Sparks on The Public option

     In a previous post I wondered if Ron Sparks would want Alabama to "opt out" of the health care Public Option -- Medicare for all --, even though he had said he favored President Obama's health care reform. Here's the answer in a Huntsville Times story.
     Sparks says he does support the public option, making even clearer the difference between him and Rep. Artur Davis, who joined the rest of the Alabama delegation to the U.S. House in opposing the president's legislation. Based on his vote, we can only presume that Rep. Davis would encourage the Alabama Legislature to pass "opt out" legislation, and that would sign it, if  the final health care measure includes one and if he is elected.

Phonescams

My favorite technology/gadget writer is David Pogue in the NY Times. Not too long ago he started a campaign against the phone companies for eating up cell minutes with needlessly long recorded prequel messages in voice mail..."If you would like to page this person, press 65457...". In his column today he writes about Verizon doubling its cancellation fee...and about another of that company's annoying cell phone practices. They intentionally build their phones so you'll accidentally start a connection to the Internet, and then charge you $1.99 each time.

I have a friend in West Virginia who has been stuck with Verizon as the only carrier in the area. He has been trying to get them to correct his bill, eliminating a $60+ charge that shows up every month. Each month he calls and they eliminate it, only for it to show up again the next month. Another company, Frontier, is buying Verizon's landline business in that state. Does Frontier know something we don't? People and deep-sixing landlines all over the place.

Here's my pet peeve: if I try to connect to the net using my ATandT service, and it won't connect, I STILL get charged for a certain amount of data transmitted. Uh, how can you justify that? Did the little company 1's and 0's work hard to fail to make the connection?

OK, and while I'm in a complaining mode....this new Blogger editing program lacks spell check. What't that all abut. (-:
Plus: why can't I use an "and" sign in this blogger program?
And tell me, what did they do with the "cents" sign on keyboards?
Over and out.

The Times on BINGO

This morning's New York Times includes a report on BINGO in Alabama.

The Times gets on the bandwaggon

     I've recommended a lot of New York Times links on this blog, so let me point out that this one is old news to readers of this blog. We pointed out here, On October the 25th, that it is the state opt-out (or in) option in health care reform that's going to create sparks for candidates for Governor.
     On the Alabama Democratic Primary side, it appears that the public option has become a major issue separating Sparks, who favors it, and Davis, who opposes it. I have not heard any of the Republican candidates embrace a public option, and since the House measure passed with only a single GOP vote, I don't really expect to. But we'll see.
 

15 Years After Wedowee, Another Alabama Prom Battle

     Fifteen years after The Randolph County school system in East Alabama made international headlines for refusing to let an interracial couple attend a High School Prom, a Franklin County system in West Alabama is attracting attention to refusing to let a lesbian student bring her girlfriend to next Spring's Prom. [*see update below]

     In 1994, Prinicipal Hulond Humphries refused the interracial couple in Wedowee, starting a battle that prompted the cancellation of the prom, an arson fire that destroyed the school, criminal charges and multiple lawsuits.

     Now it's in Russellville where the Prom is the subject of an ACLU complaint and potential lawsuits. The school Board has cancelled the prom.
     The Franklin County Times is the local newspaper, but here's nothing in it so far about the controversy. They publish on Wednesday and Saturday, so perhaps in tomorrow's papers there will be a local story. The closest Daily is The Times Daily, but nada there either.
[*UPDATE: The Times Daily reports there's been a reversal. The couple WILL be allowed to attend.

Unsafe on any Base?

     The services at Ft. Hood Texas are about to begin. The President and First Lady have arrived. And hundreds, if not thousands, of military personnel have gathered to remember the 13 murdered by the traitor Major.

     The military has positioned walls made of trailer-truck sized shipping containers around the open area where the service is being held. Think about that. This is in the middle of a United States Military base in Texas, and the United States Military thinks it is necessary to build giant steel walls, to create a big bunker to protect the President and others at the service?
     Do they know something we don't? Since when does the most powerful military in the world, on one of its own huge pieces of property, need to do that for security?

Chickens Coming Home?

The very conservative business group "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce" has issued a report card on the states that gives Alabama miserable grades.
The BEST the state gets is a "B" for hiring and evaluation.
Could there be a connection with the recent report showing Alabamian businesses and individuals paying the lowest taxes in America? We do a poor job of funding education to start with, and now the Great Recession has us slicing away at that rate. Imagine what the grades will be if we stay at this level of funding for a few years.

Hey YOU!!! YEA YOU!

     Taking cheap shots in newspaper "after the story" forums might not be so cheap anymore. A case that's being watched by privacy experts is tyring to pry the actual identity of a poster in a Chicago paper. Just how brave will "John Doe" be when he has to accept public ownership of his comments?

     Readers of this blog know I detest anonymous comments in the papers (or elsewhere), and I've applauded the changes instituted at The Birmingham News to eliminate some of the racist and otherwise offensive language and messages.
     Yes, we all have the right to say what we want. I just object to the newspapers acting as their shield.
     Let 'em start a blog, or better yet, a newspaper!

Ida Update -Monday Afternoon

Not that you need me to act as your weather source..(-:... but here's the latest on Ida with landfall on or near the Alabama Coast expected overnight:


...SUMMARY OF 300 PM CST INFORMATION...


LOCATION...28.4N 88.5W

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...70 MPH

PRESENT MOVEMENT...NORTH OR 355 DEGREES AT 18 MPH

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...991 MB

MMMM # 68 - The Reporter on ABC's V

The ABC-TV Drama "V" premiered  this past week. It's a remake of an original 1980's series about aliens arriving very suddenly in huge spaceships above all of the world's largest cities promising PEACE! ALWAYS! And bearing GIFTS!. One of the main characters is....drum roll please...a reporter.

     Actor Scott Wolf is perfect for the part of the TV reporter...great fluffy hair, a winning smile, and willing to ignore all ethical concerns for a scoop. He's been given an exclusive live interview with the leader of the aliens. But two minutes before it begins, she announces "This interview is over" when he balks at her demand that he ask only friendly questions. "That's not the way it works", he lamely explains. But she's not budging. His hesitation doesn't last long. Given the choice between a worldwide exclusive and an empty chair with some explaining to do (as well as finding a new job), Scott rolls over and goes along. But we can see it's bothering him ("Gee, something not quite right about what I did there...") Duh.
    The exchange reminded me of  my 1999 visit to Germany as a RIAS Fellow. The elected officials there  expect all of the interview questions provided in advance.
     I always find it interesting to see how journalists--especially TV reporters--are portrayed on the big and little screens. When viewers are introduced to Chad Decker, he's in a throng of reporters who are, naturally, all shouting questions at The Alien Leader...I mean this is the story of the millennium! So Cool Chad baby shouts down his fellow reporters...tells them to be nice... and asks the really important question: "Are all of you so beautiful? he coos with his winning smile.
Gee, if only he had been covering the Larry Langford trial! He could have asked the convicted Langford what hair gel he uses. (Then again Chad wasn't needed there. Birmingham TV provided it's own version.)

     In the original "V", there was also a reporter-character--Mike Donovan--...but actor Marc Singer was no pretty boy throwing softballs. Donovan was a war correspondent, and he quickly figured out what's behind the alien beauty. My kinda reporter.

     Actor Wolf told MSNBC there's a certain ambivilence to the character he's playing:

I don’t think Chad Decker knows who he will turn out to be. It’s fun when an audience doesn’t quite know where a character is coming from and going, and it’s even more interesting to play a character that doesn’t know that himself.

     Far be it from me to advise a fictional reporter on a TV show, but sorry Chad, your character isn't 12 years old. Your gut almost always tells you what's the right thing to do. Let Ms. Reptile in beauty queen clothing get up from the chair, and then you explain to your audience what happened and why. Then get the resumes ready. And start a blog:   IalmostinterviewedtheAilen.com

[ADDENDUM: Interesting critique of the Social Media and the Ft. Hood shootings in this blog titled "Citizen Journalists Can't Handle The Truth".]

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]

IDA - Monday Morning 3:00am update

Y'all living near the Gulf Coast keep an eye on the progress of Ida...Meteorologist Kait Parker and I will have all of the latest Monday morning 6-7, on CBS-8 This Morning, and throughout the day on WAKA.
[UPDATE: 3:00pm Sunday Note: Hurricane Watch covers all of the Alabama Gulf area. States of emergency declared in LA....Baldwin County Alabama considering school closings and evacuations.]

...SUMMARY OF 300 AM CST INFORMATION...


LOCATION...25.1N 87.9W

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...90 MPH

PRESENT MOVEMENT...NORTH-NORTHWEST OR 335 DEGREES AT 16 MPH

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...988 MB

Health Reform Passes, No Thanks to Alabama

     Both of Alabama's "Blue Dog" Democrats voted against the health care reform legislation, which nonetheless won narrow approval last night. The only Alabama Congressman who doesn't generally keep his party affiliation at arm's length also voted against it, though unlike Parker Griffith, Artur Davis doesn't ask to be identified as a "Conservative Blue Dog" rather than a Democrat.
     But there he was, one of a handful of Democrats voting against the most significant piece of domestic legislation introduced by his "friend", President Barack Obama. That's despite the 19% of his constituents who are uninsured. Mr. Davis was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vot against the measure last night.
     Of course, Mr. Davis is running for Governor here in Alabama. His opponent in the Democratic Primary, Ron Sparks, came out in support of the health reform legislation---including the controversial Public Option---yesterday afternoon.
     Now the measure heads to the U.S. Senate, where there will a repeat show as far as Alabama goes. Nobody doubts that both Senator Sessions and Senator Shelby will vote no. The questions is whether there wil be enough other to join them to kill the bill. Bloomburg this morning has an excellent comparison between the House and Senate versions. Sen Harry Reid's (D-NV) bill includes that "opt-out" provision, allowing states to say no-thanks to the public option.

[ALSO: Politics Daily website includes analysis of why the Democratic House members voted agianst the bill.