapids office.
The "normal" average temperature for April 14 in Muskegon is 44 degrees.
And so far this month, Muskegon has received only a trace of rain, recorded on April 7. The last measurable rain was March 31, when Muskegon got a paltry 0.04 inch, and the last decent drenching was March 30, when we got a half-inch.
Meteorologist Mark Sekelsky said above-normal temperatures will continue through next week with highs at least in the 60s each day, possibly hitting 70 degrees Monday (the average high for April 15 is 54 degrees).
Other than a slight chance of scattered rain Sunday night, the first appreciable chance of showers or thunderstorms is expected to be Tuesday night, with 30 to 40 percent probability of rain each day from then into next weekend, Sekelsky said. "It looks like in most places next week we'll be seeing a shower or thunderstorm," he said. "We could certainly use the rainfall. It's been very dry."
That gets no argument from Muskegon County firefighters, who have been dealing with a rash of grass fires and expect to see more before the rains come.
"It's extremely dry," said Robert Grabinski, Muskegon Township's deputy fire chief. "Any kind of wind at all, and even a little campfire gets away from somebody and gets going really good. We advise people not to burn."
The state has imposed a ban on burning brush, and firefighters are asking people to refrain from recreational fires -- even in small backyard firepits. A gust of wind could start a grass fire, and Muskegon Township had exactly that happen last week, Grabinski said, leading to the loss of two neighbors' backyards, a snowblower and other equipment stored in garages.
"Until we get some significant rain that starts greening things up, it's best that they do no fires," Grabinski said. "I look to be pretty busy this weekend."
Some people have even started watering lawns and flowers, unusual for mid-April. But a local nurseryman says that's not necessary.
"They don't really need it," said Wally Weesies, owner of White Lake Nursery Inc. "It's plenty early. The grass is still in a semi-dormant state. It's OK to water, but it's not necessary," Weesies said.
The same goes for spring flowers, he said. "It's not an emergency to water them yet; it's OK to," Weesies said. More important, he said, is to clean up flower beds, cutting off old perennials and sprinkling a little fertilizer on in preparation for when the rains do come.
© 2005 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Muskegon bidding
MLive.com's Printer-Friendly Page: "City sets policy on local vs. out-of-town bids
Friday, April 15, 2005By Robert C. Burns
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
The city of Muskegon's somewhat vague standard on the selection of local vs. out-of-town bidders has been solidified into a formal policy.
The policy gives notice to potential bidders that the city commission may give the nod to local suppliers or contractors if the local bidder comes within 1 percent of the lowest nonlocal bid.
This assumes the bids in question are deemed 'responsible,' while 'local' is defined as a company with a business location within the city limits.
While not absolute, the new policy gives potential bidders advance warning that local preferences are a possibility, all other things being equal.
'Before people spend money putting a bid package together, there should be absolutely no question about the criteria we are using,' said Commissioner Larry Spataro, who has advocated setting a definite policy and sticking to it.
Another aspect of the new policy gives the commission more latitude in purchases or construction contracts expected to exceed $1 million. In such cases, 'the city commission will be consulted on whether local preference may apply, prior to soliciting bids.'
City commissioners have split over the question of whether to award contracts or purchases based solely on the low bid, or to give added preference to companies that pay city taxes, hire and buy materials locally.
The most recent flareup occurred when the commission voted 4-3 to accept the second-lowest bid of Jackson-Merkey Contractors of Muskegon for a street paving project, rather than the lowest bid, submitted by a Ludington firm.
For several years, commissioners have been loosely following an unwritten guideline calling for l"
Friday, April 15, 2005By Robert C. Burns
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
The city of Muskegon's somewhat vague standard on the selection of local vs. out-of-town bidders has been solidified into a formal policy.
The policy gives notice to potential bidders that the city commission may give the nod to local suppliers or contractors if the local bidder comes within 1 percent of the lowest nonlocal bid.
This assumes the bids in question are deemed 'responsible,' while 'local' is defined as a company with a business location within the city limits.
While not absolute, the new policy gives potential bidders advance warning that local preferences are a possibility, all other things being equal.
'Before people spend money putting a bid package together, there should be absolutely no question about the criteria we are using,' said Commissioner Larry Spataro, who has advocated setting a definite policy and sticking to it.
Another aspect of the new policy gives the commission more latitude in purchases or construction contracts expected to exceed $1 million. In such cases, 'the city commission will be consulted on whether local preference may apply, prior to soliciting bids.'
City commissioners have split over the question of whether to award contracts or purchases based solely on the low bid, or to give added preference to companies that pay city taxes, hire and buy materials locally.
The most recent flareup occurred when the commission voted 4-3 to accept the second-lowest bid of Jackson-Merkey Contractors of Muskegon for a street paving project, rather than the lowest bid, submitted by a Ludington firm.
For several years, commissioners have been loosely following an unwritten guideline calling for l"
Urban League
MLive.com's Printer-Friendly Page: "Imagine Muskegon without league's help
Friday, April 15, 2005By Clayton Hardiman
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Every Christmas, we're treated to the nightmare scene in the sentimental classic film 'It's a Wonderful Life,' where George Bailey, desperate and suicidal, is escorted through the horrific mess the world would have become if he had never been born.
Today, we in Muskegon are forced to envision a similar scenario: Life without the Urban League.
In the film, George's idyllic hometown Bedford Falls has become a garish Babylon of vice and corruption. Every life George would have touched has been transformed for the worse.
The people he would have known are all suspicious, hostile and joyless. Some are insane or dead.
'You've been given a great gift, George,' his odd little guardian angel tells him, 'a chance to see what the world would be like without you.'
Some gifts, it seems, are almost more than we can handle.
Now we've been asked to imagine such a gift in real life. We have to envision Muskegon the last 55 years minus a proliferation of programs for employment assistance, education and health awareness.
We are asked to envision a Muskegon without youth employment training. We're asked to envision a Muskegon without sickle cell counseling, hypertension screening, home mortgage education and advocacy for the marginalized.
We are asked to envision a Muskegon without an Urban League.
All of this is a tremendous leap of the imagination -- not because losing those programs seems so unlikely but because it already seems so real.
Most of those programs have already disappeared, largely because of a financial crisis that has cost the non-profit community service agency most of its staff and now threatens its fu"
Friday, April 15, 2005By Clayton Hardiman
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Every Christmas, we're treated to the nightmare scene in the sentimental classic film 'It's a Wonderful Life,' where George Bailey, desperate and suicidal, is escorted through the horrific mess the world would have become if he had never been born.
Today, we in Muskegon are forced to envision a similar scenario: Life without the Urban League.
In the film, George's idyllic hometown Bedford Falls has become a garish Babylon of vice and corruption. Every life George would have touched has been transformed for the worse.
The people he would have known are all suspicious, hostile and joyless. Some are insane or dead.
'You've been given a great gift, George,' his odd little guardian angel tells him, 'a chance to see what the world would be like without you.'
Some gifts, it seems, are almost more than we can handle.
Now we've been asked to imagine such a gift in real life. We have to envision Muskegon the last 55 years minus a proliferation of programs for employment assistance, education and health awareness.
We are asked to envision a Muskegon without youth employment training. We're asked to envision a Muskegon without sickle cell counseling, hypertension screening, home mortgage education and advocacy for the marginalized.
We are asked to envision a Muskegon without an Urban League.
All of this is a tremendous leap of the imagination -- not because losing those programs seems so unlikely but because it already seems so real.
Most of those programs have already disappeared, largely because of a financial crisis that has cost the non-profit community service agency most of its staff and now threatens its fu"
Friday, April 15, 2005
The American Spectator-liberalism
George is grumpy at the left. Read it all.
The American Spectator: Pie in the Sky Liberals
By George Neumayr
In the 1960s, radicals began their march through the institutions of American society. They marched through them, stayed long enough to find the exits, and now end up right back where they started: on the outside, in a state of powerless, clawing anger, hurling pies at 'establishment' figures and wishing death upon congressmen and presidents.
The left's feelings of impotent 1960s-style rage can be measured in Drudge Report headlines, such as: 'Website sells 'Kill Bush' T-Shirts,' and in Drudge's now weekly links to stories about pundits pied by liberals who clearly regard their victims as members of a new establishment. Like children who hurl their baby food as a form of protest, liberals in a state of infantile, frustrated rationality are reduced to tossing sugary and oily products at Bill Kristol and Pat Buchanan and stomping their feet at Ann Coulter.
The American Spectator: Pie in the Sky Liberals
By George Neumayr
In the 1960s, radicals began their march through the institutions of American society. They marched through them, stayed long enough to find the exits, and now end up right back where they started: on the outside, in a state of powerless, clawing anger, hurling pies at 'establishment' figures and wishing death upon congressmen and presidents.
The left's feelings of impotent 1960s-style rage can be measured in Drudge Report headlines, such as: 'Website sells 'Kill Bush' T-Shirts,' and in Drudge's now weekly links to stories about pundits pied by liberals who clearly regard their victims as members of a new establishment. Like children who hurl their baby food as a form of protest, liberals in a state of infantile, frustrated rationality are reduced to tossing sugary and oily products at Bill Kristol and Pat Buchanan and stomping their feet at Ann Coulter.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
The games AARP plays
Watch out for these lying socialists. Try http://usanext.com/ instead.
The games AARP plays - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED - April 14, 2005: "The games AARP plays
By John Carlisle
In the ongoing debate over Social Security, AARP may claim that its mission is to defend the elderly, but its use of manipulative polls and inaccurate ads to needlessly frighten the public about the merits of reform raises serious questions about its tactics.
Moreover, while AARP says private stocks are too risky for individuals to invest their retirement savings, the multibillion organization has no problem making millions off those same 'risky' investments.
As evidence for the alleged unpopularity of private accounts backed by President Bush, AARP cites a poll it conducted in March that showed that 59 percent of the organization's 35 million members oppose the proposal. However, the poll is suspect because it was framed in such a way as to maximize a negative response. For example, 29 percent of AARP members initially said they liked the idea of diverting up to $1,300 into private accounts. These respondents were then asked a series of loaded questions, such as 'What if you heard that creating private accounts out of Social Security funds will put more of your retirement savings at risk?' This was followed up with language such as private accounts 'will create winners and losers' and 'could mean cuts in everyone's Social Security benefits.' Not surprisingly, most of the respondents who supported private accounts changed their minds. ...
AARP plays other games with polls to get the answers it wants. One poll reported that the general public is opposed to private accounts by a margin of 48 percent to 43 percent. However, the poll was skewed to maximize the representation of demographic groups that tend to oppose the plan. ....."
The games AARP plays - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED - April 14, 2005: "The games AARP plays
By John Carlisle
In the ongoing debate over Social Security, AARP may claim that its mission is to defend the elderly, but its use of manipulative polls and inaccurate ads to needlessly frighten the public about the merits of reform raises serious questions about its tactics.
Moreover, while AARP says private stocks are too risky for individuals to invest their retirement savings, the multibillion organization has no problem making millions off those same 'risky' investments.
As evidence for the alleged unpopularity of private accounts backed by President Bush, AARP cites a poll it conducted in March that showed that 59 percent of the organization's 35 million members oppose the proposal. However, the poll is suspect because it was framed in such a way as to maximize a negative response. For example, 29 percent of AARP members initially said they liked the idea of diverting up to $1,300 into private accounts. These respondents were then asked a series of loaded questions, such as 'What if you heard that creating private accounts out of Social Security funds will put more of your retirement savings at risk?' This was followed up with language such as private accounts 'will create winners and losers' and 'could mean cuts in everyone's Social Security benefits.' Not surprisingly, most of the respondents who supported private accounts changed their minds. ...
AARP plays other games with polls to get the answers it wants. One poll reported that the general public is opposed to private accounts by a margin of 48 percent to 43 percent. However, the poll was skewed to maximize the representation of demographic groups that tend to oppose the plan. ....."
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
An American soldier
Thank God for these fine soldiers.
OpinionJournal - Extra: "BY GREG MOORE
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y.--There are no longer generators running, or armored vehicles rumbling, or mortars exploding, and the roar of the silence is deafening to me. What I hear at night now is the gentle breaths released from the perfect lips of my sons. The same lips that I cannot kiss enough. The lips that make my eyes fill with tears every time they touch my cheeks."
OpinionJournal - Extra: "BY GREG MOORE
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y.--There are no longer generators running, or armored vehicles rumbling, or mortars exploding, and the roar of the silence is deafening to me. What I hear at night now is the gentle breaths released from the perfect lips of my sons. The same lips that I cannot kiss enough. The lips that make my eyes fill with tears every time they touch my cheeks."
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
"Islamic teachings"
These are the people that the American Left support?
Power Line: "Hamas initially denied any link to the murder, but later admitted that the assailants belonged to one of its groups. It also admitted that the murderers were responsible for cracking down on men and women who defy Islamic teachings by appearing in public together."
Power Line: "Hamas initially denied any link to the murder, but later admitted that the assailants belonged to one of its groups. It also admitted that the murderers were responsible for cracking down on men and women who defy Islamic teachings by appearing in public together."
Monday, April 11, 2005
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
We elected these people?
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "As Rep. Maxine Waters said at an abortion rally last April, 'I have to march because my mother could not have an abortion.'"
Cool place to murder someone?
Watch out if your spouse invites you to this place!
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "Our Own Private Idaho
Blogger Orin Kerr calls our attention to a law review article by Brian Kalt, who points out that U.S. law provides a way to get away with murder (or any other crime): Do it in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone National Park.
This is possible, according to Kalt, because of an oddity in the federal courts' jurisdiction: Yellowstone is under federal jurisdiction, which means state law does not apply. An 1894 law defines the federal District of Wyoming as including the whole park, including the portions in Idaho and Montana, which means that any crime committed within the park would be tried in federal district court in Wyoming.
But here's the rub: The Sixth Amendment stipulates that a jury in a federal trial must be 'of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.' That means that if you commit a crime in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone, the jury must consist of people who live in both Idaho and the Wyoming District, which is to say, the Idaho portion of Yellowstone, whose population is zero. Thus if you insist on a jury trial, which is your constitutional right, the government will be unable to try you. (The Montana portion of the park has an adult population of 41, making it at least theoretically possible to assemble a jury for a crime committed there.)
Going on a killing spree in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone may be easier said than done, though. After all, the population is zero, so who would you kill? This rules out lots of other crimes, too. There are no houses to burgle, and we're pretty sure there are no liquor stores to rob.
If your ambition is to commit the perfect crime, then, best to set your sights lower. How about this: Load your pickup truck full of mattresses and drive to the Idaho corner of Yellowstone
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "Our Own Private Idaho
Blogger Orin Kerr calls our attention to a law review article by Brian Kalt, who points out that U.S. law provides a way to get away with murder (or any other crime): Do it in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone National Park.
This is possible, according to Kalt, because of an oddity in the federal courts' jurisdiction: Yellowstone is under federal jurisdiction, which means state law does not apply. An 1894 law defines the federal District of Wyoming as including the whole park, including the portions in Idaho and Montana, which means that any crime committed within the park would be tried in federal district court in Wyoming.
But here's the rub: The Sixth Amendment stipulates that a jury in a federal trial must be 'of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.' That means that if you commit a crime in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone, the jury must consist of people who live in both Idaho and the Wyoming District, which is to say, the Idaho portion of Yellowstone, whose population is zero. Thus if you insist on a jury trial, which is your constitutional right, the government will be unable to try you. (The Montana portion of the park has an adult population of 41, making it at least theoretically possible to assemble a jury for a crime committed there.)
Going on a killing spree in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone may be easier said than done, though. After all, the population is zero, so who would you kill? This rules out lots of other crimes, too. There are no houses to burgle, and we're pretty sure there are no liquor stores to rob.
If your ambition is to commit the perfect crime, then, best to set your sights lower. How about this: Load your pickup truck full of mattresses and drive to the Idaho corner of Yellowstone
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
MSU must beware of underdog - 3/20/05
Wrong again!
MSU must beware of underdog - 3/20/05: ", March 20, 2005
March Madness
MSU must beware of underdog
Spartans face tiny Vermont, a Cinderella team riding a gust of incredible emotion.
By Bob Wojnowski / The Detroit News"
MSU must beware of underdog - 3/20/05: ", March 20, 2005
March Madness
MSU must beware of underdog
Spartans face tiny Vermont, a Cinderella team riding a gust of incredible emotion.
By Bob Wojnowski / The Detroit News"
Canada to Heart Patients: Sorry If You Die Before We Can Treat You
Coming to the USA soon?
Maybe this is the reason we don't hear the MSM lionizing the fabulous "Canadian single payer health care system"?
Canada to Heart Patients: Sorry If You Die Before We Can Treat You
Maybe this is the reason we don't hear the MSM lionizing the fabulous "Canadian single payer health care system"?
Canada to Heart Patients: Sorry If You Die Before We Can Treat You
Lance in Iraq
A view into the mind of the left.
Lance in Iraq: "''I think all war is wrong,'' said Mary McKinney of Nashville. McKinney had her three children with her, including her 2-year-old son in a sling on her chest.
What the article does not mention is that she spoke her words in English, not German or Russian. However, the language of naivete is grating in any dialect.
Liberals today are isolationists in an era when that's simply not feasible. We tried it and we got Pearl Harbor. We tried it again and we got 9/11. Worse, they think America incapable of moral action on the world stage yet believe US citizens should fund it through the corrupt, immoral UN. Once upon a time, the left claimed to be for human rights. No more. They have thrown down the banner and President Bush, to his great credit, picked it up.
UN Parody Update: Annan: Suicide Bombers Deserve Prison
Posted by Lance Frizzell at March 20, 2005 06:28 AM "
Lance in Iraq: "''I think all war is wrong,'' said Mary McKinney of Nashville. McKinney had her three children with her, including her 2-year-old son in a sling on her chest.
What the article does not mention is that she spoke her words in English, not German or Russian. However, the language of naivete is grating in any dialect.
Liberals today are isolationists in an era when that's simply not feasible. We tried it and we got Pearl Harbor. We tried it again and we got 9/11. Worse, they think America incapable of moral action on the world stage yet believe US citizens should fund it through the corrupt, immoral UN. Once upon a time, the left claimed to be for human rights. No more. They have thrown down the banner and President Bush, to his great credit, picked it up.
UN Parody Update: Annan: Suicide Bombers Deserve Prison
Posted by Lance Frizzell at March 20, 2005 06:28 AM "
Monday, March 21, 2005
PEW
Funny how the MSM kinda forgot to "front page" this.
THE STENCH FROM PEW
Reports in The Post last week con cerning the political activities of the supposedly above-the-fray Pew Charitable Trusts were, in a word, shocking.
A former program officer for Pew, Sean Treglia, was caught on videotape bragging about how the foundation worked behind the scenes to create the false impression that there was a 'mass movement' afoot clamoring for campaign-finance reform.
The intent: to hoodwink Congress.
It worked.
Pew did this in the run-up to the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 � a.k.a. McCain-Feingold � by spreading around more than $40 million to grass-roots front groups like Common Cause, the Campaign Finance Institute and the inaptly named Center for Public Integrity.
Pew wasn't alone in its efforts.
Several other major liberal foundations � including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation and George Soros' Open Society Institute � colluded with Pew to give $123 million between 1994 and 2004 to promote the regulation of political speech.
But Pew's role in the effort seems to have been particularly insidious.
'Having been on the Hill, I knew that . . . if Congress thought this was a Pew effort, it'd be worthless. It'd be 20 million bucks thrown down the drain,' Treglia says at one point in the tape.
'So, in order, in essence, to convey the impression that this was something coming naturally from outside the Beltway, I felt it was best that Pew stay in the background.'
'By law, the grantees always have to disclose. But I always encouraged the grantees never to mention Pew,' Treglia says. 'Did we push the envelope? Yeah. Were we encouraged internally to push the envelope? Yeah . . . We stayed within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law.'
We'd be loathe to ac"
THE STENCH FROM PEW
Reports in The Post last week con cerning the political activities of the supposedly above-the-fray Pew Charitable Trusts were, in a word, shocking.
A former program officer for Pew, Sean Treglia, was caught on videotape bragging about how the foundation worked behind the scenes to create the false impression that there was a 'mass movement' afoot clamoring for campaign-finance reform.
The intent: to hoodwink Congress.
It worked.
Pew did this in the run-up to the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 � a.k.a. McCain-Feingold � by spreading around more than $40 million to grass-roots front groups like Common Cause, the Campaign Finance Institute and the inaptly named Center for Public Integrity.
Pew wasn't alone in its efforts.
Several other major liberal foundations � including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation and George Soros' Open Society Institute � colluded with Pew to give $123 million between 1994 and 2004 to promote the regulation of political speech.
But Pew's role in the effort seems to have been particularly insidious.
'Having been on the Hill, I knew that . . . if Congress thought this was a Pew effort, it'd be worthless. It'd be 20 million bucks thrown down the drain,' Treglia says at one point in the tape.
'So, in order, in essence, to convey the impression that this was something coming naturally from outside the Beltway, I felt it was best that Pew stay in the background.'
'By law, the grantees always have to disclose. But I always encouraged the grantees never to mention Pew,' Treglia says. 'Did we push the envelope? Yeah. Were we encouraged internally to push the envelope? Yeah . . . We stayed within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law.'
We'd be loathe to ac"
Sunday, March 20, 2005
ubiquitious
Not unlike the idiotically overused "gravitas", when the MSM learns a new word, they use it to death.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Bright idea, dumb reaction -Harvard idiocy
A major reason for the failure of black communities to experience the success of comparable "white/brown" communities is that too many of their leaders think this way.
Bright idea, dumb reaction - Comment - Times Online: " I WILL NEVER forget the moment when one of my Harvard classmates raised her hand and objected to the use of the term "black market", which she found unacceptably demeaning to her race. It was a Philip Roth moment, a militant provocation and the economics professor ducked. He was black too, and despised political correctness. But after a pause he said: "We will use the term "shadow market". And we used it, for the whole bloody semester. For in that bastion of censorship that was Harvard in the early 90s, no one dared to challenge anything labelled, however absurdly, as "discrimination".
Bright idea, dumb reaction - Comment - Times Online: " I WILL NEVER forget the moment when one of my Harvard classmates raised her hand and objected to the use of the term "black market", which she found unacceptably demeaning to her race. It was a Philip Roth moment, a militant provocation and the economics professor ducked. He was black too, and despised political correctness. But after a pause he said: "We will use the term "shadow market". And we used it, for the whole bloody semester. For in that bastion of censorship that was Harvard in the early 90s, no one dared to challenge anything labelled, however absurdly, as "discrimination".
What's Left? Shame. Today's "Must Read"
What's Left? Shame. (washingtonpost.com): "Those who claimed, with great certainty, that Arabs are an exception to the human tendency toward freedom, that they live in a stunted and distorted culture that makes them love their chains -- and that the notion the United States could help trigger a democratic revolution by militarily deposing their oppressors was a fantasy -- have been proved wrong. "
Too funny!
Just another of the wonders of the "net". Enjoy.
from MLIVE.com
5896. Funny... Children's Science Test. by EllenJ, 3/18/05 9:30 ET
Email received which will hopefully add a smile to your day:
These are real answers given by children.
Q: Name the four seasons.A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes largepollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.
Q: How is dew formed?A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?A: Keep it in the cow.
Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tendsto flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, andnature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.
Q: What are steroids?A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.
Q: What happens to your body as you age?A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.
Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery
Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.A: Premature death.
Q: What is artificial insemination?A: When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (e.g., abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts---the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity.The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominalcavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Q: What is the fibula?A: A small lie.
Q: What does "varicose" mean?A: Nearby.
Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section"A: The Caesarean Section is a district in Rome.
Q: What does the word "benign" mean?'A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.
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Untitled by taxqueen, 3/18/05
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5896. Funny... Children's Science Test. by EllenJ, 3/18/05 9:30 ET
Email received which will hopefully add a smile to your day:
These are real answers given by children.
Q: Name the four seasons.A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes largepollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.
Q: How is dew formed?A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?A: Keep it in the cow.
Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tendsto flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, andnature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.
Q: What are steroids?A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.
Q: What happens to your body as you age?A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.
Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery
Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.A: Premature death.
Q: What is artificial insemination?A: When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (e.g., abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts---the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity.The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominalcavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Q: What is the fibula?A: A small lie.
Q: What does "varicose" mean?A: Nearby.
Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section"A: The Caesarean Section is a district in Rome.
Q: What does the word "benign" mean?'A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.
Click to view these responses
Untitled by taxqueen, 3/18/05
E-mail This Post
» Forums Help » User Agreement » Privacy Policy
About Us User Agreement Privacy Policy Help/Feedback Advertise With Us© 2005 MLive.com. All Rights Reserved.
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