Tuesday, September 29, 2009

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Reyne Haines: Elvis Presley has entered the building! Top
There is still a fascination with all things Elvis....32 years after his death. Fans around the world scour high and low for anything that might have graced the hands of "The King". One man, who might have been considered his biggest fan, collected everything Elvis. That man was Gary Pepper, friend and fan club president. Early in Elvis' career, he befriended Gary Pepper. Gary was a young man with cerebral palsy. They became very good friends and Gary was the president of one of Elvis' first fan clubs. This allowed him to amass a large collection of personal effects gifted to him by The King himself. When Pepper moved to California, he left most of his collection to his friend and nurse. Three decades later, the current owner has decided to consign the items to auction. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the United Cerebral Palsy of the Mid-South. What are some of the goodies up for bid? Christmas cards Gary received from Elvis and Priscilla, numerous LP's and 45s. Autographed record sleeves, and even a lock of Presleys hair (freaky!) The sale will also include a very personal look into Elvis' life; as there are hundreds of candid photos of Elvis such as his return home from the Army, wedding photos to Priscilla, Lisa Marie's first days, and photos of Graceland. The sale takes place in Chicago, IL at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. To get an online glimpse of the items up for bid, please visit www.lesliehindman.com The sale date is October 18th!
 
Virtual Assistants: Interview With President Of IVAA Top
Our lives have become virtual -- virtual money (ATM cards), virtual sales clerks (online shopping carts), virtual relationships (texting). So why not virtual assistants? And, as with other forms of technology, the world of virtual assistants is evolving to encompass more industries and skills sets than most brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs might have believed possible. (This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)
 
Reyne Haines: Personal Effects of Martin Luther King up for bid Top
It is not often one stumbles across an item with such historical significance as an item coming up in the November 6-8th auction at Heritage. The highlight of the 20th Century Decorative Arts Sale at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas is a rocking chair, once owned by Martin Luther King. The chair was bought my Hermine I. Popper for Dr. King to use while working on his writings in Popper's White Plains, NY cabin. The chair was enjoyed extensively while Dr. King was writing his seminal 1967 book, " Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" A letter from Popper's nephew, John E. Popper, accompanies the chair: "Hermine Popper edited Martin Luther King's writings, including Why We Can't Wait (1963-1964) and Where Do We Go From Here . To learn more, visit www.ha.com
 
Dr. Orin Levine: The Low Hanging Fruit of Pandemic Flu Prevention Top
It's flu season, and the world is watching to see whether this pandemic is going to act like previous ones. Disease trackers from CDC are collecting viruses and distributing vaccines for both seasonal flu and pandemic flu. Because meeting the challenge of the pandemic influenza requires safe, effective vaccines. But until today, it was unclear whether another fearsome feature of previous pandemics would also come in to play. Today the CDC released new data from the flu pandemic showing that we need to be prepared for bacterial pneumonia on top of the flu. "Bacterial pneumonia may be contributing to influenza-associated mortality in a manner similar to that in previous pandemics," said epidemiologist Matthew Moore of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By studying the lungs of 77 patients that died from confirmed H1N1 flu, they were able to document the involvement of bacteria from 29% of the patients, and one bacterium, called pneumococcus, was responsible for almost half of the bacterial infections. The flu virus can make you sick all on its own. But it can also set up your body for a more serious, bacterial infection like pneumonia or meningitis in the following days. In fact, historically, these bacterial pneumonias account for a large fraction of the serious illness and deaths that occurred during an influenza pandemic. A bacteria called pneumococcus that accounts for about 1.5 million worldwide deaths each year on its own, is one of the most common bacterial causes of these pneumonia cases. Knowing that there is a likely bacterial pneumonia surge that will follow pandemic influenza may seem scary but it is actually helpful. Because in addition to the vaccines that can prevent influenza, we have vaccines that prevent the pneumococcal pneumonias that follow flu illnesses and antibiotics to treat those that get through the vaccinations. Wider use of these vaccines now will help soften the impact of a pandemic while also providing valuable health and economic gains now. CDC's Moore estimates that there are about 70 million Americans who should be getting the pneumococcal vaccine but haven't yet received it. By making sure that you're familiar with the signs of pneumonia and seek care when needed and that doctors are on guard to diagnose and treat it we can minimize the consequences of pneumonia. There are overlapping challenges as well as opportunities impeding the wider use of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines around the world. In each case, the existing vaccines are helpful but better, more broadly protective vaccines would have a greater impact. For each disease, making better vaccines requires sharing of strains and isolates with a corresponding commitment to supplying the vaccines to the populations that need them the most. Until this year, for example, no countries in Africa - where the highest risk of pneumococcal disease occurs - had introduced the life-saving pneumococcal vaccine for their children. Lastly, successful delivery of these vaccines to all the children and adults who need it will require expansion of vaccine supply capacity and extension of systems to deliver the vaccines. Success against influenza and pneumonia requires some common features. Sustained research, international cooperation and commitment, a massive expansion of vaccine manufacturing capacity, and investments to strengthen immunization and health systems are needed for both. So, while you go out to get your flu vaccines - seasonal and pandemic - check to see if you should also get the pneumococcal vaccine. And while you're at it think also about how you might help give access to these vaccines to millions of children around the world who urgently need them. More on Swine Flu
 
Bruce Judson: New Income Inequality Data: Surprising and Frightening Top
The newest economic inequality numbers, which ran counter to the expectations of almost all experts , are frightening. Yesterday, the Associated Press released an article titled, US income gap widens as poor take hit in recession . The opening paragraph of the article, based on recent census data, reads: The recession has hit middle-income and poor families hardest, widening the economic gap between the richest and poorest Americans as rippling job layoffs ravaged household budgets. The article, which then discussed the Census statistics that led to this conclusion, failed to mention that the Census Bureau considered the differences between 2007 and 2008, with regard to economic inequality, statistically insignificant . But, whether the Census Data shows a meaningful increase, or not. is irrelevant. The Census Data reports that, contrary to the almost universal expectations of economists , economic inequality most likely did not decrease in 2008. Experts had anticipated that the declines in income of the rich would lead to a reversal in this groups ever--widening share of our national income. Instead, the Census reported that the 2008 income losses by the top 10% of Americans were offset by larger losses among middle class and poorer Americans. MIT economist Simon Johnston appears to have been one notable exception to this expectation of a shrinking income gap. Let's review what we know about the measurement of income inequality before discussing the disturbing implications of this newest government report. About two weeks ago, I critiqued a Sept 10, 2009 front page story in the Wall Street Journal titled, Income Gap Shrinks in Slump at the Expense of the Wealthy . My critique had three central points: First, economists have, with few exceptions, agreed that Census Data is inappropriate for measuring income inequality because it consistently understates the income of the wealthiest families. To protect the privacy of reporting individuals, the Census "top-codes" income, which means that no one is ever recorded as making more than about $1.1 million in a single year. So, oil traders, hedge fund executives and anyone else at the super-high end of the income strata who might earn $100, $50 or $5 million in a single year, always earn $1.1 million or less in this Census Data. In addition, the Census Data does not include capital gains income, which is typically a large source of income for the wealthiest Americans. Two economists, Professors Emanuel Saez and Thoma Pickety, developed a method for measuring income inequality using IRS data, which avoided the problems inherent in using Census Data. This data was recently updated in response to the IRS release of 2007 information , and found that: Economic inequality in 2006 was, by some measures at the highest levels, ever found in the data available for the past 95 years. In 2007, these same measure showed a further jump further bringing America to it it's highest levels of economic inequality in recorded history. As a consequence of Census top-coding and the lack of capital gains data, the Saez-Picketty methodology has consistently shown that the Census substantially understates the extent of economic inequality in the nation. This means that, there is a real possibility that the the new Census Data understated the extent to which income inequality grew in 2008 , and that the relative losses of the wealthiest families, versus less fortunate Americans, will be more than statistically insignificant. It is possible that losses in reported capital income by the wealthiest Americans, if captured by the Saez-Picketty methodology, will be larger than the the incomes above $1.1 million that were not reported and offset the Census findings, leading as economists anticipated to a decline in the share of income going to the rich. However, I view this as unlikely. In considering this possibility, its important to remember that the IRS works on reported income gains, not gains which were never captured as taxable income. For income reporting purposes, the question is not whether the market value of capital assets declined but whether they were sold at an actual loss from their purchase price. We will not know the answer to this question until July or August 2010, but in weighing the available evidence my working hypothesis is that as demonstrated by this new Census Report, income inequality did not decrease from 2008 to 2007. Second, the original Journal article expressed a strong expectation that, as a result of the Great Recession, the ongoing growth of income inequality would decline substantially through 201o. My critique indicated that this was "far from clear." The conventional economic wisdom, based on historical data, is that income inequality decreases, at least temporarily, as the richest Americans lose income faster than less-well-off Americans during a downturn. In contrast, this new data suggests that the dangerous cycle toward increasing income at the top of America has become even more self-reinforcing than previously recognized . We are now at the point where the pure market forces, which many economists told us would eliminate this issue, are no longer effective. Third, the Journal article implied that the decrease in economic inequality it incorrectly predicted might be the start of a long-term trend. Instead, I demonstrated that, even if income inequality did decline in 2008 and 2009, it would almost certainly be "temporary." The historical evidence shows that economic inequality frequently declines in a downturn, in the absence of strong government action, but that it will almost inevitably rebound and continue its march forward. Now, let's return to our main point: Early next week, my new book It Could Happen Here will be released by HarperCollins. The book is an in-depth look , based on a historical analysis, of the implications of our historically high levels of economic inequality for the nation's ultimate, long-term political stability. As economic inequality grows, nations invariably become increasingly politically unstable: Should we complacently believe that America will be different? A central conclusion of the book is that once economic inequality reaches a self-reinforcing cycle it is halted only by inevitably controversial, hard-fought, bitterly opposed government action. Senator Jim Webb encapsulated this idea, when he wrote in his book, A Time to Fight: Reclaiming A Fair and Just America: "No aristocracy in history has decided to give up any portion of its power willingly." In 1928, economic inequality was near today's levels. Franklin Roosevelt succeeded in reversing the trend toward the continuing concentration of wealth, but it was a turbulent battle. In 1936, while campaigning for his second term and speaking at Madison Square Garden, FDR told the crowd : "Never before in all our history have these forces [Organized Money] been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said, wait a minute, I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master." In FDR's era and in our own, money brings power: both explicitly and implicitly, in hundreds of different ways, both large and small. Today, the wealthiest Americans, together with a number of financial and corporate interests that act on their behalf, protect their ever-increasing influence through activities that include, among others, lobbying, supplying expertise to the councils of government, casual conversation at dinner parties, the potential for jobs after government service, the power to run media advertisements that influence public opinion. Indeed, MIT economist Simon Johnston, writing in The Atlantic asserted that the U.S. is now run by an oligarchy: The great wealth that the financial sector created and concentrated [ from 1983 to 2007] gave bankers enormous political weight--a weight not seen in the U.S. since the era of J.P. Morgan (the man) ... Of course, the U.S. is unique. And just as we have the world's most advanced economy, military, and technology, we also have its most advanced oligarchy. The new inequality data suggests that the potential problems for the nation associated with the concentration of wealth and power are even more severe than previously recognized. Two weeks ago, I wrote that "Once income concentration becomes a reinforcing cycle of the kind we are witnessing, it is never stopped by pure market forces." This mechanism is now in full swing. The market forces associated with the Great Recession, which many economist had expected to stem the growing, corrosive gap between the rich and the poor, appear to have become ineffective. The great strength of American democracy has always been its capacity for self-correction. However, Robert Dahl, the eminent political scientist, recognized that political power fueled by wealth may ultimately neutralize this central aspect of our democracy. In his 2006 book, On Political Equality , Dahl wrote: As numerous studies have shown, inequalities in income and wealth are likely to produce other inequalities.. The unequal accumulation of political resources points to an ominous possibility: political inequalities may be ratcheted up, so to speak, to a level from which they cannot be ratcheted down. The cumulative advantages in power, influence, and authority of the more privileged strata may become so great that even if less privileged Americans compose a majority of citizens they are simply unable, and perhaps even unwilling, to make the effort it would require to overcome the forces of inequality arrayed against them. In the chapter following this quote, Dahl notes "that we should not assume this future is inevitable." He's right. But, was clearly concerned. Three years late, we should be even more concerned. Many current Executive Branch initiatives deserve our support and praise: However, nothing proposed to date will effectively halt growing economic inequality, and its corrosive impact on our economy and the long-term future of the nation. (In a future post, I will explicitly discuss the proposed regulatory reform of the financial sector.) My analysis in It Could Happen Here concludes that without a vibrant middle class, the the American democracy as we know it, is not sustainable. Before the Great Recession, the middle class was in far worse shape than was generally acknowledged . In an economy with a record number of job seekers for every available job , the potential for nearly one-half of all home mortgages to be underwater , and increasing foreclosures , the collapse of the middle class will accelerate. With each job loss and each foreclosure, another family becomes a member of the former middle class . America has never been a society sharply divided between have's and have not's. Unfortunately, this new data says to me we continue to head in that direction. Economists assumed that the Great Recession would be a circuit breaker that would halt this advance, at least temporarily. It did not. With no new legislation, it appears are potentially on course for 13 million foreclosures , almost one in every four mortgages in the nation, from the end of 2008 through 2014. Do we really believe that we can turn such huge numbers of Americans out of their homes with no consequences for the health of our system of governance? Could our democracy survive a transformation into a nation composed principally of a privileged upper class and an underclass, which struggles from paycheck to paycheck and lacks basic economic security? We will only reign in growing economic inequality if the President and the Congress are ready to fight in the style of Franklin Roosevelt. FDR was a divider not a conciliator. Before World War II, he fought an all-out war at home. Today, "There's class warfare, all right," as Warren Buffett said , "but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning." I fervently hoped that we have not passed the point of no return, described by Professor Dahl. The recent news shows we are one step further on this road. If we continue down it, our nation may be on the path to becoming a House divided against itself, which ultimately cannot stand. More on Wall Street Journal
 
Why Medical Malpractice Reform Is Off Limits Top
Eliminating defensive medicine could save upwards of $200 billion in health-care costs annually, according to estimates by the American Medical Association and others. The cure is a reliable medical malpractice system that patients, doctors and the general public can trust. More on Health Care
 
Mayor Cory Booker Puts Conan O'Brien On Newark Airport's "No Fly List" (VIDEO) Top
Newark Mayor Cory Booker is putting Conan O'Brien on notice: slights to Newark will not be tolerated. Conan joked last week that Booker was setting up a program to improve the health of his city's residents - "the health care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark." After Booker touts the accomplishments and great traits of Newark, he brings down the hammer: "I'm also mayor of the city with one of the largest airports in the United States... I'm officially putting you on the Newark New jersey Airport No Fly List. Try JFK buddy." WATCH: More on Conan O'Brien
 
Tori Spelling SICK: Felled By Stomach Pain, Hospitalized Top
Tori Spelling, struck by stomach pains, spent some time in the hospital Monday night and was readmitted Tuesday, Us Weekly reports . Luckily she has her husband, Dean McDermott, by her sickbed. "The hits just keep coming !! T is in the hospital now with severe stomach pains. We're trying to get her comfortable," he tweeted last night. "Just out of the hospital. After a battery of tests, no conclusive answers. She still feels terrible. Hope it passes soon. She's in a lot of pain." Tori's illness continues to baffle doctors, even though, as know from their tweets, her kids have been sick with the flu and her husband has been feeling crummy too . Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Lamar Odom Defends Fake Wedding To Khloe Kardashian As Real Marriage Top
A handful of reality show cameras and production crew may have surrounded them, but Lamar Odom insists his wedding to Khloe Kardashian was real, despite reports that it was a non-binding ceremony. "It's crazy how perception works in America when you're looking at things from the outside," Odom, 29, told reporters at a press conference at the Lakers media day Wednesday.
 
Martin Lewis: Cancer Patients Are Selfish And Un-American (And Jesus & God Think So Too!) Top
How dare they? How dare people who are careless enough to get cancer -- or Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, AIDS, leukemia, heart disease, multiple sclerosis or other illnesses that give them the excuse to stop working -- have the temerity to think they can burden us decent, law-abiding, God-fearing, tax-paying, gun-toting Americans with their petty problems?! I mean get real. The essence of our great country is that we are not a land of communism, socialism or other namby-pamby systems that inflict so-called "fairness" and "equality" on our nation. If God had intended America to be "fair" or "equal", then he would not have permitted slavery and segregation under our constitution. Just because a few liberal politicians and activist judges subsequently enacted some amendments to the original constitution that permitted these so-called "improvements" - doesn't make them or any other changes to the wisdom of our Founding Fathers correct. So it is with all this foul nonsense about health-care. Where in the constitution does it say anything about having to provide health-care to a bunch of unhealthy deadbeats? Nowhere! God and Jesus Christ - who are both fine, upstanding All-American types last time I checked -- were very clear in what they wanted America to be. A CAPITALIST nation. Survival of the fittest. That's the American Way. And we are also a nation of choice. If people choose to get ill and lounge around at home or in hospitals rather than going to work like decent people -- then that is their choice. But they cannot seriously expect honest tax-payers like us to subsidize their choice. If you want health-care -- buy it! This isn't the Soviet Union or China where some heart-on-the-sleeve nanny is going to come along and help you because you didn't work hard enough or keep yourself healthy. Don't like it? Tough cheese buddy! If you really don't like it -- move to Canada or Cuba where that kind of cry-baby stuff is doled out. But don't litter up America with your communistic whining! Worst of all -- some people have the nerve to suggest that it is the responsibility of health insurance companies to cover everybody! And of drug companies to subsidize sickly citizens! Last time I checked -- this was a proud capitalist country. Founded on the principles of the great Adam Smith. We are all about making money -- not nursing a bunch of malingerers and malcontents. Corporations don't exist to provide charity to the Great Unwashed! Corporations have just one responsibility -- and that is to make absolutely the very largest profits possible for the shareholders. Nothing else remotely matters. This is an honorable creed fully endorsed by both Jesus Christ and God. It is even written in the bible. "And lo -- there shall come a great profit unto the land..." See. Nothing there about wet-nursing the poor and lazy. And when the noble President Richard Nixon very wisely ushered in the present-day health care system in the early 1970s -- he did it the American Way. He put decent, honest insurance companies and drug corporations in charge. It's a free-for-all. Not a Free For All! And the evidence that he did the right thing is crystal clear. Those companies are making record profits! If it was the wrong thing to do -- then those companies would be failing and running at a loss. But those companies prove that we Americans know how to keep things healthy. Looking for health all you pinkoes? Start with FISCAL health. If all those cancer and heart patients would just pull their finger out and emulate the drug and insurance companies -- instead of whining all the time -- they'd be a lot better off! So enough of this foolish talk about "public option" and "health-care reform"! Let's keep health-care just as it is. Anything else is clearly selfish and un-American... More on Health Care
 
Matthew Filipowicz: WATCH: Max Baucus Explains His Screwing Over The American Public Top
As you most likely have heard, today Blue Dog Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee, led by Senator Max Baucus voted down amendments that would have added a public option to the Finance Committee bill. Shortly after, Senator Baucus explained his reasons for screwing over the American public. Take a look. And whatever you do, don't hold Baucus accountable for his actions. More on Max Baucus
 
Edward Furlong's Ex: He Is Violent And Smokes Cocaine Top
In the documents, Rachael Kneeland -- who filed for divorce from Eddie in July -- claims Eddie "grabbed me, bruised me, pushed me, made threats of more violence, left messages saying he would hire people to come and beat me with chains and bats." Kneeland also claims Furlong "is smoking cocaine and doing other various drugs. He is very unpredictable." More on Celebrity Splits
 
'Survivor' Samoa SAFE: Escapes Tsunami Damage Top
LOS ANGELES — "Survivor" is safe in Samoa. A spokeswoman for the CBS reality show says no crew members were harmed by the powerful earthquake that struck the South Pacific between Samoa and American Samoa around dawn Tuesday, sending large tsunami waves ashore. The earthquake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, had no effect on the production of the 20th season, which the spokeswoman said was not being filmed at the time. The 19th season was also filmed in Samoa.
 
Bernie Goldberg Criticizes Fox News On "O'Reilly Factor" (VIDEO) Top
Bernard Goldberg, a media critic who often appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" and can reliably be called upon to defend the cable channel against accusations of bias, unexpectedly said the network is responsible for some (although not much) of the criticism it receives, particularly during the promotion of the tea parties. Goldberg told O'Reilly, Sometimes Fox brings on the criticism itself. There are some programs on Fox that are not only not fair balanced - they're commentary shows, they don't have to be - but they brag about how fair and balanced they are. They don't cover rallies and tea parties; they cheerlead rallies and tea parties. And as a journalist I am totally against that. And to that extent the criticism is legitimate. By and large it's not. O'Reilly defended Fox News by saying it's no different than editorial pages promoting Earth Day and protecting the environment. Goldberg replied that his main point is: Don't pretend to be objective... Don't go on the air and say these tea parties are a cross section of America. They are not a cross section. Don't pretend to be a journalist if you're not a journalist. WATCH: Send us tips! Write us at tv@huffingtonpost.com if you see any newsworthy or notable TV moments. Read more about our media monitoring project here and click here to join the Media Monitors team.
 
Yoani Sanchez: Cuban Hip Hop Singer Detained Top
They knocked on the door with a search warrant that Aldo's mother could barely see. They went directly to the room to take the computer where the lyrics of those songs that circulate throughout the country are stored. There was no way to make the police see that this man with long hair and tattoos all over his body is not a delinquent. Those in uniforms do not like hip hop and a hairy painted man is what, to them, most resembles a criminal. They didn't take into account that this one had been evoked by Juanes just a week ago in the Plaza of the Revolution when he mentioned the group Los Aldeanos. The news of the detention spread until the singer Silvio Rodriguez himself interceded for them to return the computer and to let him go home. Aldo and Bian already have been isolated from almost everything, save this gift for music that the censorship has not managed to take from them. Some friends distributed printed sheets to denounce the exclusion of the popular duo and proposed that "these men be accepted as vital organs of the nation, it's a question of honor." But ours is a society admitted into intensive care with transplanted parts and a dialysis machine connected to the area where citizenship should be working. We live on an Island where they excise and amputate because a few diagnose that a member has gangrene when in reality it is, simply, different. On having taken the musician and his computer--which lacks ownership papers as the vast majority do in Cuba--perhaps they were administering an injection of dread, the medication known to increase fear. But already it doesn't work like before. Now, the apprehension is transformed in songs, in blogs, on discs that circulate hand to hand, while the confiscations and arrests only make it go further. Yoani's blog, Generation Y , can be read here in English translation. More on Cuba
 
Dan Solin: How Smart People at Yale and Harvard Invested Stupidly Top
On June 30, 2008, the Yale endowment had a jaw dropping $22.9 billion in assets. Previously, it had a stellar record of outstanding returns. It earned 28% in fiscal 2007 and an astounding 41% in fiscal 2000. From 1998-2008, it trounced its benchmarks in every asset class. Many believed the success of Yale's investment strategy was its access to "alternative assets". These include private equity holdings in leveraged buyouts, venture capital and energy investments. Yale's endowment managers had extolled the virtues of alternative investments as evidence of the value of active management. In its 2001 annual report, they stated: "Alternative assets, by their very nature, tend to be less efficiently priced than traditional marketable securities, providing an opportunity to exploit market inefficiencies through active management." Really? These investments also have high fees, are generally illiquid and have risks that are difficult to measure. The fact that Yale had enjoyed such extraordinary returns should have caused it to question the amount of risk it was taking. So what happened in fiscal 2008, which ended on June 30, 2009? The endowment had a loss of 24.6%. That's $5.6 billion! What happened? Well, the endowment's investments in alternative assets let it down. Private equity holdings in leveraged buyouts and venture capital lost 24.3%. Energy investments were a disaster, losing 47.4%. So much for "exploit[ing] market inefficiencies through active management." What if the entire endowment had been invested in a globally diversified portfolio of low cost stock and bond index funds, with an asset allocation of 60% stocks and 40% bonds? This allocation is used by most endowments. For the one year period ending June 30, 2009, this portfolio would have lost approximately 14% of its value. Yale can take cold comfort from the fact that it fared better than its rivals at Harvard. Harvard's endowment, which followed a similar investment strategy, lost 27.3% of its value, representing $11 billion. If it had followed a 60/40 asset allocation, its losses would have been 50% less. Maybe the Yale and Harvard endowments will outperform a passively managed, globally diversified portfolio over the next decade and maybe they won't. It is statistically likely they won't. The trustees of the Yale and Harvard endowments lost sight of a basic rule of finance: When you take more risk, you increase the potential for both higher returns and higher losses. There is no free lunch in investing. Individual investors make this mistake every day. The smart people at Yale and Harvard should have known better. Dan Solin is the author of The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read. The views set forth in this blog are the opinions of the author alone and may not represent the views of any firm or entity with whom he is affiliated. The data, information, and content on this blog are for information, education, and non-commercial purposes only. Returns from index funds do not represent the performance of any investment advisory firm. The information on this blog does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice and is limited to the dissemination of opinions on investing. No reader should construe these opinions as an offer of advisory services. Readers who require investment advice should retain the services of a competent investment professional. The information on this blog is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any securities or class of securities mentioned herein. Furthermore, the information on this blog should not be construed as an offer of advisory services. Please note that the author does not recommend specific securities nor is he responsible for comments made by persons posting on this blog.
 
US, Cuba Held Unannounced Talks Top
NEW YORK — A senior American diplomat has held unannounced, high-level talks in Havana with the Cuban government, three State Department officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday, raising hopes for a thaw in long-icy relations. The talks were the first of their kind in years between representatives of the U.S. and Cuban governments, the bitter Cold War rivals among whom trust appears to be gradually building. Bisa Williams, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, met with Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez, visited an area affected by hurricanes in the Western province of Pinar del Rio and toured a government agricultural facility during a six-day trip to Cuba this month, the officials told AP. The meetings came on the heels of Sept. 17 talks on the possibility of restarting direct mail service between the countries, suspended since 1963. Those discussions had been public, but neither country had previously revealed that Williams remained in Havana for five extra days. One U.S. official described the talks as "respectful" and said they were more significant for having taken place, than for any substantive breakthroughs between the two sides, which have been at odds since shortly after former Cuban leader Fidel Castro marched into Havana on New Year's Day 1959. "We were going over ground we haven't gone over for a long time," said the official. "Each side was taking advantage of the opportunity to size each other up." The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of Williams' visit and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed Williams remained in Cuba and met with officials after the postal talks, but offered few details. "Williams met with host government officials and a wide range of representatives from civil society to gain a full appreciation of the political and economic situation on the ground," he told AP. Kelly said Williams followed up on ongoing U.S.-Cuba migration talks, the next round of which he said are tentatively scheduled to take place in December. One of the officials said those talks were likely to be held in Havana. The last time a senior U.S. official traveled to Cuba for talks of any kind was in 2002, but Williams' extended, wide-ranging and unpublicized trip here this month was different. U.S.-Cuban relations have improved considerably since President Barack Obama took office in January, saying he was ready to extend a hand of friendship to America's traditional foes. In addition to the mail talks, Obama has loosened financial and travel restrictions on Americans with relatives on the island. The Americans have also made other small but significant gestures – like turning off an electronic sign that had streamed anti-Castro messages from the windows of the U.S. Interests Section, which Washington maintains in Cuba instead of an embassy. The Cubans then took down dozens of large black flags they had set up nearby to block the view. Cuban President Raul Castro and his brother, Fidel, have both had warm words for the American leader, with Fidel Castro last week praising Obama as courageous for taking on climate change. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Monday in a speech at the United Nations that the communist government is ready to normalize relations with its larger neighbor and will work with Washington in the meantime on other issues such as fighting drug smuggling. He said Cuba has sought full diplomatic relations with the U.S. for decades and repeated Raul Castro's offer to sit down with Obama for a "respectful, arm's length dialogue with the United States, without overshadowing our independence, sovereignty and self-determination." Cuba experts say it remains to be seen whether the diplomacy of small measures is a path to ultimately reaching agreement on core issues, though diplomats on both sides have privately voiced optimism. Obama has left intact the 47-year trade embargo on the island, and U.S. officials have said for months that they would like to see the single-party state accept some political, economic and social changes. ___ Associated Press writer Paul Haven reported from Havana, Cuba. More on Cuba
 
Britney Spears' "3": New Song Is About Threesomes Top
Britney Spears' new single "3" premiered on a New York radio station today. The song is about threesomes. The New York Daily News : News flash: Britney Spears just figured out the joys of threesomes. The pop tart's new single, "3," released to radio today, oohs and ahhs over multi-partner whoopie. "I don't see the harm," Britney chirps. "Love in the extreme. Are you in?" Rolling Stone : "3″ is yet another product of producer Max Martin, the Swedish pop savant who also gave the world Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" and Spears' "If U Seek Amy," so a track about ménage à trois would be the feasible next step in his repertoire. Listen to Britney Spears' new single: More on Video
 
Lloyd Chapman: Alabama Congressman Introduces Bill to Give Small Business Funds to His Top Campaign Contributors Top
On September 14, 2009, Alabama Congressman Parker Griffith (D - AL5) introduced a new bill, H.R. 3558, which will allow some of his largest campaign contributors to land billions of dollars in federal small business contracts. ( http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3558ih.txt.pdf ) Boeing and Northrop Grumman are two of Congressman Griffith's largest campaign contributors. If H.R. 3558 becomes law, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and hundreds of Fortune 1000 firms will be able to hold on to billions of dollars in federal contracts earmarked for middle class firms. ( http://tiny.cc/mp06p ) Information from the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG) indicates the Obama Administration counted billions of dollars in contracts to many of the largest firms in the world towards the government's 23 percent small business contracting goal. During fiscal year (FY) 2008, the Obama Administration included over $775 million in awards to Textron in the government's small business data. Textron is a Fortune 500 firm with 43,000 employees and annual revenue of over $14 billion. In addition to Fortune 500 firms in the U.S., billions of dollars in contracts awarded to corporate giants in Italy, England, France, Holland and Korea were included in the Obama Administration's small business statistics. The American Small Business League (ASBL) estimates that legitimate small businesses are losing over $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts as a result of the abuses. The ASBL has won a series of lawsuits against several federal agencies, which have forced the release of thousands of pages of data indicating that corporate giants in the U.S. and abroad have received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts for over 10 years. ( http://www.asbl.com/aboutus.html ) The Small Business Administration Office of Inspector (SBA OIG) condemned the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants in Report 5-15, referring to the abuses as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." ( http://www.asbl.com/documents/05-15.pdf ) If Congressman Griffith's bill becomes law, billions of dollars in federal small business contracts could be diverted to Fortune 500 firms, corporate giants around the world, and their subsidiaries indefinitely. In May of 2009, Congressman Hank Johnson (D - GA) introduced H.R. 2568, the Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act of 2009, which will have the opposite effect of H.R. 3558. The ASBL played a major role in the drafting of H.R. 2568. The bill will halt the flow of federal small business contracts to large business. The ASBL estimates H.R. 2568 will redirect over $100 billion a year back to legitimate small businesses and deliver the largest economic stimulus for middle class firms to date. ( http://www.asbl.com/documents/hr2568.pdf ) More on Barack Obama
 
2016 Olympics: Chicago, Rio Square Off In Copenhagen Top
COPENHAGEN — Rio or Chicago? Risk vs. reliable. For the International Olympic Committee, the biggest decision in choosing the city to host the 2016 Games is what statement it wants to send the world. Does it make the bold, transformational choice of Rio de Janeiro, giving the Olympics to South America for the first time? Or does it play it safe and head for the familiar shores of the United States and, perhaps, a more lucrative games? "Policy wise, the IOC has to decide if we're ready to go to a new continent," longtime IOC member Dick Pound said recently. "That's the biggest paradigm shift. Is the time right?" Rio certainly thinks so. The city didn't even make the finals when it bid for the Olympics in 2004 and 2012. Now, however, Brazil has one of the world's largest economies and its international stature is growing. South America is also home to 400 million people, bid committee leader Carlos Arthur Nuzman said, a population that could ensure the Olympic movement's legacy for generations to come. And, Rio leaders say, given any chance they get, it is time. When Rio traveled to Switzerland in June to present its bid to IOC members, the highlight of its passionate appeal was a large map showing where all the Olympics have been held. Dots blanketed Europe, Asia and North America. The entire South American continent was bare. "The Olympic movement is a global movement, so it has to be global. It has to go to all the continents, all the countries, all the areas of the world," Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said Tuesday. "We're pretty emotional here at this moment because we know it's a very important moment for a city that has a lot to give. It's going to change forever the Olympic movement." IOC members acknowledge there is large appeal in going somewhere new. That Rio's plan is technically strong only strengthens its case, making it a slight favorite over Chicago ahead of Friday's vote. Madrid and Tokyo both seem to have faded, done in largely by geography. Though the IOC doesn't have an official continental rotation, European cities are hosting the 2012 and '14 games, while last year's Beijing Olympics are still fresh in members' minds. Of course, for all the handicapping, nothing is ever as certain as it seems. The vagaries of the IOC's voting system make it that any of the four could go out in the first round, and ballrooms across the globe are littered with supposed favorites who didn't win the ultimate prize. In fact, the key to victory often depends on picking up those second- and third-choice votes. The city receiving the fewest votes is eliminated after each round until one candidate has a majority. The vote is expected to go the maximum three rounds. And Rio is not without its drawbacks. Though the homicide rate in the city of 6 million dropped to 33 per 100,000 people last year from 39 per 100,000 the year before, that's still well above Chicago, Madrid or Tokyo. Major highways, including one that links the international airport to the beaches, are periodically shut down by shootouts. Rio also has to convince the IOC that it can pay for $11 billion worth of infrastructure projects and complete them on time – on top of staging the World Cup just two years earlier. Hosting the world's two largest sporting events back-to-back could prove to be a marketing challenge, with advertisers deciding they have the money for one or the other, not both. Then again, FIFA's endorsement might be what's needed to convince IOC members that now is the right time. "It's a big, sophisticated international federation, so maybe that's a signal," Pound said. More like a loud alarm, Rio said. "It's the absolute historical moment for our country, for our continent, for our state," said Sergio Cabral, governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. But what if it's not? While Chicago doesn't have the international flair of, say, Los Angeles, New York or even San Francisco, it is an American bid and those are the ultimate security blanket for the IOC. Los Angeles, Atlanta and Salt Lake City all staged successful games that made money. Lots of it, in Los Angeles and Salt Lake. Chicago may not have the architectural masterpieces that typically define a host city, but its plan to use city parks and existing or temporary venues also makes it less vulnerable to the massive cost overruns that London and Vancouver have seen. Its bid committee is run by insurance magnate Pat Ryan, who didn't get rich by making bad decisions, and is filled with people who worked on the Sydney and Salt Lake games. And by returning to the United States for its first Summer Games since 1996, the IOC will have an attractive property for American advertisers and broadcasters. That's no small thing, considering the IOC's largest chunk of revenue comes from its $2.2 billion deal with NBC to broadcast the 2010 and 2012 Olympics. Negotiations for the U.S. TV rights to the 2014 and 2016 games won't begin until after the vote, and the IOC can expect that a Chicago games will increase both the number of bids and dollar amounts attached to them. There is also the Obama factor. President Barack Obama is a popular figure overseas, an adopted son of Chicago and an ardent supporter of the city's bid and the Olympic movement. So much so he is taking a few hours away from all-important health care reform to come to Copenhagen for Chicago's final presentation, the first sitting U.S. president to personally lobby the IOC at a host city vote. Although Ryan is thrilled Obama will be part of the final presentation, he cautions that it isn't a contest of heads of state. "This is really about cities that would be the best host city for the games," Ryan said. Obama is just one of four big name leaders being brought in by the cities. Rio will have Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Madrid will have King Juan Carlos, and Japan will have new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. "We believe we can make a great impact on the future of the Olympics," said David Robinson, one of the original Dream Teamers. "That's no comment against the other great cities. We just feel like we bring some great things to the table." More on Olympics
 
"Hardball" Explores Palin And Liz Cheney As The New Faces Of The GOP (VIDEO) Top
A "Hardball" panel featuring Democratic strategist Steve McMahon and Republican strategist Todd Harris discussed whether Sarah Palin, whose book comes out in November, and Liz Cheney are the new faces of the GOP. Harris touted Palin's skill in commanding the spotlight: "She is white hot as far as her ability to capture the attention of not only the press but the public." However, he did agree with McMahon that her ability to actually win elections is pretty suspect: "The one thing that I do really agree with Steve on is that her popularity ends, or I shouldn't say ends, is largely diminished the day that her name actually appears on a ballot." In perhaps an example of how Palin's star outshines all others in the GOP right now, the panel never really got around to discussing Cheney. WATCH: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy Send us tips! Write us at tv@huffingtonpost.com if you see any newsworthy or notable TV moments. Read more about our media monitoring project here and click here to join the Media Monitors team. More on Chris Matthews
 
Kim Morgan: Rage, Repulsion, Response, Roman Top
Repulsion, rage and Roman. From comments, to blog posts, to emails, my entire day has been filled with Roman wrath. I can handle it. And I should -- I touched on a sensitive, flammable issue. But based on my "Repulsion" piece here, I think some readers failed to understand what I was writing, and simply jumped to conclusions. Some thoughts were well thought out, and even if they didn't agree with me, I find this interesting since the study of film should involve a multitude of opinions. And I *was* studying a film. But due to the numerous comments, I felt I should explain my take on the Polanski case, and I linked more thoughts to my site, Sunset Gun . But since then, emails, blog posts and comments have increased, so I thought it necessary to publish it here as well. Upon hearing the news of Roman Polanski's arrest Sunday, and after arguing, discussing and thinking about the horribly mishandled case, especially by the late Judge Laurence Rittenband, and of course, the wrongful actions of Polanski towards young Samantha Geimer in 1977, I posted my take on Polanski's brilliant Repulsion here,  at the Huffington Post . From Repulsion ,  Rosemary's Baby , Chinatown , Tess , Death and the Maiden , Bitter Moon and other pictures, I've always contended that Polanski has depicted women with complication, humanity, ugliness and most important, empathy. Polanski is an artist, an acute observer of life's darkness and absurdities on the level of Dostoevsky or Nietzsche. I write this not to defend statutory rape, I write this to study the visions of a troubled, talented human being, a human being who has gone through real horror himself and a human being who also happens to be one of the greatest filmmakers alive. But before discussing Repulsion , I wrote this, very briefly at the Huffington Post : "I'm not going to go into my Roman Polanski defense. I've been doing this all morning, nearly ranting and raving over my views on the matter, and have grown frustrated and depressed. But in short, I'm not happy about his arrest. So, I would rather discuss one of his greatest pictures, a brilliant portrait of female sadness, alienation, sexual neurosis turned to psychosis. A movie all women should watch -- his masterpiece Repulsion ." This caused a flurry of outraged comments . Though many readers appreciated my essay, many slammed me for what they thought read as a defense of Polanski through his movies, Repulsion in particular.  The Washington City Paper's blogger The Sexist wrote: "Congratulations, the Huffington Post's Kim Morgan:You win the prize of penning the most disgusting defense of Polanski I've read to date!" Well if I get a prize, I'll hand a gold statue to The Post News blogger who wrote a bizarre, creepy take on my piece: "Kim Morgan claims she's setting aside her arguments for the right to rape children, and instead does some film criticism of Repulsion in an effort to suggest that Polanski can't be a rapist, because he understands women , and their dark desires -- hint, hint, his 13-year-old victim was asking for it when she cried and said no and begged to go home.  Polanski knows women better than they know themselves, she says.  He knows, apparently, that 13-year-olds are dying to be raped, even if they continue to say no after the fact by pressing charges... Morgan's insinuation that rape is some secret desire of women everywhere, and especially of junior high school girls." I'm not sure how to respond to this this Andrea Dworkin-style foaming of the mouth, other than, I'm happy that she actually dug into my piece this deeply and at least saw some of the dual desires of women. Or, rather, what she views what I see. Even if she erroneously believes I'm saying Polanski can't be a rapist, because he understands women. And even if she thinks I'm a sick fuck.  And here from, Wet Asphalt : "... Repulsion is in fact a piece of shit has no more bearing on the argument than does the fact that Chinatown is a masterpiece. The ONLY reason a 'film and culture' writer like Kim Morgan would be 'ranting and raving' at all about anything related to this case is because Roman Polanski is a famous person and Kim Morgan is a starfucker."  Yeah. I've got no response to that one. Though I understand the sensitivity and complexity of the matter, I find some of the hysteria bordering on insane. The emails I've received range from polite disagreement to articulatete salvos, to bizarre wishes that I should be or had been raped for my current defense of Polanski. Since I was 13 many years ago, and a woman myself, it's interesting to me that defenders of rape don't stop to think that perhaps, I might actually know a thing or two about such matters. My stance has been that I believe the case should have moved along as originally settled by all parties, and not turned into the witch hunt it has become. Even, Roger Gunson, the Assistant DA who led the original prosecution, has expressed his problems with Judge Rittenband's conduct and stated that "under those circumstances" he wasn't surprised that Polanski fled. And I think that, for the sake of Samantha Geimer, this should have been laid to rest decades ago. Read more Kim Morgan at Sunset Gun . More on Roman Polanski
 
N.F.L. Players' Dementia: Higher Rate Of Dementia In Former Athletes, Study Finds Top
A study commissioned by the National Football League reports that Alzheimer's disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league's former players vastly more often than in the national population -- including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49. More on Health
 
RJ Eskow: Why Would Anyone Call Their Book "Going Rogue"? Answer Below. Top
Why would Sarah Palin - or anyone, for that matter - write a book about themselves and call it "Going Rogue"? Granted, she's not exactly going to write it, but that begs the question: Why that name? Consider the Free Dictionary's definitions of the word "rogue": 1. An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal. 2. One who is playfully mischievous; a scamp. 3. A wandering beggar; a vagrant. 4. A vicious and solitary animal, especially an elephant that has separated itself from its herd. 5. An organism, especially a plant, that shows an undesirable variation from a standard. None of those seem too attractive, but those are the noun definitions. What if she's using it as an adjective? In that case it means: 1. Vicious and solitary. Used of an animal, especially an elephant. 2. Large, destructive, and anomalous or unpredictable: a rogue wave; a rogue tornado. 3. Operating outside normal or desirable controls: "How could a single rogue trader bring down an otherwise profitable and well-regarded institution?" transitive verb: 1. To defraud. 2. To remove (diseased or abnormal specimens) from a group of plants of the same variety. v.intr. To remove diseased or abnormal plants. Is the former Governor advertising herself as "playfully mischievous," the least derogatory of these terms? Or as "operating outside normal or desirable controls" - the second least objectionable? The decision is still baffling. But we're not here today to dish out snark against Sarah Palin, or play what she would call a "gotcha" game. We've posed a question, and it has an answer. This, I believe, is the genuine reason she's given her book this name: She thinks she's living in a 1980's action movie. That's right. Not only Sarah Palin, but most of the American Right thinks they're living in a 1980s adventure flick. Here's a theory: Most people, especially people in public life, subconsciously write a 'script' for their lives and then behave accordingly. This isn't a phenomenon of the Right alone. I suspect Barack Obama has a script, although his seems based on a Presidential biography called something like The Conciliator or The Man Who Bridged The Divide. Ms. Palin and her cohort, on the other hand, are strictly eighties action/adventure. It's Red Dawn and Rambo sequels all the way. In fact, Going Roque sounds like a Rambo sequel, doesn't it? "Rogue": Edgy, independent, with just an hint of danger and a little bit of that Rush Hour vibe. Remember Rush Hour ? "Two cops who don't play by the rules." That's our Sarah, as seen in her resignation speech: Not a politician who took on great responsibility, then left the job before it was done. No. "A politician who doesn't play by the rules. " In other words, "rogue" is right-wing code for "freedom fighter." And it's too bad if the distinction between "freedom" and "unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable" occasionally gets blurred. Anyone who saw Penn Gillette's appearance on Glenn Beck's show last March will understand. Viewers were treated to the sight of two clearly sedentary individuals romanticizing themselves by writing themselves into "rebel" roles, even as they mocked a report that examined the risk of right-wing terrorism. "... (A)s I read (Tom Paine's Common Sense )," said Beck, " I thought, my gosh, you write something like this today, you're immediately arrested." (Beck, a successful author and broadcaster, has never been arrested for political speech.) A little while later Jillette observes: "It's the bumper stickers they're afraid of, not the guns." (No, Penn -- it's the guns.) They spent the rest of the show interrogating each other to determine whether they were "domestic terrorists" or not. Ha-ha. Edgy. "Rogue," even. It's easy to picture either Penn Jillette and Glenn Beck writing a book called Going Rogue. Because standing up for your own economic self-interest is, you know, daring and brave. Just ask Sarah. A great many tea-party types love the rhetoric of rebellion because it makes them think they're heroes in a movie, too - heroes just like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and Penn Jillette. That's why so many of them bring their guns to town hall meetings. That's why I don't hate these protesters the way so many other people do: They seem like slaves to their own fantasies. But the problem with movies like that is that they turn violent. I can't feel too morally superior, though. Most of us have some sort of script in our heads, influencing us more than we realize. It takes serious mental discipline and self-reflection to turn those scripts off and see things as they really are. Even so, most of us wouldn't name our story Going Rogue . On the other hand, elephants go "rogue," and everybody knows elephants are Republican. The problem comes when our two movie heroes meet, like "Freddy vs. Jason" or "Alien vs. Predator." "Rogue vs. Conciliator"? I don't want to see how that one turns out. A Night Light The Sentinel Effect: Healthcare Blog Eskow and Associates More on Sarah Palin
 
Michael Russnow: Obama's Big Question: To Go or Not to Go, Copenhagen That is Top
To paraphrase William Shakespeare's renowned query, made more appropriate since it took place in Denmark, the big question is why there is so much furor posed in the Main Stream Media citing Obama's mostly Republican critics over the president's decision to help Chicago win its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics? Obama's choice to attend the International Olympic Committee meeting in Copenhagen, in tandem with wife Michelle and prominent Chicago residents such as Oprah, is in line with other world leaders, such as Britain's prime minister Tony Blair who went much further to Singapore to secure London as the venue in 2012 and Russia's Vladimir Putin who flew an even greater distance to Guatemala when he successfully scored the 2014 Winter Olympics for the city of Sochi in his nation. It may well be that these government leaders upped the ante regarding the expectations of the IOC delegates and it seems a small price to pay considering the relatively scant time Obama will attend to Chicago's big pitch. Yet his Republican antagonists insist Obama's action will take time away from what they deem more significant undertakings, such as -- are you ready for a big laugh -- health care reform, which they have been sabotaging from the outset. They assert in their continuing and mostly lockstep reasoning that Obama is wasting time on such a "frivolous" enterprise rather than addressing the nuclear build-up in Iran, our economic quagmire and the continuing mess in Afghanistan. Indeed, Senator Christopher Bond (R-Missouri) found it "baffling that he (Obama) has time to go to be on (sic) Copenhagen, to be on the Letterman show and almost every other channel except the Food Channel and Fox, but he doesn't have time to talk to General McChrystal." In fact, as the White House points out, Obama regularly consults with McChrystal, the Afghanistan commander, but what do facts matter when the key agenda on the part of most Republican leaders is to run Obama down at every opportunity? Yet the newspapers (consider today's main story in the Los Angeles Times) and broadcast/cable programs, such as those hosted by Anderson Cooper and Lou Dobbs on CNN, Brian Williams on NBC, Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer on ABC, Katie Couric on CBS and Bill O'Reilly on Fox News have allowed what should have been a relatively apolitical and harmless action be debated as possible irresponsibility on the part of the president. And why? Obama is expected to be in Copenhagen for only several hours, and during the eight plus hours in the air to and from Washington he will be able to study reports and be in telephonic contact with everyone he needs, which is how he conducts much of his business in the first place. It's not as if he's suddenly taking a weekend holiday and will be spending the day cavorting at Tivoli Gardens, and another traveling to Funen Island, the home of Hans Christian Andersen. His critics make it appear that, even during his relatively brief trip abroad, he will be totally incommunicado from pleading requests for his time by heads of state, cabinet secretaries and congressional leaders. This brouhaha is nonsense and the only downside is if Chicago doesn't get the bid. Frankly, I'm not sure it will, considering the superior glamour of chief opponent Rio de Janeiro and the fact that South America has never hosted the games. And if that happens Obama will lose a bit of sparkle, but, as an advance warning to the Limbaugh fanatics and GOP doomsayers, I'd say so what? Obama is not a miracle maker and, hell, he will have tried. However, there's a stronger possibility that Chicago has little chance at all if he doesn't make the attempt. And during it all, he and the government will continue in any necessary actions. But this is a point the Republicans continuously deflect, because truth for them is lately in short supply. Michael Russnow's website is www.ramproductionsinternational.com More on Barack Obama
 

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