Discrimination lawsuit award reduced by $1.8 million
Source: Melanie Bennett, Ledger-Enquirer
Date: March 23, 2005
A U.S. District Court jury on Friday awarded a former Columbus [Georgia] television reporter/producer $2.1 million, finding that her employer discriminated against her because she was pregnant. On Monday, however, U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land reduced the award to $300,000, a move required by a federal cap on punitive awards. The jury found that Melissa Schultz Miller should get $100,000 in compensatory damages for emotional pain and mental anguish, and punitive damages of $2 million from Media General Operations Inc., owner of WRBL. Federal law allows her to collect all of the compensatory damages, but only 10 percent of the punitive damages. Land also ruled that Media General would have to pay court costs and fees for Miller's attorneys.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Media General loses again...2007
And the HITS just keep on coming!!!
For immediate release:
2/14/2007
Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
VCU Communications and Public Relations
(804) 828-6057
pdlepley@vcu.edu
Public Statement: Settlement Reached in Urban Journalism Workshop Lawsuit
Virginia Commonwealth University confirms that a settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit against VCU and several faculty members and other sponsors of the VCU Urban Journalism Workshop, including Media General Inc., parent company of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, and several individuals associated with the sponsors.
The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Individual Rights on behalf of Emily Smith, a Caucasian high school student, who sought enrollment in the summer journalism workshop, traditionally described as an outreach program to interest minority students in journalism as a career.
Under the settlement, VCU, while not admitting any wrongdoing, and consistent with its long standing race-neutral admissions policies, will continue to operate the workshop and will offer Smith admission to the 2007 summer program. VCU also will pay $25,000 to Ms. Smith and her attorneys in exchange for their agreement to dismiss the lawsuit.
VCU currently expects to be able to continue the workshop beyond 2007. As one of the most diverse institutions in Virginia, VCU remains committed to inclusiveness in all of its programs.
For immediate release:
2/14/2007
Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
VCU Communications and Public Relations
(804) 828-6057
pdlepley@vcu.edu
Public Statement: Settlement Reached in Urban Journalism Workshop Lawsuit
Virginia Commonwealth University confirms that a settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit against VCU and several faculty members and other sponsors of the VCU Urban Journalism Workshop, including Media General Inc., parent company of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, and several individuals associated with the sponsors.
The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Individual Rights on behalf of Emily Smith, a Caucasian high school student, who sought enrollment in the summer journalism workshop, traditionally described as an outreach program to interest minority students in journalism as a career.
Under the settlement, VCU, while not admitting any wrongdoing, and consistent with its long standing race-neutral admissions policies, will continue to operate the workshop and will offer Smith admission to the 2007 summer program. VCU also will pay $25,000 to Ms. Smith and her attorneys in exchange for their agreement to dismiss the lawsuit.
VCU currently expects to be able to continue the workshop beyond 2007. As one of the most diverse institutions in Virginia, VCU remains committed to inclusiveness in all of its programs.
Ah.....the woes, the woes, the woes
Gee....nine years and they STILL have not learned their lesson....
Friday, April 9, 1999
Legal woes plague CBS42
Potential racial discrimination suit at Media General looms
Beset by legal problems with former employees, CBS42 WIAT and its owner, Media General Broadcasting, now face a potential racial discrimination lawsuit by seven former employees.
Calling themselves the Birmingham Seven, the group of former CBS42 African-American employees is in the process of filing a suit alleging racial discrimination and other charges, according to two of the former employees.
Channel 42 general manager Eric Land and Barry Frederick, Media General's local attorney, would not comment on any litigation involving the station.
The seven were fired afterMedia General bought the station from Park Communications in January 1997, the two group members said, asking not to be identified.
All have filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), asking for "right-to-sue" approval, which is a prerequisite for filing a racial discrimination lawsuit.
An EEOC spokesman in Washington said the agency couldn't comment.
Some of the seven will file lawsuits for breach of contract, fraud and defamation of character, according to one of the former employees.
Meanwhile, a May 3 federal court date has been set for a breach-of-contract case against Media General by Hoyle Broome, 42's longtime, former general manager.
Also, former sports director Doug Bell last month settled his breach-of-contract lawsuit against the station, Tampa-based Media General and Land. Bell was fired by Land along with most of the Channel 42 on-air personalities in December 1997 in the wake of Media General's purchase of CBS42 (then WBMG).
In court documents, Bell said he repeatedly asked Media General if he would be retained as sports director and offered a contract renewal in light of the ownership change. Bell said Land told him he was "his man" and would soon be offered a new contract.
Bell charged that "the defendants knew at all times ... that the plaintiff (Bell) would not be asked to continue his duties as sports director as before the ownership change; that the plaintiff would not be offered a new contract ...; that the plaintiff was not Land's `man'; that the plaintiff, along with other on-air news anchors, would be terminated."
Bell claimed the alleged misrepresentations constituted fraud, "and the defendant, Land, has a practice and pattern of such conduct with prior employees."
In addition, Bell described coming to work Dec. 15, 1997, not knowing he had been fired, finding that his security pass and keys wouldn't work.
He alleged he wasn't allowed to retrieve his personal belongings from the station.
In response, Media General said in court documents that Bell breached his employment agreement "by engaging in insubordination, dishonesty or deceit, on-air improprieties, unauthorized removal of property of the television station, repeated failure to perform assigned work in the manner required by his employment agreement, and on-air broadcasts in violation of exclusivity obligations."
Bell charged the defendants with wrongfully breaching his employment contract, for which he was asking compensatory damages, as well as compensatory and punitive damages for "intentional misrepresentations, fraud and other wrongful and malicious conduct of the defendants."
Bell's attorney, Bill Lewis, would not discuss terms of the agreement. Bell did not return phone calls. He continues to do sports-related television and radio work in Birmingham. His wife, Brenda Ladun, is a news anchor for ABC 33/40.
Meanwhile, Broome, Land's predecessor, was Channel 42's general manager for 20 years until he was fired by Media General shortly after the company's purchase of the station in January 1997.
In court documents, Broome leveled a host of charges at Media General involving his dismissal, including breach of his employment contract, fraud, racial discrimination, retaliation and breach of contract for severance pay. He also charged the company with racial discrimination under the Civil Rights Act for prohibiting him from firing then-news director Willie Walker, who is African-American, for fear she would charge the station with racial discrimination.
Federal District Court Judge Inge Johnson last month granted a summary judgment in favor of Media General, throwing out all of Broome's charges except for the breach of contract for severance pay allegation. That goes to trial May 3.
The judge, however, granted Broome's request for a reconsideration hearing on the other charges. It will be held at the same time as the pre-trial conference for the severance pay case, on April 21, in federal court in Birmingham.
Land, the CBS42 general manager, fired most of the on-air personalities, both African-American and white, at the same time of Bell's dismissal.
Friday, April 9, 1999
Legal woes plague CBS42
Potential racial discrimination suit at Media General looms
Beset by legal problems with former employees, CBS42 WIAT and its owner, Media General Broadcasting, now face a potential racial discrimination lawsuit by seven former employees.
Calling themselves the Birmingham Seven, the group of former CBS42 African-American employees is in the process of filing a suit alleging racial discrimination and other charges, according to two of the former employees.
Channel 42 general manager Eric Land and Barry Frederick, Media General's local attorney, would not comment on any litigation involving the station.
The seven were fired afterMedia General bought the station from Park Communications in January 1997, the two group members said, asking not to be identified.
All have filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), asking for "right-to-sue" approval, which is a prerequisite for filing a racial discrimination lawsuit.
An EEOC spokesman in Washington said the agency couldn't comment.
Some of the seven will file lawsuits for breach of contract, fraud and defamation of character, according to one of the former employees.
Meanwhile, a May 3 federal court date has been set for a breach-of-contract case against Media General by Hoyle Broome, 42's longtime, former general manager.
Also, former sports director Doug Bell last month settled his breach-of-contract lawsuit against the station, Tampa-based Media General and Land. Bell was fired by Land along with most of the Channel 42 on-air personalities in December 1997 in the wake of Media General's purchase of CBS42 (then WBMG).
In court documents, Bell said he repeatedly asked Media General if he would be retained as sports director and offered a contract renewal in light of the ownership change. Bell said Land told him he was "his man" and would soon be offered a new contract.
Bell charged that "the defendants knew at all times ... that the plaintiff (Bell) would not be asked to continue his duties as sports director as before the ownership change; that the plaintiff would not be offered a new contract ...; that the plaintiff was not Land's `man'; that the plaintiff, along with other on-air news anchors, would be terminated."
Bell claimed the alleged misrepresentations constituted fraud, "and the defendant, Land, has a practice and pattern of such conduct with prior employees."
In addition, Bell described coming to work Dec. 15, 1997, not knowing he had been fired, finding that his security pass and keys wouldn't work.
He alleged he wasn't allowed to retrieve his personal belongings from the station.
In response, Media General said in court documents that Bell breached his employment agreement "by engaging in insubordination, dishonesty or deceit, on-air improprieties, unauthorized removal of property of the television station, repeated failure to perform assigned work in the manner required by his employment agreement, and on-air broadcasts in violation of exclusivity obligations."
Bell charged the defendants with wrongfully breaching his employment contract, for which he was asking compensatory damages, as well as compensatory and punitive damages for "intentional misrepresentations, fraud and other wrongful and malicious conduct of the defendants."
Bell's attorney, Bill Lewis, would not discuss terms of the agreement. Bell did not return phone calls. He continues to do sports-related television and radio work in Birmingham. His wife, Brenda Ladun, is a news anchor for ABC 33/40.
Meanwhile, Broome, Land's predecessor, was Channel 42's general manager for 20 years until he was fired by Media General shortly after the company's purchase of the station in January 1997.
In court documents, Broome leveled a host of charges at Media General involving his dismissal, including breach of his employment contract, fraud, racial discrimination, retaliation and breach of contract for severance pay. He also charged the company with racial discrimination under the Civil Rights Act for prohibiting him from firing then-news director Willie Walker, who is African-American, for fear she would charge the station with racial discrimination.
Federal District Court Judge Inge Johnson last month granted a summary judgment in favor of Media General, throwing out all of Broome's charges except for the breach of contract for severance pay allegation. That goes to trial May 3.
The judge, however, granted Broome's request for a reconsideration hearing on the other charges. It will be held at the same time as the pre-trial conference for the severance pay case, on April 21, in federal court in Birmingham.
Land, the CBS42 general manager, fired most of the on-air personalities, both African-American and white, at the same time of Bell's dismissal.
Danville Register and Bee promotes Homosexuality
Mollie Halpern, an "investigative reporter" for The Daily Progress, a Media General paper, "INVESTIGATED" Virgil Goode's connection with a movie, "Eden's Curve." The movie "EXPLORES" homosexuality, Mollie writes. OOOOOOoooo...Mollie doesn't mention that Media General, the company she works for, has a PRO-HOMOSEXUAL stance and offers health benefits for its MANY Gay and Lesbian employees, including those at The Danville Register and Bee. Goode said he opposes Gay Marriage. Media General SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE because they provide health benefits to gays, a benefit only available usually to MARRIED couples. So WHY is the Register and Bee and The Daily Progress and Media General trashing Goode for:
(1) His CONSTITUTIONAL right to have an opinion - EVEN if it conflicts with those of the newspaper...
(2) His honesty about his personal and religious beliefs. Where the heck is the "TOLERANCE" the liberals at The Register and Bee are screaming about now?
(3) The fact that Virgil IS expressing "tolerance" because his press secretary appeared in the movie. Virgil was upset more about someone using a taxpayer funded line to send and receive faxes than the gay issues.
So WHY WHY WHY is The Danville Register and Bee so upset about Goode's "CONNECTION" to a gay movie (which seems to signal tolerance) yet Media and General not only PROMOTE, ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT GAY and LESBIANS, they SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE!!? Why is it wrong for Goode to be "CONNECTED" to tolerance but NOT wrong for The Danville Register and Bee to be CONNECTED AND 100% SUPPORTIVE of Gay marriages???
That doesn't make sense. Can someone explain it to me? The Daily Progress writes an article that says it's HORRIBLE that the congressman's name is on a gay movie. But The Danville Register and Bee pays health care benefits and OPENLY supports gays.
Once again, this is Media General's attempt to smear Virgil and get him out of office and has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality. This is a sick, stupid game - one that will backfire on The Danville Register and Bee. If you're going to trash and denigrate a Congressman for having "LINKS" to homosexuals, you need to explain to your readers that MEDIA GENERAL AS A COMPANY OPENLY SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE, have numerous Gays and Lesbians on staff, and pay health benefits to Gay and Lesbian couples. You need to explain advertising dollars and the money that Danvillians pay for subscriptions and ads, supports Gay Marriage and Homosexuality. If Mollie is SO opposed to homosexuality that she feels a need to investigate it...she needs to start at her own front door...her parent media company.
But then again - it's hard, if not impossible for The Register and Bee to be honest in their dealings and deals.
P.S. The Danville Register and Bee endorses Obama - who says he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, but who would NOT oppose gay marriage.
(1) His CONSTITUTIONAL right to have an opinion - EVEN if it conflicts with those of the newspaper...
(2) His honesty about his personal and religious beliefs. Where the heck is the "TOLERANCE" the liberals at The Register and Bee are screaming about now?
(3) The fact that Virgil IS expressing "tolerance" because his press secretary appeared in the movie. Virgil was upset more about someone using a taxpayer funded line to send and receive faxes than the gay issues.
So WHY WHY WHY is The Danville Register and Bee so upset about Goode's "CONNECTION" to a gay movie (which seems to signal tolerance) yet Media and General not only PROMOTE, ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT GAY and LESBIANS, they SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE!!? Why is it wrong for Goode to be "CONNECTED" to tolerance but NOT wrong for The Danville Register and Bee to be CONNECTED AND 100% SUPPORTIVE of Gay marriages???
That doesn't make sense. Can someone explain it to me? The Daily Progress writes an article that says it's HORRIBLE that the congressman's name is on a gay movie. But The Danville Register and Bee pays health care benefits and OPENLY supports gays.
Once again, this is Media General's attempt to smear Virgil and get him out of office and has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality. This is a sick, stupid game - one that will backfire on The Danville Register and Bee. If you're going to trash and denigrate a Congressman for having "LINKS" to homosexuals, you need to explain to your readers that MEDIA GENERAL AS A COMPANY OPENLY SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE, have numerous Gays and Lesbians on staff, and pay health benefits to Gay and Lesbian couples. You need to explain advertising dollars and the money that Danvillians pay for subscriptions and ads, supports Gay Marriage and Homosexuality. If Mollie is SO opposed to homosexuality that she feels a need to investigate it...she needs to start at her own front door...her parent media company.
But then again - it's hard, if not impossible for The Register and Bee to be honest in their dealings and deals.
P.S. The Danville Register and Bee endorses Obama - who says he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, but who would NOT oppose gay marriage.
Media General's HISTORY of Sexual/racial Discrimination
Media General has been sued more than once over sexual and racial discrimination.
A 2003 lawsuit PROVES I'm not the first to raise the issue. No matter the issue or problem, DYSFUNCTIONAL MEDIA GENERAL refuses to take any action and just allows bullying, harassment and attacks to continue. White on black or black on white....Media General tolerates racism, bullying and sexual harassment. Their newsrooms are not, in many instances, healthy places to be. In Reidsville staffers quit and took other jobs, tired of hearing F**K and G**D*** and vile sexual jokes. Parents, don't let your children work there. Journalists, unless you thrive in an environment like this, steer clear of Media General Newsrooms.....
Lawsuit accuses Progress parent
Published November 20, 2003, in issue #0246 of The Hook
By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press Writer
A former Lexington, Kentucky, television news producer has sued the parent company of the Daily Progress, claiming she was fired for standing up to reverse discrimination in a newsroom rife with racial tension.
Audrey Port also claimed she was a victim of libel, slander, and harassment in her suit, filed Friday, November 14, against Media General Inc. and several former co-workers at WTVQ-TV in Lexington. Richmond-based Media General owns the station.
Port was fired last April after less than a year as executive producer at the station. Her ouster coincided with the dismissal of top station executives William Stanley and David Foky, also named as defendants.
Her suit, filed in Fayette County Circuit Court in Lexington, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. It also asks that the defendants retract "false statements'' about Port and her termination.
Port's attorney, Jeffrey Smith, said she endured a backlash of hostility and harassment from three black co-workers because she wanted to enforce the station's anti-discrimination policies. Port is white.
The station newsroom during Port's tenure was "almost paralyzed with fear'' as white employees worried that any actions or comments might be considered racist and spur a discrimination lawsuit, Smith said.
Media General said in a statement that Port was fired for "legitimate business reasons in compliance with her contract.'' The station's management "stands by the decision'' to fire her and will "vigorously defend'' itself, the statement said.
Foky, WTVQ's former news director, said he had not seen the suit.
"My position throughout this whole process has been to act with class and dignity,'' Foky said in a phone interview from Charlottesville, where he moved after his dismissal from WTVQ. "If I started talking about the details, personalities and problems now, it wouldn't be fitting with the position I've taken.''
Stanley did not return a call seeking comment.
The suit said racial tension at the station was simmering before Port's arrival. It cited an incident in which a rope knotted in the shape of a noose was left on the desk of a black producer, Celeste Ward. Foky told Port that Ward was upset about the incident, had hired a lawyer and was demanding $300,000 from Media General, the suit said.
Foky told Port to be his "eyes and ears'' in the newsroom and not to provoke Ward and employees Kristi Runyon and Tiani Jones, who also are black, the suit said. All three were named as defendants.
Reached at the station, Runyon also said the suit was "completely without merit,'' and declined further comment. Jones, who was a reporter at the station, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Ward could not be reached.
The suit said that Ward and Runyon-- a news anchor and reporter-- allegedly harassed Port, were insubordinate, and accused Port of racism.
Port asked Foky and Stanley, the general manager, to discipline them, but no action was taken, the suit said.
The suit said other staffers became angered by the "double standard of treatment'' regarding, among other things, punctuality at staff meetings and staff productivity. According to the suit, Foky admitted to the double standard, but said higher executives had told him not to deal with it.
The suit said the newsroom began to "fester with racial tension and toxic feelings.'' It accused Media General and WTVQ of violating their anti-harassment policies by not taking action.
In April 2003, Port openly discussed the newsroom's problems with corporate human resources employees, the suit said. Port, who was under contract at WTVQ until 2005, was fired "without cause'' a few days later, the suit said.
The suit said the defendants created a work environment filled with "discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult.'' The suit also said that Media General and WTVQ "recklessly made false statements'' about Port's professional ability.
Port now works at a television station in Denver, her attorney said.
A 2003 lawsuit PROVES I'm not the first to raise the issue. No matter the issue or problem, DYSFUNCTIONAL MEDIA GENERAL refuses to take any action and just allows bullying, harassment and attacks to continue. White on black or black on white....Media General tolerates racism, bullying and sexual harassment. Their newsrooms are not, in many instances, healthy places to be. In Reidsville staffers quit and took other jobs, tired of hearing F**K and G**D*** and vile sexual jokes. Parents, don't let your children work there. Journalists, unless you thrive in an environment like this, steer clear of Media General Newsrooms.....
Lawsuit accuses Progress parent
Published November 20, 2003, in issue #0246 of The Hook
By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press Writer
A former Lexington, Kentucky, television news producer has sued the parent company of the Daily Progress, claiming she was fired for standing up to reverse discrimination in a newsroom rife with racial tension.
Audrey Port also claimed she was a victim of libel, slander, and harassment in her suit, filed Friday, November 14, against Media General Inc. and several former co-workers at WTVQ-TV in Lexington. Richmond-based Media General owns the station.
Port was fired last April after less than a year as executive producer at the station. Her ouster coincided with the dismissal of top station executives William Stanley and David Foky, also named as defendants.
Her suit, filed in Fayette County Circuit Court in Lexington, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. It also asks that the defendants retract "false statements'' about Port and her termination.
Port's attorney, Jeffrey Smith, said she endured a backlash of hostility and harassment from three black co-workers because she wanted to enforce the station's anti-discrimination policies. Port is white.
The station newsroom during Port's tenure was "almost paralyzed with fear'' as white employees worried that any actions or comments might be considered racist and spur a discrimination lawsuit, Smith said.
Media General said in a statement that Port was fired for "legitimate business reasons in compliance with her contract.'' The station's management "stands by the decision'' to fire her and will "vigorously defend'' itself, the statement said.
Foky, WTVQ's former news director, said he had not seen the suit.
"My position throughout this whole process has been to act with class and dignity,'' Foky said in a phone interview from Charlottesville, where he moved after his dismissal from WTVQ. "If I started talking about the details, personalities and problems now, it wouldn't be fitting with the position I've taken.''
Stanley did not return a call seeking comment.
The suit said racial tension at the station was simmering before Port's arrival. It cited an incident in which a rope knotted in the shape of a noose was left on the desk of a black producer, Celeste Ward. Foky told Port that Ward was upset about the incident, had hired a lawyer and was demanding $300,000 from Media General, the suit said.
Foky told Port to be his "eyes and ears'' in the newsroom and not to provoke Ward and employees Kristi Runyon and Tiani Jones, who also are black, the suit said. All three were named as defendants.
Reached at the station, Runyon also said the suit was "completely without merit,'' and declined further comment. Jones, who was a reporter at the station, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Ward could not be reached.
The suit said that Ward and Runyon-- a news anchor and reporter-- allegedly harassed Port, were insubordinate, and accused Port of racism.
Port asked Foky and Stanley, the general manager, to discipline them, but no action was taken, the suit said.
The suit said other staffers became angered by the "double standard of treatment'' regarding, among other things, punctuality at staff meetings and staff productivity. According to the suit, Foky admitted to the double standard, but said higher executives had told him not to deal with it.
The suit said the newsroom began to "fester with racial tension and toxic feelings.'' It accused Media General and WTVQ of violating their anti-harassment policies by not taking action.
In April 2003, Port openly discussed the newsroom's problems with corporate human resources employees, the suit said. Port, who was under contract at WTVQ until 2005, was fired "without cause'' a few days later, the suit said.
The suit said the defendants created a work environment filled with "discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult.'' The suit also said that Media General and WTVQ "recklessly made false statements'' about Port's professional ability.
Port now works at a television station in Denver, her attorney said.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Bolofeesh
Bolofeesh is a new cartoon series being drawn by a good friend of mine. He'll be syndicating it the end of the month but is a free agent right now if you're interested. This one panel cartoon is about life in a fishbowl - thus the name, "Bolofeesh" or (Bowl of Fish). To see more in the series click here.
If you love or even like what you see, write Paul and let him know! He offers affordable syndicated rates for newsletters, magazines and newspapers. If you want clean, funny humor - hard to beat bolofeesh! His email is: pdurban(at)neb.rr.com. Please type in the @ symbol instead of (at) of course!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Obama's hypnotizing America
The lawsuit is in Federal court but the media won't write about it. According to the life long Democrat who filed the suit Obama's grandmother said she distinctly remembers Obama being born in Kenya. He's not an American. All he has to do is produce the birth certificate. Why won't the press report on that? He also wont' release his school records. Why? Maybe because his loans will show he got loans as a "foreign" student? Democrat attorney Philip J. Berg, former deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania, was interviewed by Michael Savage about his lawsuit demanding Barack Obama present his original birth certificate to prove he was born in the United States and qualified to serve as president. See the video below.
Obama - master of NLP - Neurolinguistic Programming - a mind control technique that utilizes words, gestures and voice cadence to hypnotize people, is using his techniques to do just that - hypnotize America.
Of all the candidates running for office - Sarah Palin is the only person who has actually owned and run a business and held office where she was required to actually make decisions and be accountable.
From a reader of mine who is a hypnotherapist and who is certified in NLP techniques although he refuses to use them because without a person's permission, NLP is mind control at its darkest.
Obama - master of NLP - Neurolinguistic Programming - a mind control technique that utilizes words, gestures and voice cadence to hypnotize people, is using his techniques to do just that - hypnotize America.
Of all the candidates running for office - Sarah Palin is the only person who has actually owned and run a business and held office where she was required to actually make decisions and be accountable.
From a reader of mine who is a hypnotherapist and who is certified in NLP techniques although he refuses to use them because without a person's permission, NLP is mind control at its darkest.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Congratulate Amie Teague!
DANVILLE, VA, October 5, 2008 /Cambridge Who's Who/ -- Amie M. Teague, Owner and Speech-Language Pathologist at Piedmont Regional Feeding & Oral-Motor Clinic, LLC, has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of speech-language pathology.
Piedmont Regional Feeding & Oral-Motor Clinic, LLC is a facility that provides specialized treatment for dysphagia and other oral difficulties among adults and children. As owner and speech-language pathologist, Ms. Teague oversees administrative duties and is responsible for evaluating and treating patients with oral-motor and feeding problems. She also instructs her clients with speech-language disorders on the use of communication devices.
Prior to starting her own clinic, Ms. Teague served in various nursing homes and rehabilitation clinics. Starting her own successful clinic and being able to serve people have been the highlights of her career. Some of her work has been published in Advance for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and in local newspapers. In the future, she hopes to mentor students and continue performing evidence-based research.
Ms. Teague is a certified provider of the following treatment protocols: Neonatal Oral-motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS), Beckman Oral Motor Protocol, Fast-forward, and VitalStim. She earned her Master of Science in Communication Science and Disorders in 2001 and her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science and Disorders in 1998 from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Ms. Teague is affiliated with the Speech-Language Hearing Association of Virginia and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She stays current with the trends in her profession by enrolling in continuing education courses.
An authority on speech-language pathology, Ms. Teague is available to speak with the media and may be reached via email at ateague@prfeedingclinic.com.
About Cambridge Who's Who
Cambridge Who's Who is an exclusive membership organization that recognizes and empowers executives, professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the world. From healthcare to law, engineering to finance, manufacturing to education, every major industry is represented by its 250,000 active members.
Cambridge Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third party endorsement of their accomplishments and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, Cambridge Who's Who offers an online networking platform where members can establish new business relationships and achieve career advancement within their company, industry or profession.
For more information, please see www.cambridgewhoswho.com.
Piedmont Regional Feeding & Oral-Motor Clinic, LLC is a facility that provides specialized treatment for dysphagia and other oral difficulties among adults and children. As owner and speech-language pathologist, Ms. Teague oversees administrative duties and is responsible for evaluating and treating patients with oral-motor and feeding problems. She also instructs her clients with speech-language disorders on the use of communication devices.
Prior to starting her own clinic, Ms. Teague served in various nursing homes and rehabilitation clinics. Starting her own successful clinic and being able to serve people have been the highlights of her career. Some of her work has been published in Advance for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and in local newspapers. In the future, she hopes to mentor students and continue performing evidence-based research.
Ms. Teague is a certified provider of the following treatment protocols: Neonatal Oral-motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS), Beckman Oral Motor Protocol, Fast-forward, and VitalStim. She earned her Master of Science in Communication Science and Disorders in 2001 and her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science and Disorders in 1998 from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Ms. Teague is affiliated with the Speech-Language Hearing Association of Virginia and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She stays current with the trends in her profession by enrolling in continuing education courses.
An authority on speech-language pathology, Ms. Teague is available to speak with the media and may be reached via email at ateague@prfeedingclinic.com.
About Cambridge Who's Who
Cambridge Who's Who is an exclusive membership organization that recognizes and empowers executives, professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the world. From healthcare to law, engineering to finance, manufacturing to education, every major industry is represented by its 250,000 active members.
Cambridge Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third party endorsement of their accomplishments and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, Cambridge Who's Who offers an online networking platform where members can establish new business relationships and achieve career advancement within their company, industry or profession.
For more information, please see www.cambridgewhoswho.com.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Quick answers to readers questions
To my readers who asked:
Websites:
Blogger, this site, is free. Easy to set up and you don't have to be an expert on a computer to do it. NO...do NOT use Vistaprint for a website. You cannot cancel your website account online and must go through a salesperson who will make it difficult if not impossible to cancel your account - all the while charging your credit card. Use www.weebly.com. If you are going to set up a blog, use blogger.com or wordpress.com.. Yes Vista offers free business cards, but trust me....the website is NOT a good deal. You can get better and for free at www.weebly.com.
Point and click cameras are fine for 90% of the photos you'll be taking at indoor events. You can download them and upload them to your blog fairly easily. You don't need an $1,800 camera but if you can afford it and want it - get it. Canon or Nikon are both great cameras. Canon has a new camera out that shoots incredible video as well as stills. Well worth the $1,800 price. Sony, Epson and Canon all make good point and click cameras.
I use a "Flip" camera ($100-$150) for video. Easy to use, excellent resolution and fits in a shirt pocket. That's the name of it - "Flip"....available at Best Buy and you get a free $49 memory card for your camera with it...online offer - but tell the clerks at the counter. I paid $150 for the camera...but got the 4 gig memory card free.
Yes, Danville does have a new business site....danvillebusiness.ning.com. It is by invitation only, but contact Diane Arnold at the Small Business Development Center for an invite. Free. But you must go through her or receive invites from other members.
Hope this helps! Happy blogging to all who asked!!
Websites:
Blogger, this site, is free. Easy to set up and you don't have to be an expert on a computer to do it. NO...do NOT use Vistaprint for a website. You cannot cancel your website account online and must go through a salesperson who will make it difficult if not impossible to cancel your account - all the while charging your credit card. Use www.weebly.com. If you are going to set up a blog, use blogger.com or wordpress.com.. Yes Vista offers free business cards, but trust me....the website is NOT a good deal. You can get better and for free at www.weebly.com.
Point and click cameras are fine for 90% of the photos you'll be taking at indoor events. You can download them and upload them to your blog fairly easily. You don't need an $1,800 camera but if you can afford it and want it - get it. Canon or Nikon are both great cameras. Canon has a new camera out that shoots incredible video as well as stills. Well worth the $1,800 price. Sony, Epson and Canon all make good point and click cameras.
I use a "Flip" camera ($100-$150) for video. Easy to use, excellent resolution and fits in a shirt pocket. That's the name of it - "Flip"....available at Best Buy and you get a free $49 memory card for your camera with it...online offer - but tell the clerks at the counter. I paid $150 for the camera...but got the 4 gig memory card free.
Yes, Danville does have a new business site....danvillebusiness.ning.com. It is by invitation only, but contact Diane Arnold at the Small Business Development Center for an invite. Free. But you must go through her or receive invites from other members.
Hope this helps! Happy blogging to all who asked!!
New Virgil Goode fan?
Danville Register & Bee reporter Sara Arkin films Congressman Virgil Goode at a recent gathering. The reader who sent this in isn't sure if Sara knew about the Goode sticker on her back or not, but said those present enjoyed seeing it there.
Thanks again readers!
Cowards
Ninety-nine percent of the emails I get and 100% of the phone calls and personal comments I get about the Register & Bee are supportive of this blog, encouraging and even excited about the fact someone is writing about the decreasing quality and the lack of concern the R&B and Media General have for their readers. But every once in awhile I'll get a disgruntled whiny letter from someone who is defending the paper. Those emails tend to come from people who either work at the paper, are involved with someone who works there - or did work there or are part of the Media General dysfunctional family in some way.
I know this because other people recognize the name or email address they've given on their post or other people who work there or in C'Ville or Richmond NOW hear about it tell me....or former employees recognize the comments. Those unhappy with this blog NEVER use their real name or identify themselves. Why? Because they're cowards. Like the paper they defend they want to hide behind something and spit or throw rocks. They're NEVER man or WOMAN enough to tell me who they are and express themselves honestly. Everyone who reads this blog knows who I am. I don't mince words. I don't print/publish anything I don't have facts and proof or evidence of. I even post that proof when I have it. If you don't like what you read then quit reading it. Or sign your name when you write and ask me not to print it if you fear repercussions. But if you really expect to be taken seriously, sign your name.
I have NEVER received any contact from anyone in the community who supports the paper. Business owners, clerks, students, teachers, politicians - ALL have expressed complaints about the paper to me. They have shown me ads that were screwed up, names misspelled, photos of the piles and piles of unread/unsold newspapers that have been tossed, asked why they're not getting their papers until 8 a.m. some mornings...the list just goes on. These are things the Register & Bee obviously doesn't care about because they're not doing anything about them! I was in a store last week and standing at a counter when two women in line behind me started talking about the paper. They had no idea who I was - so it was NOT for my benefit. They just saw the paper in the rack and started talking!
The newspaper sucked at news and employee and community relations before I got there and it still does. There are some good people at the paper, but management, as a whole, is worthless. They don't care about the community. They don't care about their readers. They do care about making money. If they truly cared about the community they'd fix the things people complain about instead of just promising to take care of it. They wouldn't have moved their printing out of town, moved their obituary layout out of town, moved the advertising layout out of town, or made the changes they've made. They'd let their contract employees have access to the bathroom rather than force them to use the parking lot or bushes. They'd care. They don't.
Advertisers tell me they HAVE to advertise in the paper because it's the only paper in town. More than a dozen people now have urged me to start another paper. Another newspaper is in the works, trust me. It is happening. There are enough unhappy advertisers willing to jump ship once it does - so it's just a matter of time. Hang on. The Register & Bee is not about to start caring about its readers at this stage of the game. And if any of you know Seth Godin or follow marketing trends you know the way the economy is headed - that ONLY companies who pay attention to customer satisfaction will survive. We still have a major media company who has STILL failed to apologize for a reporter's flashing video of one of its advertiser's breasts around the newsroom! So....if you want to support that kind of business....you and the paper are welcome to what it brings you.
I know this because other people recognize the name or email address they've given on their post or other people who work there or in C'Ville or Richmond NOW hear about it tell me....or former employees recognize the comments. Those unhappy with this blog NEVER use their real name or identify themselves. Why? Because they're cowards. Like the paper they defend they want to hide behind something and spit or throw rocks. They're NEVER man or WOMAN enough to tell me who they are and express themselves honestly. Everyone who reads this blog knows who I am. I don't mince words. I don't print/publish anything I don't have facts and proof or evidence of. I even post that proof when I have it. If you don't like what you read then quit reading it. Or sign your name when you write and ask me not to print it if you fear repercussions. But if you really expect to be taken seriously, sign your name.
I have NEVER received any contact from anyone in the community who supports the paper. Business owners, clerks, students, teachers, politicians - ALL have expressed complaints about the paper to me. They have shown me ads that were screwed up, names misspelled, photos of the piles and piles of unread/unsold newspapers that have been tossed, asked why they're not getting their papers until 8 a.m. some mornings...the list just goes on. These are things the Register & Bee obviously doesn't care about because they're not doing anything about them! I was in a store last week and standing at a counter when two women in line behind me started talking about the paper. They had no idea who I was - so it was NOT for my benefit. They just saw the paper in the rack and started talking!
The newspaper sucked at news and employee and community relations before I got there and it still does. There are some good people at the paper, but management, as a whole, is worthless. They don't care about the community. They don't care about their readers. They do care about making money. If they truly cared about the community they'd fix the things people complain about instead of just promising to take care of it. They wouldn't have moved their printing out of town, moved their obituary layout out of town, moved the advertising layout out of town, or made the changes they've made. They'd let their contract employees have access to the bathroom rather than force them to use the parking lot or bushes. They'd care. They don't.
Advertisers tell me they HAVE to advertise in the paper because it's the only paper in town. More than a dozen people now have urged me to start another paper. Another newspaper is in the works, trust me. It is happening. There are enough unhappy advertisers willing to jump ship once it does - so it's just a matter of time. Hang on. The Register & Bee is not about to start caring about its readers at this stage of the game. And if any of you know Seth Godin or follow marketing trends you know the way the economy is headed - that ONLY companies who pay attention to customer satisfaction will survive. We still have a major media company who has STILL failed to apologize for a reporter's flashing video of one of its advertiser's breasts around the newsroom! So....if you want to support that kind of business....you and the paper are welcome to what it brings you.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Danville residents asking advertisers to boycott paper
Advertisers take note. Citizens are now circulating petitions among advertisers who advertise with The Danville Register and Bee, asking them to boycott the paper or at least contact Publisher Steve Kaylor about the over-the-top bias and attacks on Congressman Virgil Goode. Citizens have been venting at the poor reporters, but now they're willing to boycott advertisers if advertisers continue to support the newspaper's attacks on Virgil.
Apparently reporter Sarah Arkin's partisan reporting isn't sitting well with readers who don't mind fair and accurate reporting on both candidates, but who won't sit still while the newbie reporter from Chicago trashes Virginia's longest running and Danville's favorite incumbent.
If you are tired of the mud slinging by the Register & Bee as they support all Democrat's this election season, check with your neighbor. And if you're a business that advertises with The Register & Bee and your business has dropped off? Now you know why. Let your sales rep and Steve Kaylor know your customers don't like the cheap, sleezy hatchet job on Virgil.
Apparently reporter Sarah Arkin's partisan reporting isn't sitting well with readers who don't mind fair and accurate reporting on both candidates, but who won't sit still while the newbie reporter from Chicago trashes Virginia's longest running and Danville's favorite incumbent.
If you are tired of the mud slinging by the Register & Bee as they support all Democrat's this election season, check with your neighbor. And if you're a business that advertises with The Register & Bee and your business has dropped off? Now you know why. Let your sales rep and Steve Kaylor know your customers don't like the cheap, sleezy hatchet job on Virgil.
Readers still opposed to Obama
Another reader writes:
If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it. Without the ability to filibuster, the Senate would become like the House, able to pass whatever the majority wants.
Though we doubt most Americans realize it, this would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven’t since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s.
If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media cheering it all on.
Keep in mind that the most important power of the filibuster is to shape legislation, not merely to block it. The threat of 41 committed Senators can cause the House to modify its desires even before legislation comes to a vote. Without that restraining power, all of the following have very good chances of becoming law in 2009 or 2010.
- Medicare for all. When HillaryCare cratered in 1994, the Democrats concluded they had overreached, so they carved up the old agenda into smaller incremental steps, such as Schip for children. A strongly Democratic Congress is now likely to lay the final flagstones on the path to government-run health insurance from cradle to grave.
Mr. Obama wants to build a public insurance program, modeled after Medicare and open to everyone of any income. According to the Lewin Group, the gold standard of health policy analysis, the Obama plan would shift between 32 million and 52 million from private coverage to the huge new entitlement. Like Medicare or the Canadian system, this would never be repealed.
The commitments would start slow, so as not to cause immediate alarm. But as U.S. health-care spending flowed into the default government options, taxes would have to rise or services would be rationed, or both. Single payer is the inevitable next step, as Mr. Obama has already said is his ultimate ideal.
- The business climate. “We have some harsh decisions to make,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned recently, speaking about retribution for the financial panic. Look for a replay of the Pecora hearings of the 1930s, with Henry Waxman, John Conyers and Ed Markey sponsoring ritual hangings to further their agenda to control more of the private economy. The financial industry will get an overhaul in any case, but telecom, biotech and drug makers, among many others, can expect to be investigated and face new, more onerous rules. See the “Issues and Legislation” tab on Mr. Waxman’s Web site for a not-so-brief target list.
The danger is that Democrats could cause the economic downturn to last longer than it otherwise will by enacting regulatory overkill like Sarbanes-Oxley. Something more punitive is likely as well, for instance a windfall profits tax on oil, and maybe other industries.
- Union supremacy. One program certain to be given right of way is “card check.” Unions have been in decline for decades, now claiming only 7.4% of the private-sector work force, so Big Labor wants to trash the secret-ballot elections that have been in place since the 1930s. The “Employee Free Choice Act” would convert workplaces into union shops merely by gathering signatures from a majority of employees, which means organizers could strongarm those who opposed such a petition.
The bill also imposes a compulsory arbitration regime that results in an automatic two-year union “contract” after 130 days of failed negotiation. The point is to force businesses to recognize a union whether the workers support it or not. This would be the biggest pro-union shift in the balance of labor-management power since the Wagner Act of 1935.
- Taxes. Taxes will rise substantially, the only question being how high. Mr. Obama would raise the top income, dividend and capital-gains rates for “the rich,” substantially increasing the cost of new investment in the U.S. More radically, he wants to lift or eliminate the cap on income subject to payroll taxes that fund Medicare and Social Security. This would convert what was meant to be a pension insurance program into an overt income redistribution program. It would also impose a probably unrepealable increase in marginal tax rates, and a permanent shift upward in the federal tax share of GDP.
- The green revolution. A tax-and-regulation scheme in the name of climate change is a top left-wing priority. Cap and trade would hand Congress trillions of dollars in new spending from the auction of carbon credits, which it would use to pick winners and losers in the energy business and across the economy. Huge chunks of GDP and millions of jobs would be at the mercy of Congress and a vast new global-warming bureaucracy. Without the GOP votes to help stage a filibuster, Senators from carbon-intensive states would have less ability to temper coastal liberals who answer to the green elites.
- Free speech and voting rights. A liberal supermajority would move quickly to impose procedural advantages that could cement Democratic rule for years to come. One early effort would be national, election-day voter registration. This is a long-time goal of Acorn and others on the “community organizer” left and would make it far easier to stack the voter rolls. The District of Columbia would also get votes in Congress — Democratic, naturally.
Felons may also get the right to vote nationwide, while the Fairness Doctrine is likely to be reimposed either by Congress or the Obama FCC. A major goal of the supermajority left would be to shut down talk radio and other voices of political opposition.
- Special-interest potpourri. Look for the watering down of No Child Left Behind testing standards, as a favor to the National Education Association. The tort bar’s ship would also come in, including limits on arbitration to settle disputes and watering down the 1995 law limiting strike suits. New causes of legal action would be sprinkled throughout most legislation. The anti-antiterror lobby would be rewarded with the end of Guantanamo and military commissions, which probably means trying terrorists in civilian courts. Google and MoveOn.org would get “net neutrality” rules, subjecting the Internet to intrusive regulation for the first time.
It’s always possible that events — such as a recession — would temper some of these ambitions. Republicans also feared the worst in 1993 when Democrats ran the entire government, but it didn’t turn out that way. On the other hand, Bob Dole then had 43 GOP Senators to support a filibuster, and the entire Democratic Party has since moved sharply to the left. Mr. Obama’s agenda is far more liberal than Bill Clinton’s was in 1992, and the Southern Democrats who killed Al Gore’s BTU tax and modified liberal ambitions are long gone.
In both 1933 and 1965, liberal majorities imposed vast expansions of government that have never been repealed, and the current financial panic may give today’s left another pretext to return to those heydays of welfare-state liberalism. Americans voting for “change” should know they may get far more than they ever imagined.
******************
Many Americans simply don’t get it in our view and they should beware of what this election may bring. An Obama adminstration will put the slow creep of Socialism on fast-forward in the United States. Indeed!
If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it. Without the ability to filibuster, the Senate would become like the House, able to pass whatever the majority wants.
Though we doubt most Americans realize it, this would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven’t since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s.
If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media cheering it all on.
Keep in mind that the most important power of the filibuster is to shape legislation, not merely to block it. The threat of 41 committed Senators can cause the House to modify its desires even before legislation comes to a vote. Without that restraining power, all of the following have very good chances of becoming law in 2009 or 2010.
- Medicare for all. When HillaryCare cratered in 1994, the Democrats concluded they had overreached, so they carved up the old agenda into smaller incremental steps, such as Schip for children. A strongly Democratic Congress is now likely to lay the final flagstones on the path to government-run health insurance from cradle to grave.
Mr. Obama wants to build a public insurance program, modeled after Medicare and open to everyone of any income. According to the Lewin Group, the gold standard of health policy analysis, the Obama plan would shift between 32 million and 52 million from private coverage to the huge new entitlement. Like Medicare or the Canadian system, this would never be repealed.
The commitments would start slow, so as not to cause immediate alarm. But as U.S. health-care spending flowed into the default government options, taxes would have to rise or services would be rationed, or both. Single payer is the inevitable next step, as Mr. Obama has already said is his ultimate ideal.
- The business climate. “We have some harsh decisions to make,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned recently, speaking about retribution for the financial panic. Look for a replay of the Pecora hearings of the 1930s, with Henry Waxman, John Conyers and Ed Markey sponsoring ritual hangings to further their agenda to control more of the private economy. The financial industry will get an overhaul in any case, but telecom, biotech and drug makers, among many others, can expect to be investigated and face new, more onerous rules. See the “Issues and Legislation” tab on Mr. Waxman’s Web site for a not-so-brief target list.
The danger is that Democrats could cause the economic downturn to last longer than it otherwise will by enacting regulatory overkill like Sarbanes-Oxley. Something more punitive is likely as well, for instance a windfall profits tax on oil, and maybe other industries.
- Union supremacy. One program certain to be given right of way is “card check.” Unions have been in decline for decades, now claiming only 7.4% of the private-sector work force, so Big Labor wants to trash the secret-ballot elections that have been in place since the 1930s. The “Employee Free Choice Act” would convert workplaces into union shops merely by gathering signatures from a majority of employees, which means organizers could strongarm those who opposed such a petition.
The bill also imposes a compulsory arbitration regime that results in an automatic two-year union “contract” after 130 days of failed negotiation. The point is to force businesses to recognize a union whether the workers support it or not. This would be the biggest pro-union shift in the balance of labor-management power since the Wagner Act of 1935.
- Taxes. Taxes will rise substantially, the only question being how high. Mr. Obama would raise the top income, dividend and capital-gains rates for “the rich,” substantially increasing the cost of new investment in the U.S. More radically, he wants to lift or eliminate the cap on income subject to payroll taxes that fund Medicare and Social Security. This would convert what was meant to be a pension insurance program into an overt income redistribution program. It would also impose a probably unrepealable increase in marginal tax rates, and a permanent shift upward in the federal tax share of GDP.
- The green revolution. A tax-and-regulation scheme in the name of climate change is a top left-wing priority. Cap and trade would hand Congress trillions of dollars in new spending from the auction of carbon credits, which it would use to pick winners and losers in the energy business and across the economy. Huge chunks of GDP and millions of jobs would be at the mercy of Congress and a vast new global-warming bureaucracy. Without the GOP votes to help stage a filibuster, Senators from carbon-intensive states would have less ability to temper coastal liberals who answer to the green elites.
- Free speech and voting rights. A liberal supermajority would move quickly to impose procedural advantages that could cement Democratic rule for years to come. One early effort would be national, election-day voter registration. This is a long-time goal of Acorn and others on the “community organizer” left and would make it far easier to stack the voter rolls. The District of Columbia would also get votes in Congress — Democratic, naturally.
Felons may also get the right to vote nationwide, while the Fairness Doctrine is likely to be reimposed either by Congress or the Obama FCC. A major goal of the supermajority left would be to shut down talk radio and other voices of political opposition.
- Special-interest potpourri. Look for the watering down of No Child Left Behind testing standards, as a favor to the National Education Association. The tort bar’s ship would also come in, including limits on arbitration to settle disputes and watering down the 1995 law limiting strike suits. New causes of legal action would be sprinkled throughout most legislation. The anti-antiterror lobby would be rewarded with the end of Guantanamo and military commissions, which probably means trying terrorists in civilian courts. Google and MoveOn.org would get “net neutrality” rules, subjecting the Internet to intrusive regulation for the first time.
It’s always possible that events — such as a recession — would temper some of these ambitions. Republicans also feared the worst in 1993 when Democrats ran the entire government, but it didn’t turn out that way. On the other hand, Bob Dole then had 43 GOP Senators to support a filibuster, and the entire Democratic Party has since moved sharply to the left. Mr. Obama’s agenda is far more liberal than Bill Clinton’s was in 1992, and the Southern Democrats who killed Al Gore’s BTU tax and modified liberal ambitions are long gone.
In both 1933 and 1965, liberal majorities imposed vast expansions of government that have never been repealed, and the current financial panic may give today’s left another pretext to return to those heydays of welfare-state liberalism. Americans voting for “change” should know they may get far more than they ever imagined.
******************
Many Americans simply don’t get it in our view and they should beware of what this election may bring. An Obama adminstration will put the slow creep of Socialism on fast-forward in the United States. Indeed!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Seth Godin's book Tribes
It's official. Seth Godin launched his new book Tribes yesterday and the ebook written by Tribes members in his special social media group. I'm one of them. You can read Seth's blog at this link or this url: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/10/free-tribes-ebo.html.
The FREE ebook is more than 240 pages long. Six of the seven stories I submitted are in the book. How cool is that! You just go to the link above, click on the download and it's yours. No sales. No tricks. No gimmicks. My stories are on pages: 123, 133,137,144,158 and 172.
I seriously, seriously, seriously doubt there will be a story about it in the Danville Register & Bee. But for those of you who don't know Seth Godin, please google his name. He's the writer of the most read marketing and business blog in the world and author of NINE best selling books on business.
I feel honored to be a part of it.
The FREE ebook is more than 240 pages long. Six of the seven stories I submitted are in the book. How cool is that! You just go to the link above, click on the download and it's yours. No sales. No tricks. No gimmicks. My stories are on pages: 123, 133,137,144,158 and 172.
I seriously, seriously, seriously doubt there will be a story about it in the Danville Register & Bee. But for those of you who don't know Seth Godin, please google his name. He's the writer of the most read marketing and business blog in the world and author of NINE best selling books on business.
I feel honored to be a part of it.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Homosexuals in the news, at the Register & Bee
Okay - partisan reporting is getting old. Staunch democrat, if not outright socialist Danville Register & Bee reporter Sara Arkin is trying to smear Virgil Goode with reports that he supported a gay movie. This isn't about the movie. This isn't about homosexuals. It's about getting rid of Virgil.
Remember readers, it's the pot calling the kettle black. The Register & Bee had a reporter who filmed women's breasts without her consent and showed it around the newsroom. They have managers, married managers - sleeping with subordinates. They have homosexuals and bi-sexuals and a porn addict. They resisted firing a former sports editor who had three DUIs and 13 arrests for everything from DUI to evading arrest. WHO the heck are they to write about Virgil when they won't even address the issues and problems in their own house!
Arkin has been after Goode for awhile now - violating all kinds of journalistic ethics. But the paper looks the other way because they want Goode out too. Sad. I don't understand what her/their problem is. There are many homosexuals at the Danville Register & Bee....and she doesn't have a problem associating with them. Does this mean she really doesn't like homosexuals?
Then why try to smear Virgil? It's not about sexuality. It's an attempt to take a perceived bias of conservative voters and try to turn them against Virgil. Sarah associates with homosexuals and bi-sexuals every day. Media General's policy provides health care benefits to same sex partners - married or not. So it's not about gays. Media General and The Register & Bee TOTALLY support homosexuals. So what is her problem?
Because she thinks his supporters, most conservatives, will be offended and turn against him on that issue. SHE supports homosexuals...should she be smeared too? I don't get it. Is this an issue or an underhanded, clumsy and unethical attack on a political candidate because she is opposed to Virgil? Whose puppet is she? Who is she shilling for? Steve Kaylor? Arnold Hendrix? She's from Chicago, not Virginia. What reason does she have to attack him?
Journalism is about reporting facts and issues, not buying into another candidate's smear campaign. I'd like to know how many ads and the amount of money Periello's campaign has spent with The Danville Register & Bee versus how much Virgil has spent. The Register & Bee has has Obama at the newspaper (he's a friend of Sarah's) and Jesse Jackson. Are they courting the Black readers after years of ignoring them to court white advertisers.
A reader writes in:
What's up with Obama?
This is long, but very important, please take the time to read it. It was written by a friend of mine...Linda
This election has me very worried. So many things to consider. About a year ago I would have voted for Obama. I have changed my mind three times since than. I watch all the news channels, jumping from one to another. I must say this drives my husband crazy. But, I feel if you view MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News, you might get some middle ground to work with. About six months ago,I started thinking 'where did the money come from for Obama'. I have four daughters who went to College, and we were middle class, and money was tight. We (including my girls) worked hard and there were lots of student loans.
I started looking into Obama's life. Around 1979 Obama started college at Occidental in California. He is very open about his two years at Occidental, he tried all kinds of drugs and was wasting his time but, even though he had a brilliant mind, did not apply himself to his studies. 'Barry' (that was the name he used all his life) during this time had two roommates, Muhammad Hasan Chandoo and Wahid Hamid, both from Pakistan. During the summer of 1981, after his second year in college, he made a 'round the world' trip. Stopping to see his mother in Indonesia, next Hyderabad in India, three weeks in Karachi, Pakistan where he stayed with his roommate's family, then off to Africa to visit his father's family. My question - Where did he get the money for this trip?
Nether I, nor any one of my children would have had money for a trip like this when they where in college. When he came back he started school at Columbia University in New York. It is at this time he wants everyone to call him Barack - not Barry. Do you know what the tuition is at Columbia? It's not cheap to say the least! Where did he get money for tuition? Student Loans? Maybe. After Columbia,he went to Chicago to work as a Community Organizer for $12,000 a year. Why Chicago? Why not New York? He was already living in New York.
By 'chance' he met Antoin 'Tony' Rezko, born in Aleppo Syria, and a real estate developer in Chicago. Rezko has been convicted of fraud and bribery this year. Rezko, was named 'Entrepreneur of the Decade' by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association'. About two years later, Obama entered Harvard Law School. Do you have any idea what tuition is for Harvard Law School? Where did he get the money for Law School? More student loans?
After Law school, he went back to Chicago. Rezko offered him a job, which he turned down. But, he did take a job with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland.
Guess what? They represented 'Rezar' which is Rezko's firm. Rezko was one of Obama's first major financial contributors when he ran for office in Chicago. In 2003, Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendelland claims was instrumental in providing Obama with'seed money' for his U.S. Senate race. In 2005,Obama purchased a new home in Kenwoood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (less than asking price). With ALL those Student Loans - Where did he get the money for the property? On the same day Rezko's wife, Rita, purchased the adjoining empty lot for full price. The London Times reported that Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born Billionaire loaned Rezko $3.5 million three weeks before Obama's new home was purchased. Obama met Nadhmi Auchi many times with Rezko.
Now, we have Obama running for President. Valerie Jarrett, was Michele Obama's boss. She is now Obama's chief advisor and he does not make any major decisions without talking to her first. Where was Jarrett born? Ready for this? Shiraz, Iran! Do we see a pattern here? Or am I going crazy?
On May 10, 2008 The Times reported, Robert Malley, advisor to Obama, was'sacked' after the press found out he was having regular contacts with 'Hamas', which controls Gaza and is connected with Iran. This past week, buried in the back part of the papers, Iraqi newspapers reported that during Obama's visit to Iraq, he asked their leaders to do nothing about the war until after he is elected, and he will 'Take care of things'.
Oh, and by the way, remember the college roommates that where born in Pakistan? They are in charge of all those 'small' Internet campaign contributions for Obama. Where is that money coming from? The poor and middle class in this country? Or could it be from the Middle East?
And the final bit of news. On September 7, 2008, The Washington Times posted a verbal slip that was made on 'This Week' with George Stephanapoulos. Obama on talking about his religion said, 'My Muslim faith'. When questioned,'he made a mistake'. Some mistake!
All of the above information I got on line. If you would like to check it - Wikipedia, encyclopedia, Barack Obama; Tony Rezko; Valerie Jarrett: Daily Times - Obama visited Pakistan in 1981; The Washington Times - September 7, 2008; The Times May 10, 2008.
Now the BIG question - If I found out all this information on my own, Why haven't all of our 'intelligent' members of the press been reporting this?
A phrase that keeps ringing in my ear - 'Beware of the enemy from within'!!!
Well, Sarah is ALSO from Chicago and recently spent time overseas in the Middle East....so conspiracy types could go crazy with all this. But the real question is, WHY is the Register & Bee such a staunch defender of the obviously violated journalistic ethics? Should such biased reporters really be allowed to continue to muddy and influence readers with allegations of "fact" when all they are is thinly disguised attacks on Virgil Goode? Why not bring out his voting record or FACTS instead of playing to the emotions and slinging mud. It's piss poor reporting and an embarrassment to the profession.
Remember readers, it's the pot calling the kettle black. The Register & Bee had a reporter who filmed women's breasts without her consent and showed it around the newsroom. They have managers, married managers - sleeping with subordinates. They have homosexuals and bi-sexuals and a porn addict. They resisted firing a former sports editor who had three DUIs and 13 arrests for everything from DUI to evading arrest. WHO the heck are they to write about Virgil when they won't even address the issues and problems in their own house!
Arkin has been after Goode for awhile now - violating all kinds of journalistic ethics. But the paper looks the other way because they want Goode out too. Sad. I don't understand what her/their problem is. There are many homosexuals at the Danville Register & Bee....and she doesn't have a problem associating with them. Does this mean she really doesn't like homosexuals?
Then why try to smear Virgil? It's not about sexuality. It's an attempt to take a perceived bias of conservative voters and try to turn them against Virgil. Sarah associates with homosexuals and bi-sexuals every day. Media General's policy provides health care benefits to same sex partners - married or not. So it's not about gays. Media General and The Register & Bee TOTALLY support homosexuals. So what is her problem?
Because she thinks his supporters, most conservatives, will be offended and turn against him on that issue. SHE supports homosexuals...should she be smeared too? I don't get it. Is this an issue or an underhanded, clumsy and unethical attack on a political candidate because she is opposed to Virgil? Whose puppet is she? Who is she shilling for? Steve Kaylor? Arnold Hendrix? She's from Chicago, not Virginia. What reason does she have to attack him?
Journalism is about reporting facts and issues, not buying into another candidate's smear campaign. I'd like to know how many ads and the amount of money Periello's campaign has spent with The Danville Register & Bee versus how much Virgil has spent. The Register & Bee has has Obama at the newspaper (he's a friend of Sarah's) and Jesse Jackson. Are they courting the Black readers after years of ignoring them to court white advertisers.
A reader writes in:
What's up with Obama?
This is long, but very important, please take the time to read it. It was written by a friend of mine...Linda
This election has me very worried. So many things to consider. About a year ago I would have voted for Obama. I have changed my mind three times since than. I watch all the news channels, jumping from one to another. I must say this drives my husband crazy. But, I feel if you view MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News, you might get some middle ground to work with. About six months ago,I started thinking 'where did the money come from for Obama'. I have four daughters who went to College, and we were middle class, and money was tight. We (including my girls) worked hard and there were lots of student loans.
I started looking into Obama's life. Around 1979 Obama started college at Occidental in California. He is very open about his two years at Occidental, he tried all kinds of drugs and was wasting his time but, even though he had a brilliant mind, did not apply himself to his studies. 'Barry' (that was the name he used all his life) during this time had two roommates, Muhammad Hasan Chandoo and Wahid Hamid, both from Pakistan. During the summer of 1981, after his second year in college, he made a 'round the world' trip. Stopping to see his mother in Indonesia, next Hyderabad in India, three weeks in Karachi, Pakistan where he stayed with his roommate's family, then off to Africa to visit his father's family. My question - Where did he get the money for this trip?
Nether I, nor any one of my children would have had money for a trip like this when they where in college. When he came back he started school at Columbia University in New York. It is at this time he wants everyone to call him Barack - not Barry. Do you know what the tuition is at Columbia? It's not cheap to say the least! Where did he get money for tuition? Student Loans? Maybe. After Columbia,he went to Chicago to work as a Community Organizer for $12,000 a year. Why Chicago? Why not New York? He was already living in New York.
By 'chance' he met Antoin 'Tony' Rezko, born in Aleppo Syria, and a real estate developer in Chicago. Rezko has been convicted of fraud and bribery this year. Rezko, was named 'Entrepreneur of the Decade' by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association'. About two years later, Obama entered Harvard Law School. Do you have any idea what tuition is for Harvard Law School? Where did he get the money for Law School? More student loans?
After Law school, he went back to Chicago. Rezko offered him a job, which he turned down. But, he did take a job with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland.
Guess what? They represented 'Rezar' which is Rezko's firm. Rezko was one of Obama's first major financial contributors when he ran for office in Chicago. In 2003, Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendelland claims was instrumental in providing Obama with'seed money' for his U.S. Senate race. In 2005,Obama purchased a new home in Kenwoood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (less than asking price). With ALL those Student Loans - Where did he get the money for the property? On the same day Rezko's wife, Rita, purchased the adjoining empty lot for full price. The London Times reported that Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born Billionaire loaned Rezko $3.5 million three weeks before Obama's new home was purchased. Obama met Nadhmi Auchi many times with Rezko.
Now, we have Obama running for President. Valerie Jarrett, was Michele Obama's boss. She is now Obama's chief advisor and he does not make any major decisions without talking to her first. Where was Jarrett born? Ready for this? Shiraz, Iran! Do we see a pattern here? Or am I going crazy?
On May 10, 2008 The Times reported, Robert Malley, advisor to Obama, was'sacked' after the press found out he was having regular contacts with 'Hamas', which controls Gaza and is connected with Iran. This past week, buried in the back part of the papers, Iraqi newspapers reported that during Obama's visit to Iraq, he asked their leaders to do nothing about the war until after he is elected, and he will 'Take care of things'.
Oh, and by the way, remember the college roommates that where born in Pakistan? They are in charge of all those 'small' Internet campaign contributions for Obama. Where is that money coming from? The poor and middle class in this country? Or could it be from the Middle East?
And the final bit of news. On September 7, 2008, The Washington Times posted a verbal slip that was made on 'This Week' with George Stephanapoulos. Obama on talking about his religion said, 'My Muslim faith'. When questioned,'he made a mistake'. Some mistake!
All of the above information I got on line. If you would like to check it - Wikipedia, encyclopedia, Barack Obama; Tony Rezko; Valerie Jarrett: Daily Times - Obama visited Pakistan in 1981; The Washington Times - September 7, 2008; The Times May 10, 2008.
Now the BIG question - If I found out all this information on my own, Why haven't all of our 'intelligent' members of the press been reporting this?
A phrase that keeps ringing in my ear - 'Beware of the enemy from within'!!!
Well, Sarah is ALSO from Chicago and recently spent time overseas in the Middle East....so conspiracy types could go crazy with all this. But the real question is, WHY is the Register & Bee such a staunch defender of the obviously violated journalistic ethics? Should such biased reporters really be allowed to continue to muddy and influence readers with allegations of "fact" when all they are is thinly disguised attacks on Virgil Goode? Why not bring out his voting record or FACTS instead of playing to the emotions and slinging mud. It's piss poor reporting and an embarrassment to the profession.
Monday, October 13, 2008
What the media won't tell you about Columbus Day
Like Katie Couric? I used to. But like all national media she doesn't like to hear negative things about her preconceived beliefs about national figures. Today is Columbus Day - but what the media won't tell you is that Columbus was evil. He chopped off the hands of any native American over the age of 14 that couldn't bring him gold. He made slaves of thousands, raped and abused the women.....disgusting. And Couric and her co-horts think they know more than a Native American historian? Typical of the arrogance of the media. You also won't hear about the government's program to sterilize Native American women without their knowledge or consent. But watch these clips and see for yourself. Still trust the media? You shouldn't.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Credibilty matters
Credibility Matters. It's not just me saying so. Check out this guy. Click here.
The devastating effect dissatisfied consumers can have on your business is amazing. The impact is uncontrolled and will be as more and more dissatisfied consumers take to the internet. Yet, in the face of it all Media General doesn't seem to care. The newspaper industry as a whole, doesn't seem to care. And what has happened? Layoffs. Downsizing. Papers aren't selling and people aren't buying ads.
If you're an advertiser whose ad has been screwed up by The Register & Bee, you're not alone. And if you go online and blog - as many have done, you impact even more people than simply telling a friend. The reason for telling others about your bad experience is two-fold - it serves to notify the company to take action and it keeps your friends from suffering. If you've had a bad experience with a business, tell the business. I did that for almost eight months and no one there listened. They're still not listening. So I went to the internet. Media General isn't listening, but 14,000 other consumers are.
Make a point to make manners count at your business. Download the free ebook Manners matter at my website and find out why and how. (Yes I design and build websites too)
The devastating effect dissatisfied consumers can have on your business is amazing. The impact is uncontrolled and will be as more and more dissatisfied consumers take to the internet. Yet, in the face of it all Media General doesn't seem to care. The newspaper industry as a whole, doesn't seem to care. And what has happened? Layoffs. Downsizing. Papers aren't selling and people aren't buying ads.
If you're an advertiser whose ad has been screwed up by The Register & Bee, you're not alone. And if you go online and blog - as many have done, you impact even more people than simply telling a friend. The reason for telling others about your bad experience is two-fold - it serves to notify the company to take action and it keeps your friends from suffering. If you've had a bad experience with a business, tell the business. I did that for almost eight months and no one there listened. They're still not listening. So I went to the internet. Media General isn't listening, but 14,000 other consumers are.
Make a point to make manners count at your business. Download the free ebook Manners matter at my website and find out why and how. (Yes I design and build websites too)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Media General Buyout?
Media General stock fell 1.91 to 8.91 a share today. What's next?
Media General's Tampa paper is joining the rest of the country in massive media layoffs. Media General employees recently received terms of a buyout offer from the company. The offer has gone out to half the 1,326 employees of Media General subsidiary Florida Communications Group, which includes outlets such as WFLA-Ch. 8, the Tampa Tribune, TBO.com, Hernando Today and many more outlets. Will the Danville Register & Bee be next? We'll know soon. In a Tampa news story we read:
The money provided in the buyout is the same amount an employee would receive if they were laid off involuntarily, so there doesn't seem to be a lot of incentive to participate -- particularly if certain employees are not being informed that they will be laid off involuntarily if they don't take it; Schueler insists that is not happening. And because the company hasn't announced target levels for savings or buyouts, it's tough to anticipate whether involuntary layoffs will be necessary.
To hear what Media talk said about Media General, listen to the conversation in this video about 4:30 into the video. Not looking good.
Media General's Tampa paper is joining the rest of the country in massive media layoffs. Media General employees recently received terms of a buyout offer from the company. The offer has gone out to half the 1,326 employees of Media General subsidiary Florida Communications Group, which includes outlets such as WFLA-Ch. 8, the Tampa Tribune, TBO.com, Hernando Today and many more outlets. Will the Danville Register & Bee be next? We'll know soon. In a Tampa news story we read:
The money provided in the buyout is the same amount an employee would receive if they were laid off involuntarily, so there doesn't seem to be a lot of incentive to participate -- particularly if certain employees are not being informed that they will be laid off involuntarily if they don't take it; Schueler insists that is not happening. And because the company hasn't announced target levels for savings or buyouts, it's tough to anticipate whether involuntary layoffs will be necessary.
To hear what Media talk said about Media General, listen to the conversation in this video about 4:30 into the video. Not looking good.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
I'm not the only one...
This is from: http://groups.google.com/group/va.general/msg/3d17bf8a7d99499a
From SMHeath on Googlegroups. He writes:
Hello to Cynthia Pegram, Bill McElway, Joanne Kimberlin, Duncan Adams,
Arnold Hendrix, Glenn Proctor,Carole Tarrant of the various newspapers in Virginia.
Here are some links to examples of real journalists who work for the
Chicago Tribune, going out and getting real stories about abuse in
psychiatric hospital.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-riveredge_casefile...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-riveredge_mainjul1...
Likely the "Happy News" inspectors at news conglomerate Media General
find this type of story just too depressing to investigate and print,
though doubtless the same problems could be found in Virginia's
Hospitals.
Good points. After the Virginia Tech shootings Media General failed to really explore the issues and chose to focus on the gun control aspect rather the real problem - the fact that Cho was on antidepressants and the fact that Virginia's psych hospitals are the pits. Will you ever see any *real* investigative reporting at the Register & Bee? No. Not likely. Just a steady stream of car wrecks and fires and shootings and murders. Too bad no one is willing to look into why police are underpaid or overworked or why bad guys get put in jail and are back out on the streets the next day. It's not just me. A lot of people are wondering. Why isn't the Register & Bee doing its job? Why are they more interested in sex and naked women than solid reporting? Why? Because Danville, all they want is your money. They want advertising sales and profit. Period. You don't put naked women on the cover of a publication for a story about domestic violence. Whoever did that had their head up their butt for sure....or is so out of touch with the concept of self-respect that they'll never get it. And Kaylor of course, Mr. "LIE to the woman who asked him point blank about the videotaping of her body" approved the cover I'm sure. And all the men probably laughed at it too.
Your ad dollars hard at work Danville. Alienating customers and amusing the newsroom.
Why were Bill and Charles cropped out?
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A reader sent me this photo and wanted to know why Bill and Charles were cropped out of the photo. I'm sorry. I don't know. The Register & Bee may not have thought they were important enough or as important as the folks they left in the photo. You would have to ask the Register and Bee that.
Dear Becky:
Seen in the Sunday Oct. 5,2008 Sunday paper. On front row in the photo Bill Fuller and Charles Ellis were cropped out of the photo but their names were still listed. And Phil Blackmon on the back row was also cropped out. The same photo ran several weeks ago in the Chatham Star Tribune with all pictured. Becky this blog is being read daily all over the Dan River Region and the world...many business professionals view it each day not just the common people ....it just confirms what the local people are thinking and saying ....Thank You, a former subscriber of the Richmond Lynchburg danville Register & Bee.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Be frightened. Be very frightened.
What's really happening in America? Watch this:
Then read this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment
So, what is your local newspaper printing? Pictures of naked women and mind numbing lists of traffic accidents and fires.
Then read this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment
So, what is your local newspaper printing? Pictures of naked women and mind numbing lists of traffic accidents and fires.
Man up Tom Perriello!
Can Tom Perriello handle the rough and tumble of politics? Probably not. He's stirred up so much press on himself by complaining about this ad (below) that all voters are talking about is how he wants to sue Virgil Goode for playing hardball. Maybe ignoring this ad and telling voters about what you CAN do and WILL do and HAVE done and presenting a picture of why people should vote for you rather than why you're pissed off at Virgil would make more sense. Of course, you can count on the Register & Bee. They seem to be supporting you. They'd probably run a picture of a naked woman in an ad for you. They have some ads of women in pornographic Halloween costumes too - read my blog - I posted a screen shot....and there's that reporter...the one who filmed local business women without their consent or knowledge - he could probably do a great job getting you some video footage. In the meantime folks - here's the ad causing Tom to get his panties all in a wad.
Man up Tom. Leave it and go on to showing us what you really think about offshore drilling, guns, dogs, hunting with dogs and what you plan to do about uranium, and other things important to Virginians here in Pittsylvania County! Then voters will take you seriously.
Man up Tom. Leave it and go on to showing us what you really think about offshore drilling, guns, dogs, hunting with dogs and what you plan to do about uranium, and other things important to Virginians here in Pittsylvania County! Then voters will take you seriously.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Register & Bee or Nude Bee???
Thank you readers for continuing to write and email photos and comments. I understand not everyone knows how to post a comment or wants another account and that's okay. Just email and I will post your comments and withhold your name. From a Sunday reader:
Dear Becky,
Love your Blog..........saw this in the Friday Oct. 3,2008 paper in the Library, since I'm like so many others who no longer get the former locally owned paper but happen across an issue from time to time...an artsy photo but not proper to be viewed by children and not for a small conservative town like Danville which is also known as the 'City of Churches' ........how is a nude photo of a woman going to help stop violence against women?... my family will NOT do business with those that are advertised in this supplement....Becky we thank you for your mission to stop the discrimination and violence against women.... A Fan
I have to agree. The Register & Bee thinks nudity sells. They really don't get it - a nude photo of a woman with an article about Domestic Abuse?!! How UTTERLY clueless can you get??!! Oh...that's right. This is a major media company that thought it was okay to film the breasts of a local businesswoman without her knowledge or consent and then show it around the newsroom so the *men* could giggle at her nipples. Yeah. That paper. Um hmmmm....and now suddenly they think that putting out covers like this of naked women is okay? Advertisers???? HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOO.....
Maybe folks should do like this reader is - vote with your dollars. If you don't want naked women and porn in your local daily paper - going into your kid's schools...then, advertise somewhere else.
Thanks for writing in and sending the cover as well!
Dear Becky,
Love your Blog..........saw this in the Friday Oct. 3,2008 paper in the Library, since I'm like so many others who no longer get the former locally owned paper but happen across an issue from time to time...an artsy photo but not proper to be viewed by children and not for a small conservative town like Danville which is also known as the 'City of Churches' ........how is a nude photo of a woman going to help stop violence against women?... my family will NOT do business with those that are advertised in this supplement....Becky we thank you for your mission to stop the discrimination and violence against women.... A Fan
I have to agree. The Register & Bee thinks nudity sells. They really don't get it - a nude photo of a woman with an article about Domestic Abuse?!! How UTTERLY clueless can you get??!! Oh...that's right. This is a major media company that thought it was okay to film the breasts of a local businesswoman without her knowledge or consent and then show it around the newsroom so the *men* could giggle at her nipples. Yeah. That paper. Um hmmmm....and now suddenly they think that putting out covers like this of naked women is okay? Advertisers???? HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOO.....
Maybe folks should do like this reader is - vote with your dollars. If you don't want naked women and porn in your local daily paper - going into your kid's schools...then, advertise somewhere else.
Thanks for writing in and sending the cover as well!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Bad news for Media General
Media General can sure screw things up.
Publisher Steve Kaylor who is publisher for both The Madison Messenger newspaper as well as The Danville Register & Bee as well as the Reidsville paper, said in a news article in The Raleigh Telegram that the Madison Messenger which used to be published twice a week, will now only be published once a week. In the article Kaylor admitted that Media General had finally decided to listen to the readers.
"The newspaper publishers seemed to acknowledge what readers in Rockingham County have been telling them for decades -- that they prefer one paper a week, especially since the smaller Friday paper lacked the content that the larger Wednesday paper contained." wrote R. Gregg of the Raleigh Telegram in his story about the change.
I beg to differ. Media General isn't listening to anybody. They don't listen to their readers. They listen to their ad revenue. When advertising revenues FELL, THEN they decided to discontinue the twice weekly editions. It had NOTHING to do with what readers wanted. You tell me, with newspapers hurting, staff being laid off and offices consolidated do you really think they'd give up twice-a-week papers if it was making them money??! No. They'd reason "Oh, the readers want it!"
Reader demand is not likely the reason at all - unless Media General translates that as "if readers wanted it we could sell more ads."
Don't be fooled dear readers. The Danville Register & Bee and Media General aren't listening to what their readers WANT. They're listening to the moths fluttering around in their corporate pocketbook. Pure and simple. Advertisers weren't buying, so they're not printing. That's all there is to it. My educated guess is that at some point all three papers will be combined just as they have done with the web-site...Reidsville, Martinsville, Danville will have ONE paper. They'll probably change the name at the top, but you'll get the same mismash of stories. It doesn't have to be that way. Just stop advertising. That gets their attention.
See? You do have a voice. And it's green.
Publisher Steve Kaylor who is publisher for both The Madison Messenger newspaper as well as The Danville Register & Bee as well as the Reidsville paper, said in a news article in The Raleigh Telegram that the Madison Messenger which used to be published twice a week, will now only be published once a week. In the article Kaylor admitted that Media General had finally decided to listen to the readers.
"The newspaper publishers seemed to acknowledge what readers in Rockingham County have been telling them for decades -- that they prefer one paper a week, especially since the smaller Friday paper lacked the content that the larger Wednesday paper contained." wrote R. Gregg of the Raleigh Telegram in his story about the change.
I beg to differ. Media General isn't listening to anybody. They don't listen to their readers. They listen to their ad revenue. When advertising revenues FELL, THEN they decided to discontinue the twice weekly editions. It had NOTHING to do with what readers wanted. You tell me, with newspapers hurting, staff being laid off and offices consolidated do you really think they'd give up twice-a-week papers if it was making them money??! No. They'd reason "Oh, the readers want it!"
Reader demand is not likely the reason at all - unless Media General translates that as "if readers wanted it we could sell more ads."
Don't be fooled dear readers. The Danville Register & Bee and Media General aren't listening to what their readers WANT. They're listening to the moths fluttering around in their corporate pocketbook. Pure and simple. Advertisers weren't buying, so they're not printing. That's all there is to it. My educated guess is that at some point all three papers will be combined just as they have done with the web-site...Reidsville, Martinsville, Danville will have ONE paper. They'll probably change the name at the top, but you'll get the same mismash of stories. It doesn't have to be that way. Just stop advertising. That gets their attention.
See? You do have a voice. And it's green.
The cost of being a real jerk
The Results are in...and have been. Being a jerk costs companies money and lots of it.
From The Wharton School of Business comes this information. The entire article may be read here:
Results of The Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study 2006 -- conducted by The Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative at Wharton and The Verde Group, a Toronto consulting firm, in the weeks before and after Christmas 2005 -- show that only 6% of shoppers who experienced a problem with a retailer contacted the company, but 31% went on to tell friends, family or colleagues what happened. Of those, 8% told one person, another 8% told two people, but 6% told six or more people. "Even though these shoppers don't share their pain with the store, they do share their pain with other people, apparently quite a few other people," says Hoch.
Overall, if 100 people have a bad experience, a retailer stands to lose between 32 and 36 current or potential customers, according to the study.
The complaints have an even greater impact on shoppers who were not directly involved as the story spreads and is embellished, researchers found. Almost half those surveyed, 48%, reported they have avoided a store in the past because of someone else's negative experience. For those who had encountered a problem themselves, 33% said they would "definitely not" or "probably not" return. "This storytelling has even more impact on the people the story is told to than the people who told the story," says Hoch. The data is based on a survey of 1,186 shoppers.
So, if we look at ALL the people in Danville who have a problem with The Danville Register & Bee, with delivery, with the fact the carriers are paid squat and have to squat (see postings about the lack of a toilet for them), with obits and ads being wrong, with reporters being biased, with reporters treating women with disrespect, with all the things the Danville Register & Bee has done, do you think maybe there aren't a whole lot of people who really like or trust the Register & Bee? Are you really sure you want to be advertising in a paper that most folks don't like? Will you be perceived as "supporting" the paper if you do a lot of advertising with them? It's certainly something to think about. Next time your advertising sales rep comes calling, ask them about some of the things you're reading here.
Do they have an answer? Are they being honest? Or are they saying, "Oh, that's just sour grapes and disgruntled employees?" The fact is, all you have to do is ask your neighbor about their experience with the paper. Has it been positive? It's expensive to be a jerk. People talk. I sure do. Do you?
And it's not just the paper. It's the hospital. It's other businesses around town. You may not care that a customer was mad or upset, but that person is going to talk. Do you have so much business that you need to piss off anyone? I don't think so. Take the high road and do what the Danville Register & Bee refuses to do - namely, THE RIGHT THING. Fire those who screwed up and apologize to everyone else involved. Man up. That means you too Terry.
From The Wharton School of Business comes this information. The entire article may be read here:
Results of The Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study 2006 -- conducted by The Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative at Wharton and The Verde Group, a Toronto consulting firm, in the weeks before and after Christmas 2005 -- show that only 6% of shoppers who experienced a problem with a retailer contacted the company, but 31% went on to tell friends, family or colleagues what happened. Of those, 8% told one person, another 8% told two people, but 6% told six or more people. "Even though these shoppers don't share their pain with the store, they do share their pain with other people, apparently quite a few other people," says Hoch.
Overall, if 100 people have a bad experience, a retailer stands to lose between 32 and 36 current or potential customers, according to the study.
The complaints have an even greater impact on shoppers who were not directly involved as the story spreads and is embellished, researchers found. Almost half those surveyed, 48%, reported they have avoided a store in the past because of someone else's negative experience. For those who had encountered a problem themselves, 33% said they would "definitely not" or "probably not" return. "This storytelling has even more impact on the people the story is told to than the people who told the story," says Hoch. The data is based on a survey of 1,186 shoppers.
So, if we look at ALL the people in Danville who have a problem with The Danville Register & Bee, with delivery, with the fact the carriers are paid squat and have to squat (see postings about the lack of a toilet for them), with obits and ads being wrong, with reporters being biased, with reporters treating women with disrespect, with all the things the Danville Register & Bee has done, do you think maybe there aren't a whole lot of people who really like or trust the Register & Bee? Are you really sure you want to be advertising in a paper that most folks don't like? Will you be perceived as "supporting" the paper if you do a lot of advertising with them? It's certainly something to think about. Next time your advertising sales rep comes calling, ask them about some of the things you're reading here.
Do they have an answer? Are they being honest? Or are they saying, "Oh, that's just sour grapes and disgruntled employees?" The fact is, all you have to do is ask your neighbor about their experience with the paper. Has it been positive? It's expensive to be a jerk. People talk. I sure do. Do you?
And it's not just the paper. It's the hospital. It's other businesses around town. You may not care that a customer was mad or upset, but that person is going to talk. Do you have so much business that you need to piss off anyone? I don't think so. Take the high road and do what the Danville Register & Bee refuses to do - namely, THE RIGHT THING. Fire those who screwed up and apologize to everyone else involved. Man up. That means you too Terry.
Friday, October 3, 2008
How MetaBank Conspires to keep your money
MetaBank, a bank in Texas I've dealt with for two years (but no longer) has refused a bank transfer from Franklin Templeton Investments. Why? There's an extra letter in my name. Transfer numbers are right, all other information is right, but MetaBank wants to hang on to my money for a week to make money off of me before refusing it and sending it back. It's the game all banks play and how they screw the consumer. Is MetaBank hurting in this time of financial crisis? They must be. Get your money out now. Obviously customer service and loyalty means nothing to a bank who won't list their contact information on their home page. They remind me a lot of Media General and The Danville Register & Bee. How? They don't care about their customers - at all.
What's happening? A crash is coming. No, not a financial crash. A crash of corporations. What's bringing down corporations world wide is exactly this indifference to consumers. Seth Godin has a book coming out this month called "Tribes." It's about the new business model - a model where consumers follow only companies who demonstrate care and concern about their customers and not so much about the bottom line. It's a book about why companies like The Danville Register & Bee who find it so hilarious to film women's breasts and consciously work to keep stories about Blacks off the front page to appease white advertisers will fail.
It's why banks like MetaBank and investment companies like Franklin Templeton will lose more money than they make by sitting on their customers funds - holding them hostage for weeks at a time.
Why would a bank so committed to customer satisfaction not list a single telephone number on their web page?
What's happening? A crash is coming. No, not a financial crash. A crash of corporations. What's bringing down corporations world wide is exactly this indifference to consumers. Seth Godin has a book coming out this month called "Tribes." It's about the new business model - a model where consumers follow only companies who demonstrate care and concern about their customers and not so much about the bottom line. It's a book about why companies like The Danville Register & Bee who find it so hilarious to film women's breasts and consciously work to keep stories about Blacks off the front page to appease white advertisers will fail.
It's why banks like MetaBank and investment companies like Franklin Templeton will lose more money than they make by sitting on their customers funds - holding them hostage for weeks at a time.
Why would a bank so committed to customer satisfaction not list a single telephone number on their web page?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Charging more, delivering less
The Register & Bee recently raised its rates. Now you’ll soon be paying more to read The Roanoke Times too. The price has gone up from 50 cents to 75 cents Monday through Saturday papers and from $1.50 to $1.75 on Sunday. Comcast is raising its rates as are many other businesses. You'll be getting less but paying more folks.
Don't ya hate Corporations? I hate Franklin Templeton
I gotta tell you, I hate corporations. The bigger they get the more inept they get. I was recently invited to attend a private dress rehearsal for marketing guru Seth Godin in New York. The official presentation is Oct. 22, but he selected a few folks to come up beforehand and see what's happening. All was well until I tried to transfer funds out of my savings for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
My broker, Franklin Templeton Investments, screwed it up. Three times. They sent money to my bank account under someone else's name. Yup. Do I feel my money is safe with Franklin Templeton Investments? No. Would you? They admitted it was their mistake but can't fix it. Too bad. So sad. Three times they've screwed up. So what's happening? What's going on with corporate America? The worst part about it is they think if they're friendly while they're sending my money under the wrong name that that makes it okay.
Well, they're right up there with Media General and The Danville Register & Bee and any other corporation who thinks they can continue to provide no service or bad service and retain customers. If you're reading this and want to rate The Register & Bee or Franklin Templeton Investments or any other company you might want to give a good or BAD review of... go to www.yelp.com and log in and make your voice heard. Maybe you're tired of waiting 45 minutes at the local bagel store to get a toasted bagel or a sandwich. Let out of town visitors know they need to have time to burn. Sure, the food is great, but don't expect to get served in 20 minutes or less.
The Danville Register & Bee can't get a paper to you before you leave for work. They get your ads or obits wrong. Leave a review.
Franklin Templeton Investments screws up your fund transfers - let the world know. Consumers now have the ability to let companies know their incompetence won't be tolerated. Join me in giving consumers a voice. It only takes a minute and you just might learn something.
My broker, Franklin Templeton Investments, screwed it up. Three times. They sent money to my bank account under someone else's name. Yup. Do I feel my money is safe with Franklin Templeton Investments? No. Would you? They admitted it was their mistake but can't fix it. Too bad. So sad. Three times they've screwed up. So what's happening? What's going on with corporate America? The worst part about it is they think if they're friendly while they're sending my money under the wrong name that that makes it okay.
Well, they're right up there with Media General and The Danville Register & Bee and any other corporation who thinks they can continue to provide no service or bad service and retain customers. If you're reading this and want to rate The Register & Bee or Franklin Templeton Investments or any other company you might want to give a good or BAD review of... go to www.yelp.com and log in and make your voice heard. Maybe you're tired of waiting 45 minutes at the local bagel store to get a toasted bagel or a sandwich. Let out of town visitors know they need to have time to burn. Sure, the food is great, but don't expect to get served in 20 minutes or less.
The Danville Register & Bee can't get a paper to you before you leave for work. They get your ads or obits wrong. Leave a review.
Franklin Templeton Investments screws up your fund transfers - let the world know. Consumers now have the ability to let companies know their incompetence won't be tolerated. Join me in giving consumers a voice. It only takes a minute and you just might learn something.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Democratic Register & Bee
Virgil Goode has been instrumental in bringing a lot of money, research and development to Danville over the years. He attends fundraisers, talks to farmers, speaks his mind and overall is one of the most approachable and honest congressmen we've had - as evidenced by his length of service to Virginia.
Yet the Danville Register & Bee has taken the position that Goode is a liar in their Oct.1 editorial. How sad. Publisher Steve Kaylor and the Register & Bee have hosted fund raisers at The Institute - a facility Goode's efforts brought to Danville. Across the county it's easy to see the fruit of Goode's labors. Yet - The Register & Bee has decided to court Democrats, in particular Tom Perriello. They talk about a recent ad in which Perriello claims Goode used half a campaign slogan to misrepresent Perriellos' stance on drilling. But the editorial board carries on in this issue like the misinformed and biased news media they are. Two words boys, "Campaign Manager"....Your editorial reads like Virgil himself sat down and created these ads. Yes, he has control over them. Yes he sees and approves them - JUST AS YOU oversee, approve and send out a newspaper every day FILLED WITH errors, misspelled names, misquotes, WRONG OBITUARIES! So who are you to sit in judgment on the intent of Virgil Goode? He's already stood by his statement.
The problem is, your reporter - the one without any formal journalism training, the one from Chicago, the one who readers complained in a letter to the editor manipulated the appearance and content in a photo, the one who is personal friends of Obama and who has voiced a desire for a more socialist leaning in this country - yeah, Sara Arkin, the one with the PRO-Democrat bias you send out to do your slanted reporting - is part of the effort to unseat Virgil. That's a violation of journalist ethics!
But readers won't be surprised. After all, you did NOTHING when a male reporter filmed the breasts of a local businesswoman and advertiser and flashed the video all over the newsroom for managers to laugh at. Or, encouraged managers who were involved in extramartial affairs with subordinates, or ran stories about local bars talking about alcoholic drinks being "real panty droppers." (ALL documented in this blog for you new readers). So, Danville - do you really want a candidate who is paired up and supported by a newspaper who treats women and advertisers like this? A newspaper who allows reporters to write about candidates they have a bias against? Seriously. Tom Perrillo was going to SUE Virgil? Please. Man up Tom. Quit acting like a sissy boy in velvet pants who wants to take his ball and go home because someone stuck their tongue out at you. If you're so surprised at the harshness of politics then there's a serious chance you won't have a clue about how to work in Congress either. I can see your freshman year in office now - a long list of lawsuits and petulant power plays.
Danville deserves better. They deserve a real man, not one who hides behind a reporter's skirts and threats of lawsuits. And Danville deserves a newspaper that isn't blatantly biased as well. Whats next? Writing bad news about people who don't advertise? I was once told not to write about a business who didn't advertise. Wake up Danville. The newspaper only wants your money - not your best interests.
Yet the Danville Register & Bee has taken the position that Goode is a liar in their Oct.1 editorial. How sad. Publisher Steve Kaylor and the Register & Bee have hosted fund raisers at The Institute - a facility Goode's efforts brought to Danville. Across the county it's easy to see the fruit of Goode's labors. Yet - The Register & Bee has decided to court Democrats, in particular Tom Perriello. They talk about a recent ad in which Perriello claims Goode used half a campaign slogan to misrepresent Perriellos' stance on drilling. But the editorial board carries on in this issue like the misinformed and biased news media they are. Two words boys, "Campaign Manager"....Your editorial reads like Virgil himself sat down and created these ads. Yes, he has control over them. Yes he sees and approves them - JUST AS YOU oversee, approve and send out a newspaper every day FILLED WITH errors, misspelled names, misquotes, WRONG OBITUARIES! So who are you to sit in judgment on the intent of Virgil Goode? He's already stood by his statement.
The problem is, your reporter - the one without any formal journalism training, the one from Chicago, the one who readers complained in a letter to the editor manipulated the appearance and content in a photo, the one who is personal friends of Obama and who has voiced a desire for a more socialist leaning in this country - yeah, Sara Arkin, the one with the PRO-Democrat bias you send out to do your slanted reporting - is part of the effort to unseat Virgil. That's a violation of journalist ethics!
But readers won't be surprised. After all, you did NOTHING when a male reporter filmed the breasts of a local businesswoman and advertiser and flashed the video all over the newsroom for managers to laugh at. Or, encouraged managers who were involved in extramartial affairs with subordinates, or ran stories about local bars talking about alcoholic drinks being "real panty droppers." (ALL documented in this blog for you new readers). So, Danville - do you really want a candidate who is paired up and supported by a newspaper who treats women and advertisers like this? A newspaper who allows reporters to write about candidates they have a bias against? Seriously. Tom Perrillo was going to SUE Virgil? Please. Man up Tom. Quit acting like a sissy boy in velvet pants who wants to take his ball and go home because someone stuck their tongue out at you. If you're so surprised at the harshness of politics then there's a serious chance you won't have a clue about how to work in Congress either. I can see your freshman year in office now - a long list of lawsuits and petulant power plays.
Danville deserves better. They deserve a real man, not one who hides behind a reporter's skirts and threats of lawsuits. And Danville deserves a newspaper that isn't blatantly biased as well. Whats next? Writing bad news about people who don't advertise? I was once told not to write about a business who didn't advertise. Wake up Danville. The newspaper only wants your money - not your best interests.
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