Monday, May 11, 2009

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Ed Martin: I Want My MSNBC! Top
My cable provider in recent days reached into my home and rudely removed a number of basic cable channels from several rooms - including MSNBC, which hit me like caffeine withdrawal Monday morning when I tuned in for my daily dose of Morning Joe . In recent months I have increasingly turned away from the broadcast networks' morning news and entertainment programs, choosing instead a jolt of Joe . I had never been a big fan of Joe Scarborough, but I think he does an excellent job guiding co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist and their guests through topical daily conversations. Sometimes the tone is casual, at others confrontational, but the show is almost always interesting, and that's more than I can say for most of what I see on other morning shows. And when I don't find it engaging, Joe becomes comfortable background noise while I peruse the morning paper. (Yes, I still spend time with at least one newspaper most days of the week. So shoot me.) When I turned to Joe on Monday, Scarborough and his team were nowhere to be found. In fact, all of MSNBC had disappeared! In its place was a title card that read: "This channel is now available with a digital cable box or CableCARD." I began surfing around and soon discovered that TV Land, We, Lifetime, AMC, ABC Family, VH1, MTV, BET, fuse and a couple of other basic cable networks have also been jettisoned by Cablevision from its traditional service. It's not that my long-time cable provider no longer offers these networks: The situation here is that it has moved them to its digital tier and one must now have a digital cable box to view them. This follows the similar shuffling last year of A&E, Sci Fi Channel and E!, among others. Apparently Cablevision executed this egregious maneuver a few days ago, but I hadn't noticed, not with the arrival in the northeast of sunny weather after a prolonged period of rain, the arrival at my local multi-plex of Star Trek and my tendency to watch real-time television in my living room, home to my biggest flat-screen TV and my only digital cable box. The only real-time television I watched all weekend was the grandly entertaining season finale of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice , the surprise Must-See TV event of the May sweep period, so I hadn't noticed that so many channels had disappeared from the TVs in the other rooms of my home. Let me note here that while I am feeling freshly screwed by Cablevision, I am aware that other cable providers are doing the same things to their customers in other areas of the country. I just don't know why they're all doing it. (Is it simple greed on the part of the cable companies, or are they responding to economic pressures from cable networks or other entities? It depends on whom you ask, I suppose, but does it really matter? Either way it's the consumer who takes the hit.) A few months ago my friends in New Hampshire told me about a protest rally in nearby towns in which Comcast customers expressed their outrage at having so many cable networks pulled from their programming packages without a corresponding reduction in monthly charges. Now I know what they were so pissed off about. The economics of Cablevision's changes are infuriating -- especially during this prolonged time of great economic hardship. I'll rant about that in a minute. First, I'll point out that all of the cable networks mentioned above are likely losing viewers in multi-television, single box homes, because they can no longer be viewed in as many rooms. This is not good for said networks or the advertisers who buy time on them. Ratings for these networks must currently be in decline simply as a function of reduced access. To put this another way, if I'm watching television in my kitchen or bedroom I am no longer seeing commercials on ABC Family, MTV, Lifetime, MSNBC and the others. Morning Joe has lost this viewer, simply because I prefer to eat breakfast in my kitchen rather than my living room. I don't care to pay still more money to Cablevision every month just to move Joe from one room to the next. (Also, I don't care to make room for a cumbersome digital cable box on my kitchen counter.) Like most people, I have during the last three decades paid what I believed to be a reasonable fee for basic cable delivery to my home and enjoyed it on as many different television sets as I cared to connect. Lured by the low cost of Cablevision's one-year Optimum Triple Play trial offer, I made the switch to digital about one year ago, choosing to install the single free digital box that came with the offer in my living room where I would most enjoy high definition viewing. I continued to receive a traditional cable signal in my kitchen and other rooms, where I watch television in small doses and don't care all that much about how dazzling the image is. My Triple Play trial run is almost over, and I must say that I have been pleased with the cable, Internet and telephone services that Cablevision has provided during that time. I had even braced myself for the inevitable huge increase in my monthly bill at trial's end (well over 50 percent from the Triple Play charge). But I had not anticipated that Cablevision would be eliminating so many viewing options from most of my TVs in an effort to get even more money out of me. I know the timing is a coincidence but that doesn't make the situation any less unpleasant. Once upon a time, the lure of a digital cable box was the promise of glorious high-definition reception. If Cablevision customers wanted to add to their monthly Family Cable charge of $52.95 (plus tax) another $10.95 (plus tax) for high-definition service, plus monthly rental charges for the box and the remote (approximately $10), they could enjoy the broadcast networks and a few dozen basic cable networks at their digital best. The combined cost of all that seemed excessive - approximately $75 per month, with digital service to only one television - but at least they could see all of the programming they were paying to bring into their homes in every room of their homes, even if they weren't all in high-def. But now, in order to receive all of the cable channels listed above in any other room of my home, I will need to start shelling out approximately $10 more per TV. That will ramp up my monthly cable bill to approximately $100 per month - and that doesn't even include DVR rentals or pay networks. This is an obscene leap from the $39.95 (plus tax) that I was paying just a few years ago to enjoy dozens of cable channels throughout my home. I ask all cable system operators: Is this the right time to make basic cable viewing a costly luxury, especially with the Internet offering free viewing of so many shows? To communicate with or to be contacted by the executives and/or companies mentioned in this column, link to the JackMyers Connection Hotline . This post originally appeared at JackMyers.com. More on MSNBC
 
Susan Weissman: Seasonal Allergies Take One Mother's Breath Away Top
My son, Eden, was three years old before he revealed the limits of his lungs (read: allergic asthma .) It happened after what already seemed like a lifetime of severe food allergies. When the Big Kahuna - peanuts, milk, etc. - rode in on his blood work, our allergist warned me, "Keep an eye out for outdoor allergies." Uh, of course. When Eden turned three, I felt ready to take a significant baby step - local travel. My husband and I wanted both kids to have a broader range of outdoor sensory experiences. (It's tricky traversing Central Park with Epi-pens, Benadryl, topical cream, ice packs and enough food to satisfy a hungry toddler who can't eat in restaurants.) So we rented an "off-season" house in South Hampton to unwind in nature's civilized bounty. Over those months, weekends became the fulcrum to our weeks. The kids rode bikes and examined leaves while I sniffed the exhaust-free air with self congratulations. When the ice on the pool cover thawed two misguided ducks adapted our yard. It was our Walden Pond, a rich off season . Our final few days at the house that spring brought premature melancholy and an eyeful of pollen. Back in Manhattan pedestrians were catapulting off the curbs in violent sneezes. Eden had an intermittent cough that I figured was symptom of a slight cold. Our very last morning at our brown shingled haven was Mothers Day. Now Eden's cough sounded more like a German Shepherd's gruff bark. We packed the car swiftly but upon reaching our exit on the FDR, I knew something was really wrong. Sure enough, by the time we arrived home, Eden was squeaking long high notes out of his oval mouth. Then he vomited. From car to taxi, I flew down Madison Avenue feeling his heartbeat hammer into my palm. It felt like an itty-bitty heart attack. Respiratory Distress is the accurate term. I learned as much after the hospital's double glass doors hummed open and I jogged over to a nurse who put a metal clamp on Eden's finger while a machine scolded: "Beepbeepbeepbeep!!" We stepped into a dusky treatment room, received an oxygen mask and watched the other children wheeze in eerie synchronization. Mothers Day, for Eden, was a twenty four hour marathon inhaling cocktails of bronchial dilators, saline and oxygen. For me, it was a fall from my hubris: I had thought I was weathered and I had been known to boast,"Yeah, I have this allergy thing pretty down." During our final few hours, as we waited for hospital sign-out, we were left to roam the short hallways. Eden pumped on Albuterol , jazzily sang the chorus of his favorite song:"Follow the yellow brick road, follow, follow..." Quite simply, the memory still takes my breath away.
 
Playboy Considers "Radical Changes" Top
Reeling from declines in readership and advertising, Playboy magazine is contemplating "radical changes" that may include cutting its circulation and reducing the frequency with which it is published, Jerome Kern, interim chairman and chief executive of Playboy Enterprises Inc. told analysts Monday. More on Playboy
 
Chris Weigant: Solving Kashmir Top
Last week, a lot of attention was focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan, since the leaders of the two countries were visiting President Obama in Washington. But nobody seems to be talking about an obvious (if difficult) solution to at least part of the problem Pakistan finds itself in currently -- solving the Kashmir problem once and for all. Pakistan certainly has enough problems on its plate, and without getting into their internal political and military situation too deeply, part of the problem with the Taliban and other extremist groups having a safe haven in northwest Pakistan is that the Pakistani military is reluctant to engage too many of their troops with the militants, because of their long obsession with India. The militant groups are expanding their influence from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the Swat Valley and beyond. This is a little too close to the nation's capital city for comfort, and the Pakistani troops are now pushing back. But reports are that they're only sending about 15 percent of their army to do the job. This is because most of the Pakistani army is busy with their traditional foe, India. And since the two nations are now both nuclear-armed, things can get tense along the border. This tension is at its highest point in the Kashmir region. Kashmir is a valley in the mountain ranges at the skirts of the Himalayas. The entire region, now known as Kashmir and Jammu, was once a principality in the area where China, India, and Pakistan meet. Part of the problem is that just looking at a map doesn't accurately give a good picture of the region, because most people live in the area that India administers currently. The Pakistani area is very mountainous, and the Chinese area is primarily an ancient dead sea -- an alkaline desert. All three countries have claims on the region for differing reasons that stretch back to the 1800s (and earlier -- Kashmir is in a part of the world where territory and fealty has changed hands many times throughout history). When Britain partitioned India following World War II (when Pakistan was created), the Kashmir region was supposed to hold a vote on which country they wanted to be part of (independence was even supposed to be on the table). This vote has never occurred. Pakistan and India both moved troops into the region. India says the ruler of the area signed a document putting them under Indian control. Pakistan says this document (if it even exists, they claim they haven't seen the original) was signed after Indian troops entered, under duress. China, meanwhile, had never agreed to give up its claims on the region, and (while India and Pakistan were busy with each other) quietly built a military road through their section. For China, the mostly-worthless chunk they claim isn't important in and of itself, it is important for a route from one region to another within China. Since then, many wars have been fought over the boundary lines. India and Pakistan have fought both on a large scale, and in small-scale low-level raids pretty much ever since the British left. India and China fought their own conflict over their dividing line as well. In other words, resolving the issue and drawing final national boundary lines between the countries will be about as easy as getting Israel and Palestine to agree on a map. It's not going to be easy. But that doesn't mean the Obama administration shouldn't make the attempt (or may already be making the attempt, for all I know). Because getting everyone to agree over the issue would go a long way towards ratcheting down the half century of distrust and tit-for-tat military actions between India and Pakistan. Meaning Pakistan could free up some of their army to keep control of their own national territory. In this case, border lines have already been drawn by the United Nations. Between India and Pakistan it is known as the "Line Of Control" (LOC) and between India and China the "Line of Actual Control" (LAC). The LOC has been in place since 1972. Pakistan, in this division, gets the Northern Areas, China gets Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract (or the Shaksgam Valley region), and India gets Jammu and Kashmir. The Siachen Glacier, which is kind of where all three countries' claims meet, is usually left as an area with no clear dividing line. India has even built a 460-mile-long fence (a double fence topped with concertina wire and mined in between) just inside their side of the LOC, to reduce infiltration and weapons smuggling into its region. The real sticking point between India and Pakistan is the Kashmir Valley itself. This region was mostly Muslim before the British left, and Pakistan claims it on that basis -- that if an election had been held, it would have joined Pakistan. This is a reasonable argument, from the population data available. But India has held it since then (it's on India's side of the LOC). And this would be the major point of dissention in any negotiations over drawing final boundary lines in the region. President Obama and the American media have managed to start the American public thinking of regional solutions to problems that span national boundaries in the area (although I refuse to use the current in-vogue term "AfPak" to describe Afghanistan and Pakistan, both because it is way too cutesy and because it is insulting... look into how "Paki" is used as a slur by the British to see what I mean). But Afghanistan and Pakistan are not the only countries in this region. And if we're going to seriously talk about the problems Pakistan faces, it is naive to leave India and Kashmir out of the equation, because that is Pakistan's main military concern (and not defeating the Taliban, no matter how happy it would make America if they did so). Whether it is in public, with full diplomatic "summit" flourishes and pomp, or in quiet rooms in Switzerland exploring diplomatic back channels, getting Pakistan and India and China together to discuss finally resolving their border disputes in the Kashmir region once and for all would be a stunning diplomatic achievement for any president. The stakes -- obviously with three nuclear powers -- are enormously high. The chance for failure is also high, since this conflict has been going on for over half a century now. But if Pakistan and India could declare peace and accept a line through the region as their final national boundaries, it could pay off huge dividends in the fight against terrorists. America could help draw the final lines, or the United Nations could take another crack at it if need be, or even long-delayed elections could be held in the region, as initially promised by the British. China probably wouldn't go along with elections (nobody lives in their claimed area), but the Chinese/Indian line is a lot less contentious than the Pakistan/India line to begin with, so perhaps that part of it could be taken off the electoral table. But whatever peaceful resolution turns out to be the best for all concerned would be discussed in a summit or in those back channel dialogs. It wouldn't happen overnight, no matter what was agreed upon. And while in general it's in America's interests to not have a nuclear war anywhere on the planet, we don't really have a dog in this fight. America doesn't really have an invested stake in what happens in any particular place in Kashmir, in other words. But if Pakistan and India could finally "stand down" militarily from the border regions, it would free up the Pakistani military and make it easier for them to clean up their own back yard in the FATA. Which is indeed an American objective. Meaning the effort -- even if ultimately fruitless -- to finally resolve the Kashmir problem would be worth the attempt by the Obama administration, because it could pay off big dividends in another fight -- one that we are much more invested in than the Kashmir situation.   Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com   More on Barack Obama
 
Hartmarx Protest: Workers At Obama Suit Maker Vote To Stage Sit-In (VIDEO) Top
CHICAGO (AP) -- Angry over billions in bailout money for Wells Fargo & Co., workers at a suburban Chicago factory where suits for President Barack Obama are made decided Monday to stage a sit-in if the clothier's creditor liquidates the company. Workers at Hartmarx Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, stopped production inside a Des Plaines, Ill., plant for 15 minutes Monday. They voted unanimously to take over the factory if Wells Fargo and its subsidiary Wachovia Bank shut down the factory and sell all its assets. "We'll stand up and take whatever action is necessary," said Joe Costigan, an official with Workers United, which represents the factory's workers. "We're going to draw a line in the sand and fight back." Wells Fargo should work to prevent the factory's closure, especially since it received $25 billion in federal bailout money, union officials said. At least 500 jobs would be lost if the plant closes, they said. Chicago-based Hartmarx, which made the custom-made dark-navy suit Obama wore on Election Night in Chicago, said the company has "several interested buyers " and must consider Wells Fargo's and Wachovia's input, according to Hartmarx chairman and chief executive officer Homi Patel. "We are continuing to work diligently with our major constituents to evaluate all alternatives in this continuing difficult environment," Patel said in a statement. "Any decisions which are made are subject to bankruptcy court approval." One of the bidders has proposed liquidating all assets, which means shutting down the factory, according to Ray Quintanilla of the Service Employees International Union, which is affiliated with Workers United and represents more than 3,000 Hartmarx employees nationwide. Officials with Hartmarx and Wells Fargo declined to comment on the specifics of a potential sale and future bankruptcy court proceedings. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo said in a statement that it sympathizes with workers, but Hartmarx is unable to pay the $114 million it owes the bank. "As with any loan secured by collateral, if the borrower can't repay the loan, the lender must ultimately look to the value of the collateral for repayment," the statement said. "We believe these are internal business matters which Hartmarx must resolve for itself as it explores its options in a very difficult economy." The workers' demands, similar to another high-profile worker takeover at a Chicago factory last year, have drawn the support of state officials including Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. He has threatened to pull state business from Wells Fargo. Last December, laid-off workers staged a weeklong sit-in at Serious Materials, formerly known as Republic Windows and Doors. The protest garnered national attention after Republic gave the hundreds of workers short notice before shutting down. In February, California-based windows maker Serious Materials bought Republic's assets and pledged to rehire the same workers. -ASSOCIATED PRESS Watch video of Rep. Phil Hare, a former Hartmarx employee and union leader, and State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias address the workers: (From Progress Illinois ) More on Video
 
Ellen R. Shaffer: Health Industry Scramble -- Republicans: "Throw Them Under the Bus" Top
The health care industry is playing its final card. Even the Republican Party is ready to "throw the health insurance industry under the bus," according to strategist Frank Luntz -- while taking every opportunity to block all reform proposals. To avert genuine cost control, the industry is promising to voluntarily hold down prices, per a letter from the America's Health Insurance Plans, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; as well as the AMA, the Hospital Association, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, and the Service Employees International Union. Voluntary efforts have been effective in the past at staving off real health reform, but each time have failed to truly reduce costs. To avoid the political fight of imposing genuine cost control, the Administration may accept the offer. Advocating health reform as a measure to help save the failing economy, it has suggested reducing costs by transforming how health care is delivered. An array of sensible and important proposals, from increasing primary care and incentives to improve quality, to addressing the social and economic causes of illness, are on the table. These proposals are well and good. Our fragmented, profit-driven system means that Americans spend more for using fewer health care services, and get worse health outcomes, compared with other countries. Improving care will help some people. But the Congressional Budget Office has testified that it will not give much credit to these proposals for savings on costs. CBO and the health care industry know what would work, and it's the third rail of the current debate: In every other country, the government takes responsibility for assuring that health care is affordable and available. Since they know individuals can't bargain over prices when they're sick, the government does it for them, by setting limits on total health care spending, and prices. We're mustering the political will. The question is, will Congress propose a plan like Medicare, that can ensure the government can play its role, and hold down costs while assuring universal coverage? Let's look for robust proposals that can secure the transformation of the health system that policymakers are promising. More on Health
 
R. Kelly's Lawyers May Become Blagojevich's Legal Team Top
CHICAGO (AP) -- A father-and-son team of lawyers whose courtroom theatrics captured the spotlight at the trial of R&B singer R. Kelly hinted Monday they may come aboard the defense team of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. "He's a wonderful man, I'm very, very fond of him," Samuel E. Adam said, referring to the impeached former governor now accused of racketeering and fraud. Adam and his father, legendary Chicago criminal defense attorney Sam Adam, said they were involved in talks that could make them part of the Blagojevich team. Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to charges that he schemed to sell or trade President Obama's U.S. Senate seat and used the muscle of the governor's office to pressure companies with state business to make campaign contributions. There has been speculation for months that the two Adams would become part of Blagojevich's defense team - a team that so far hasn't taken shape, even though the ousted governor has been under indictment for months. Although the younger Adam represented Blagojevich during his impeachment proceedings, Monday was the first time the two Adams appeared at a Blagojevich federal court hearing. They even sat among the spectators, declining to come forward when the case was called and make a firm commitment. They said they had to talk first with Sheldon Sorosky, a Blagojevich friend who thus far is the only lawyer committed to representing the former governor. Samuel E. Adam, known universally as "Sam Jr.," attracted the spotlight at the Kelly trial with an emotional closing argument in which he yelled, whispered, laughed and pounded on the jury box. Kelly was acquitted of all charges. Sorosky has been saying a lack of money has been a problem in getting lawyers to join the team. But Sam Jr. scoffed at that notion. "I'd be thrilled to be in the case," he told reporters. "I just want enough to buy my dad a new suit of clothes," he cracked as his father stood nearby in his familiar rumpled state. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Sorosky will be allowed to tap the $2.3 million Friends of Rod Blagojevich campaign fund to pay legal expenses. But lawyers may bill no more than the maximum allowed for government-appointed attorneys - $110 an hour, far below the amount that topflight criminal defense lawyers usually get. Such big-name attorneys often charge flat fees but when computed as hourly rates, they can range up to $700 or more. Sorosky says Blagojevich doesn't have the money to pay lawyers otherwise. As part of the deal, U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel on Monday limited Blagojevich to three attorneys at his trial plus a number of contract lawyers who would probably get less money to help wade through 3 million documents and 500 hours of FBI wiretaps. Sorosky asked if Zagel would consider increasing the number of trial attorneys to four. Zagel said he might allow a fourth attorney if that person was needed to supervise the contract attorneys. The question of which attorneys will be representing Blagojevich is serious enough that prosecutors asked Zagel to schedule a special hearing June 1 at which the former governor is expected to be questioned about the subject. Zagel has previously questioned whether Blagojevich is focused enough on the case, given the seriousness of the charges which could send him to prison for years. One of Chicago's top defense attorneys, Edward M. Genson, had been Blagojevich's lawyer but resigned from the case and implied that the ousted governor wouldn't listen to his advice. That seemed to coincide with the development of a warm relationship between Blagojevich and Sam Sr. The elder Adam had been close friends with Genson for 40 years. While Sam Jr. got the lion's share of publicity in the Kelly case, Genson was generally regarded as the true mastermind of the defense that led to the acquittal. -ASSOCIATED PRESS More on Rod Blagojevich
 
Green Minus Greenbacks: Living Efficiently For The Rest Of Us Top
The green movement has something of an image problem in that the sheen of luxury clings to so much of it, with Whole Foods, hybrid cars and organic silk sweaters pricing themselves out of the lives of most consumers. If you want to find a market that really hates energy inefficiency, try people who are short on money -- like low-income New Yorkers -- people who spend an absurdly high percentage of what money they do have on utilities, a crowd that has the least money to waste on waste. More on New York
 
Smart Energy Meters In Every UK Home By 2020 Top
UK Government Reveals Ambitious Smart Meter Plans The European Union has already made moves to mandate smart meters, but now the Guardian tells us that the UK Government has revealed that it will be ensuring that every UK home is fitted with a smart meter by the year 2020. So what's the big deal? More on Green Living
 
Quinn Budget Puts Policy Goals Above Fiscal Crisis Fixes: Civic Federation Top
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- A respected civic group announced its opposition to Gov. Pat Quinn's budget proposal Monday, saying the plan would take more money from taxpayers without fixing the state's fundamental problems or spelling out the details of a massive public works program. "The governor's proposed budget does not focus sufficiently on overcoming the fiscal crisis, diverting money into policy objectives instead," the Chicago-based Civic Federation said. The group offered its own proposal that includes more spending cuts and a smaller income tax increase, with all the money dedicated to reducing state debt. It also suggested Illinois consider taxing retirement income or applying the sales tax to food and drugs. The Civic Federation is just the latest group to complain about Quinn's budget, which attempts to close an $11.6 billion budget deficit while providing some additional money to schools and launching a construction program meant to create jobs. Conservative lawmakers and organizations complain that Quinn's plan would not cut spending enough and that it raises taxes during a recession. Meanwhile, unions and social service groups say it would take too much away from workers and from people who depend on state services. Quinn's office would not discuss the federation's analysis, but it defended the Democratic governor's proposal as "the most comprehensive, fair and realistic answer to the states massive financial problems." Quinn proposes raising the 3 percent personal income tax rate to 4.5 percent. He also would triple the personal tax exemption, lowering the tax bills of many families. The tax increase would generate about $3.15 billion. The money be used for a variety of government needs, from paying overdue bills to helping support a $26 billion public works program. The Civic Federation objects to using the tax money for anything but paying off the state's billions of dollars in debt. It also objects to a construction program unless officials say ahead of time what projects would be approved. Quinn's plan would increase the size of the state's operating budget by 6.4 percent, to a total of $52.9 billion in the fiscal year starting July 1, the federation found. That total includes $1.3 billion in spending cuts, which the federation says is "inadequate." --- On the Net: http://www.civicfed.org
 
Jim Jaffe: Obama Health Rally Useful, But Abets Delusion Top
As political theater, the spectacle of health care providers joining President Obama in a pledge to constrain medical costs sure beats a rerun of Harry and Louise. And it may well avert an encore performance, which would be a good thing. The anti-Clintoncare commercials were created by providers as a show of their frustration at being shut out of the process. Including them this time is a lesson learned that will yield important positive atmospherics. My enthusiasm is muted by the feeling that is yet another event in the "save by spending more" competition that's been diverting us from the real issues for years. It may not be as phony as promises of a free lunch; it seems to offer an amazingly cheap one. In fact, we've seen this show before. Somehow the long-term savings never quite meet the promises made in justifying the short-term spending, or investment as proponents tend to call it (as in "invest in educating kids today and you'll have fewer felons you'll have to house in expensive prisons tomorrow.") While the numbers for health spending are bigger, this isn't unlike the consumer who buys a Prius to combat $4-a-gallon gas prices, but finds he never saves what he anticipated because gas has dropped to $2-a-gallon and registration fees have been hiked to make up the gas tax revenues lost. Within the health community, this game has now been running for decades and has gotten fairly slick. Insurers and consumers argue that providing insurance for all would save money because it would eliminate the cost of uncompensated care that all of us must share, but it lower total costs by treating people early before their problems became serious and expensive. Drug firms argue that expensive hospitalizations could be avoided if more people took pills that cost list. Doctors claims that regular physician visits could avert emergency room care that costs a lot more. And, of course, some employers think that on-site gyms will result in fitter employees who are healthier. All of these are good ideas that are true some of the time. All of them have been tried. And none of them have proven to be the silver bullet that reversed the relentless growth of our national health bill. Americans are consuming more drugs and spending fewer days in the hospital and while there's a theoretical argument that the bill would be even bigger had that not happened, the reality is that the pattern of growth hasn't been reversed - or even slowed significantly. The White House session is an effort to paper over the reality that some of the players are going to take a hit in a reorganized system. Ideally, everyone - which is to say both patients and providers - would get a bit less. But it isn't likely that such a plan of shared sacrifice will elicit a chorus of kumbuyahs that this week's White House pep rally did.
 
William Bradley: The Hype Flu's Big Fade Top
Two weeks ago, President Barack Obama said the so-called swine flu was "cause for alarm, not cause for concern." Despite the media hysteria, it's faded from view already. Remember that big, dangerous swine flu threat that the cable culture was going on about round the clock, still scaring the sweat out of people a week ago? Why, it's going to ... er, never mind. It was all very breathless and alarming. When the media discovered that an advance man for Energy Secretary Steven Chu had come down with the flu after President Obama's trip to Mexico City last month, it was a mini-scandal. Lost in the shuffle? The fact that the guy got over it in a day and was back at work. CNN reports that the flu is in the United States. When I get the flu, I can be knocked out for a week. And that's all this was, a flu. A somewhat different strain, cause for concern, mind you, but not alarm. Yet our goofy American media culture acted as though this thing was akin to the killer flu in Stephen King's The Stand . One big clue that it wasn't? There weren't dead people. There were dead people in Mexico, but far fewer than estimated at first. Actually, this flu was much less dangerous than the regular flu we deal with all the time. And that flu killed 36,000 Americans last year. This flu didn't cause physical mayhem, it caused media mayhem, with the cable culture locking on to it around the clock. The Obama Administration probably understood this, since one of their people had already experienced the supposedly dangerous flu, and that turned out better than had he gotten the regular flu. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference to announce that a couple of dozen high school kids had the flu. But even though Team O not so subtly holds the current media culture -- in all its hyperventilating, twitchily tweeting, ADD glory -- in minimum low regard, it's not best for politicians to act as media critics. So Obama and company performed the time-honored ritual of political executives in the midst of crisis, real or imaginary: Roll out regular statements about how the government is on top of things and protecting the public and giving common sense advice. Only the usually very valuable Joe Biden, whose vocal chords clearly relish adventures all their own, got into the swim of the media hysteria. "Stay out of enclosed spaces!" You mean, like your house, Mr. Vice President? Naturally, some folks jumped on the hype flu bandwagon to make political points. A few on the left said it showed that corporations are destroying the world. And that many were already dying around the world because of the evils of factory farming. Well, actually, no. Reports out of Mexico, mainly erroneous, led to calls to shut down the border. On the far right, the hype flu festival was especially indulged in. Except it wasn't the hype flu, or even the swine flu. It was Mexican flu. These folks like to blame Mexicans for, well, not exactly everything. But a lot. Budget crises, economic problems, crime, drugs, not speaking English the way God intended it in America. But why did God put the Indians here first if English should be the only language of the land? An inconvenient question, like those about the consumers of those drugs, or the fact that immigrants (who come here to work) have lower crime rates than natives, or the fact that illegal immigrants on balance boost the economy and are hardly the cause of budget crises. With their evil flu, Mexicans had found yet another way to destroy America. Except for, you know, the flu is a big fat fizzle. For now. Wouldn't it be ironic if the hype flu did turn out, over time, to be a real problem instead of the usual faux crisis that our media culture increasingly traffics in? The Fort Worth, Texas school district announced at the end of April it would close all the schools. And that the "cry wolf" syndrome came into play. After all, a flu mutates. The hype flu, swine flu, H1N1 strain as the scientists took to calling it after panicked people started slaughtering pigs, could return in a new and genuinely dangerous form late next fall when the regular flu season starts up again. It isn't likely, as the human body has evolved over many millennia to resist all manner of things. But the fact that it is possible, and that this spring's media hype led to nothing, could lead to something genuinely dangerous going under-appreciated. That would be a tragedy. And it would be entirely a function of a dysfunctional media culture that all too frequently confuses sensation with information, preferring immediacy to common sense. It's too bad, really, because fast and smart can definitely go hand in hand. But absent the smart, it's just hype. You can check things during the day on my site, New West Notes ... www.newwestnotes.com. More on Swine Flu
 
Drew Peterson Murder Arrest Fallout: What Happens To His Kids? Top
CHICAGO — Drew Peterson, charged in the death of his third wife and suspected in the disappearance of his fourth, soon might face another legal battle: a custody fight. The ex-cop had two children with Kathleen Savio, whom he's accused of killing, and another two with Stacy Peterson, who has been missing since 2007. Drew Peterson's adult son Stephen announced Monday that he has taken custody of the children, but relatives of Savio and Stacy Peterson are looking into whether they can change that. "We'd seen a lawyer a ways back and were told we'd have to wait until he was charged," said Pamela Bosco, a friend of Stacy Peterson who has acted as a spokeswoman for her family. "We have to go back to a lawyer and see what's available to us." "It's an issue that's moved to the front burner," said Martin Glink, an attorney representing Savio's father and sister, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Peterson shortly before his arrest last week. He added, however, that he hasn't talked about the issue with his clients or anyone else in the Savio family. Peterson, 55, is being held in lieu of $20 million bond as he awaits a hearing next week on first-degree murder charges in the 2004 death of Savio, who was found drowned in a dry bathtub, a gash to the back of her head. He has two boys, ages 16 and 14, with Savio and a 5-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl with Stacy Peterson. Peterson has long maintained his innocence in Savio's death and Stacy Peterson's disappearance. Stephen Peterson, Drew Peterson's son from a previous marriage, issued a statement Monday on behalf of his siblings, noting that they are staying with him. "All of the children of Drew Peterson fully support their father and know that he is innocent of the charges against him. We know him better than anyone else in the world and we know he is not guilty," Stephen Peterson said. Drew Peterson wanted his children to stay with his adult son, said Reem Odeh, the law partner of Joel Brodsky, Peterson's attorney, who has worked on Peterson's behalf. After Peterson's arrest, the state's Department of Children and Family Services turned his children over to "relatives" they would not identify. The child welfare agency also investigated Stephen Peterson's home, Odeh said. Chicago attorney Matthew Kirsh said the current custody arrangement may be hard to challenge. "A parent whose rights have not been terminated has the right to designate a guardian in writing," Kirsh said. After the Savio family filed the wrongful death lawsuit, Peterson appeared beside his teenage sons on CBS's "Early Show," during which the older boy defended his father and characterized his grandfather and aunt as virtual strangers. "I don't remember meeting him," 16-year-old Thomas Peterson said of Henry Savio. "If he was walking down the street I wouldn't recognize him. And my aunt, I haven't seen in six years." Jennifer Smetters, a family law attorney in Chicago who is not involved with the case, said if she represented a relative of either mother, she would advise seeking guardianship of all four children. "The court needs to place the children in the home that would serve their best interests," Smetters said. "I would advise them to prepare their home to take all of the children. It's very important that these children don't go through any more upheaval." ___ Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson contributed to this report.
 
Thune Hopes To Revisit TARP Recycling Top
Last week Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced an amendment that would have prohibited the Treasury Department from recycling bailout dollars repaid by firms participating in a sub-program of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Senate voted the measure down, 48-47, but Thune may do some recycling of his own. "Senator Thune hopes to bring this up again and that even though it failed, it was a very narrow vote and no one should be taking a one-vote margin as authorization to act counter to the intent of Congress," writes Thune spokesman Kyle Downey in an email to the Huffington Post. The law that created the TARP says that any revenues from the sale of a bailed-out bank's troubled assets should go to the reduction of the public debt. But the Treasury Department says that principal repaid by banks participating in the Capital Purchase Program is fair game. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) was the first to question the legality of the Treasury's plan to recycle bailout dollars. "If you look at the law, it's pretty clear any money returned from these banks goes into the general fund of the United States and not a revolving bank bailout fund," said Sherman in an interview with the Huffington Post. The law is clear that revenues from the sale of troubled assets should go back to the taxpayer, but it's silent on repaid principal. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said at an April hearing that the department expected to get back $25 from CPP participants. On Saturday, a government source put the number at $35 billion. Treasury spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter told the Huffington Post that the law says "Repaid CPP (which is the money that all the banks have) is put back into the TARP pool of funds" and that only dividends from CPP investments go back to the taxpayer. "This is precisely why Senator Thune introduced his amendment," Downey wrote. But Thune's failed amendment may have provided a bit of backdoor justification for recycling. After last week's Senate vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said that, in light of the vote, bailout recycling should be allowed. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Afghan Taliban Suspected Of Using White Phosphorous Illegally Top
KABUL — The U.S. accused Afghan militants Monday of using white phosphorus as a weapon in "reprehensible" attacks on U.S. forces and in civilian areas. The accusation comes two months after an 8-year-old Afghan girl named Razia was wounded by white phosphorus in a battle between militants and NATO troops. Razia has received 10 skin grafts at the U.S. military hospital at Bagram. A U.S. military spokeswoman said her injuries could have been caused by either side. U.S and NATO troops frequently use white phosphorus to illuminate targets and create smoke screens. But human rights groups denounce its use as a weapon, or over populated areas, for the severe burns it causes. Also Monday, the Pentagon replaced the top U.S. and NATO general in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, as President Barack Obama tries to turn around a stalemated war. Replacing McKiernan will be Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has had a top administrative job at the Joint Chiefs of Staff for less than a year. The U.S. military declassified documents Monday showing at least 38 instances where militants had used white phosphorus in attacks or where weapons had been found in eastern Afghanistan, where the U.S. primarily operates. The NATO-led force supplied information on six other instances in the country. The U.S. said militants used white phosphorus in improvised explosive attacks at least seven times since spring 2007, some in civilian areas. The documents showed 12 attacks where militants used white phosphorus in mortars or rockets, the majority of which came the last two years. The most recent militant attack came Thursday, when a NATO outpost in Logar was hit with two rounds of indirect white phosphorus fire, the documents said. Most troops in Logar, just south of Kabul, are American. Afghan authorities have also said Taliban fighters may have used a burning agent _ possibly white phosphorus _ in a major battle on May 4, after doctors discovered unusual burns among the dead and wounded. President Hamid Karzai has said up to 130 civilians died in that battle; the U.S. blamed militants for deliberately putting civilians in harm's way. Doctors are treating 16 patients with severe burns from that battle, said Nader Nadery, an official with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Col. Greg Julian, the top U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, said the U.S. didn't use white phosphorus in last week's fight in Farah province. Farah's governor told the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission that many of those killed in the battle had severe burns, Nadery said. The governor said that Taliban fighters may have attacked the villagers with a flammable material, though not necessarily white phosphorus, Nadery said. The militants' use of white phosphorus as a weapon could cause "unnecessary suffering" as defined in the laws of warfare, U.S. spokeswoman Maj. Jenny Willis said. "This pattern of irresponsible and indiscriminate use of white phosphorus by insurgents is reprehensible and should be noted by the international human rights community," she said. Willis said the military doesn't necessarily know militants are using white phosphorus deliberately, but that its use is still "indiscriminate." Militants find white phosphorus rounds in old weapons stores left over from decades of war, she said, but also get newer rounds from "neighbors," a reference to militant networks in Pakistan. A Taliban spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The U.S. allegations come after Human Rights Watch last week called on NATO to release information into a March 14 battle in Kapisa _ one province northeast of Kabul, where many French troops are stationed _ in which Razia was burned by white phosphorus munitions. Willis said the NATO-led force can't be certain which side fired the round that wounded Razia. "Either scenario is possible, and equally regrettable. One thing is certain: Razia will have the best care that we can give her," she said. White phosphorus may have been used by NATO troops as a smoke screen or to mark targets, Willis said. The release of information about militants' use of white phosphorus was not meant to refute the Human Rights Watch statement, she said. "We declassified it because there seems to be a general lack of awareness that insurgents are in fact accessing and using white phosphorus, so this is an effort to correct the record," she said. "We're not trying to exonerate ourselves for what happened to Razia, because we just don't know. It could have been our fault." White phosphorus is not banned by any treaty that the United States has signed. More on Arlen Specter
 
Youth Radio -- Youth Media International: Hypocrisy Lessons from Bristol Palin Top
Originally published on Youthradio.org , the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe. By: King Anyi Howell When newly appointed spokesperson for the Candie's Foundation, Bristol Palin, went on the morning television circuit urging teens to "wait to have sex," my first thought was, "Till when, Tuesday?".  Palin, daughter of Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, became the object of national focus during the governor's ill-fated campaign for the White House in 2008 for getting pregnant at age 17 by then boyfriend, Levi Johnston. Since Candie's launched the Candie's Foundation in 2001 , their mission has been to "educate America's youth about the devastating consequences of teenage pregnancy."  Here is a clip of "Lil mama" on the TODAY show: After watching this, I immediately applauded their efforts to curb teenage pregnancy in America.  But when I applied some critical thinking about the spokesperson, the message, and the messenger, I observed the beautiful hypocrisy of how we deal with teen pregnancy in America. While the messenger, the Candie's Foundation, advises kids that being sexy "doesn't mean having sex" (contradicting the actual definition of the word " sexy "), Candie's, the parent company, makes it's earnings selling risque clothing and shoes directly marketed to young Americans with "sexy" images.   While sexy images don't necessarily mean images of sex, they are designed to inspire the thought of it. Take, for example, actress Jenny McCarthy . The actress was hired by sanctimony loving Candie's to pose almost pantie-less on a toilet, and was also hired by the Candie's Foundation to do this PSA: And then, there's the spokesperson, Ms. Palin.  While the young mother has not convinced me that she is now celibate or practices abstinence, she HAS convinced me that being a single teen mother is tough, both emotionally and financially. Though the latter might be mitigated by her "teen ambassador " contract, which is reason enough to pay lip service to any issue. My goal is not to combat efforts to curb teen pregnancy, but to point at a major culprit of teen pregnancy in the US: mixed media messages.  It seems like every abstinence campaign is outnumbered 5 to 1 by more provocative ad campaigns.  The case of Candie's is especially ridiculous. While their sexy ad campaigns are reproduced and distributed throughout the world millions of times over in magazines geared towards young girls, their messages of "waiting" will probably fall on deaf ears and blind eyes. Last time I checked, the Today Show episode in which Palin appeared, airs while class is in session. Youth Radio/Youth Media International (YMI) is youth-driven converged media production company that delivers the best youth news, culture and undiscovered talent to a cross section of audiences. To read more youth news from around the globe and explore high quality audio and video features, visit Youthradio.org
 
Brian Rogers "Dead To Me" Says Fellow McCain Staffer Top
Earlier today, Ben Smith reported that McCain research director-cum-press secretary Brian Rogers will begin working as the research director for Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection. On the campaign trail, Rogers worked alongside deputy communications director Michael Goldfarb, who responded to today's announcement with poise and professional courtesy. "Everybody knew Rogers was a tree-hugger," Goldfarb noted by email, "but I didn't think he'd take it this far. He's dead to me." More on John McCain
 

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