Bowl Games For Everybody

Why are there so many bowls? Today's big match-up includes Rutgers at 9-3 and Virginia Tech at 6-6. Six and Six? Are we rewarding mediocrity? Aren't there enough teams with winning records to fill out the roster for all these bowls. There are three bowls on TV today and five more tomorrow.

I'm thinking of promoting a bowl for winless teams. That way one of those two teams will get a victory. The loser would still get a participant certificate. Better yet, if they tie, we could leave it that way. That way nobody loses (or wins). We could call it the Kissing Your Sister Bowl.

Rutgers and VT are competing in the Russell Athletic Bowl .

Autism and Sandy Hook

I landed in front to of the TV just as Access Hollywood promised to reveal the mysterious disease that gripped Adam Lanza and by implication cause him to shoot 27 people.

I thought to myself...this is outrageous. How is Access Hollywood qualified to report on Aspergers and Autism? Their lurid headline is spreading misconceptions about people with autism. Then I realized a lot people believe this stuff.

The careless reporting is an extension what others from more reputable news organizations have reported. Curtis Brainard has a thoughtful piece in the Columbia Journalism Review about the damage being done by careless reporting and, how some reporters are trying to counter the misperceptions being spread by some news organizations.

Lanza, autism, and violence

Critics try to stem media conjecture after Newtown shooting

The link between autism and becoming a mass murderer is far-fetched. As Brainard points out:

New York’s Poughkeepsie Journal, whose offices are an hour’s drive from Newtown, contacted experts at the Anderson Center for Autism in neighboring Staatsburg, who threw cold water on hype surrounding the shooting.
“That’s such a far-fetched connection,” Sudi Kash, Anderson’s director of clinical studies,told reporter Nina Schutzman. “With Asperger’s, there might be social interaction or communication difficulties, to varying degrees of severity. But this?”

If you remember Columbine, the press speculated about all sorts of things about the shooters. They were loners. They were bullied. They hated jocks. All false. I found this in Daily Beast.

"Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold—who, of course, took their own lives before anyone could interrogate them—were not outcasts, loners or Goths. They were not targeting jocks or blacks, or seeking revenge for a long-running feud with the “Trenchcoat Mafia.” They did not plan their attack for Hitler’s birthday (a last-minute ammunition problem delayed them for a day)."

Investigators say it will be months before we know the reasons behind the shootings, if at all. Like Columbine, we may never really know. All this speculation driven by the 24 hour news cycle will not change that and, the speculation will do more harm than good.

Pew Survey on Gun Ownership

Maybe it's just me. I think that horrific incidents like the mass killings at Virginia Tech, in Aurora, Colorado and in Newtown, Connecticut would change public attitudes concerning gun ownership. It's too soon to know what effect the killing of 20 young school children will have on this debate. Pew's research, Public Attitudes toward Gun Control, says the trend since 1993 suggests that Americans think it is more important to protect the right to own guns than it is to control gun ownership.

• In 1993 57% thought there should be more control over ownership. 34% thought it was ,more important to protect the right of Americans to own arms.

• At the end of July, 2012 47% thought there should be more control over ownership. 46% thought it was more important to protect the right of Americans to own arms.

Pew also points out that the public became more divided on this issue after Barack Obama was first elected President in 2008. The issue may be influenced by partisanship.  According to the the survey:

"The partisan gap in attitudes about gun control has widened considerably in recent years. In July, following the shootings in Colorado, 71% of Republicans said it was more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns while just 26% said it was more important to control gun ownership. Among Democrats, opinion was roughly the reverse: 72% said it was more important to control gun ownership while 21% prioritized gun rights. Independents were divided:50% said it was more important to protect gun rights; 43% said gun control was more important."

Partisanship should not jeopardize the safety of our children.

Maine public radio cuts back its music.

Maine public radio cuts back its music for more talk | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

This is never easy for public radio stations. After all, we invite listeners to invest in the programs.

Major changes always result in heat and some defections in the short run. Having 4,000 members threaten defection made a lot of staff members sit up and notice when we changed formats.

My past experience with change has yielded surprises. Replacing the opera with coverage of the shuttle disaster resulted in dozens of heated complaints. Coverage of the Pope's death in place of the opera resulted in even more complaints. We temporarily changed programming to offer coverage of the 9/11 disaster. One listener was so incensed by the change he threatened to blow up the station. (We called the police.)

In one case statistics suggested almost no audience and poor loyalty for a stand-alone weekend program. It was easy to understand why. The program had nothing to do with the rest of the schedule. I took the program off the air. The response was really light. There were literally a handful of negative comments. In fact, there was hardly a ripple. Within a few weeks after leaving the station, the program was back on the air. One of the members of that small ripple was able to dangle a check from a foundation in front of senior management. They went for it.

Will UConn join ACC? Maybe not.

An article in the Huffington Post is suggesting the ACC voted to include Louisville for all sports.

Louisville To Join ACC After Conference Presidents' Vote: Report

If true, this is blow for UConn sports. An article in this morning's Hartford Courant pointed out there would be a lot more money for UConn Athletics by joining the ACC.

My impression from the local media was that UConn was a lock for the ACC. Was the local media jumping to conclusions? Cheerleading? Did I get the wrong impression?

The pundits had it wrong. So did many journalists.

WSJ gets lost in the weeds with the Romney campaign

Ryan Chittum of the Columbia Journalism Review suggests the Wall Street Journal has it wrong about why Mitt Romney lost the election. That is because they paid too much attention to the political pundits. He contends, and I agree, that enough people understand that the economy cratered because of the policies that came before the crash. Voters intuitively understand that the recovery is going to take longer than the pundits want us to believe and, indicators are that the economy is on a slow road to recovery.

Also...Pundits are invested in their opinions. They're getting paid to have opinions. The opinions don't need to be true or based in fact.

Politics/Most Have Enough Information

SuperPac's and the candidates are set to spend millions to sway your vote. Contrast that to a survey by the Pew Research Center that says most of us already have enough information about President Obama and Mitt Romney. 92% of those surveyed say they have what they need to know about President Obama. 69% of those surveyed say they have what they need to know about Mitt Romney.

According to the survey results there's a wide partisan gap in what people want to know about Romney.



This is not a surprise. If you look at the results of the Wisconsin recall vote for Governor Scott Walker. There was not much movement in the results from the election to the recall election despite millions spent by sources outside the state to sway the voters. It is believed, through polling, that the voters had made up their minds in advance of the recall. The millions spent was aimed at the undecided which was a small percentage of the voters.

Previous Pew research shows the widening partisan gap between Republicans and Democrats. The money being spent will be aimed at the voters who have not decided... a portion of the Independents.

Since the advertising dollars spent will not be that effective...wouldn't it be nice if the money was spent to create jobs? I'm just sayin'.

Election Year Issues - Banking

Bank Reform

Eliot Spitzer: Clean Up The Banks 

Eliot Spitzer was the guest for On-Point on July 23rd to talk about "Clean Up the Banks."

Among the key issues...

• No significant changes in regulations since the failures of 2008.
• To Big to Fail...these banks are even bigger.
• Fiduciary responsibility is being ignored.
• Greed

Spitzer points out the ideology that got traction began in the 80's with the Reagan Administration when deregulation began in earnest. The checks on banking put in place during the Great Depression were stripped away. The breaks came off. The major crisis of the economic crisis were going through was only a matter of time. Proponents of deregulation assured us the bankers would regulate themselves.

Spitzer recounts a conversation he had with lawyers for Merrill Lynch. They admitted their guilt but, they said they were not as bad as their competitors. They viewed this as a defense! As if there is a sliding scale of unethical behavior. Spitzer calls it moral relativism. In other words, Merrill Lynch cheated their clients out of hundreds of millions while their competitors were cheating their clients out of billions.

Election Year Issues

Here's a list of election year issues.

• Distribution of Wealth.
• Growing poverty rates.
• Big Business - Monopolies.
• Banking Regulations.
• Big Business Influence in Politics
• Labor Laws.
• Public Health.
• Immigration.
• Environmental Issues.
• International Trade.
• Equal Opportunity Issues.

The list is from 1900. All of these issues were addressed in the period between 1900 and 1914 in what is known as the Progressive Era. They came about as issues because of changes in what drove our economy from agrarian to industrial. The changes were made to make the lives of average citizens better. In many cases, they did. We are going through a change again from national and regional to global. The issues above still have relevance. 

Etiquette and the Real Life Survival Guide

The Real Life Survival Guide is gathering for another recording this Sunday. The subject is Etiquette. I remember being taught etiquette by my parents. I also went to refresher course as an adult with my wife. The focus was proper etiquette at formal dinner occasions. I think my wife wanted me polish a few of my social skills. At the final class I made a mistake when cutting my meat. In my defense, I'm usually polite.

Because I help produce RLSG, I wanted to know more about etiquette. Was it something from the past? Had the rudeness of partisan politics and postings on the internet made it obsolete?

I found a few articles on talking about politics at social gatherings and at home. An article published by Reuters advises, "Know your goal. Think about the purpose of the conversation, and whether you should even be having it. Are you seeking information? Advocating a point of view in the hope of changing someone else's mind? Venting frustration?"
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/10/04/us-etiquette-politics-idUSTRE6931O620101004
Despite knowing deep down that your opinion is truly enlightened, you might want to keep that thought to yourself.

Social Media has etiquette. Reuters published an article on the etiquette of Pinterest.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/net-us-etiquette-pinterest-idUSBRE8610IU20120702

The News and Sentinel of Mobile has an article on intersection etiquette. Jim Parker wrote that for many, intersection etiquette was non-existent after last week's big storm.
http://newsandsentinel.com/page/blogs.detail/display/1106/Intersection-etiquette-non-existant.html

The focus of an etiquette class would seem to be important. NY State Senator Marty Golden wanted to teach some of his Brooklyn constituents proper etiquette. Golden's class was pitched as teaching the proper etiquette skills for women to get ahead in the business world. Among the skills the class would teach women to "sit, stand and walk like a model" and how to "walk up and down a stair elegantly,"  The class is being roundly criticized for focusing on the wrong issues. Golden cancelled the class.




You can find out more at CBS news.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57466407/n.y-sen-marty-golden-cancels-feminine-etiquette-class-after-outrage/

The Real Life Survival Guides program on Etiquette will air on WNPR in a couple of weeks. It airs Sunday at 4:30pm. The shows are also available on-line at the Real Life Survival Guide's website and wnpr.org.

Thank you for your time.

The Complexity of the Healthcare Debate

There are 50 million people in this country without healthcare insurance. Most simply cannot afford it. When the need for healthcare arises (It will for for all of us) the costs are astronomical.  Basic, affordable health insurance can solve many of these problems because the problems can and will be found before they go too far.
A thoughtful and insightful article in the New Yorker by Atul Gwande points out the three types of arguments being thrown in the path of Obamacare. Reactionary arguments take three basic forms. They are perversity, futility, and jeopardy.

The perversity argumnent is that the change will not only fail but, make the problem worse. The futility argument is that the change will not be meaningful. The jeopardy argument is that the healthcare law will result in unacceptable cost on our society. Part of this argument is the desire to exclude the "others." Healthcare is for the deserving. The deserving is narrowly defined.  Gwande writes,  "During the nineteenth century, for instance, most American leaders believed in a right to vote—but not in extending it to women and black people. Likewise, most American leaders, regardless of their politics, believe that people’s health-care needs should be met; they’ve sought to insure that soldiers, the elderly, the disabled, and children, not to mention themselves, have access to good care. But many draw their circle of concern narrowly; they continue to resist the idea that people without adequate insurance are anything like these deserving others."      

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/06/something-wicked-this-way-comes.html#ixzz1zQXaPulc

There's a moral imperative to caring about the fate of those who are less fortunate. It is key to the Christian Faith that we care for one another. It's the second half of the two great commandments given by Christ found in Mark Chapter 12. “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c] There is no commandment greater than these.” 

I once had sin described to me as seeing someone in need and turning away...not doing anything about it when I could.  We're in a position to do something about it now. Playing politics at the expense of 50 million people would be more than a shame. It would be a sin.

Self Care on Real Life Survival Guide

 The Real Life Survival Guide begins taping this week for season two. The guide will keep its quick back and forth with intelligent guests who have lots to say. This season there's going to be an effort to focus on a particular subject. The first episode in this series will focus on self care.

Self care has become trendy with top ten and top 25 tips. The tips include advice like "stop over thinking", "be still", "eat as many greens as possible" and "forgive yourself and others."

For others, self care is a core issue. I went on-line to find the definition of self care. I came up with this link from an on-line medical dictionary. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/self-care

The definition has to do with nursing care and occupational therapy.

Number three is pretty basic.

3 personal care accomplished without technical assistance, such as eating, washing, dressing, using the telephone, and attending to one's own elimination, appearance, and hygiene. The goal of rehabilitation medicine is maximal personal self-care.

Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.

Number three is also an issue with people on the autism spectrum. Setting up a routine with visual cues to help with focus on some basic self-care issues. Basic issues like washing and brushing teeth, dressing, toilet habits and eating. Living Well With Autism has some good visuals to help children learn theses skills.

I went to the Education Resource Information Center to get more information about self-care for autistic children. They suggest systematic, intensive teaching in self-care skills due to deficits in language and attention skills. There are hundreds of scholarly articles about autism and the issue of self care. A lot depends on how early autism is diagnosed and how early treatment begins. The autism spectrum is a pretty broad range. How deeply the person is affected by the disorder has to do with where he or she falls on the spectrum. This the individual's ability to learn and practice self care.   

I have an iron in the fire on this issue. Autism has touched our family. I'm also on the board for the FOCUS Center for Autism. They work with children on the spectrum on socialization skills including self care. With one in 80 children being diagnosed as being on the spectrum, this is an issue that will become more prevalent in the near future.  Something to think about is how we're going to pull together the resources for the services needed to make many of these children functional (holding a job - having a degree of self-sufficiency). Many parents are now facing this on their own with little help from insurance coverage.

Not addressing the issue could result in a tsunami of adults with emotional and behavioral issues on the streets. During the early years of the Reagan administration, federal funding and grants to community clinics were cut. "We can no longer afford to pay for this service."  These clinics dealt with individuals with mental health issues. The result was that many of these people were put on the street. They had  illnesses like schizophrenia. If they were "lucky", they got warehoused in institutions. If "unlucky" many became homeless. There are many more individuals diagnosed with Autism. I realize libertarians and conservatives will cry, "we can't afford this." I suggest as a civilized and progressive society, we're going to need to be proactive. We will need to come together and find solutions. 


The Real Life Survival Guide airs Sunday afternoon at 4:30 on WNPR. You can hear episodes anytime on their website.

Saving Print Journalism

Two articles published by the Poynter Institute highlight aspects of efforts to save print journalism.
In signing a petition to save the The Times Picayune Garrison Keillor said, "A city without a daily paper is an office park with some malls." The owners of the Times Picayune laid-off  half the newsroom. In the second half of this year it will be published three days a week.

Newspapers are struggling mightily to survive against the Web, Social Media and mobile media as news sources. Warren Buffett bought 63 papers from Media General a few weeks ago. He has bought more since then. Buffett now owns 88. One of the papers he owns through Berkshire Hathaway, The Buffalo News, will erect a paywall for its on-line edition. 

There is speculation that Buffett would buy The Times-Picayune. Buffett acknowledged that he is following the situation in New Orleans but, he's not sure the current owners want to sell.

 

Pew Reports on the Widening Political Divide

Pew Research is reporting the partisan divide is the widest it has been in 20 years. Driving the division is politics. From what I've seen in the research it seems the Republicans have become more rigid.

Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama YearsTrends in American Values: 1987-2012


NPR on All Things Considered  gave three examples from the Pew Research Center on how things have changed since 1987.

 "There needs to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment": In 2012, 93 percent of Democrats agreed with that. 47 percent of Republicans agreed. In 1992, those numbers were 93 percent and 86 percent.  Republicans had a 39 point shift.

"Labor unions are necessary to protect the working person": In 2012, 82 percent of Democrats agreed; 43 percent of Republicans agreed. In 1987, those numbers were 76 and 58.  Republicans had a 15 point shift.


"Government regulation of business usually does more harm than good": In 2012, 41 percent of Democrats agreed, while 76 percent of Republicans agreed. Those numbers were 50 and 61 in 1987.  Republicans had a 15 point shift.



Wisconsinites 'Reach Out' To Heal Partisan Divide

Political polarization is blamed for the gridlock in Washington.  The same issue has deeply divided Wisconsin as they head into their recall of Governor Scott Walker Tuesday.  Is there any hope of breaking this self-destructive trend? There is is when individuals leave their political parties behind. There was another report on All Things Considered about two Wisconsin couples who have gone out of their way to discuss issues rationally.  The group has grown into Reach Out Wisconsin with 30 to 40 people meeting. They hope the meetings will help Wisconsinites move on after the election.


There was a story a couple of weeks ago about partisan politics and the Negro River in Illinois. On one side a group that wanted to rename the river calling it demeaning and racist. On the other more conservative individuals calling the drive to change the name another example of political correctness run amok. The two sides even had dueling Facebook pages with all sorts of insults being hurled back and forth. That is, until the leaders of the two sides started talking with each other. The insults came down off the sites. The argument became more respectful. Here are links to the two Facebook pages.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/adamscreek/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/176640022437400/
The group opposed to the change still can't quite let go but, the worst postings have come down.
Compromise can be found. In your face attitudes have to be set aside. The people near Negro Creek and Wisconsin are proving it.

Ignoring Science in North Carolina?

It looks as if developers will win in North Carolina. US News and World Report says a bill moving through the state legislature would allow developers to ignore sea level predictions based on global warming. By ignoring science developers stand to make a lot of money. So do the communities along the shore, at least, in the short run. They won't be around for the consequences with the sea level predicted to rise 39 inches by 2100.


You can find out more here: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1peM85


Why are sea levels rising? Global temperatures are going up...fast! Below is a chart from NOAA.






Republicans pushing the bill to allow development along the coast...close to the water...assume sea levels will rise gradually. Scientists are warning the rise will be much faster.



N.C. Beaches Eroding 2 Feet Per Year, Study Finds


The bill would create jobs in construction and then support services. But, the bill gambles that the science  is wrong and, that rising sea levels will not be a factor. Eroding beaches are already an issue in North Carolina. Erosion problems are not going away. Is it ethical to sell property to consumers knowing the likelihood of ecological problems? And what about the problems this will cause the State of North Carolina as it deals with property loss after it has tried to legislate away ecological likelihoods?

Search for Common Ground in Time of War

0.5% Served in Military Since 9/11- Pew Research

The Pew Research Center released a figure this week that only 0.5% of the US population has served in the military since 9/11. Pew points out the past 12+ years is the longest sustained period of conflict in US history. They also state that the connections between the military personnel and the broader population are growing more distant as the armed services grow smaller.

Something not mentioned in the report is how this equation would change if there was a draft. If more civilians were pressed into service, the public would become more involved in the implications of our political actions and the war on terror. During World War II 9% of the US population was on active duty. Add their families and the number becomes significant. A large percentage of the US population was involved in the military during the Vietnam War. Having a greater portion of the population involved in our country's conflicts informs the discussions around the conversations around US policy and political decisions.

I think a better informed and more engaged public involved in the issues that have great impact will make this country stronger. The process can be painful as with the Vietnam War, but, the process is important.
My parents were drawn together for the common good by two events that caused the paradigm shift, The Great Depression and World War II. There was a commonality to the issues that brought about a willingness to bring people together to work things out. We don't have that today. We have extremism brought about by partisan politics reinforced by the large amount of money being spent by super PACs.

There are organizations trying to do something to bring partisan politics under control. It is not going to be easy. If enough of us become active and speak out, change is possible.

There are others who think so too. Robert Reich has a new book called Beyond Outrage. In it he explains, what has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix it.  Robert Reich is also chairman of Common Cause.

Charles Ferguson in an interview with Tom Ashbrook on On-Point talked about how people rose up to change the balance of power away from the monied elite during the Progressive Era and during the Great Depression. Charles Ferguson has a new book, Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America.  


Another organization who wants to put an end the gridlock in Washington is called CenterPolitics.org. Their Website will be ready soon. They want to actively support candidates who are willing to work across the aisle and end the gridlock.


The most important element is what you decide to do. We all need to be informed and involved.

Medical Costs and Politics

When the the supreme court heard the case about Obamacare, members of the Tea Party and people who support the bill faced off outside the Supreme Court in dueling protests. There was actually a point of agreement. I'm almost certain it was missed. Both sides think the cost of health care is too high. 


Today there were two stories that caught my attention. The first from NPR about the increasing cost of health insurance. Costs are going up while coverage is going down. The story focused on one family but, what they are experiencing is the same for many families. High deductibles and decreasing coverage. 

Health Insurance Cutbacks Squeeze The Insured


I recently got some quotes for health insurance. We need to get individual insurance . Being underemployed means we have no other option. Deductibles start at $5000 and run as high as $10,000. After that, the plans might cover 80% of the cost. There's a lot that is not covered like office visits.


In the case of the Cooper family in the NPR story, Amber Cooper needs medication for her liver transplant that cost $1000 a month. It is no longer covered. The Cooper's now pay the entire cost of the medication out of pocket.

The second story that caught my attention was in the Huffington Post by Khadeeja Safdar. Medical costs are pushing Americans into credit card debt. According to a survey by a policy center called Demos, 50% of those surveyed paid for out of pocket medical costs with credit cards.  There's more in the article:

• Health care costs rose 6% last year.
• Over 25 percent of Americans ages 16 to 64 went without health coverage for at least some part of last year.
• An ordinary family with a job based plan will pay $20,000 toward health care. That's about 40% of their income.

Right Infighting Over Health Care

Meanwhile, the gridlock in Washington will make the situation worse. According to an article in Politico Republican plans to retool the Obamacare plan as an alternative were shot down by conservatives. They want full repeal. Nothing less. Their stance? Any national health care plan is creeping socialism at its worst. According to Politico's Jake Sherman, the drive to completely repeal is led by groups like Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform to Heritage Action to Club for Growth. Any attempt at compromise is being blocked by people with very deep pockets.  

Can anything be done? Be informed. Speak up. Tell your representatives you want something positive to be done.

There are groups that can help. One is called Center Politics. It's a nonpartisan political action committee.

http://www.centerpolitics.org/

You can find out more about the deceptions and confusion in US politics by going to FactCheck.org. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. It is nonpartisan.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76471.html#ixzz1vjVExyZE

Rush to Justice

The Huffington Post has an interesting story about wrongful convictions. Michael McLaughlin reports that
The National Registry of Exoneration released a report today that says over 2000 convicted felons have been released because of DNA evidence and major discrepancies in evidence since 1989. One of the creators of the database, University of Michigan Law School professor Samuel Gross, says this is likely only the tip of the iceberg.


Perjury and false accusations are among the most common causes of bogus convictions. The most common crime is murder followed by sexual assault. 101 of those exonerationed were on death row. Gross hopes their findings can help law enforcement cut down on wrongful convictions.

Did Texas Make A Mistake in Capital Case?

There's news today that another man was wrongfully put to death in Texas. Carlos de Luna was executed for the murder of convenience store clerk, Wanda Lopez, in 1989.

Questions About Another Texas Execution

In a blog from NPR's Mark McDermott is about the de Luna's case. The Columbia Law School's Columbia Human Rights Law Review has posted on-line a 400 page multi-media report that says it was a mistake to have put Carlos de Luna to death. The report concludes the case was based on one eyewitness report and de Luna was not give adequate defense.

The lead prosecutor in the case, Steve Schiwetz, has not read the review. He told the San Antonio Express-News today that he dismisses the authors' conclusions.

When I read about these cases and the reaction of prosecutors I'm always reminded of Pete Seeger performing "What did You Learn In School Today?"

Cutting Taxes in Kansas - Dire Consequences?

John Celock is reporting in the Huffington Post that house Republicans rushed through tax cuts before the issue could be debated by more moderate Republicans in the State Senate. The end result will be sharply reduced revenues and increasing deficits. The likely end game for Governor Brownback and his very conservative cohorts in the State House will be drastic cuts in state funded programs.

Moderates are accusing the House Republicans in Kansas of political thuggery.

At risk will be state funding for non-profits. 67% of income for non-profits is earned income. Earned income includes state funded grants which get cut when budgets are tight.

The tight budget in Kansas will get tighter if the $3.7 billion tax cut is enacted.  An article in the Chicago Tribune points out the cuts in revenue will create a deficit in Kansas in excess of $712 million. KUCR is reporting a shortfall of $2.7 billion. The shortfall is projected by the Legislature's research staff to be $2.7 billion by July, 2017.

One target of the conservative's is funding for women's health issues. The tax cut bill uses misinformation to justify itself. According to the Miami Herald, "The sweeping 70-page bill approved by the Kansas House goes well beyond taxes. It includes a provision that would require physicians to inform women that an abortion poses a risk of breast cancer. The websites of the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society say studies have found no such risk."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/08/2789089/abortion-becomes-a-tax-issue-in.html#storylink=cpy

***Updated***
Conservatives Move to Squash Debate.
There still may be room for debate.

Build Your Homebase

Build your base during the Facebook/Google+ wars

I really like this posting by Christopher S Penn. In it he reminded me of what happened to MySpace. It's pretty much a ghost town. Lot's of marketing effort went into MySpace and the efforts paid off until Facebook took over. There are already rumblings that Facebook is past its peak. Has the downward decline begun. Is Facebook (social media) the hoolahoop, or better yet, the CB radio of the early 21st century?

As far as social media is concerned probably not. Blogging was considered passe for a while. Marketers point out that it's importance is still high. Twitter was considered to be leveling off early last year. That turned out to be premature according to the stuff I'm reading. Facebook may be suffering from speculation of failure because it is so successful. It's just not as cool as it used to be among the early adopters.

This stuff all comes and goes.  Penn reminds us to take care of our home base...our content. When the next big thing comes about, we'll still have something to share. We'll still have our network.

Autistic Children Bullied - Parents Bear Costs

Children With Autism Are Often Targeted By Bullies

The story aired on NPR is not s surprise to any parent of an autistic child. What you may not know is that the parents of autistic children are left the bear the costs.

In this article the bullying endured by Abby got so bad that her mother pulled her out of school and replaced that with home schooling. Patricia Mahoney says the home schooling went well but, she understood that Abby was not getting the social skills she needed. Mahoney says the school has helped a lot.

Home schooling Abby and then finding a school that actually helps autistic children learn is a key issue. There are extra costs associated. There was an article about the cost of autism and how mothers of autism found themselves at an economic disadvantage. 

Autism Caregiving Costs Hit Mothers’ Income More

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found "Mothers of children with autism earned 56 percent less money - almost $15,000 per year - than moms of children who didn't have a health problem, and 35 percent less money -nearly $7,200 - than moms of a child with a health issue other than autism."

A few people are blessed with the resources to stay at home and afford the costs associated with caring for an autistic child. Most of us are not. The drag on family resources is significant and it affects a significant segment of the population with one out of just over 80 children in this country diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum.

There are places you can go for help. I'm on the board of one of those places. I serve on the board for the FOCUS Center for Autism. Another is Autism Speaks.

SuperPACs and dirty politics

Chris Weigant's article in the Huffington Post gives us a quick historical guide to dirty politics. Dirty Politics is nothing new but, it is being taken to a whole new level by the money being spent by SuperPACs. Weigant says in his article, "The only real difference in 2012 may be the sheer amount of money being spent on the outside groups. Citizens United has opened the floodgates for such money to pour into these "unofficial" campaign organizations, and they will be spending hundreds of millions of dollars before we all head off to the polls in November."

I once had a discussion with the head of NPR news about the possibility of using interns to gather news. He pointed out that in Washington everything is spun. Without professional journalists there would not be a way to discern the truth. Since then journalism has fallen on hard times. Newspapers have become shells of their former selves as they lay-off staff and in many cases just close shop. Fewer journalists are watching and, there are many who prefer that.

Planet Money had a two part series on money and politics last week. Especially revealing was the second segment where a lobbyist was pulled into a congressman's private office. He was asked about a contribution to the congressman that was late. The money was buying access.

Bill Moyers recently wrote about his efforts to get media outlets to reveal who's paying for these ads. Right now you can go to the station and look at the public file. He wants easier access to make the process more transparent. "The FCC is scheduled to vote on their proposal on April 27, and on Monday its chairman, Julius Genachowski, walked into the lion's den -- the really nice one in Las Vegas -- and addressed the NAB's annual convention. He noted that, "Using rhetoric that one writer described as 'teeth-gnashing' and 'fire-breathing,' some in the broadcast industry have elected to position themselves against technology, against transparency, and against journalism."

The negative ads are effective and have a huge influence on opinions and how we vote. Most of these ads at best promote a point a view. At worst they are deliberately inaccurate.

Fringe Politics Takes Over

If this wasn't so scary...it would be laughable. 


Fringe politics has a firm hold on election rhetoric. And there are plenty of people who believe this stuff.  I read in the Huffington Post and Blogs from the Washington Post and CNN about  Republican Rep. Allen West. He says he believes 75-plus House Democrats are members of the Communist Party. The 75+ he refers to are a part of the Progressive Caucus. It's the same rhetoric used by Joe McCarthy in the 50's. There are plenty of citizens in Wisconsin who think Joe was right. (I grew up in Wisconsin) .  

And, according to a David Horsey in the LA Times, Allen West is not the only Republican embracing this.  "Throughout the primary campaign, GOP presidential candidates from Michele Bachmann to Rick Santorum have talked as if the 2012 election is the nation’s last chance to save the United States from becoming a clone of the Soviet Union."


The Congressional Progressive Caucus core beliefs are:


1. Fighting for economic justice and security for all;
2. Protecting and preserving our civil rights and civil liberties;
3. Promoting global peace and security; and
4. Advancing environmental protection and energy independence


You can find out more at their Website.
Congressional Progressive Caucus

TAL Retracts Apple Story

 

 TAL Retracts Apple Story
What happens when we get it wrong?
To me...this was always stunning. I put a lot of faith in my reporters and producers to get it right. I also had faith that our national providers were going to get it right.

This can be a learning experience. As a station manager I learned quickly that we needed to respond quickly and with a unified message. Do you have a policy in place to respond when this happens? What are they? Are you willing to share them?

No matter who is responsible for the mistake, from the listener's perspective it is the station's responsibility to respond. There were instances where reporters got it wrong. Usually a source was not fully vetted. Fortunately, we did have to deal with the fabrication of facts by our staff. Not only were corrections made, but the corrections resulted in more depth to the coverage. The hardenst part internally seemed to be that we made a mistake...at least early on. As managers we had to put those inclinations aside and fully investigate what happened. We found in many other instances that it was a matter of perception and not really a mistake. How we handled those perceptions was important.


To be clear, others have reported on the poor conditions at the Apple plant in China.  Jonathan Kealing  reporting for Public Radio International quotes Ira Glass, It had become impossible to separate what Mike Daisey actually knew from what he didn't, so the program was retracting the entire episode.

But in this case, This American Life is saying there were fabrications to the story.
Pulling it is the first thing. This American Life is meeting the issue head-on. Admitting errors and then, hopefully, moving on. TAL has a retraction and an episode in place about the issue at it's website.

Do you have policies in place to handle issues like this at your station?
What are they.  Please share your thoughts.

Social Media and Dual Personas

I think the era of dual personas is over. You used to be able to separate your work from your private life but, not anymore. If you speak publicly or, are involved in any issue of public concern, the word gets out there. 

Social media is playing a huge part in the rapid decline of dual personas for individuals and institutions.

There are two recent examples of how issues of public interest have played out on social media. As a disclaimer, it does not matter whose side you are on. How these issues played out on social media changed the outcome. 

The first was Komen's decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood because of Planned Parenthood's position on contraception and abortion. The hue and cry on Facebook and Twitter was intense. The result was a restoration of the funds to Planned Parenthood and several resignations at Komen. Komen could still decide not to renew their grant to Planned Parenthood.

The second is the media storm surrounding Rush Limbaugh and his public comments about the Georgetown law student. Again, social media is playing a huge part in this issue. Rush has lost several advertisers. 

There's a difference between broadcast media and web 2.0. Broadcasters and print are used to putting the content out there as the final word. There has been some input from users of the media through letters to the editor and emails. This has changed. Through social media consumers have become content providers. Individuals joining together on social media wield a lot of influence. Rush crossed the line. He's done it before. The difference now is the instant and intensive response on social media. Rush apologized on the air saying it was a joke. He has not apologized directly to Sandra Fluke for his very personal attack.

I've been using social media to keep informed on this issue. Take a look at this video from Jon Stewart shared through Gawker. I found it at LinkedIn on their news feed. Check out the comments at the bottom.

http://gawker.com/5890752/jon-stewart-smacks-down-rush-limbaugh-over-his-sandra-fluke-comments

Have you seen this evolving in the past year or two? I would be interested in your thoughts.

DIY Project Could be Deadly

One of the topics that has come up on Bruce Barber's Real Life Survival Guide is The Home Improvement Quandary. How do your prioritize you home improvement projects?

As a weekend warrior who has tackled many projects, there is one I'm glad I never got around to.
We have a tub that was installed in the 70s. I know because it is dark brown. We've often thought about changing the color of the tub rather than replacing it. That would be the green thing to do.  Well, maybe not. There's a stripping chemical that you can buy at the home improvement center that takes off the old finish and allows a new finish to be applied. The caution on the label warns that you need plenty of ventilation. That might be an understatement.

CDC: 13 Deaths Tied To Bath Refinishing Chemical

NPR carried a report last week from the AP that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning Thursday about using a common paint-stripping chemical to refinish bathtubs after tying it to 13 deaths in 10 states. All of the deaths were among professional refinishers. Despite the warnings about ventilation, the fumes overcame the workers.

Vaccines Causing Autism - Still a Hoax

The assertions and rumors still persist. I still get questions about the link between childhood vaccines and the link to autism. There still are parent refusing vaccines. The are concerned about the link to autism. As reported by the Wall Street Journal  a study of Connecticut pediatricians published last year, some 30% of 133 doctors said they had asked a family to leave their practice for vaccine refusal, and a recent survey of 909 Midwestern pediatricians found that 21% reported discharging families for the same reason. According to the CDC, lower immunization rates have been blamed as a factor in U.S. outbreaks of whooping cough and measles in recent years.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203315804577209230884246636.html?KEYWORDS=SHIRLEY+S+WANG

I get the comments and questions because I'm on the board of Focus Center for Autism. Many still believe the link. I believed the doctors and scientists who said there was no link long before it was revealed that Dr. Andrew Wakefield  had actually perpetrated a hoax. 


It's one thing to have a bad study, a study full of error, and for the authors then to admit that they made errors," Fiona Godlee, BMJ's editor-in-chief, told CNN. "But in this case, we have a very different picture of what seems to be a deliberate attempt to create an impression that there was a link by falsifying the data."  Britain stripped Wakefield of his medical license in May.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/06/autism.vaccines/index.html

Part of the problem was the way the research was covered by the media. Part of the problem was with the way parents heard the reporting.

There still are parent refusing vaccines. The are concerned about the link to autism. As reported by the Wall Street Jouranl;

There are remarkable advances being made by researchers. The cause is not yet known. Recent research using MRI's might detect autism long before the symptoms manifest themselves. Here's the tricky part that many people seem to miss...

"The findings need to be repeated by other researchers before doctors can begin to create a reliable early detection system.The study has other limitations, says Charles Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. The findings would be stronger if researchers compared them to those of a control group of normal-risk children, who don't come from families with other autistic children. He questioned why 30% of the high-risk children were diagnosed with autism, a rate that's 50% higher than expected. Nelson also notes that it can be hard to definitively diagnose autism at age 2, and that a child's diagnosis can change over time."

http://www.digtriad.com/news/health/article/215107/8/Study-Autistic-Brains-Show-Changes-Months-Before-Symptoms

Another Tour Winner Loses Title

There was a time when I thought I was pretty good at bike racing. I was faster than most in the sprints but, not world class. It was in the distance races that I became aware of the difference. My body could not hold up to the grueling effort it took to compete for more than 50 miles.  I think because I was young, I thought I could do anything. I even identified with "Breaking Away."

 Because of that early interest in bike racing, I follow the Tour de France each year. My interest was rekindled when Greg Lamond won the race. He was first American and non-European to win the race.
Lamond retired from racing when he discovered he could no longer compete because of the doping going on in the sport. He decided he could not do that.

It was announced today that Alberto Contador is banned for two years after finding the Spanish cyclist guilty of doping, a decision that will strip the 2010 Tour de France champion of his title. American Floyd Landis lost the title in 2006 after testing positive for testosterone. In turn, Landis accused Lance Armstrong of doping. The investigation against Armstrong has just been abandoned. 


I still think about racing and the adrenalin rush in the sprints. I even take my 1978 Super Course out sometimes. The bike really flies. I can still move pretty fast for a geezer. 


I feel a little sad that my youthful idealism is tarnished by the drug scandals. I hope Dave in "Breaking Away" never lost his idealism.


There's more on the ban at NPR.

Autism's Reach

I'm interested in autism because it directly affects my family. Because of that interest I'm always looking for more information about Autism. Increasing my understanding helps me in my relationship with my family. There was recently a story on NPR about a man with Asperger's. In an interview with David Finch he relates that he did not discover his diagnosis of Asperger's until he reached 30. He's written about his life with Asperger's and how it is affecting his family. The diagnosis has opened up a lot of possibilities for him.

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/03/146342668/best-practices-learning-to-live-with-aspergers

Further down on the page is a story about how some of those diagnosed with Asperger's are not happy about being put on the Autism Spectrum.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123527833

I'm a member of the board for Focus Center for Autism. The mission of Focus:

Specializing in the treatment of children and adolescents who are on the Autism Spectrum, have anxiety disorders, experience processing and social learning difficulties; and who are otherwise, as we like to say, "creatively wired and socially challenged".

You can find out more about Focus at their Website and on their Facebook page.