Paul Harvey Obit

Because I worked at WERC Radio in Birmingham for so long, and because radio still runs in my blood, I felt it personally this evening when word of Paul Harvey's death arrived. He was 90...no immediate cause of death revealed. I believe we were carrying Harvey on WERC when I started there in 1976...somewhere along the way---years later--- his commentary moved to WAPI, where it stayed till his death. As Program Director at WERC, I learned quickly that one way to generate angry calls was to somehow miss Harvey fifteen minute broadcast at Noon or his afternoon "Rest Of The Story". There aren't too many radio legends anymore, but Harvey was certainly one for decades.

[Here's his website.]

Text x 2,272. A month!

The Washington Post reported last week that teens with cell phones text and average of 2,272 times a month. If teens sleep eight hours a day, that works out to five or so per hour. No wonder parents can't communicate. Maybe they should text their kids. He wasn't a teen, but I saw a young man texting while driving in heavy traffic in Montgomery today. Legislators are considering a bill to make that a driving violation. There was also the story today about the woman given a ticket in Ohio for talking on her phone and nursing her baby while driving. She told police she wasn't going to let her baby go hungry. At least she wasn't texting.

"Literally Watch"

On a promo for Tuesday's Oprah Winfrey show about a child who could not speak because of some kind of strange upbringing: "She was literally a wild animal." Uh, no, not really. And it was not Oprah herself speaking on the promo by the way. [Literally Watch is a public service of this blog, our attempt to maintain the original, and we believe correct, meaning of the word.]

Postsecondary, Part II?

I've always admired Rep. Alvin Holmes willingness to speak his mind. Agree or disagree, you always knew what he thought. He was a lively, welcomed guest on FTR numberous times. An opinion piece by the head of the ASU Faculty Senate in the Montgomery Advertiser this morning offers similer praise, but also questions what it says is Holmes relatively minimal workload at ASU compared to other faculty. Oh, and there's word that Rep. Homes will retire from ASU after the Spring Semester. On the heels of the Rep. Sue Schmitz conviction, you have to wonder how long before someone asks the same questions about the state's four-year schools that were asked about the two year institutions. It's certainly not the first time that observation has been made, but I wonder: will the coming changes in U.S. Attorneys in Alabama make it more or less likely to happen?

[UPDATE: See Charles Dean's story in the Sunday 3/2/09 Birmingham News]

Stimulating The Governors

Check out four opinion pieces in the NY Times regarding the increasing number of Republican Governors refusing some of the stimulus package, including Alabama's Bob Riley [though to be honest I'm still not sure he's made a firm decision. Has he said definatively he'll say no?] To varying degrees, the writers think the Governors will, or at least should, take the money. Riley's argument is that taking the money will require the state to raise taxes to pay for an expanded unemployment benefit when the federal dollars end a few years down the road...kind of an "unfunded mandate" argument combined with a "State's Rights" spin. Yet I don't remember objection to "No Child Left Behind" which was also an unfunded mandate. All of the opposing Governors are in Southern or Western States.

Another Newspaper Obit

This time it's a paper that's been publishing since the Civil War... The Rocky Mountain News will publish it's last edition tomorrow. )-: I know, I know, join the club. The car companies are bleeding so much there may be NO American made cars soon. The banks may have to be nationalized. But my years as a broadcast journalist make the newspapers shutting down more painful. And once they're gone, you see how much mischief elected officials will get into.

Coffin Decision

The Pentagon has decided. Photos of the "flag draped coffins from Iraq etc will be allowed, if survivors say its OK. Anyone want to keep tabs to see how many grieving family members give their approval?

Uh, forever?

True story at my local the Post Office this morning:

Customer: "How long at those 'forever stamps' good for?"

Clerk: (slight pause) "Forever."

School Super Roulette

Montgomery's School Superintendent is a finalist for a job in his home state of Louisiana, as reported in this morning's Montgomery Advertiser. He's scheduled a news conference this morning. John Dilworth has been on board just under two years. I have not seen any report, broadcast or print, answer the question of just what his contract says! If it had been the board that grew unhappy with him (as they did with his predecessor) wouldn't they have to pay him off? They ended up buying the predecessor's house. Will Mr. Dilworth he have to pay the School Board (i.e., the taxpayers) in order to break his contract? Shouldn't it work both ways? [UPDATE: according to a report on WSFA, Dilworth is under a three year contract, so a third of it has yet to be completed. Still no answer to repayment, but everybody seems lo love him.]

The inclusion of cigarettes in the movie "She's Not That Into You" has the American Medical Society Foundation up in arms. A spokeswoman tells the NY Times: “There is absolutely zero artistic justification for this.” One part of the plot of the movie is a character lying about quitting smoking, but that argument isn't working on the medical group. They point to readily identifiable packs of "American Spirit" in the flick, although that tobacco company itself complains about the images (Oh sure! Free publicity in a hit movie? And they complain?) I'm an ex-smoker, but not a rabid ex-smoker. Trying to scrub a century of cigarette smoking from film is a bit heavy handed to me. Are movie characters supposed to hold prop boxes with the large-font black and white word "Cancer Sticks" on the side? Pipes too? Fat foods? Let movies portray what they will, with yet another disclaimer to give parents another symbol or abbreviation to consider.

Those Chair Pics....

A reader asked about the beach chair photos...where and when and all, so here's a pic of one of the three miniatures used in the shoot. It happened at dawn in Destin last Fall. I can't remember exactly where I found the chairs but it was online. My original thought was to use them as a visual representation of "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" (like the Anniston Star's "splinters from oars" comment in the previous post), but they were too backyard looking and not deck of the ship appearing. Anyway, that's the story.

Literally Watch

Wish I could remember which TV reporter yesterday made the comment that the Government was going to look to make sure troubled financial institutions "literally had money in the bank". We celebrate the correct usage of the word literally here, as well as pointing out incorrect use. [Literally Watch is a public service of t his blog] (-:

Political Civil War

Rather than keep adding updates to the Monday post about the GOP and the stimulus plan, let me start over by pointing to an article in Mother Jones in which the Governor of Utah says the Republican leadership in Congress is irrelevant...that he doesn't even talk with them! Today's Anniston Star editorializes about Governor Riley's late entry into the "I'll reject the unemployment benefits money" club, comparing it to "the equivalent of worrying that the lifeboat oars will cause splinters while the Titanic is sinking".

All of this has continued relevance to Alabama because the state is in danger of being ground-zero for a party with little national influence. If you can't get the Republican Governor of Utah to be active in your conservative party, you are in deep trouble.

Business Links

Some members of Congress are blasting one of the banks that took $1.6 Billion in TARP funds and subsequently sponsored a golf tournament. John Kerry wants Northern Trust Corp. to repay taxpayer money spent on the sponsorship of a tournament in California.

Like President Obama last night in his almost-State-of-the-State address, I don't want to defend banks, but are we sure we want to handcuff the banks we're trying to keep solvent by banning their promotional investment in golf?

Look at this ad on al.com for The University of Alabama's Culverhouse School of Business.

Those aren't fountain pens in the students' hands. Business and golf have been married for a very long time, and I speak as someone who has never played anything above the windmill in Panama City. Ask David Bronner about the business-golf link. Think all those RTJ courses the RSA built in the state are just for fun? TMZ reports that Northern Trust flew in business interests in for the tournament and put them up in luxury hotels. Well, duh! Why not? Banks want to attract something those folks have. Money. And if we're going to lend them taxpayer cash to stay afloat on one hand, but tell them not to promote their services to one of the few groups with any money left, aren't we working against our own self interests? We want those banks to succeed so they can repay us, no? Reminds me of Jay Leno the other night: customer goes into a bank and offers the teller a toaster. 18 Holes anyone?

S.F. Chronicle Failing

Another legendary paper is on the edge....days away from going out of business. Read the story here from al.com, and watch for more layoffs.

Democrat Schmitz convicted

Alabama Rep. Sue Schmitz, (D-Toney) convicted...Huntsville Times has the story...the latest conviction in the Postsecondary investigation. Her first trial ended with the jury unable to reach a verdict. The jury that did reach a decision today was delayed when one member fell ill and was replaced by an alternate juror.

Was Gov. Riley late to the rejection buffet?

It appears Alabama's Governor was late to join the small chorus of fellow GOP Governors who say they will refuse part of the stimulus money. Some of them point to a provision to expand unemployment benefits. They're concerned that their state budgets will be left holding the bag a few years from now when the Federal cash stops. Last Wednesday FOX had a story identifying the governor's of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina and Idaho as saying they would refuse some of the cash. As late as this morning, A story in Salon.com early today identified those same Governors...without Alabama's Governor Riley. Then Mary Orndorff of The Birmingham News reported that Riley "may" reject the unemployment cash...a toe in the water? (Or maybe nobody asked him about it before her?) Alabama has about the lowest unemployment benefits in the country, but the Governor says he wants to prevent the state from increasing taxes on businesses once the tap from Washington runs dry.

Of course the only way President Obama can make good on his pledge today to cut the budget deficit in half during his (first) term will be raise taxes on somebody to pay back all of the stimulus money we're borrowing from China and others. So perhaps to be consistent, Mr. Riley should oppose the entire package to prevent those future tax increases?

One way or the other, the Alabama Legislature can overrule Riley and accept the unemployment cash...and unlike Riley, many of them will have to consider the implication of that decision on their reelection plans.

[P.S. Look for another Scott Stantis/Birmingham News cartoon on the stimulus/tax issue tomorrow]

[UPDATE: Read Orndorff's story in Tuesday's Bham News...Riley will reject $66 Million of stimulus money. Rep Artur Davis says it is "a dispute over low-wage workers who have chosen part-time work because they are raising a family or in many cases, simply cannot find full-time work in a stagnant economy." ]

[UPDATE#2: This Morning's Montgomery Advertiser quotes Rep. Alvin Holmes: "It seems mighty strange to me that the only governors questioning the unemployment provision in the stimulus package are these Republican governors from these extremely conservative Southern states where the unemployment rate for blacks is triple that of the white unemployment rate," he said.]

[UPDATE#3: I missed it in the NY Times yesterday, but there was an editorial on the GOP Governors opposition to the unemployment provision. It makes some important points, including the fact that more than half the states have already made the changes to unemployment coverage that the Governor's are so concerned about.]

Siegelman and Rove

Negotiations are underway between Karl Rove and lawyers for the Senate Judiciary Committee over the subpoena issued to Rove last week calling on him to testify about his alleged involvement in Don Siegelman's prosecution. Meanwhile there's a blog interview with the former Governor in which he says Rove must not be given immunity. Siegelman tells Raw Story if he is, he'll never tell the truth. Rove reportedly says just the opposite, that the only way he'll testify will be if he is given immunity from prosecution. The former Governor is still waiting for a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

MMMM # 30 - Casket Coverage

Should the media be "allowed" to be present when flag draped coffins from Iraq or Afghanistan are taken off planes in the U.S.? The issue is back and is as heated as ever. Even the survivors of the men and women killed in action don't agree on it. Google "flag" and "coffin" and "media" for lots of stories, including a NY Times piece over the weekend . Speaking as a vet (Vietnam), and as a journalist (albeit a freelancer at the moment), I side with openness, with allowing coverage after considering two factors: 1) politicians can use a ban on photos to hide the true cost of a war, 2) I don't know any reporters who want to get in the face of people grieving over the loss of a family member. President Obama was asked about the issue in his last news conference, and said the Pentagon is studying it, including a look at what other countries do. It may be one of those issues with which you'll make some folks unhappy whatever you decide.

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

Newspaper Readers' Comments

In his "From The Web" column, the Montgomery Advertiser's Terry Manning is bemoaning the nastiness of some readers' comments about Advertiser stories this week. Specifically he focuses on the fighting that broke out at the High School Basketbrawl playoffs on the ASU campus...and about an "Extreme Makover" house being built in the city. And the comments are nasty...the high school players are called "animals", and the neighborhood where the new home is being built is denigrated. Manning called them "racist and borderline-illiterate tirades".

Terry: don't blame the uncouth Talk Radio audience the Advertiser (and many other papers) invited in by adding a "comments" section after each story. I'm sure the newspapers did it as one in a series of last ditch efforts to stay afloat. First of all, it doesn't appear to be working [see previous post] and if you've sullied your reputation badly by doing so, what have you gained? I still say there was nothing wrong with the "letters to the editor" access readers were offered.

More newspaper blood on the floor

Another big newspaper chain is seeking bankrupty protection...here's the story of the potential end of the The Journal Register Co., which owns 20 daily and 159 non-daily newspapers and has about 3,500 employees. [UPDATE: On Sunday, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News also filed for Chapter 11.]

Movin' IN

A Washington Post story says Florida is cooling off as a destination state for people who are relocating...but Alabama and other warm-weather states are continuing to see more people move in than out. The story speculates it could be the high insurance rates and the housing bubble bursting. It brings to mind the surveys and studies that frequently name places in Alabama that attract more than their share of retirees...places like Dothan. Yet when you think about it, what's the attraction? Retirees are less likely to support public schools when funding votes come up, they pay no property tax over a certain age, and they can be a drain on medical facilities. Hey, don't get me wrong...retirees are some of my favorite people, but too many in a single relatively small town may not be the smartest financial strategy.

Text Driving

The House in Montgomery has voted to ban texting while driving. You can read the story in the Birmingham News. We talked at length with sponsor Jim McClendon (R-Springville) during the production of the APT documentary "License To Drive" in 2008, and he said there are actually legislators who oppose the bill because they think we Alabamians shouldn't have the Government telling us what we can do in our cars. While there might be some merit to that argument when it comes to seat-belts (albeit a tiny one), anyone who thinks they should be allowed to drive while not looking out the front window is nuts. That's me in the other car and my life you're messing with. Shame on them. (Though it probably doesn't matter much anyway cause like most legislation, it will likely die in the Senate.)

Very SLOW Hi-Speed Rail

Since I posted earlier about the lack of money in the stimulus package for Mass Transit, let me point to a New York Times story this morning identifying a slice of the money that will in fact go for high-speed rail, though as the story points out, it's not enough for a single train to be built. Note that a Mobile to Atlanta route is still a "designated high-speed rail corridor", though there's nothing high speed about the trains or the tracks there now. In 1999 I produced a piece for APT about European High Speed rail...Mag-Lev technology. A few years later there was a terrible accident at the big test track I visited in Germany, killing 23 people riding the test train. There is a South-East website, but no mention on it of Alabama participation. For that, look at the Alabama section of the Southern High-Speed Rail Commission with Alabama Louisiana and Mississippi as members. This morning's Times story suggests it is a waste to spread the $8 Billion out across the country, that it is such a small expenditure that it will only have a real impact if it is targeted for a single project.

That South-East website proposes a "trail" to run parallel to high-speed rail...heck, once you've bought the needed property and gotten funding for it, you may as well! If nothing else, the existence of a walking/biking trail might bring more environmentalists on board the very slow high-speed bandwagon.

Stimulus Opposition Backlash

The highest ranking black congressman isn't happy with the Southern GOP Governors who say they might not take the stimulus money...but one of those governors says he's "playing the race card". I wonder. Is it ever possible to mention potential racial motivation without having that allegation thrown at you? Is it always playing the race card if there may in fact be a racial motivation? And just exactly whatdo folks mean when they use that phrase anwyay?

GPS Question

I'd been meaning to ask this question ever since I was in New Jersey last month and had trouble with my GPS. The device constantly gave me a "can't acquire satellites" error. It happened so frequently that my brother didn't believe me when I said it never happened back home. That's the truth though...so my questions is this...have you have the same trouble with a GPS unit? Are there just too many people sucking up the GPS signal up there in the North-East? It was cloudy a lot...are New Jersey clouds somehow able to interfere with the signal?

[I'm asking those questions in jest, but the overall question is real...what's up with the GPS? Do they work less well outside of the Southeast?]

$8 BILLION for Alabama

According to a story in The Birmingham Business Journal, Alabama's piece of the stimulus pie is considerably larger than originally predicted...almost $8 Billion. [UPDATE: Some GOP Governors may refuse some of the stimulus money. No, Govenor Riley is not named in the story.]

$naring Hollywood

The Alabama House has approved a bill to grant incentives to the film industry, a measure that's been introduced in the last two sessions to replace incentives that expired in 2006. The legislation now goes to the let's-not-approve-anything State Senate. But if they do take a vote, the Senators might want to consider what happened in 2008 in Wisconsin, where the state paid almost as much as the production of the movie "Public Enemies" created in increased economic activity. Forbes Magazine has the AP story. And will the state have approval rights over the script? Will only films rated PG13 or higher be considered? The Montgomery Advertiser has an editorial in favor of the legislation, but you have to wonder is this isn't the same game other industries play...playing one state against the other to squeeze out as much cash as possible.

On The Candidate Hunt

This morning's Birmingham News reports the Birmingham Board of Ed will look for a search firm to find their next Superintendent. May I make a suggestion? Get a list of the past two dozen or so positions those headhunters have helped fill...and see how many of those folks are still on the job. If there's a significant percentage who've moved on already...that might say something about the search firm's work. Another Alabama board hired a super after a similar search, but the relationship between the superintendent and the board was in flames within a year, and the board ended up having to buy her house once she moved. Birmingham's Schools, by the way, have had four people in charge in the past decade.

Meanwhile, The Anniston Star has this headline this morning: • Anniston BOE settles with Felton: Board to pay former superintendent $67,875 settlement. You have to be a subscriber to see the entire story.

Where's the outrage?

An Anniston Star blog by Editor Bob Davis points out the interesting silence on normally uber-loud Talk Radio when it comes to a guilty plea last week in the Knoxville church shooting last Summer. Read the list of books the shooter had on his bookshelf. Meanwhile, the editor of the News Sentinal in Knoxville had to defend his decision to print the hate-filled "manifesto" by the gunman.

"Snark"

I've posted about reader comments before, the kind you find at the end of almost any newspaper's online stories. That so-called "dialogue" often descends quickly into name-calling and "snark*", which was the topic of an interview during this morning on NPR's "Morning Edition".

The author of a book by that name, "Snark", suggests it's ruining true dialogue. And David Denby is a movie reviewer by trade, so maybe he should know about dialogue.

*"Snark" hasn't made it into the dictionary yet...the current definition there is "any kind of unexplained or threatening event on a computer (especially if it might be a boojum). Often used to refer to an event or a log file entry that might indicate an attempted security violation..." But in the author's usage, snark means a putdown, a "a tone of teasing or snideness", and not just online.

States' Right$

We've written about the dichotomy apparent when Alabama's Congressional delegation votes, almost to a man, against the stimulus plan, yet its Republican Governor is more than willing to present state legislators with state budgets that are balanced only because of the billions of dollars included for Alabama in that package. This morning's N.Y. Times examines other GOP Governor's who publicly supported President Obama's stimulus legislation. It quotes a Riley spokesman as saying the Governor went to D.C. with money in mind: “He’s going to make sure Alabama doesn’t miss out on the money we’re entitled to.” Our delegation, especially GOP Senators Shelby and Sessions, battled against the money. We get more in federal funds back than we pay. Are we "entitled" to the stimulus cash? Sure, as long as we're still a part of theses United States.

Swat: Pakistan gives up

We recommended a NY Times story last month detailing the Taliban's crushing power over the people living in Pakistan's Swat Valley. The story explained how Taliban radio broadcasts were used to name those killed for infractions that day, and those to be killed the next day. Now the government of Pakistan has given up on the region, allowing the Taliban to impose it's own Islamic "justice" on the inhabitants. Their rule of law includes a ban on women attending school...and hundreds of girl's schools have been destroyed in the area. Men have been ordered not to shave their beards.

Mountain Brook COUNTY, Alabama

Read John Archibald's column in the Sunday Birmingham News for a glimpse into the secession fever that's broken out in Jefferson County because of the sewer mess.

MMMM #29 Four related item$

1) "No matter what you may have heard, rest assured that our operations are strong, and that we continue to focus on enhancing our products and services" That's from an e-mail to Charter Cable customers from the firm's CEO, Neil Smit. And what you "may have heard" is that Charter will file for bankruptcy soon because of a huge load of debt. Even so, analysts seem to be comfortable with that prospect, saying the Microsoft controlled cable provider should emerge in good shape. While people tend to like the products they receive from cable companies, they tend to hate the companies themselves...perhaps that's the cumulative result of years of miserable customer service. But something is going on. In my own experience, two recent contacts with my cable operator resulted in fast and friendly service. 2) In a related story the New York headquartered "Young Broadcasting", operator of ten TV stations, is also getting ready to file for bankruptcy. [None of them are in Alabama. The closest to us are the ABC-TV stations in Nashville and Knoxville.] What happened to the days when owning just one station was considered a license to print money? Same thing that happened to the newspaper business, advertising went away. 3) ...speaking of newspapering...read an excellent N.Y. Times editorial about that aspect of the recession here. 4) And finally, Sunday marked the final edition of the Baltimore Examiner, which began publishing just three years ago, but never attracted enough advertising dollars to make it profitable. [The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]

Stimu-bus.

How come so much of the stimulus package is going for highways instead of Mass Transit projects that can reduce the a) amount of fuel being used and, b) the amount of pollution being spewed by all of those single-occupant cars on the roads? Especially now, when existing Mass Transit is cutting back. But here in Alabama we've always been more asphalt and concrete friendly anyway. That's why virtually all of our state gas tax goes to highway projects and there's not a light rail project anywhere within our borders.

Hugs. On Valeintine's Day.

Are you a hugger? I've always been, and recently was reminded that not everyone is when I greeted a long-ago friend with a hug and he seemed taken aback. Remember Leo Buscaglia? "Dr. Love" was his nickname in the 80's when he had a series of shows on PBS. He was a huge advocate of hugs. [He died in 1998.] Anyway, according to this story, hugs may be about to be mainstream again.

Judicial Electioneering - AG King Connection

A case being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court could result in changes in the election of judges here in Alabama and the three dozen other states where some judges are elected. The N.Y. Times has a story on the case, which focuses on a West Virginia judge. [UPDATE: according to this story, Alabama Attorney General Troy King was trying to get others Attorneys General to join him in trying to convince the U.S. Supreme Court NOT to impose any limits on when judges should recuse themselves...]

The Jefco Sewer Stink

The latest development, reported in today's Birmingham News, is an attack by Irondale on the proposal to charge even residents of the county who are not hooked into the system a $30 monthly fee. While your gut reaction to that proposal might be wait! We can't go charging people for services they don't use..think again. Our taxes go for all kinds of things that provide no direct benefit to us. You pay for food-stamps, even if you'll never use a penny of that assistance. You pay for highways even if you've never left your house. And your taxes go to fund municipal offices that monitor cable TV franchises, even if you're strictly a rabbit-ears kinda guy or gal. Jefferson County got itself into this mess because some elected officials screwed up, and they are going and will go to jail. But the mistakes they made still have to be righted. And if it's not bankruptcy, then the money to pay the bills has to come from the community as a whole, not just parts.

Orders by Telegram

Today is the 148th Anniversary of a telegram sent from Montgomery to Raphael Semmes in Washington, D.C., ordering him to report for duty in the fledgling Confederate Navy.

"Sir, on behalf of The Committee on Naval Affairs, I beg leave to request that you will repair to this place at your earliest convenience." Your Obedient Servant C.M. Conrad, Chairman*

He received it as he and family were eating dinner and responded at once:

"Dispatch received. I will be with you immediately.

Two days later Semmes was on a train headed for Montgomery, the new Capitol of the Confederacy, and for his future as captain of the CSS Sumter and The CSS Alabama.

For more about Semmes, see our blog: http://www.cssalabama.tv/

* Conrad was Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, CSA House of Representatives

Sales Tax on Groceries

Alabama Arise is urging Alabamians to press their House and Senate Representatives to vote yes on legislation to remove the sales tax on groceries. It's true, the tax is more of a burden on the poor because they spend a larger percentage of their income on food. Then again it is also true that the poorest receive food stamps and pay NO sales tax on the food they obtain that way. Democratic Rep. John Knight has been introducing and pushing this bill for a decade...will he have to wait for Republicans to come around and support it, the way his bill to raise the income tax threshold finally became law? Anyway, here's the message from Arise:

Time to end the state grocery tax! Take Action! Ask your legislator to vote yes on House Bill 116. With unemployment rising and food prices soaring, it's never been more important to offer Alabama's working families some relief. The grocery tax bill that will soon go to the House floor would do just that. The bill would lower the grocery tax without reducing funding for education. It would end the 4-cent state grocery tax and pay for the reduction by capping the unfair deduction for federal income taxes, which gives huge tax breaks to people at very high incomes. Ask your representative to support House Bill 116, Rep. John Knight's grocery tax bill. Point out that our tax system is out of balance. The top 3 percent of taxpayers get more than half of the benefit from a deduction that costs $770 million. By ending this tax break for people at high incomes, we can afford to lower the grocery tax, which will benefit everyone. In short, Rep. Knight's bill will help put things back into balance. House Bill 116 has passed out of committee, but that is only the first step. Let your legislator hear from you now. Thank you for doing your part!

Sue Schmidt Trial

Conflicting testimoney..from the same person...is the story today in the retrial of Democratic Representative Sue Schmitz, and it's Democratic Speaker of The House Hammett we're talking about. Read it here on al.com The first trial ended with the jurors unable to reach a verdict.

Space Junk Detection

So once again, what I thought to be true turns out to be wrong. I thought there was a NASA and/or military agency who's job it was to keep track of all the space junk. I could have sworn I'd seen and or read stories over the years, and though it was pretty cool they could do that! Then this week a U.S. commercial satellite collided with a dead Russian Military satellite. The $50-Million plus commercial is a goner, and now everyone if pointing fingers. A wonderful website -- http://www.space.com/ -- has some great animation of the incident and the debris clouds created after it...the FIRST time, by the way, two intact man-made object have hit each other. The graphic in this post came from that site. There is an agency that's supposed to track the junk in space, by the way, The US Space Command, but somehow it missed this one. Now where do I go to have my faith restored in the military's ability to track junk in space?

[UPDATE: AP reports debris will circle earth for 10,000 years.]

Semantic Employees

When is a state employee not a state employee? When the Governor's office says so. There's a hiring freeze under way, but according to an AP story this afternoon, two former Bob Riley Insiders have been hired at a rate of $195 an hour each to help spend the Federal Stimulus Plan money, the plan Riley said was unfair to Alabama. The story quotes the Governor's communication director: "The hiring freeze applies to state employees. These folks are not state employees," Emerson said.

Speedy Birds

That little purple Martin you spot in your Huntsville backyard might have been on The Alabama Gulf Coast the day before. So says an AP story about a discovery that song birds fly as far as 300 miles a day...much faster than the previous 90 mile estimate. Read the story to discover how the researchers tracked the birds, and why the story is significant.

When I worked at WJLK Radio in Asbury Park, NJ about 1974, there was a daily call-in program for birdwatchers! One day the host was ill and I was the only announcer type around...my first radio-talk show hosting experience.

Literally Watch!

On an NPR newscast this morning and elsewhere, a congressman discussing the stimulus/package tells the interviewer there isn't enough information available: "We're literally flying blind"*. Uh, always a bad idea, congressman or not, even with instruments!

[Literally Watch is a public service of timlennox.com. Our mission is to maintain the original and correct meaning of the word. Submissions welcome!]

[*"This process has been so rushed and so one-sided that we are literally flying blind," Camp, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said during an early evening meeting of negotiators from each chamber.]

Et tu Ethanol?

So much for that alternative fuel? A story in the NY Times reports "the industry is burdened with excess capacity, and plants are shutting down virtually every week." Last Summer, Alabama opened two special gas stations on I-65 to sell ethanol, and a plant in Livingston started producing the fuel as a sort of demonstration. You can read about the company behind the plant on their website here...but I couldn't find a single online news story about it since then. Isn't it amazing how we all worry about the cost of fuel and get ready to trade in our guzzlers as soon as gas hits a "high"price, but go back to wasteful ways as soon as it drops. Gas is up in Alabama in recent weeks...time to start looking at ethanol again?

Peanuts!

I know it makes great TV to call the president and manager of the Georgia peanut company names for refusing to answer questions in Congress about the salmonella outbreak [And in print too, The Washington Post headline was: "Peanut Tycoon's Walk of Shame"] ...but let's remember a few things. The FBI is investigating, and the two men could face criminal charges. They have the right not to testify against themselves...so who in their right mind would undergo a cross-examination by some grandstanding politicians holding up "Crime Scene" taped containers of peanut products? Did the two do something wrong? Did they commit a crime? I don't know, and Congress doesn't either. Let's see what charges are filed and see what a jury says, no?

PARCA Annual Meeting

Just back from attending the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) annual meeting in Birmingham, courtesy of the nice folks at the Birmingham financial consulting company Waters and Company. They had an empty seat at their table and invited me to come up and use it! Saw lots of folks I know, and lots of folks who I had never met in person but who knew me from TV. Public Service Commissioner Susan Parker, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Executive VP Barry Copeland, Former State Representative Bill Fuller, Public Health's Dr. Don Williamson, Alan Collins with FOX-6 and Bob Davis with The Anniston Star...to name a few from the first category. I was pleased to meet the President of Samford University, Andrew Westmoreland, and Lynne Berry of Berry Millsaps Properties in Huntsville (and others as well!). I arrived in time for sit in on a panel discussion titled "Stewardship of Public Resources in a Stormy Season". All of the panelists were interesting, but I noted the divergent views of the Department of Public Safety's Colonel Chris Murphy [far left in the photo] and Jefferson County Family Court Presiding Judge Brian Huff [Second from the right]. The Colonel boasted of the marijuana seizures his department has made, while Judge Huff, a Republican, by the way, talked about finding alternatives to jail for simple pot possession. Apparently Mayor Langford has been on a rant about kids wearing baggy pants in school and he wants to increase the number of officers patrolling the school hallways. Judge Huff offered that jail cells aren't the place for baggy pants offenders. (You'll recall that Langford himself was indicted in December on charges of taking bribes when he was a Jefferson County Commissioner.) His Honor was not in the audience at PARCA, but Governor Riley was. He spoke about ethics at lunch (to much applause), and announced that the "state's checkbook" will be online starting next month. He also said starting in October you'll be able to search that online listing to see who's getting money from where. Riley signed an executive order to that effect today. He also reiterated his displeasure with the 'Buy American" aspects of the Federal stimulus program because it will hurt the "foreign" companies that have located in Alabama. And he's pushing for legislation to give the Ethics Commission subpoena power. I know the Commission's Jim Sumner has been pushing for that for years, so it's good to see the Guv on board. Now all we have to do in convince the legislators who might be the target of those subpoenas to agree.

To Catch a Genocide...

NBC News is reportedly working with prosecutors from another country for a program that

sounds like "To Catch A Predator" on steroids. The NY Times has the story today, and it raises ethical questions, just like that earlier program. Just how closely should a journalist work with a government? Aren't journalists watchdogs on the government

Lincolnless States

Reading and watching all of the Abe Lincoln material being generated in this 200th anniversary of his birth year (on Thursday) got me wondering how and if the old Confederate States would commemorate the anniversary. I wasn't alone, an AP reporter looked into it and has written a story you'll find at Myrtle Beach Online and elsewhere. Of course it's not like Jeff Davis' birthday is much more than a formality here, though some folks gather at the Confederate War Memorial every year to remember. Those post-war feelings---especially as a result of Reconstruction after Lincoln's assassination---they truly do last generations. On the other hand we are friendly with Germany and Japan and Vietnam...and they with us.

Newspapering

Today's N.Y. Times includes a series of eight essays on the plight of newspapers. They're written by those in the business and those online, where so many readers now get their news without plunking down .50 or .75 or $1.50* The founding editor of Stateline.org is knee-deep in the disintegrating newspaper business, and he writes: "None of the operations I visited during a recent survey trip is likely to be confused with a newspaper, even a small one. The sites are niche publications, more like the weeklies that every small town once had. " While Edward Fouhy's comment sounds quaint and might make you wonder "what's wrong with that?", when is the last time a small staffed local weekly broke a story about misdeeds in The Pentagon? But maybe what he found is part of the answer. * Hey! Whatever happened to the "cent" sign on keyboards? I know it used to be on typewriters but seems to have vanished (or is it hidden somewhere in a "symbol menu"?)

The Alabam GOP: State vs Federal

In his State of The State address last week, Governor Riley urged lawmakers to approve a budget independent of any Federal stimulus program because of the uncertainty of that assistance.

"...we cannot wait on Washington. We must do what is best for Alabama today. When or if the stimulus package arrives, we will have time to make adjustments. But this should not be an excuse to go on a spending spree. The budgets I'm presenting call on you to take a conservative approach to spending."

"Spending Spree"? Not likely. The money that may come to the state would only prevent catastrophic cuts and huge layoffs. Riley does want the Federal help...despite the fact that all but one member of the state's entire congressional delegation opposes it (Only Democratic Rep. Artur Davis supports it). Senator Richard Shelby had been a point man against the package, but according to Sean Riley in the Press-Register, it was Alabama other Republican Senator who blasted it in a news conference today..."Indeed, the financial soul of this country may be at stake," Jeff Sessions told reporters. Ironically, The Governor has bragged about the state's balanced budget, which is required by the 1901 Constitution, even though accepting the Federal Stimulus money would be an end-run around that prohibition. More irony: The U.S. Senate version of the stimulus measure, the one advocated by Sessions and Shelby, cuts aids to the states by some 40-Billion Dollars. It's Riley vs Shelby-Sessions! Did President Obama help sell the package during his news conference tonight? Perhaps, but don't expect any changes in votes from our delegation.

UPDATE: Dave White has a Wednesday story quoting Sen. Shelby: The states should not depend on the Federal Government for funding. AND, Gov, Riley is now criticising the Senate package because it has a "Buy American" provision. He says that will hurt Alabama's foreign companies like ThyssenKrupp, the steel firm building a plant in Mobile County.

Obamedia

The first prime time news conference of the new Obama Administration is set for tonight at 7:00 Central Time, and there is an interesting structural change in the way reporters are called. According to the Howard Kurtz column in today's Washington Post,

"Some journalists are miffed that Obama decides the day before news conferences whom he is going to call on -- the fortunate ones are notified in advance -- reducing the other reporters to the role of mere extras. Past presidents have generally worked their way around the room, starting with the wire services, networks and major newspapers..."

Naturally, the odds of being called on in a presidential news conference are pretty small anyway unless you are one of the "stars". But all of the reporters in the room will be writing about the President's comments, and being there is the best way to get the sense of the room, the room atmospherics. And how much pressure is there on the reporters who've been told they'll get called on tonight? It's an old story...ask questions that are too agressive and suddenly you don't get called on, or at least not as often [Remember Helen Thomas being ignored by George Bush at his last news conference?]

Shelby: Socialist Stimulation

Yes, Alabama's Senior Senator believes socialism is at work in President Obama's stimulus plan, and Newsweek's cover says "We are all socialists now". Shelby made his comment on CNN over the weekend. Politico.com has details. He says there must be another way, and what we must do is "straighten out the banking system". [Of course we might ask what the good Senator was doing all those years as Chair of the Senate Banking Committee]. The site quotes Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) as saying doing nothing could lead to another Great Depression.

Buying The Beach

I can't count the number of conversations I've had with friends over the years about going in together to buy a condo on the coast. Certainly it happened every time during the last 10 or 15 years when I drove down for a holiday of sun and sand. "We can each take three weekends a year and then rent it out the rest of the time," we'd excitedly plan. Interest rates were low...hadn't many of us refinanced our home mortgages recently to take advantage? I've had rental property inland for years...what could go wrong? Today's Press-Register has a story that may provide cold comfort if you actually purchased a condo for investment purposes...especially in the last decade (No, I didn't). Turns out some folks who should have been a lot more savvy were also left holding the sand filled bag, like the investment banker who only "glanced at" the paperwork when he bought a $759,900 unit. Some of this may be a case of people with too much money and not enough common sense, no? Over the weekend, the NY Times published a piece about an other beach area in trouble..Ft. Meyers, where all was well till 2007 when the bottom fell out.

Despite all that the lure of owning property at or near the beach is strong--God shut down the beach-making factory a long time ago-- and I suspect the next time I head that way I'll still be tempted to look at some furnished models..."we'll use it for two or three weekends a year, and then......"

UPDATE: read this piece in the Register about bidders falling all over themselves to buy condos.

MMMM #28 - Secret Communication

OK, here's the scenario, which happened in Alabama last week: a public relations person for a major Alabama state agency gets a request from a reporter for an interview with the agency's head. She puts together a list of controversial parts of the story the reporter is working on and sends it with the reporter's original e-mail to some folks in the agency. But by accident, she clicks on the wrong "To" list and sends it to every media person on her very large list. Realizing her mistake within minutes, the PR person sends a second e-mail, asking folks to ignore the earlier one.

A few ethical questions here: was I wrong to open the attachment anyway? If I opened it in the time between email #1 and email #2?

I read the original e-mail from The Anniston Star reporter Graham Milldrum and glanced at the lengthy list of issues in the story he was doing...nothing especially secretive there, though in a competitive news market, knowing what story someone else is working on, and when they'll publish it, can be beneficial. In my new role as blogger-only, I called Milldrum and talked with him about the incident. Turns out, till my call, he wasn't even aware that his private e-mail had been blasted across the state. He remembered an Eastern Illinois University journalism professor's ethics lecture asking if it was OK to use information you obtained by reading a document upside down on a desk. The professor's answer was no, because you were not intended to have the information. If that rule were strictly interpreted, I'm not sure how some stories would ever get published. I asked Milldrum if the PR person had at least apologized for sharing his private communication, and he said no, suggesting that she may have considered the second mass-mailing enough of a mea culpa.

Would you have opened the attachment? And just how careful do we all need to be when hitting the "Send" button?

Uh, really???

Spotted at a supermarket in Montogmery today. I mean, I knew the peanut scare was everywhere but.....

Banking

The AP is out with a lengthy exploration of Banking and how we got into the mess we're in. The Washington Post has the article online. Read it, and then watch the repeat of the last FTR [and I DO mean last] Sunday at 1:00pm on APT [and apologies for the rough start. About the only thing working correctly were the guests and the cameras]. But listen to Alabama's Banking Superintendent. Either Alabama is truly an island of monetary calm in the financial storm or..... let's just say its hard to reconcile the article with the comments on-air.

Naming Rights (and Wrongs)

In May of last year, the Alabama State University Board ordered workers to remove the name of "Joe L. Reed" from the " Joe L. Reed Acadome" on campus to protest Reed filing a suit in an internal dispute. Since then there's been an effort to put his name back up on the building. Today's Montgomery Advertiser quotes a University news release as protesting legislation * to do just that, a bill sponsored by Senator Roger Smitherman of Jefferson County. The news release claims in part the legislation would set a precedent that..."could conceivably allow a powerful politician who supports the University of Alabama to rename Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium after Coach Bear Bryant." Uh, not quite. Smitherman's legislation will have to take the same tortuous path all bills do, and will have to win approval by both the Senate and The House. So would that ridiculous bill suggested by the "news release". The 8 page bill * introduced by Sen. Smitherman is full of the usual "whereas's" and praises Reed's accomplishments for ASU, just like the original resolution by the ASU board to remove his name...

[Whereas, Joe L. Reed has completely and utterly destroyed any and all confidence in his commitment to positively represent the University and its legacy; and Whereas, Joe L. Reed continues to generate negative publicity for Alabama State University through media interviews and authoring article in news publication that are factually incorrect and unsubstantiated; and...]

...but remember, the original resolution by the ASU board also declared that "from then and forever" the facility would be called the "Sting Dome". Except they didn't put the "Sting" part up on the building, and I have yet to hear anyone use that name. Anyway it's all a can of worms, and I doubt many legislators will be willing to open it.

[* click on the bill number and then select the "View" tap on top to read the bill]

Big Switch Delay, Part II

OK, so some of the TV stations that said they would ignore the new Congress-approved delay in the date to switch off their old analog signals NOW say they will delay after all. Among them is WSFA-TV in Montgomery. You can read their story here. On the other hand, my former employer (Yes, it feels very weird writing that!), APT, and others, are sticking to the February 17th date. That means, of course, an even more confusing situation for viewers.A story in The Anniston Star says the FCC has given stations till Monday to inform the agency if they are planning to pull the plug on their analog transmitters on the original February 17th date. The only viewers who have to worry about all of this are those receiving their TV broadcasts via the so-called "rabbit ears" antenna on their set. They need a converter box. And now they've been given a reprieve, at least by WSFA-TV and others, till June 12th.

Leaving APT

OK, LAST post about this departure thing. There's a line about blogging that "nobody cares what you had for lunch", and this posting about the end of FTR and my position is getting wearisome, no? Today's Montgomery Independent has rather massive coverage of the story, including the role Sandra Polizos played in starting FTR in 1978 and the role Bob Corley has had as facility manager too. You can read it online here. I've been emptying out my office and dressing room for the past few days...including moving my tie collection! I've posted before about my wish tie-wearing to come to an end, and I am delighted so see President Obama in public a few times without one! Nonetheless, the collection survives, perhaps to serve another day?

The desk is cleaner than it's been in a very long time, and the IN/OUT box that I never really used for that purpose is now literally and symbolically empty of ins AND outs. I had a good eleven years at APT.

Thanks to the viewers who made it worth the time it took to host FTR.

I hope to see you again, soon (and visa versa)!

"How To Save Your Newspaper"...

...that's the catchy title to an article in TIME that details the problems facing today's newspapers. More readers and ever, buy fewer payers. From the article: One of history's ironies is that hypertext — an embedded Web link that refers you to another page or site — had been invented by Ted Nelson in the early 1960s with the goal of enabling micropayments for content. He wanted to make sure that the people who created good stuff got rewarded for it. In his vision, all links on a page would facilitate the accrual of small, automatic payments for whatever content was accessed. Instead, the Web got caught up in the ethos that information wants to be free. Alabama's newspapers are having tough times too...layoffs here and there...other cost cutting too. Bad enough for folks who've been in the business for a while, but you have to wonder if new J-School grads are reconsidering their career choice.

Brunos

The latest Alabama casualty...Bruno's Supermarkets, filing bankruptcy today. There was a time when Bruno's was the place to shop for food...then came the terrible plane crash on December 12, 1991 that killed nine people, including several of the company's top executives, including Chairman Angelo Bruno. The company never seemed to recover.

The Big Switcheroo

OK, so now Congress has voted to delay the FCC mandated switch from Analog to Digital transmission for the country's TV stations. Originally, all of those old transmitters were to be shut off on February 17th...the new date is June 12th...more time to allow consumers to buy converter boxes and get ready. But in its wisdom, the congress is allowing stations to make the switch early if they want to. There are few if any stations not ready for the switch, so on the 17th they'll have a choice...shut off those old transmitters that cost a fortune to run and go 100% digital, or leave 'em on? What do you think the broadcasters will do?

Thrift

People who know me well will tell you I'm not the most thrifty guy around. One friend used to joke that I did my grocery shopping at the 7-11 because it was close to home. While I'm confident my broadcasting career will be back on track soon, these things can sometimes take a long time. With that in mind, I've been keeping an eye on expenses a touch more than usual. Do I really want to spend almost $25 for eight of those multiple blade razor blades that fit in the razor with the battery in the handle? What was so wrong with the old ones I used to buy? The ones that cost less than $12 for ten. Should I continue to support this group or that? And about that huge cable TV bill...just how may channels do I really watch? Everything is relative, right? So I save five bucks here and there, staving off the day when I go apply to be the welcomer at the big box retailer. But despite my mostly symbolic thrift, to quote Benjamin Franklin, "Penny wise, pound foolish.." That Tiny Flip HD video camera with an extended memory chip for less than $200? Here's another quote, Benny: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." Thanks Scarlet. Bring it on!

Last FTR

One of the lessons I've learned from doing TV is that no matter how bad any given show seems to have come off from my standpoint as host, it's not nearly as bad as that for viewers or anyone else. There were some technical problems with the start of last night's final FTR, including the inability of any of us to hear callers. That meant the producer had to tell me in my IFB (ear piece) what the caller asked, which meant I had to disengage from the conversation...anyway, sorry for the less than 100% we offered up on the program. The guests, David Bronner, Keivan Deravi, John Harrison and Joe Borg were as usual informative and mostly blunt in their discussion of the deep economic recession we're all in, and I thank them for their time on a frigid Tuesday night. Dave White, the Birmingham News reporter who was on the very first week-in-review I hosted in 1998 showed up to shake my hand and wish me well, a gesture that meant more than I can say. It's almost 11:00pm and I'm headed to sleep. I'm still in the office at APT for the rest of the week, then off on the next adventure.

Birmingham Weekly

A column by Courtney Hayden in the new BW bemoans the end of FTR and even quotes this blog. Courtney and I worked together when Mooney Broadcasting owned WERC AM/FM in the 80's.* He was paired with Greg Bass ("Greg and Courtney") hosting a morning show that had enough intelligent humor to let it rise above the usual sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll morning shows on other stations. Greg once hosted an interview show on APT, and now works with the WBHM program "Tapestry" (among other things), which not too many months ago interviewed Bob Corley, the Manager of APT here in Montgomery who was one of three other employees whose jobs were eliminated the same time mine was. The interview was about Bob's premier CD "Never Too Late". Now read that last part five times fast. (-: And Thanks Courtney for such a nice column! The above bumper sticker came from a great web site for those of you interested in old Birmingham Radio and TV...Birmingham Rewound. But frankly, I'm not sure the station was using the "Kicks-106" name during Greg and Courtney's reign. It may have started with a much simpler name for that simpler time: WERC-FM 106.9

MMMM # 27

The Monday Morning Media Memo (MMMM) has been MIA for a couple of weeks as I've been concentrating on finding the next and best place to practice my craft. During that time, media layoffs--print and broadcast-- have continued at a disturbingly consistent rate. But those are dwarfed by the hundreds of thousands of other folks finding themselves on the street, and it seems a bit peevish to write about fifteen TV employees being let go when a bank eliminates fifteen-thousand the same day. Where can you turn for advice if your job is eliminated? Look here for one example of a "Survival Guide", this one posted on WVTM Birmingham's website. Channel 13 is owned by Media-General, a massive media conglomerate that, ironically, has had its share of job cutting...including ten last week at...WVTM. OK, plug time: my OWN swan song is tomorrow evening at 8:00pm on all nine APT stations...a live FTR extravaganza in which we'll take your calls [1- 866-552-0025 NOTE: AGAIN CORRECTED number!] and e-mails [economy@aptv.org] with questions for a panel of Alabama economic experts.