The Danville Register & Bee - Life at a Media General Newspaper

500 Government witnesses talk about UFOs - Where's the Media

2009-05-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Twenty-four of 500 government witnesses appeared at the National Press Club almost ten years ago - members of every branch of military service, the CIA, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), astronauts and scientists - all with proof and/or experience with UFO's. Yet, NONE of the media have reported on the project, the proof, the testimony or the incidents. Why?

Because the media in America is controlled. Don't believe me? Then check out the witnesses and the facts yourself here:

http://speedstream.netro.ca/netrostream113/npcc.wmv

or to to:

http://disclosureproject.org then see how ABC News treated the information:

http://www.disclosureproject.org/peterjenningsdefrauding.htm

PETER JENNINGS DEFRAUDING:
INSIDE THE ABC NEWS UFO DOCUMENTARY HOAX

Dr. Steven M. Greer.
Director, The Disclosure Project
March 2005

http://www.disclosureproject.org

Copyright 2005

NOTE: PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO POST AND DISTRIBUTE WIDELY, SO LONG AS THIS ARTICLE APPEARS IN ITS ENTIRETY OR IS EXCERPTED ACCURATELY.

Of course, the title of the show was 'Peter Jennings Reporting…' - if only that were so. This is the story of how, once again, the corrupt Big Media has defrauded the American people, from one who had a front row seat to the spectacle.

In the summer of 2004, as founder and director of The Disclosure Project (www.DisclosureProject.org) I was approached by Jennings Productions producer Jordan Kronick. He explained how ABC News was going to make history by doing a serious expose of the UFO matter - for the first time on network news.

Initially skeptical - we have seen and heard this song and dance before - I agreed to meet with Kronick at our offices in Washington DC. Over the course of several hours, we discussed the subject and how The Disclosure Project had identified several hundred top secret military and government witnesses to UFO events and projects.

Kronick expressed great interest and repeatedly stated that this is exactly what Jennings, chief producer Mark Obenhaus and he were looking for. I offered to provide, pro bono, ALL Disclosure Project digital videotape interviews and full access to ALL Disclosure Project witnesses willing to cooperate with ABC News - including those witnesses not yet taped by us.

The reader at this point needs to know that these are not fuzzy, blacked-out deep throats anonymously telling stories of the night. These are hundreds of military, government and corporate insiders who have been identified by us over the past 14 years. They range from Generals, to Astronauts, to senior FAA officials who were privy to events, projects and cover-ups involving UFOs. Additionally, we have thousands of pages of uncontested official government smoking gun documents and physical evidence, photos, videos, landing trace events and other unambiguous proof.

The ABC News production team claimed to want exactly this type of evidence - and especially the high-level government and military insider whistle-blowers who could credibly blow the lid off of decades of secrecy.

As a two-hour news special, ABC claimed that they could, at long last, give the subject the focus and rigor needed to achieve this objective.

But as discussions continued, it became more and more clear that Obenhaus and Jennings really wanted to do a human interest story - including anecdotal civilian witnesses, man-in-the-street interviews and the general silly season and carnival atmosphere surrounding most things ufological.

We agreed to cooperate with the filming of a CSETI (Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence) research expedition to Mt. Shasta in August of 2004, at which time we were able to have discussions with Obenhaus, the senior producer in charge of the project.

We were incredulous as Obenhaus revealed to us that he was sure the matter was not really being kept secret but had just 'fallen through the cracks' due to lack of follow through, laziness and so forth on the part of the government! It was clear he had not studied the data or evidence given to him, and had his mind made up to do a 'light', human interest piece and not a real expose or research project.

This was later confirmed when, as summer turned to fall, the long promised serious research and interviews they claimed they wanted to do with these top-secret government witnesses were never followed up. I spoke a few more times to Kronick, who promised a sit down interview and follow-up with these high-ranking and conclusive witnesses. They never did.

Instead, the final ABC News show was weaker in evidence than most tabloid cable channel pieces on the UFO subject - with the bulk of the 'documentary' being interviews with UFO personalities, debunkers and the carnival atmosphere of UFO hotspots like Roswell.

They fraudulently appeared to be ' balanced' by having both skeptics and 'believers' - with the clear implication that the skeptics were 'real scientists' and the 'believers' were misguided flakes. Using the ruse of media 'objectivity', ABC News would asymmetrically show, say, a Harvard scientist skeptic juxtaposed against a civilian who thought he had been sexually assaulted by aliens!

The few, very brief interviews with pilots and military people were overwhelmed by the spurious, carnival-like pseudo-ethnography of the UFO subculture mixed in with long segments of scientists pooh-poohing the entire matter.

While appearing objective and 'balanced' to the general viewer, the project was, rather, a disinformation piece, carefully crafted to give the mere appearance of objectivity.

Otherwise, why spend so much air time interviewing UFO personalities, media figures and the like - while completely leaving out ALL high-ranking military, government and scientific witnesses and evidence given directly by us to them?

In light of the range and scope of material that we personally gave them, it is incomprehensible why ALL of it would be omitted - unless it was their intent from the beginning to do a disinformation and cover-up piece.

Why else would Peter Jennings state that the US Government has been out of the UFO matter since 1969, when Project Blue Book was closed, even though he and his team were directly given by us official US government documents, senior government whistle-blower testimony and physical evidence - including radar tapes - to the contrary? Why would Jennings feature uninformed scientists rhetorically asking 'where's the physical evidence' when abundant physical evidence is available and was offered to him?

Why indeed. We have received a CIA document from 1991 that clearly states that the CIA has contacts in the Big Media to change, kill or spin stories. From this document, dated 20 December 1991, and released 1 April 1992, to the Director of Central Intelligence from the Task Force on Greater CIA Openness, on page 6:

"PAO [the Public Affairs Office] now has relationships with reporters from every major wire service, newspaper, news weekly, and television network in the nation. This has helped us turn some intelligence failure stories into intelligence success stories…In many instances, we have persuaded reporters to postpone, change, hold or even scrap stories…"

And from a CIA document regarding the psychological warfare implications of UFOs, we find a reference to Disney Studios, now the parent company of ABC, being used as a source for doing cartoon-like portrayals of the subject for psychological warfare purposes. Can we be surprised ABC News has, again, defrauded the American people - only pretending to do news and real investigative reporting when in reality they are purveying disinformation to an accepting public?

Obenhaus, without any research or foundation in fact, went so far as to personally assert to me that the hybrid government - corporate complex is not keeping new energy, propulsion and related technologies hidden from the public! His prejudice on the matter was profound and unwavering: forget the facts, my mind is made up.

It is hard to reconcile ABC News' claims to doing a serious expose and investigative report when the senior producer of the project, without any investigation or research, espouses such closed-minded conclusions at the outset.

Those who know me know that I like to stay positive, present the affirmative facts and present the promise of an advanced, sustainable civilization on Earth benefiting from the knowledge of these new technologies. But it is time for the American people to wake up to the fact that the Big Media and their corporate masters are the central problem blocking the truth from coming out. As a former board member of Time Warner told me, the Big Media has become scribes taking dictation from the right hand of the king - and the fourth estate is essentially dead.

A CALL TO ACTION

The American people must demand that ABC News correct its fraudulent assertions - and do a real investigative report on the serious evidence, government documents and courageous military whistle-blower testimony that The Disclosure Project and others have identified. The reader may obtain much of this evidence from www.DisclosureProject.org.

Write ABC News at: abc.news.magazines@abc.com or support@ABCNews.go.com and demand an honest investigative report.

Additionally, please contact the FCC and register your complaint regarding the transparent fraud perpetrated by ABC News on the American public. Remember: ABC News, as a broadcast network, is given by the FCC access to the public airwaves. In exchange, we have the right to hold ABC News, as well as the other networks, to fairness, accuracy and honesty - and certainly to avoid blatant fraud and corruption. This was not the ABC entertainment division that perpetrated this fraudulent report on the American people, but its news division. That they would sanitize such an important two hour report of nearly all credible evidence and government insider witnesses requires that we demand a hearing on the matter by the FCC immediately. Who induced Obenhaus and Peter Jennings to cover up this important evidence? Why? ABC News cannot claim ignorance on the matter as they were directly given extensive testimony and evidence, none of which appeared in the program.

Contact the FCC at www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html and demand an immediate investigation into this matter and demand that the FCC require ABC to retract its false statements and present the evidence which they possess but are hiding from the American public.

And lastly, support Disclosure in any way you can. Help us get the truth out. Tell people about http://www.DisclosureProject.org where they can find the truth about this important matter. And help us identify backers who will help us start a new - and honest - news outlet that will truthfully report on these and related projects that are illegally kept secret from the public. Is it not time for us to form a news network - The Disclosure Network - that will produce and air real investigative reports on a wide range of government and corporate corruption? Matters now left completely hidden by the complicity of Big Media need to be known by the people if we are to renew and protect democracy and disclose the technologies now hidden and suppressed that could replace oil and nuclear power and give us a sustainable, peaceful world.

We can no longer trust ABC news or the rest of the Big Media to do this. We, the people, must take on the task of getting the truth out - and salvaging what is left of our democracy and planet. Big Media, who have become shills for their corporate masters, are incapable or unwilling to tell the truth. It is time we did it for them.

Steven M. Greer MD
Director and Founder
The Disclosure Project
Albemarle County Virginia
March 2005
http://www.DisclosureProject.org

Richard Davis wins suit - now on to EEOC action

2009-05-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Photographer Richard Davis was successful in his bid for unemployment rights against the Danville Register & Bee. Outright lies by those testifying on behalf of the R&B failed to convince the judge - who, as I was told, also had access to this blog as part of the court proceedings.

Congratulations to Richard - too bad about the paper trail of lies and letters that BURIED the Register & Bee. It's so much easier to TELL THE TRUTH. It will come back to bite you guys....and the bite will be bigger in the EEOC suit....What will really be interesting is seeing if the attorney will choose to pursue FORMER R&B employees separately now that they don't work for the R&B. Will Richard go after them? It means they'll have to pony up legal expenses themselves. So, since this is largely about the PRINCIPLE of the way he was fired, lied about and cheated....Should he go after those who caused him so much head and heart ache?

This is a man who's fed the birds and cats around the Register & Bee for years - long before Media General owned the paper. Yet - Ann Austin threatened him for being in the parking lot feeding a stray cat and the birds as he had done for decades.

Heartless isn't it? When you threaten to call the police on a former employee who's just feeding the stray animals he's always fed? Kind of reminds you of Jerry Gwaltney tearing down the Bluebird houses (illegally I might add). But then again, this is a company who printed the front page story about an alcoholic drink being a "REAL PANTY DROPPER." That's cutting edge news - courtesy of Steve Kaylor. Thanks Steve. What would Danville do without your brilliant news assessment? Perhaps if more reporters were actually sitting THROUGH city council meetings instead of hopping up to go take a picture of a wrecked car in a ditch because wrecks sell more papers - although city council meetings have more impact on the city....we MIGHT support the Danville Rag and Bitch.

Bullying bills pass in more states!!!

2009-05-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

Workplace Bullying Bills Pass NY & IL Houses

Bullying is so epidemic that more and more states are looking at the problem and opting to act on legislation to prevent it. The Illinois House of Representatives and New York State Assembly have passed bills calling attention to the problem of workplace bullying. In New York, A 2247 passed with a vote of 142-1 on May 6. In Illinois, HRJ 40 passed 114-0 on April 30. Both bills commission statewide studies of the problem.

In New York, A 2247 (Mark Schroeder, D-145) directed the Department of Labor to conduct a study of hostile workplace behavior and to make recommendations within a year. Comprehensive versions of the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) Healthy Workplace Bill (HWB), which would prevent abuse by employers, have been introduced in the Assembly (A 5414A) and Senate (S1823A).

In Illinois a $100,000 Task Force to study fiscal and employee health impact of bullying on private sector companies will be comprised of eight lawmakers with support from the Department of Human Services. Rep. Arthur Turner (D-9) was the sponsor of HJR 40 and the prime sponsor of a more comprehensive bill for public sector employers. HB 374, the WBI HWB, has not advanced in the House.

The positive House/Assembly votes send both study bills to the respective Senate chambers. This progress is encouraging for the anti-bullying legislative movement.

"We only began citizen lobbying in 2003," said WBI Director Gary Namie.
"The historical business lobby mantra of "no regulation" prevails in all legislatures. The economic meltdown and subsequent populist outrage may give lawmakers the push to do something for American workers."

In 2009, the WBI Legislative Campaign, the national network of State Coordinators, produced some version of the WBI HWB in 12 states. Since 2003, 16 states have introduced such legislation.

Namie states, "We are prepared for a long-term campaign because domestic violence, civil rights, women's rights, and schoolyard bullying were problems decades before lawmakers took action."

History of the WBI HWB is found at -- workplacebullyinglaw.org and healthyworkplacebill.org

Workplace Bullying Institute | Campaign Against Workplace Bullying | Workdoctor.com | (360) 656-6630

Military Muster on mall June 13, 2009

2009-05-08T04:26:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of hurricane Katrinia they disarmed American citizens. They locked American citizens into the Super Dome, blockaded the only bridge out of town and refused to allow victims (mostly black) to cross the bridge into a predominantly white neighborhood. They turned away truck loads of water, food and supplies. They simply obeyed orders most of them knew were wrong. And they didn't understand why.

Then, when President Obama recently announced that he thought veterans should have to pay for their own medical care, (while bailing out car companies and corrupt AIG, banks and others) and that both the military and the police would be expected to disarm Americans in a "national emergency," and that all military veterans were considered "potential terrorists" and a threat to America, and bills were introduced to forbid any veteran diagnosed with PTSD or brain damage (basically anyone returning from Iraq) to ever own a gun for life - including some veterans who are now police officers - this tribe of brothers rebelled.

They formed a new organization called "The Oath Keepers" and on June 13 of 2009 they will assemble in Washington, DC to protest. And THEIR brothers-in-arms - the standing U.S. Military, and police will be tasked with having to "control civil unrest." It will be band-of-brothers against band-of-brothers. One of the tightest, most loyal, fiercest and passionate tribes against their own protesting against their commander-in-chief - President Barack Obama.

Police and military are both waking up to the fact we STILL DO have a Constitution and they swore to defend it AND the Bill of rights when they swore their oath of office. Will they keep that oath? We'll see.

Bye Bye Civil Rights.....in North Carolina and????

2009-05-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

In Oxford, NC 16-year old Ashton Lundby is being held under the Patriot Act - accused of terrorism. Yet other than WRAL, no media, and certainly no national media will touch this story. Why? You read it and tell me.

DUH - breaking news from ABC news...

2009-05-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com:

Schools No Longer Need to Close Because of Swine Flu, Says CDC [1:55 p.m. ET]

DUH. Didn't I tell you all that this was bogus? Swine flu pandemic? Huh. The drug companies WISH!!!!

Okay....you can get on with your lives now. The government has successfully probed the American public to find out what our reaction to a "PANDEMIC" would be and is now prepared for when they decide to use their chemtrail technology.

But wait - there's more. This from the Health Sciences Institute:

Don’t Panic: 7 FACTS About ‘Swine Flu’

With all the sensationalized news about the so-called swine flu flying around, I figured we’d better set all the facts straight.

1. So far, only 82 cases of so-called swine flu have been definitively identified worldwide, mostly in Mexico (26 confirmed, 7 deaths) and the U.S.(with 40 confirmed, no deaths). (Though about 1600 suspected cases, including 159 deaths, are reported in Mexico.) That does not add up to a pandemic swine flu outbreak.
2. This virus has nothing to do with swine. In fact, it hasn’t been seen in a single animal. And you can’t possibly get it from eating pork.
3. No existing vaccines can prevent this new flu strain. So no matter what you hear - even if it comes from your doctor - don’t get a regular flu shot. They rarely work against seasonal flu…and certainly can’t offer protection from a never-before- seen strain.
4. Speaking of this strain, it doesn’t seem to have come on naturally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this particular strain has never before been seen in pigs or people. And according to Reuters, the strain is a ‘genetic mix’ of swine, avian and human flu. Was it created in a lab? We don’t know yet.
5. The drug companies are getting excited…and that’s never a good thing. According to the Associated Press at least one financial analyst estimates up to $388 million worth of Tamiflu sales in the near future - and that’s without a pandemic outbreak.
6. Let’s not forget that Tamiflu comes with its own problems, including side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, cough…the very symptoms you’re trying to avoid. And let’s not forget that Japan banned this drug for children back in 2007, after links to suicidal behavior.
7. Vaccines for this flu strain probably won’t have to jump through all those annoying hurdles like clinical trials for safety and effectiveness. That won’t, however, stop the government from mandating the vaccine for all of us - a very likely scenario. And if the vaccines are actually harmful…killing people, for example…the vaccine makers will be immune from lawsuits.

Your best defense - your only real defense in any flu season - is a bulletproof immune system. You can learn about the best ways to strengthen yourself in the HSI archives.

Gee - notice the swine flu hysteria dying down?

2009-05-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

Gee - notice the swine flu hysteria is dying down now? Yeah - the media will milk it for a while longer then be on to some other hysteria to sell their papers. But consider this - it was a probe - a test - a way to see how people react in the face of a "possible pandemic."

But know what? The drug companies are itching to get out and do more - like sell large scale vaccines. But consider this - Bayer, the "trusted name" in medicine right? Think about a company who, when "finding out" that their drug was infected with the HIV/AIDS virus that was killing American - dumped the drug into other countries so they wouldn't lose money. Sure it cost lives!!! But no one here in America was ever prosecuted.

Remember - these are the people who will be giving the vaccines IF there is ever any kind of pandemic. And the U.S. Congress has passed legislation saying "in the event of a pandemic a need arises for emergency vaccines, that even if the vaccines kill, maim, destroy or cause birth defects in those who are FORCED or volunteer to get the vaccine - that the drug company CAN NOT BE HELD LIABLE." Sure you want to get that vaccination or drug now?

Watch this:

In 2006 Bayer Sold an AIDS-Infected Drug Banned in U.S. in Europe, Asia - Unearthed documents show that the drug company Bayer sold millions of dollars worth of an injectable blood-clotting medicine -- Factor VIII concentrate, intended for hemophiliacs -- to Asian, Latin American, and some European countries in the mid-1980s, although they knew that it was tainted with AIDS. Bayer knew about the fact that the drug was tainted and told the FDA to keep things under wraps while they made a profit off of a drug that infected its patients. If these allegations are true, then both Bayer and the FDA are at fault for this catastrophe. FDA regulators helped to keep the continued sales hidden, asking the company that the problem be ''quietly solved without alerting the Congress, the medical community and the public,'' according to the minutes of a 1985 meeting.

Pharmacies taking your children??

2009-05-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Depression is a real situation. But it's not as common as the medical community would have us believe. If your child IS put on anti-depressives or other drugs - make sure you get several opinions from DIFFERENT doctors in DIFFERENT TOWNS who don't know each other.

And - find a good attorney because if your child reacts as SOME do - ie. shooting up a high school or college, you're in trouble. If you try to get them off the drugs you can also be in trouble - and even LOSE them as these people did. Extreme cases? No. Common? Not yet - but once the bill to make mental health screening MANDATORY - your happy, well-adjusted, moody but normal kid COULD become a zombie, a shooter or a victim of suicide or worse. Do you really want your children going into a psychiatrist's office - getting a mental health assessment - most likely from a new doctor or medical intern because no one else will work for that kind of pay - and that diagnosis - right or wrong, will follow your child FOR LIFE! Do you want that? It can potentially keep them out of the military, or med school or police work, or any kind of job because some over-worked, undertrained, undereducated mental health or social worker THOUGHT they were ADD or depressed. Scary isn't it? So contact your congressman and tell him you DON'T want mandatory mental health screening for your child.

Why is this happening? Who benefits? Why the big pharmaceutical companies of course! The more mental illnesses they can come up with, "diagnose" and "treat" the more money they make! And guess who pays the bill? YOU DO!! Here are two YouTube Videos. Watch others and hear and see the heartbreak out-of-control psychiatrists and social workers are causing!!

Government wants to FORCE mental health screen on children

2009-05-02T19:59:00.001-07:00

The media keeps reporting on the possession of guns among those people who shoot up schools and malls. They write thousands of stories about how critical it is that we take away guns - that guns are dangerous - yet they NEVER talk about the fact that 9 out of 10 shooters were also on anti-psychotic drugs for depression or anxiety. They never call for the banning of drugs. As a matter of fact, the media has also refused to educate and inform America that there are very real and current efforts to REQUIRE ALL CHILDREN from BIRTH up to get MANDATORY mental health testing. The government wants to force you to take your toddler in for mental health screening so they can put them on drugs! Gee, does a first grader really need to be on anti-psychotics? No. Congressman Ron Paul gave this speech Thursday:

Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Parental Consent Act. This bill forbids Federal funds from being used for any universal or mandatory mental-health screening of students without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of their parents or legal guardians. This bill protects the fundamental right of parents to direct and control the upbringing and education of their children.

The New Freedom Commission on Mental Health has recommended that the federal and state governments work toward the implementation of a comprehensive system of mental-health screening for all Americans. The commission recommends that universal or mandatory mental-health screening first be implemented in public schools as a prelude to expanding it to the general public. However, neither the commission's report nor any related mental-health screening proposal requires parental consent before a child is subjected to mental-health screening. Federally-funded universal or mandatory mental-health screening in schools without parental consent could lead to labeling more children as "ADD" or "hyperactive" and thus force more children to take psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, against their parents' wishes.

Already, too many children are suffering from being prescribed psychotropic drugs for nothing more than children's typical rambunctious behavior. According to Medco Health Solutions, more than 2.2 million children are receiving more than one psychotropic drug at one time. In fact, according to Medico Trends, in 2003, total spending on psychiatric drugs for children exceeded spending on antibiotics or asthma medication.

Many children have suffered harmful side effects from using psychotropic drugs. Some of the possible side effects include mania, violence, dependence, and weight gain. Yet, parents are already being threatened with child abuse charges if they resist efforts to drug their children. Imagine how much easier it will be to drug children against their parents' wishes if a federally-funded mental-health screener makes the recommendation.

Universal or mandatory mental-health screening could also provide a justification for stigmatizing children from families that support traditional values. Even the authors of mental-health diagnosis manuals admit that mental-health diagnoses are subjective and based on social constructions. Therefore, it is all too easy for a psychiatrist to label a person's disagreement with the psychiatrist's political beliefs a mental disorder. For example, a federally-funded school violence prevention program lists "intolerance" as a mental problem that may lead to school violence. Because "intolerance" is often a code word for believing in traditional values, children who share their parents' values could be labeled as having mental problems and a risk of causing violence. If the mandatory mental-health screening program applies to adults, everyone who believes in traditional values could have his or her beliefs stigmatized as a sign of a mental disorder. Taxpayer dollars should not support programs that may label those who adhere to traditional values as having a "mental disorder."

Madam Speaker, universal or mandatory mental-health screening threatens to undermine parents' right to raise their children as the parents see fit. Forced mental-health screening could also endanger the health of children by leading to more children being improperly placed on psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, or stigmatized as "mentally ill" or a risk of causing violence because they adhere to traditional values. Congress has a responsibility to the nation's parents and children to stop this from happening. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Parental Consent Act.

Don't get scammed by these folks!!

2009-05-02T03:25:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin is pissed, and with good reason. There's a company out there scamming small businesses - and YOU could be at risk. Read this post from Seth today and click on the links to read more:

The banal brazenness of telescammers

I got a call a few weeks ago from a telemarketer at Premier Impressions. (Her number is 800-778-6304). She told me she was selling ads for a free directory being published by my local library. Actually, first she said she was calling from "Westchester County," but when pressed, said she was working with the County, and then when pressed further, acknowledged that she was working with the local library. I was Googling and taking notes the whole time. I told her I was concerned about her approach, and that I was going to write a story about what she was doing. I even read to her from a website complaining about stuff like this her firm had done in the past.

Well, I know the folks at the local library and asked who she was working with. She told me the head of the library's name (!) and I said I'd check with her and call back. The telemarketer insisted on giving me her full name and number so that after I checked, I could call her back and do business.

You've already guessed this: My library had never heard of these guys. But plenty of other organizations have. I called the company for comment, was transferred to their parent company and they refused to comment.

I'm just astonished by this organization. Astonished that the telemarketer would be willing to do this all day--defrauding small businesses in the name of a local charity or institution. Astonished that a company in the US can do this for years and years without someone shutting them down. Most of all, amazed at how trivial the whole thing is. Drip, drip, drip it apparently ends up with enough money on the table for people to sacrifice their ethics.

************

Moral? Be VERY careful about ANY telephone pitch from anyone, but especially careful about these guys. Matter of fact? Just hang up on them.

Consider this -

2009-04-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

Of the 149-150 deaths in Mexico that the MEDIA is saying are related to Swine Flu ONLY 20 have been CONFIRMED (through lab tests) to be from Swine Flu. Of the 129 to 130 OTHER cases NOT caused by Swine Flu - the deaths are believed to be from pneumonia!!! OR "OTHER VIRAL ILLNESSES." Huh? So WHY isn't the world all freaked out over the 129-130 PNEUMONIA OR OTHER VIRAL illnesses....but is spazing over 20 Swine Flu deaths? Seems to me that there's something MORE dangerous if it's killing 129-130 people and all they know is "it's viral but it's NOT swine flu."

GET A GRIP PEOPLE. 36,000 people a year EVERY YEAR die from the flu. The flu is a serious illness. It kills. Swine flu IS JUST another version of the flu. PERIOD. Get a grip!! Take the precautions you would normally take and get on with your lives. Most of the people lining up at hospitals and several of those who have died have died from things other than swine flu. One died from tuberculosis!! MUCH more dangerous than the flu and more contagious. This is the media's attempt to stir up newspaper sales.

HIV/AIDS is a pandemic. It kills and infects MILLIONS every year. How come we don't hear more about that? Cancer is about to surpass heart attacks as the number one killer. How come we don't hear more about that? Malaria is a world wide epidemic - killing thousands of people a week and a simple $10 mosquito net would save those lives yet we don't hear about that!! Why not? Because nothing gets people more stirred up and panicked than "a pandemic"!!!!

Seriously. Get over it and LOOK at the numbers. Actually LOOK at the facts. We're all NOT going to die from swine flu.

Flu vaccines contaminated with LIVE Virus

2009-04-29T02:22:00.000-07:00

You won't see the story in any local media, but according to Canadian and Czech papers, the Swine Flu vaccines distributed to millions of people in 18 countries were contaminated with the live Swine Flu virus!!

It's NOT the first time American Drug Companies have done this. Bayer Corporation - yes, the company that makes Bayer Aspirin, found out they had a product contaminated with HIV and they sold it anyway - to another country!!! See the video here:

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009

Czech newspapers are questioning if the shocking discovery of vaccines contaminated with the deadly avian flu virus which were distributed to 18 countries by the American company Baxter were part of a conspiracy to provoke a pandemic.

The claim holds weight because, according to the very laboratory protocols that are routine for vaccine makers, mixing a live virus biological weapon with vaccine material by accident is virtually impossible.

“The company that released contaminated flu virus material from a plant in Austria confirmed Friday that the experimental product contained live H5N1 avian flu viruses,” reports the Canadian Press.

Baxter flu vaccines contaminated with H5N1 - otherwise known as the human form of avian flu, one of the most deadly biological weapons on earth with a 60% kill rate - were received by labs in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Slovenia.

Initially, Baxter attempted to stonewall questions by invoking “trade secrets” and refused to reveal how the vaccines were contaminated with H5N1. After increased pressure they then claimed that pure H5N1 batches were sent by accident. This was seemingly an attempt to quickly change the story and hide the fact that the accidental contamination of a vaccine with a deadly biological agent like avian flu is virtually impossible and the only way it could have happened was by wilful gross criminal negligence.

According to a compiled translation from Czech newspaper stories, the media over there is asking tough questions about whether the contamination was part of a deliberate attempt to start a pandemic.

“Was this just a criminal negligence or it was an attempt to provoke pandemia using vaccination against flu to spread the disease - as happened with the anti-B hepatitis vaccination with vaccines containing the HIV virus in US? - and then cash for the vaccines against H5N1 which Baxter develops? How could on Earth a virus as H5N1 come to the ordinary flu vaccines? Don’t they follow even basic precautions in the american pharma companies?” states the translation.

The fact that Baxter mixed the deadly H5N1 virus with a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses is the smoking gun. The H5N1 virus on its own has killed hundreds of people, but it is less airborne and more restricted in the ease with which it can spread. However, when combined with seasonal flu viruses, which as everyone knows are super-airborne and easily spread, the effect is a potent, super-airbone, super deadly biological weapon.

As the Canadian Press article explains, “While H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people.”

There can be little doubt therefore that this was a deliberate attempt to weaponize the H5N1 virus to its most potent extreme and distribute it via conventional flu vaccines to the population who would then infect others to a devastating degree as the disease went airborne.

The Canadian Press article states, “That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created,” but then claims that there is no evidence that this is what Baxter were doing, despite there being no clear explanation as to why Baxter has samples of the live avian flu virus on its premises in the first place.

However, to reiterate, the key aspect of this story is that it is virtually impossible for live avian flu virus to find its way into a vaccine by “accident”.

As health expert Mike Adams points out, “The shocking answer is that this couldn’t have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (Biosafety Level 3) - a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials.”

As explained on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosaf…):

“Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents, and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. This is considered a neutral or warm zone. All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.”

Under the BSL3 code of conduct, it is impossible for live avian flu viruses to contaminate production vaccine materials that are shipped out to vendors around the world.

This leaves only two possibilities that explain these events:

Possibility #1: Baxter isn’t following BSL3 safety guidelines or is so sloppy in following them that it can make monumental mistakes that threaten the safety of the entire human race. And if that’s the case, then why are we injecting our children with vaccines made from Baxter’s materials?

Possibility #2: A rogue employee (or an evil plot from the top management) is present at Baxter, whereby live avian flu viruses were intentionally placed into the vaccine materials in the hope that such materials might be injected into humans and set off a global bird flu pandemic.

Spreading bird flu would create an instantaneous surge of demand for bird flu vaccines. The profits that vaccine companies such as Baxter International could reap out of such a panic are astronomical.

In addition, as we have previously reported, those that have a stake in the Tamiflu vaccine include top globalists and BIlderberg members like George Shultz, Lodewijk J.R. de Vink and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Authorities in both Europe and the U.S. have openly detailed plans for martial law, quarantine and internment should a bird flu pandemic occur.

The other motivation, as we have exhaustively documented on this website for years, is the fact that elites throughout history have openly stated that they want to see a world population reduction of around 80 per cent. Shocking stories like this take the plausibility of that narrative out of the realms of conspiracy theory and into the dangerous reality of conspiracy fact.

“Baxter is acting a whole lot like a biological terrorism organization these days, sending deadly viral samples around the world. If you mail an envelope full of anthrax to your Senator, you get arrested as a terrorist. So why is Baxter — which mailed samples of a far more deadly viral strain to labs around the world — getting away with saying, essentially, “Oops?”, Adams concludes.

This is not the first time that vaccine companies have been caught distributing vaccines contaminated with deadly viruses.

In 2006 it was revealed that Bayer Corporation had discovered that their injection drug, which was used by hemophiliacs, was contaminated with the HIV virus. Internal documents prove that after they positively knew that the drug was contaminated, they took it off the U.S. market only to dump it on the European, Asian and Latin American markets, knowingly exposing thousands, most of them children, to the live HIV virus. Government officials in France went to prison for allowing the drug to be distributed. The documents show that the FDA colluded with Bayer to cover-up the scandal and allowed the deadly drug to be distributed globally. No Bayer executives ever faced arrest or prosecution in the United States.

Wait. It gets worse:

Flu Mist, a popular over the counter live flu vaccine has been found to contain two H5N1 DNA markers, these markers seem to have been sewn into the flu mist vaccine to ensure that H5N1 or another strain of Avian Flu goes pandemic.
This is going to cause major problems before long, it is imperative that people are warned about Flu mist.

The truth about the Swine Flu

2009-04-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

Ah....the truth. Another orchestrated swine flu outbreak by our government. How convenient.

Gee, is Donald Rumsfeld making money on this flu outbreak? You bet he is. See Snopes for the background: http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/tamiflu.asp.

But wait!! There's more! What about the article in Salon?. They have the guts to point out all the problems the last time the government tried to pull the wool over our eyes on this.

Don't forget - more than 25 Americans died of the vaccine for swine flu in 1976 and only one died from the swine flu....so says Congressman and physician Ron Paul.

Google the names of anyone in the Bush administration, Haliburton or any politician and the name Tamiflu or Gilead and see how many stories there are. They didn't mind killing Americans in the World Trade Center in 2001, they sure won't blink at killing millions world wide. Ask the families of the 20,000 men and women who died from the forced anthrax vaccine. Less than a half a dozen people died from anthrax.

Swine flu panic is STUPID and BOGUS....

2009-04-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Congressman Ron Paul talked about getting a handle on Swine flu. He's right. The media is doing its usual panic and freak out coverage on the government's attempt to divert our attention away from other stuff. Odd that this swine flu thing happened as the military had a 747 and two fighter jets fly over Manhattan today isn't it? Anyway, it's DR. Ron Paul - he's not only a congressman, but a medical doctor - actually a fight surgeon for the military at one time. Watch this and quit yer freaking over the media's hype about swine flu. As Ron Paul said - the last time this happened ONE PERSON died from the flu - MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE PEOPLE DIED FROM THE VACCINE!! Expect the Register and Bee to get their panties in a wad and talk to doctors around town about the SERIOUSNESS of it, but don't expect a commonsense approach like Ron Paul has. THAT won't sell newspapers.

No Rugby coverage?

2009-04-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Tradition means players "bare all" and run the field naked as they did in Danville this weekend. Photos courtesy of Richard Davis, FORMER Register & Bee photographer

DANVILLE - Over 600 MBA students from around the world gathered in Durham, NC and in Angler's Park, Danville,Va. for the 29th annual MBA Rugby World Championship this past weekend. Teams from as far away as Sydney,Australia (AGSM) and Fontainebleau,France(INSEAD) were in town for this years tournament. As part of the tradition, those who score the first goal have to run the field naked ... too bad for Media General reporters, the tradition doesn't apply to the women's teams.

The annual wine festival and several other events took place around the city - but the newspaper was filled with Associated Press accounts of anything but Danville news. Apparently Steve Kaylor, who claims to have been a reporter at one time, isn't able to spend time pitching in to help cover the news front until the paper can bring in another reporter or two...although I understand with half of the reporters on forced, unpaid furlough - only Robert Benson, the editor, and Charles, the assistant editor - not ever a reporter - had to cover all of Danville.

Another Lay-off scheduled

2009-04-20T06:59:00.001-07:00

Apparently the blood-letting isn't entirely over. Look for the Register and Bee to cut services even more this week or next when they reduce the front desk hours.

Major newspapers around the country are folding. It's just a matter of time until Media General follows suit. The question most folks have is why cut 30 little people - the ones who actually DO THE WORK, instead of cutting the $200,000 and $300,000 salaries of the big dogs in Richmond who weren't tech and media savvy enough to figure out how to make papers make money without advertising? By 2012 there will not be a major newspaper printed on paper.

The newspaper industry as we know it will have ceased to exist. The internet is changing the world we live in and the way we do business. When is Media General going to get on board and quit longing for the good old glory days? Answer? Never. They didn't even know enough to apologize to the women of Danville OR THE WOMAN their reporter filmed.....it's too late in the game for them to do anything but sit back and wait for the final axe.

Losing Money

2009-04-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Media General Inc is still losing money. The company reported a huge net loss on Friday - an 18 percent drop in revenue. Reason? Falling newspaper advertising sales. The fall sent shares down 12 percent.

The publisher of newspapers such as the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Tampa Tribune said its first-quarter net loss was $21.3 million, or 96 cents a share, compared with a loss of $20.3 million, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 18 percent to $159.5 million.

Publishing revenue fell on a 25 percent drop in ad revenue.

Excluding employee severance costs, Media General's loss would have been 77 cents a share. Few analysts offered estimates on the company, making an average expectation difficult to project.

Media General cut 300 jobs and suspended its dividends and has said it would freeze its pension plan, effective May 31.

Shares fell 35 cents to $2.62.

Fired on Main Street - plight of the carriers

2009-04-19T05:45:00.001-07:00

Considering making extra money as a newspaper carrier at the Register & Bee? Better ask someone who's done it...or talk to Pat - a carrier there for five years.

Pat says she never missed a day, took a vacation or called in sick. As a reporter I know she called in dozens of story tips - many which made the front page of the paper. She did it because she loved her job and loved being part of the community. You may remember a story about a swarm of bees in a yard in Danville that a local bee-keeper was called to remove. That was a Pat tip. When a local church was flooded, a dog needed rescuing, or whatever it was, Pat was often the person who gave us our first heads up.

Shootings, an arrest of a naked man outside a hotel, a business closing....Pat was our woman on the street. She brought good news as well as bad and loved her job. She had the worst route in town - through bad neighborhoods where she was confronted a time or two with guns, gangs and threats. Many of her papers were stolen after she delivered them - and she had to pay for each one!!! Because if someone calls The Danville Register & Bee and says they didn't get their paper - the CARRIER has to pay for that paper!! If your neighbor steals it, or it's under a bush - or whatever happens....the carrier must eat the cost. And Pat paid for a lot of papers she delivered.

Well, Pat was fired recently. But no one told her. She showed up for work only to find someone else had taken her papers and her route. No one would tell her what was going on. Then later that morning she was on Main St. and her manager saw her driving and told her NOT to come back to work, that she was fired for "being a bad carrier." FIRED ON MAIN STREET?? WHAT kind of jackasses are running the newspaper that they fire their carriers or any contractor when they run into them outside of the business??? Just how far up their butts are their heads over at Media General??? Not only that, she was told not to set foot on the property or risk being arrested. Other carriers have come into the Register & Bee offices - one paper carrier who was arrested because he shoved an employee WHO WOULDN"T GIVE HIM HIS PAYCHECK! Media General forgot to tell him that they CHARGED him for every rubber band and plastic bag used on the papers!!

Three days later she got a letter telling her she was fired. In the meantime, she said, she never got the $1,000 she says the newspaper allegedly owes her. She's preparing her paperwork and looking for a lawyer to file against the paper. If you are a current or former newspaper carrier - you know who she is. Contact her with YOUR story about YOUR TREATMENT at the paper. It would help her, you and future carriers protect themselves.

Reasons not to carry papers for the Register & Bee

You're a contractor - not an employee. You are responsible for your own taxes, insurance and supplies. You don't get mileage. You will drive hundreds or even thousands of miles a month and will need to factor in your cost of insurance, repairs, tires, gas and risk - remember - two carriers have been killed and others who deliver in so-called "rough" neighborhoods have been threatened.

You will have to sit around and wait on your papers - often in the cold and dark and in a high crime neighborhood

You will not have access to a bathroom while waiting. But hey - the world can be your urinal....or at least the R&B parking lot carriers say....

If a neighbor or stranger STEALS the paper from someone you've just delivered it to - YOU will be required to pay for the paper. If the resident just doesn't like you and calls and complains and SAYS they didn't get their paper, you will still have to pay for the paper.

You can be fired at any time for any reason, without even knowing what is going on...and maybe even get fired on Main St., like Pat.

The Register & Bee cannot give their side of the story - they'll cite "Employee confidentiality. But the fact is, they treat their employees poorly and no one is safe. Ask anyone who was recently laid off if THEY had any warning their head was on the chopping block.

Our sympathy is with Pat - who was and is still very supportive of the news - who has given tips to Susan Elzy, Denice Thibodeau, myself, and Arnold. She has saved a life, stopped flood damage to buildings by sounding the alarm during early morning hours when no one else was awake and she was delivering papers. If anything - the city or someone ought to be giving her an award for her tips - not firing her in passing on Main St. Geesh Steve.....don't you TRAIN the managers you hire? Leadership in action...Steve Kaylor and Media General....pissing off and screwing over as many people possible as quickly as possible.

Steve Kaylor

2009-04-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Someone asked what Steve Kaylor is doing these days - what he's up to. Our readers responded and sent me a photo. This looks like a smart thing to be doing....praying!! Pray for Steve folks. And pray for the Register & Bee - especially the new editors.

One of them wants and welcomes your prayers. The other tore up a photo of Jerry Falwell someone in the newsroom posted after Falwell's death, and he hates Christians. They both need your prayers - like the prodigal son - one more than the other. Seriously. They hold the news of the paper and the future of it in their hands. Robert has a difficult and hard task ahead of him....Charles....well, he plays with stuffed penguins, annoys staff with his musical button that plays the Jeopardy theme over and over and over and over and over all day, and thinks that car wrecks and fires are better news than city council meetings or other decisions. But he's young....He'll figure it out....so PRAY hard!!!

Why Macintosh and Apple are NOT a good buy

2009-04-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

I got a MacBook almost three years ago. I got the full Apple protection plan - the one that promised to fix, repair etc. any problems for three years! Well, My Macintosh Apple turned out to be a huge LEMON. Not a problem - all equipment has its failure rate. But for the last two plus years, Apple has refused to replace my laptop. They've replaced the hard drive and sent me an external hard drive - but those two haven't worked any better than the first one that crashed.

The "Genius" guy (that's what Apple sales tech guys are called) told me it was a lemon, that everything in it was "screwed" and that Apple "Should just replace it," but HE didn't have the power to make that decision and that Apple only gave him 20 minutes to work on repairs covered under ANY plan....and that I'd have to leave it with them for a month if I wanted it fixed.

So.....they're willing to replace every component in the laptop....pay for his time, make other customers wait....and....me wait - so they don't have to replace a lemon laptop? What sense does that make? This is why you should NOT buy an Apple computer. Not only does their customer service fail to serve - unless of course you have "drunk the Steve Jobs is God" kool-aid and fawn appropriately over the phone....but the machines are buggy. Mine constantly crashes, there's no way to learn to work on them yourselves, technicians are hard to find and expensive when you do find them.....and if you get a BAD Mac....your life will definitely be more difficult. Mine works sporadically, kind of like the Register & Bee, but overall - if I had to buy a new computer - it wouldn't be a Mac. If you still want a mac - then DEFINITELY buy the protection plan because you're going to NEED it. It's only an extra $300 dollars.....Better yet? Don't buy an Apple.

Sewage in your drinking water?

2009-04-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

A reader from North Carolina, concerned the local paper there won't cover it, since the reporters are all covering mostly car wrecks and fires, writes:

"Due to the public health risks, it is currently illegal in North Carolina to inject treated sewage into our groundwater. However, this week the state legislature is likely to begin committee hearings and could vote on a measure to unravel this public health protection.

"House Bill 643 would allow incompletely-treated wastewater (also known as “reclaimed water”) to be injected into North Carolina’s groundwater aquifers. This legislation would overturn a longstanding law that protects vital drinking-water sources and could potentially pose a significant health risk to millions of North Carolinians who depend on clean groundwater for use in their homes and businesses. Click here to stop H643: http://ncconservationnetwork1.org/campaign/dwi09

"House Bill 643 was introduced just last week and is expected to be up for debate in the House Committee on Water Resources and Infrastructure as early as tomorrow! Take action right now: Tell your state representative that you don’t want treated sewage in your drinking water."

You're invited....to a tea party

2009-04-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Register & Bee won't be there (or will they?) But on April 15, 2009, Americans around the country will be attending "Tax tea parties." After all - they supported Obama. Watch THIS if you need to know more about Obama.

Is there a tea-party near you? You're invited if you are. If you're in Richmond you can find out more about Richmond's tea party here. Check it out:

http://www.taxpayerteaparty.com/

There's no business like show business...

2009-04-13T09:47:00.001-07:00

What will happen now? The Danville Register & Bee is a vehicle to sell advertising. They have little or no interest in actually reporting on the news or information that affects us all. Few corporate owned newspapers do. To get your news you need to be online, reading as much as you can, getting information from ALL SIDES, and then drawing your own conclusions. Here's a good place to start.

"Former pro wrestler and Governor of Minnesota Jessie Ventura said it best.
There's no difference between US politics and professional wrestling.
Democrats vs. Republicans. Conservatives vs. Liberals. It's all a big joke.
Anyone who has their hopes pinned on Obama is going to be in for a rude awakening."

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/593.html

If you think Obama is going to save America, watch this.

What has become of Steve Kaylor?

2009-04-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

A reader asks - "What has become of Steve Kaylor?" Don't know....other than he is now running the advertising department since Rob's departure for greener grass. He obviously isn't controlling his people - since all the staff reported not to publisher Steve Kaylor, but to Managing Editor Joe Stinnett in Lynchburg. Steve must be a lame duck - on his way out - if someone else is determining who works for the Register & Bee and who doesn't. That - IN THE PAST - was his job. Now he's an ad flunkie.

The woman over him...is over Joe....Terry Jamerson. Hmmmm...... whipped for sure now.

So, the DANVILLE paper is now operating out of Lynchburg. Layout, editing, design, ads, obituaries.....ALL out of Lynchburg. Do you really think a Danville, let alone a Reidsville paper, can really do justice to a LOCAL newspaper from Lynchburg?

The new assistant editor - Charles Wilborn has - what? NO reporting experience...and spends most of his time squealing and sending reporters to go to gang and drug shootings and car wrecks. Sorry Charles - that's not news. It sells newspapers - but it's not NEWS. People want to know what city council is doing, what's happening in the schools, what business is coming to Danville - what business is leaving.

I understand there is a lot of Mormon/LDS recruiting going on that staffers aren't happy with - but that no one will complain about.

How long can an office with so many problems and the only real power management in Lynchburg survive? We're about to find out.

Blood bath is over for now

2009-04-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Rumor has it that Robert Benson is the new editor of The Danville Register and Bee. That's possibly the BEST thing that could have happened to the newspaper. Robert has toiled hard behind the scenes, kept his mouth shut when he was supposed to and opened when it was expedient. An award winning writer he knows Danville, has solid values and COULD quite possibly turn the newspaper around if Lynchburg doesn't hamstring him. Look for good things from Robert once things settle down. He's waited a long time for this. Congratulations Robert!!

Arnold Hendrix has obviously opted not to give up control and be demoted if Robert has moved up. And we hear that the last of the folks who laughed at the "girls gone wild" video reporter Mac McLean joked about making - are ALL gone. Someone at Media General pulled their head out of their nether regions long enough to recognize a great chance to get rid of some liabilities and did. However....there is ONE more wart on the hog - the employee who has been sending me the snotty, whiny emails remains. Media General? Are you sure you want to make that promotion? Or do I need to go after that too?

Bye bye Darren Sweeney. Now you REALLY CAN take that looooong vacation. Lesson? Never dip your pen in the company ink. It WILL come back to bite you.

Register and Bee - alive or dead?

2009-04-06T03:19:00.000-07:00

Today is the day employees at The Register & Bee get their boxes shoved in their hands and their computers shut down and are told, "You have 15 minutes to vacate the building," - or they're escorted out by police....no exaggeration - it has happened before...to long time employees no less.

For those who remain...good luck. We'll see you, box in hand, in a few months.

Richmond-Times cuts 90 jobs!

2009-04-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

The blood-bath has begun. Monday will tell if the Danville Register & Bee has lied to its employees or not. Another Media General newspaper - The Richmond Times Dispatch sent 90 employees packing last Thursday. The Register & Bee will tell its workforce who has a job and who does not on Monday.

Thursday's layoffs mean Media General will have 602 full-time and part-time employees. Last year about this time they had 772. Twenty-eight of Thursday's layoffs were newsroom jobs. While the Register and Bee says they're actually HIRING extra reporters other areas of the paper may be not be so fortunate.

Employees at the paper have ALL had to interview for their jobs and say that the position of managing editor - Arnold Hendrix's job, will be cut - leaving only the position of editor to be filled - putting all power and decision making into the hands of a Lynchburg based Managing Editor who will decide on what is best for Danville in terms of news and other decisions. And people wonder why the paper is failing? Yeah - send your ads, editorial, copyediting and management to India or Lynchburg and see how relevant your news is then!! But remember, this is a company that thinks it's okay that their male reporters videotape the breasts of female advertisers and show them around the newsroom and laugh at them.

Lost lettermen

2009-03-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

This is definitely an "off-topic" post, but I just found a great site for all those sports fans out there. I know a lot of you are fans of this blog - so here's one for you:

http://www.lostlettermen.com/

Ever wonder what happened to all those college jocks? If they lettered and were a part of the team at a major college or university - now you can find out! Great new start-up business that tracks what happened to former sports stars. Great site and fun reading for anyone who likes sports. I have no interest or connection to it other than it's a fun new website. Enjoy!

A whole new Register & Bee????

2009-03-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

For a week now people (who are in a much better position to know) have been telling me the Register & Bee will not be the same newspaper - if it exists at all after April 6, 2009.

Reporters, well actually EVERYONE at the paper has been interviewing this week for their own job or others. Some of the people laying out the newspaper will not be returning to work as their jobs have moved to Lynchburg.

As a matter of fact, the "job interviewing" has been done by Joe Stinnett - of Media General in Lynchburg. Everyone has been "reassured" their jobs are safe (where have we heard THAT before??" so my question is:

Why is a Lynchburg supervisor INTERVIEWING Danville reporters about their job?
Why are DANVILLE employees - particularly REPORTERS and EVERYONE in the newsroom - including editors and managers, now going to be reporting to a Lynchburg supervisor?

Where is Steve Kaylor? He's taken over advertising since Rob saw the light and abandoned ship and headed to greener grass in Arkansas.

Could it be that Media General wised up to what's happening in the newsroom and is cleaning house?

Do any of you REALLY believe that you'd interview with a Lynchburg supervisor if the paper was going to remain in Danville? C'mon. Grow up.

Five reporters are being hired - layout, advertising, obituaries, everything else about the paper - even circulation is heading north. The building is being SOLD - or is at least UP for sale. Seriously. What does all this mean to Danville?

That all the advertising and subscription sales are going to Lynchburg - not here. The jobs? Lynchburg. Control of a local paper? Lynchburg.

That's what happens when your managers don't know how to listen to what people want - LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL NEWS.

Reparations are back on the Congressional Agenda - BAD NEWS FOR BLACKS

2009-03-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's pretty easy to throw the term "racist" at any one who looks at a bigger picture that encompasses long term vs short term benefits. It's akin to criticizing parents who discipline their children rather than catering to their every whim. For those blacks or whites who want to call me racist for opposing reparations - take time to read the following and do the research.

A few thousand dollars in your pocket now will only hurt blacks for generations to come. Why? Read on. Trust me - you won't see this discussion in the Danville Register & Bee. In the 60's reporters actually helped hold the hoses who washed black protestors in the streets, they subtly forced out the one black reporter they had by ignoring him and freezing him out and making racist remarks behind his back. They are too busy hand-wringing the victim angle and populist view to take a dispassionate and educated stance on why reparations are bad.

The economy is tanking, people all over the world are circling their wagons in anticipation of a U.S. economic collapse, our economic structure is morphing into a whole new world (order), people are screaming about bank bonuses and bailouts and what pops up next on the Congressional agenda? Reparations. Yep. A commission to study reparation proposals for African-Americans has been introduced into the house. For those who aren't familiar with the idea, it means, in essence, tax dollars paying about 4 million African Americans "blood money" to appease the national white guilt (and political machinations) for slavery that happened between 1619 and 1865.

Forget the fact that racism is still an issue in this country, that membership in the Klu Klux Klan has been steadily on the rise, that our government has been covertly and legally enslaving black men and women for decades with the prison structure and discrimination.

Forget the fact that black men and women have hit a glass ceiling in America, even though we do have a black president. Forget that less than 3% of all television news stations are owned by people of color and that our government is DOING NOTHING TO ADDRESS THOSE RACIST ISSUES....or to punish the white corporations and government structures that allow THAT discrimination to flourish.

And while the majority of Americans will sit by with their mouths shut, afraid of offending their black neighbors, those who truly care will speak out. $8 million in reparations won't change what happened to blacks in America because it will NOT empower them. These are not the people who were enslaved. Yes, they suffered as a result of their skin color, but why not pay all the women who suffered as a result of their gender? Where's the money that women have been denied since 1619?

At a time when the American people are at the very edge of economic collapse from bailing out institutions that should be allowed to go bankrupt, why are we pouring money into the study of reparations? Am I missing something? Is this not the ultimate straw breaking the camel's back? In a time when we should be pulling together, empowering each other we're going to step in and denigrate 4 million people?

During his campaign Obama said he was opposed to reparations. Was he just hedging his bets to get the vote? Or does he too see how it would hurt, not help America? It's not just me who feels this way.

Project 21 has immense resources, articles and a history of empowering communities/tribes - NOT the government.

Among the arguments made against reparations:

1) One injustice (slavery) cannot be corrected by another injustice (taking money from an innocent party). No one alive today owned slaves legally in the United States. Millions of non-black Americans don't even have ancestors who lived in the U.S. at the time of slavery.

2) It would be impossible to administer fairly. Most Americans don't know their lineage well enough to assert, let alone prove, harm from slavery (or the converse, that their ancestors are responsible for or benefited from slavery). This means -- and most reparations advocates seem to concede -- that reparations would be paid to black Americans by other Americans simply on the basis of race. This would result in reparations payments not only by the distant descendants of actual slaveowners, but of post-Civil War immigrants, such as Vietnamese "boat people" refugees and now-elderly survivors of Nazi concentration camps.

3) Reparations payments based on race alone would be perceived by nearly everyone forced to make payments as a monstrous injustice, embittering many and inevitably setting back race relations. Apologetic feelings many whites hold because of slavery and past civil rights injustices would to a significant extent be replaced by anger. Yet, would one of the goals of the reparations movement: A supposed lessening of black anger (to the extent it exists) because of slavery really abate if reparations were enacted? Evidence is scant.

And finally - an excellent article on Ten Reasons why Reparations are Bad for Blacks and Racist too, from Frontpage Magazine.

If you support reparations - please post a logical, factual response why. Racist rants from whites or blacks won't be published. For those who haven't seen the Act, here it is:

Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act (Introduced in House)

HR 40 IH 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 40
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 6, 2009 Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

___________________________________

A BILL
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act ' .
> SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings- The Congress finds that--

(1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865;
(2) the institution of slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 through 1865; (3) the slavery that flourished in the United States constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of Africans ' life, liberty, African citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of their own labor; and
(4) sufficient inquiry has not been made into the effects of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and society in the United States .
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission to--(1) examine the institution of slavery which
existed from 1619 through 1865 within the United States and the colonies that became the United States , including the extent to which the Federal and State Governments constitutionally and statutorily supported the institution of slavery;
(2) examine de jure and de facto discrimination against freed slaves and their descendants from the end of
the Civil War to the present, including economic, political, and social discrimination;
(3) examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the discrimination described in paragraph (2) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States;
(4) recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission ' s findings;
(5) recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission ' s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(6) submit to the Congress the results of such examination, together with such recommendations.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. (a) Establishment- There is established the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Commission ' ).
(b) Duties- The Commission shall perform the following duties:
(1) Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the United States and the colonies that became the United States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission ' s examination shall include an examination of--
(A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
(B) the transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport;
(C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and instrastate commerce; and (D) the treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States , including the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion, and families.
(2) Examine the extent to which the Federal and State governments of the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to repatriate to their homeland.

(3) Examine Federal and State laws that discriminated against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
(4) Examine other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.

(5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States.

(6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission ' s findings.
(7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission ' s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4). In making such recommendations, the Commission shall address among other issues, the following questions:

(A) Whether the Government of the United States should offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants.
(B) Whether African-Americans still suffer from the lingering effects of the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).
(C) Whether, in consideration of the Commission's findings, any form of compensation to the descendants of African slaves is warranted.
(D) If the Commission finds that such compensation is warranted, what should be the amount of compensation,
what form of compensation should be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation.
(c) Report to Congress- The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Congress not later than the date which is one year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 4(c).
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. (a) Number and Appointment- (1) The Commission shall be composed of 7 members, who shall be appointed, within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows:

(A) Three members shall be appointed by the President.
(B) Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(C) One member shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) All members of the Commission shall be persons who are especially qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of their education, training, or experience, particularly in the field of African-American studies.
(b) Terms- The term of office for members shall be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect the powers of the Commission, and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
(c) First Meeting- The President shall call the first meeting of the Commission within 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, or within 30 days after the date on which legislation is enacted making appropriations to carry out this Act, whichever date is later.
(d) Quorum- Four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
(e) Chair and Vice Chair- The Commission shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. The term of office of each shall be for the life of the Commission.
(f) Compensation- (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each member of the Commission shall receive compensation at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United
States Code, for each day, including travel time, during which he or she is engaged in the actual
performance of duties vested in the Commission.

(2) A member of the Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of the United States or a Member of Congress shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of his or her service to the Commission.
(3) All members of the Commission shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. (a) Hearings and Sessions- The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in the United States, and request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Commission considers appropriate. The Commission may request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an appropriate United States district court to require, by subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production.

(b) Powers of Subcommittees and Members- Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if authorized
by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
(c) Obtaining Official Data- The Commission may acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government, available information which the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of the Government shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to such information and shall furnish all information requested by the Commission to the extent
permitted by law.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. (a) Staff- The Commission may, without regard to section 5311(b)
of title 5, United States Code, appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers appropriate.
(b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws- The staff of the Commission may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that the compensation of any employee of the Commission may not exceed a rate equal to the annual rate of basic pay payable for
GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Experts and Consultants- The Commission may procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable under section 5332 of such title.
(d) Administrative Support Services- The Commission may enter into agreements with the Administrator of General Services for procurement of financial and administrative services necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Commission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the Commission and the Administrator.

(e) Contracts- The Commission may--
(1) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and regulations
and to the extent or such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts; and
(2) enter into contracts with departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, State agencies, and private firms, institutions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION . The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits its report to the Congress under section 3(c). SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000.

Relief at last....

2009-03-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Finally, MORE reporters at The Danville Register & Bee. Maybe someone somewhere figured out that two people wasn't enough to cover the NEWS? There are more people in sports than news - so as long as all you care about is baseball, football and basketball - you're probably okay...but don't expect any extensive coverage of the minor sports - like girls, junior varsity, swimming, wrestling, little league etc. There just aren't enough reporters!

But, now the paper is hiring enough to bring it up to FIVE reporters. Yay! MAYBE we'll get more real LOCAL news. We can hope.

Fold or remodel?

2009-03-25T09:26:00.001-07:00

Well, which will it be? Fold or remodel? Apparently the decision HAS BEEN MADE to move the editorial layout to Lynchburg. Advertising layout and the obits and other layout functions have already been moved. That means more Danville dollars are trickling to the north and out of the local economy. Circulation keeps losing people - one-by-one. Local people who once laid out the paper will either have to commute or find other jobs. NOT surprising.

The newsroom hasn't been shuffled around yet, but since some editing is going to India, obits and ads are in Lynchburg and now the newspaper layout itself is in Lynchburg as of April 1, 2009 (not a joke), pretty soon we'll all have to go to Lynchburg to read the Danville News!

Maybe the NORTHERN end of the county will finally get some coverage now that the Danville paper is mostly stationed in Lynchburg eh?

Newsroom at Register & Bee all terminated.....

2009-03-24T17:33:00.001-07:00

Seems like the entire Newsroom has been terminated effective as of April 1, 2009...so former employees at the paper say.

I've heard this from several credible sources who say it's NOT just the layout department being shuffled to Lynchburg, but in fact - the paper folding. We won't know until April 1, or until I get the memo via my Media General sources in Richmond...but, doesn't look good.

Looks like Arnold can enjoy his stay in Florida a little longer.

Bye Bye Register & Bee.....Gone as of April 1, 2009

2009-03-24T17:28:00.001-07:00

Circulation is being moved to Lynchburg, but the "semi-official" word that Arnold (On vacation in Florida....hmmm....) got via phone this week is that the Register & Bee newsroom will be GONE April 1, 2009. A poor April Fools Day joke....or just business as usual at The Register & Bee.

We'll see. The "rumor" from Richmond - that the ENTIRE NEWSROOM will be WITHOUT JOBS as of April 1.

Survey says???? What do you think?

Don't expect to read about this in the Register & Bee

2009-03-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

News from a reader asking why The Danville Register and Bee hasn't covered this story. Hmmmm...could be because they supported Barack Obama and may be pro-union???? The Register and Bee doesn't do a lot of reporting on business issues like this. They're down to just two reporters for news - although there are what? Three or four for sports? We know where the priorities are - and it's not politics, uranium or business reporting. Anyway....

This reader writes:

Late Friday Feb. 6, President Barack Obama issued an executive order encouraging the federal government to require wasteful and discriminatory union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal and federally funded construction projects over $25 million. This executive order also repealed Executive Order 13202, which has prohibited the government from mandating PLAs on all construction projects receiving federal dollars or financial assistance since February 17, 2001.

The Obama pro-PLA executive order encourages merit shop contractors be locked out from federal construction opportunities unless contractors agree to the onerous “union-friendly” terms and conditions found in union-only PLAs. Contractors signatory to labor unions will have an incredible advantage in winning federal construction projects.

ABC member contractors and your workforce should be outraged by the Obama executive order because it will eliminate you from federal construction contracts paid for by your very own tax dollars. As a result of this executive order, local and state contracts that receive federal funding or assistance may be subject to PLA requirements as well.

In addition, the Obama Order is sure to waste taxpayer dollars. Credible academic studies have found that inefficient union work rules and decreased competition as a result of PLA requirements increases construction costs by as much as 20 percent when compared to projects bid without PLAs. In these tough economic times, it makes no financials sense for the federal government to build four schools, bridges and hospitals for the price of five.

Send a letter by clicking below OR call President Obama at (202) 456-1111 and tell him that union-only PLAs are wasteful, discriminatory and keep skilled people like you from working in their own communities.

Readers are urged to call Tom Perriello - who is not expected to do a damn thing about it because he's a democrat. But that's okay. Virgil is running again next year and he won't have a turn-coat homosexual in his office selling him down the river, faxing documents and selling out Virgil for political favors this time. We know who you are and what you did - and so do the Congressmen who like Virgil. Lot of people aren't happy about it. Of course the Register and Bee won't report on that either - since Sarah, "Oh I love Obama I hate Virgil Goode," is gone. Convenient eh? Come in, slam Virgil, then resign after the election....that way you don't have to report on what went on behind the scenes do you....Don't expect Steve Kaylor to pay attention. He has to run the circulation department and advertising now that Fia was laid off and Rob abandoned ship to take a better job elsewhere.

But there's a chance you might find a politician who's not taking pay-offs, hob-nobbing with the pharmaceutical industry, back scratching, cheating on their wives and boyfriends, or partying hardy. Good luck. If you find one and they actually have time to listen to you before their next junket, party or meeting with a lobbyist, you should also say:

Union-only PLAs have no place on taxpayer funded, federal construction and infrastructure projects;PLAs inflate costs by as much as 20 percent and discriminate against 84.4 percent of the U.S. private construction workforce;
PLAs have a public record of poor performance. PLA proponents’ claims of cost savings, avoidance of delays and or improved performance under proposed PLAs have been repeatedly contradicted by the actual project performance under such union-only requirements; Explain why merit shop contractors won’t bid on projects subject to PLAs
We encourage you to forward this action alert to your fellow employees, friends, state and local public officials and the media. We need your help in spreading the word about this special interest-driven policy.

To learn more about union-only PLAs and the Obama executive order, please visit www.abc.org/pla

More Layoffs coming at The Danville Register & Bee

2009-03-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

More layoffs are in the works for The Danville Register & Bee. Bernard Baker went on personal leave three months ago and will not be returning. No word on why but if it is for ongoing health reasons, we wish him well. Add him to your prayer list, send him a card or give him a call. He spent many a year there and was a gifted writer. He will be missed I'm sure.

If your press releases aren't being returned, it's because they're being forwarded to Arnold Hendrix. The Register & Bee is manager heavy and always has been. Our money's on at least one manager being let go.

The newsroom is down to John Crane, Denice Thibodeau and Brenda Neugent (formerly Erickson) and the "sports guys," although rumors have persisted that one of the sports department would be cut - at least for the slack summer season, no football or basketball, we'll have to wait and see.

But stay tuned. Richmond tells me the layoffs are in the works.

GONE!!! With no warning....

2009-03-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Tommy Hundley (formerly of trophy center/sign shop on Wooding) was picking up the papers from Lynchburg and bringing them down to Danville. He showed up at work the other day and now he's GONE! No warning. Just gone. Sorry to hear it Tommy. But that's how things work at The Register & Bee. One minute you're there - the next you're gone.

The axe is always swinging. Who will be next? Will it be someone else in circulation? Maybe it will be an editor or copy editor or reporter or publisher?

All we know is that the end is coming.....I hope everyone down there is polishing their resumes and looking for the door. Rob was and got out before he got screwed.

Experienced employees from ANY industry will tell you - when the managers start taking jobs elsewhere - they KNOW something bad is coming...no matter what they say about "Wanting to be close to family" or "I got a better opportunity." Un-huh...writing is on the wall folks. Get out while you can. It's easier to GET a job when you HAVE a job.

Register and Bee loses yet another

2009-03-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

Danville Realtors have had their way. Lower prices and inserts for their home magazine. Look for their home magazine to be inserted in the Register & Bee....and for Sales director Rob to be leaving...he found another job at a paper in Arkansas...so, no more problems there. We wish him well closer to his family out west. But it signals another question... if top salespeople are leaving and the paper is being cannibalized with the printing, the obits and the ad layout sent to Lynchburg and some of the salespeople spending a couple of days a week in Lynchburg - then maybe the rumors of the paper being sold are true???? The paper is sneaking out of town a piece at a time?

This move to placate the realty firms in town MIGHT stave off the Realtor's move from the Register & Bee - for awhile, long enough to sell the paper - unless a buyer realizes that maybe the realty sales lock isn't such a lock.

We would all say "Thanks," to Steve Kaylor backing down and listening to complaints, if his regrets were sincere...of course they aren't. If he HADN'T listened to them their leaving WOULD shut down The Register & Bee. So, the move was purely financial. If he REALLY cared, we'd have seen a FRONT PAGE, FULL PAGE apology about the advertiser who's chest his reporter (who is still employed by the way) filmed and flashed around the newsroom.

Geez Steve. Haven't you figured it all out yet? Strap on a pair and apologize. Be a man. Be a decent human being. Or be unemployed....the message readers and advertisers are sending you is loud and clear. It's too bad, sad really that people would have supported the paper had the paper treated them right.

Where stings are dumped

2009-03-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

You asked - we respond:

A comment came in about where the Stings are dumped, well - all before and most recent are in the recycle bins at Fairgrounds Plaza Shopping Center on Riverside Drive, across from Tractor Supply.... the most recent are still there but buried ...the one I posted on Feb 22, the one of the 20 bundles, those were in the recycle bin across from the Danville City Farm. Hope that helps!!!!

Dear readers....

2009-03-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

Please take time to read the comments I get here. Two of note seem to be from really concerned citizens - one who doesn't see anything wrong with a newspaper which doesn't obey the ethical code it agrees to as a community service. Perhaps learning what makes a newspaper different than say....K-Mart or the local grocer, might enlighten you.

A newspaper supposedly agrees to hold higher standards, to practice good ethics and to not break the law. That's one reason why they print the news they do.....they're supposed to be a model of good citizenship. They are not privately owned. They are publicly traded and have a fiduciary responsibility to their stockholders. The stock holders entrust them with their money and expect them to manage the business in a way that makes them money - not that embarrasses the owners.

Perhaps in your world it's okay to break up a marriage, run around on your wife, lie to your advertisers, humiliate and embarrass employees and advertisers or, sell out one advertiser to sell a full page ad to their competitor....but in journalism - those aren't really the things professionals pride themselves on.

Then there's the comment from a former R&B employee who said he's sorry he missed out on the porn when he was there. Which goes to prove my point - that not only do they think it's okay - they're proud of the fact they like porn.

Hope your daughters aren't dating any of them....but wait, men who like porn can't have normal human relationships...that's why they like porn. They're too afraid of real women, too incapable of actually respecting and talking to a woman as a human being. They'll run stories about people who have porn on their computers, or they'll videotape women and laugh about them...but gee.....is that the kind of daily paper you want to pay money for?

Sad. Really sad. Please Danville, pray for the Danville Register & Bee. They really really need it.

Is the Piedmont Shopper making its bid to take over?

2009-03-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Dan River Regions favorite newspaper, The Piedmont Shopper, is so easy to view on the net.....just click on paper and it comes up full screen ...click again and it comes up big enough to read each page...or pick one up at your favorite store. And now they're starting to make their bid to kick R&B butt. Readers are invited to send in their news and stories about local events.

Do you have a photo, a community event, news? If you do, don't forget to send it in to The Piedmont Shopper. We all love stews this time of the year. Share your favorite recipe. Send in a photo of your favorite team, officers in your club...action shot from a little league or one of the many different high school teams or an award, etc...any aspiring writers who want to cover a game, your stories are welcome.

The Register & Bee likes national and state news. Danville readers like LOCAL news. So just send in your story and photo or an exciting story about someone who perhaps was a Danville trolley conductor,fighter pilot,or anyone with a story to tell.

Did you notice the Piedmont Shopper has a column by Mr. Leigg who for years taught at GWHS.....look on the back page for all the happenings ...I see a pancake breakfast this Saturday.....the South Boston Speedway has an ad here with a coupon buy two general admissions and get the third one free.....this Saturday March 7 they have an open pratice from 10 - 4 and it is Free and the next Saturday the 14th the season opens with racing beginning at 2pm.....and while there enjoy the great food...Yummmmmmy........excitement is on every turn..... ... even if you aren't a race fan you might just like it here....

More Stings, undelivered....

2009-03-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

You'd really think The Danville Register & Bee could explain why they charge advertisers an arm and a leg to advertise, then dump all these papers in the recycle bin without ever delivering them. It's throwing away money - YOUR money!!! Click on the photo for a larger view. Yup. It's recent.

Hey, even the Register & Bee can afford this!

2009-03-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to InSocial Media for this one!

All personnel will now be required to look happy while working, in order to combat the current recession. Company-approved supplies will be provided to each employee at little or no cost.

Workloads getting to you?
Feeling stressed?
Too many priorities and assignments?

Here is the new low-cost, company-approved solution to cope with multiple priorities & assignments.

Each employee will be supplied 2 paper clips and rubber bands.

(See Fig 1.)

Assemble as shown in Fig. 2

And apply as shown in Fig. 3

Enjoy your day. This new office equipment will help you to reach the end of a productive work day with a smile on your face!

The Management

Are the rumors right? Is Media General planning to sell?

2009-03-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Two days a week? Prelude to a sale? That's the rumor. According to The Danville Register & Bee, beginning in April, the Reidsville Review and Eden Daily News will cut back to publishing two days per week. Both papers are now published five days a week. Publisher Steve Kaylor told readers the papers will publish on Wednesday and Sunday beginning April 1. The papers already lost their own website, and were "converged" with The Danville Register & Bee's site. The Madison Messenger, also a Media General paper, cut back from two days a week to one, meaning all three Rockingham papers are getting even thinner.

The Danville Register & Bee's building is up for sale, two IT employees, were recently laid off - and another reporter resigned after being at the paper less than a year - leaving the paper with a skeleton crew. In addition, the paper recently announced employees would have to take 10 unpaid days off by the end of September!

The paper is being printed in Lynchburg and the ads and obits also go to Lynchburg - leaving many wondering what part of the Danville Paper really originates in Danville.

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to whether the paper will be around in a year? I think not. Meanwhile, the Piedmont Shopper is poised to take over where the Danville Register & Bee is failing readers - by providing local content, killer classifieds and hopefully news content soon. Alan's readers have sure been pressuring him for it.

With Realtor's pissed at the R&B's sales department for a variety of reasons - they're looking for options other than the paper for getting word out about their homes.

If you read this blog and you're an advertiser, you know that at least 2,000 issues of The Sting and other papers never get delivered but end up in the recycling bin - usually still bound. Scroll down for photos.

Meanwhile, DanvilleBusiness.ning.com, a social media site for Danville Businesses, is pushing the 110 business member mark and growing! Businesses in the Danville, South Boston, NC, Martinsville and surrounding area - including Pittsylvania County can join free - learn how to advertise via the internet and social media marketing and email marketing - for free. Just contact Diane Arnold at the Longwood Small Business Development Center in Danville, VA for a free invitation.

You're about to lose your internet FOREVER!!

2009-02-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

Net neutrality. It is a GOOD thing. If you haven't heard the term before you will soon. We're about to LOSE our net neutrality, our free access to the internet and only those with money and lots of it, will be able to use the internet. We NEED the internet to stay neutral - NOT to be controlled by corporations. If you are a small business you could LOSE your business....and everything that it brings you. Watch this and get informed before it's too late. Why don't you read about it in the newspapers? Because they want it - then they can control advertising again. Big media and cellphone companies, corporations DON'T want the internet to remain neutral because THEY can't make money off of YOU if it does. Fight back now. Contact your congressman - although here in VA it will do little good....he's already in bed with the money'd people....

Why isn't Media General enforcing its policies?

2009-02-22T23:37:00.000-08:00

Gee, Media General HAS policies in place to supposedly prevent sexual harassment, but no one seems too worried about actually ENFORCING them. Why? Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Are STING advertisers getting ripped off?

2009-02-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

Are you a Danville business? Do you advertise in "The Sting,"? If so, you might want to ask for a refund. Every week bundles of newspapers and ads go undistributed. This week local folks spotted 20 bundles of STING papers in a local recycling bin.

That equals OVER 2,000 UNDELIVERED Stings!

An you paid HOW MUCH for that ad? ...the upclose shots of bundled Stings in this photo were for this week Feb.18,2008 with a Hobby Lobby ad on the back page with a color Food Lion ad inserted .....each are bundles of 100...Our photographer couldn't tell how many more bundles had been covered over by residents recycling or if they were from this week over past weeks.

If you are a Food Lion or Hobby Lobby or other STING advertiser here's an example of where your hard earned advertising dollars are ending up - never delivered.

Not the only Danville Blog

2009-02-21T03:37:00.000-08:00

This is not the only blog about Danville, VA that's questioning why the newspaper isn't reporting on the REAL news in Danville. Check out this blog:
What's happening in Danville and why isn't the newspaper reporting on it? Concern from many officials, businesses and even a banker or two indicates that The Institute is in financial trouble, not paying their utility bills, and that Federal funding is being diverted from programs designed to help local businesses into The Institute's coffers.

These same officials are concerned that Delegate Danny Marshall may be under attack for speaking out and may be voted out for not toeing the bully boys line. Congressman Virgil Goode was already set-up, shut-out, and voted out - the victim of more of the political fall-out for being honest. Wake-up Danville! Ask the Register & Bee why they aren't digging into why The Institute isn't paying their utility bills and why the taxpayers are!!!

10 Day Mandatory Leave w/out Pay for ALL Media General Employees

2009-02-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

How bad is it at Media General? BAD. Here's a memo I received this morning from a friend in Richmond...click on photo to enlarge. What the memo, from the President of Media General says is:

Feb. 18, 2009

Dear Fellow Employees,
So far in 2009, economic and corporate earnings reports have been worse than expected. Consumers and businesses continue to reduce spending, which is causing the advertising market to weaken further. The contracting economy and uncertain outlook require us to be even more cautious than we already have been regarding our revenue expectations for 2009. Despite aggressive sales initiatives and significant cost reductions, I regret to report that we need to build in additional expense savings to offset the revenue shortfalls our divisions anticipate.

During the remainder of this year, each of us will take a mandatory 10 days off according to the schedule below, and our pay will be reduced commensurately. The company is also asking its unionized and other employees under contract to agree to participate in furloughs in lieu of layoffs. Furlough days do not have to be taken consecutively, but they must be taken one full day at a time. The days can be taken effective immediately and must be scheduled with your supervisor to minimize business disruptions. Furlough days can be accelerated as long as you have approval. On furlough days, you should not participate in work-related activities.

Furlough schedule:
4 days between today and March 29, 2009
3 days between March 30 and June 28, 2009
3 days between June 29 and September 27, 2009
When non-exempt employees take a furlough day, the reduction for that day's pay will be made at that time. For exempt employees, furlough pay reductions, amounting to the equivalent of 10 days spread over the first three quarters of 2009, will be automatically deducted from their paychecks. The reduction will be spread to equal four days in March and six days between March 30 and September 27. A Q & A regarding this program will be posted to theMeganet today, and your HR representative is also available to answer questions.

I understand and regret the financial hardship this will cause. In recognition of the particular hardship of the four days that must be taken in the relatively short period between now and March 29, 2009, we are instituting a program whereby employees may request an advance on all or part of their pay reduction for that period. Any advances will be repaid to the company over the remaining nine months of 2009. Employees seeking this option should contact their HR representative to fill out the appropriate forms, which will include the equivalent of an IOU to the company.

These are unprecedented times. Your loyalty and hard work are very much appreciated as we work together to weather the economic turmoil in our country and our industry. We believe the prudence of our actions now will help us navigate to more prosperous times.
Yours sincerely,

Till death do us part - a dating service for the terminally ill

2009-02-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

It's a little odd, I admit, but for those of you looking for an offbeat Valentine's Day story, this takes the cake - the wedding cake...this is a press release from a new dating service -one for the terminally ill:

Death connects us all. The quality of our lives is profoundly affected by how we choose to face it. How much time do you have left? How would you prefer to spend that time --and what kind of person would you like to spend it with? Let us help you find a singing partner for your swan song.

Straight, gay or bi, find your perfect match -- or matches. No guilt, no lies, no shame. Just a shared desire to go out with a "bang." Be a romantic or a horny dog till the end. Join us as we launch Till-Death-Do-Us-Part.com this Valentine's Day, February 14, 2009, if you are truly dying to connect.

Till-Death-Do-Us-Part.com is profoundly different from other dating sites. We're dealing with people who know they are facing imminent death. They are aware that their days are numbered and they know, more or less, how long they have to live. This service does not require members to answer the frivolous questionnaires other dating sites provide, although they can if they want to. We are not interested, as we are sure our clients are not either, in the inane, trivial and essentially meaningless come-ons and delusional fantasies of finding the perfect mate. We assume our members don't care if someone's eyes are blue or green, whether they wear glasses or not. According to Marketing Director Joseph DiAngelo, "This site is designed to cut through the superficiality and embrace issues we think are most meaningful -- the desire and need for understanding, compassion, empathy and comfort between human beings facing their greatest challenge."

We are all made up of the elements of the cosmos and are all part of its continual evolution. Any lesser grasp of this reality only serves to define our ignorance. Till-Death-Do-Us-Part.com offers the possibility for individuals to connect with other open, accepting minds who might better understand their unusual circumstances.

Till-Death-Do-Us-Part.com offers a number of special features: 1) A new, completely free dating service for the terminally ill; 2) We cater to all relationship types; 3) Quicksearch or Advanced search by region or keywords; 4) A blog and forum where members can find advice, debate issues and make new friends; 5) Anonymous mail messaging.

Disclaimer: Worldly hang-ups don't belong here. If you have a profound sense of irony and humor, we welcome you. If not, this site may not be for you.

What's the President have to say about VA?

2009-02-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

If you missed President Obama's speech today, you can read it here: In part he said:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. I am extraordinarily pleased to be here with Virginia's Governor, an exceptional leader and a great friend of mine, Tim Kaine.

Not far from where we're standing, back in Washington, we continue to have a debate about our economic plan -- a plan to create or save more than 3 million jobs in the next few years. And I welcome that conversation. But I am here today because you don't need to travel very far from that debate to see why enacting this plan is both urgent and essential to our recovery -- to see that the time for talk has passed and that now is the time to take bold and swift action.

We've passed a version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan through the House. Yesterday, we passed a version through the Senate. Now we've got to get a final version to my desk -- so that I can sign it and so that here in Virginia and across the country the people can use it.

In Virginia, the unemployment rate has surged to its highest level in more than a decade -- and it might have been a lot worse were it not for the leadership of Governor Tim Kaine and former governor, now Senator Mark Warner. Unemployment claims have doubled in recent months compared to last year. Nationwide, we've lost 3.6 million jobs since this recession began -- nearly 600,000 this past month alone.

Obama plans to "Computerize every American’s health record in five years, reducing medical errors and saving billions of dollars in health care costs." That will also lead to privacy violations and will make it easier for insurance companies to deny care or for mistakes and errors to become permanent parts of your health record. Some records - such as treatment for depression or PTSD will prevent people from buying or owning guns for life.....

On the up side, Obama promised:

"As President, I expect to be judged -- and should be judged -- by the results of this program. That's why I refused to allow even a single dollar in this legislation to be spent on earmarks. And that's why we're going to put information about every dollar that's spent, including the money spent on projects like this one, on a new website called recovery.gov -- so that the American people can see where their money is going."

He also did not mention that planned programs here in Danville (more to come later) have been gutted and the money funneled to other "projects."

Obama did not mention that foreclosures in Danville have more than doubled since this time last year, or that the city may be losing merchants such as Home Depot or Target if the economy doesn't pick up.

The Register & Bee laid off yet another employee today and businesses around the city and county are watching to see what happens in the weeks ahead as more layoffs and closures are expected.

Another Register & Bee layoff

2009-02-11T15:39:00.001-08:00

At least one more Register & Bee employee has fallen. Another employee was laid off today....how many more will follow in the weeks ahead?

The Danville Museum laid off employees, closing its gift shop Sunday....

How bad will it get?

You think YOUR utility bill is bad....

2009-02-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

Think about this...The Institute, aka "The Ice Palace," reportedly has a $1,000 a DAY utility bill. We the taxpayers are paying it I believe. But, $30,000 a month? For utilities? And what is it exactly that they do?

Media General posts net loss of $85.5 MILLION dollars

2009-01-29T09:14:00.001-08:00

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG - News) today reported a net loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $85.5 million, or $3.86 per diluted share, including a non-cash pre-tax impairment charge of $130.4 million ($83.1 million after-tax). This compares to net income in 2007 of $9.6 million, or 43 cents per diluted share. The impairment charge and a tax valuation allowance that affected the quarter are discussed in more detail below.
Related Quotes
Symbol Price Change
MEG 2.38 -0.46
Chart for MEDIA GENERAL CL A
{"s" : "meg","k" : "c10,l10,p20,t10","o" : "","j" : ""}

Excluding the impairment charge, the tax valuation allowance, and $6.1 million of pre-tax severance expense, fourth-quarter income from continuing operations was $8.6 million, or 39 cents per diluted share. This compares to income from continuing operations, also adjusted for severance expense, in 2007 of $10.2 million, or 46 cents per diluted share.

Media General's fourth-quarter results reflected a decrease in divisional operating profits, the majority of which was in the Publishing segment, as a result of lower advertising revenues. Partially offsetting lower divisional profits were lower corporate expense, decreased intangibles amortization and reduced interest expense in 2008. Also affecting the quarterly comparisons were the absence of an insurance recovery, and losses and a write-down related to SP Newsprint, both of which were present in the 2007 results.

Dudes who take photos of boobs without permission

2009-01-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

Obviously the outrage at men who take photos of women's breasts without their permission is growing. There's a whole website of perverts and poor, sorry, sickos who get their jollies off of photographing women's bodies and breasts without their permission. I'm sure some of these are among those who have never had a conversation with a woman without giving her their credit card number first. Here's a photo from this year's Burning Man.

The website with all the smelly offenders (easy to see why they have to go to an event and take photos of half-naked women. A telephoto lens is as close as they're going to get). http://dudeswhotakephotosofboobs.com/content/IMG_1716_large.html

It's official - I'm going to England and the TED conference

2009-01-17T16:22:00.001-08:00

After frenzied voting and Seth Godin's endorsement - the Johnny Bunko race is over and I've officially won. My opponent, North Carolina Leadership guru, Ed Brenegar, was a worthy and wonderful challenge and we'll be working together to spread ideas about real leadership over the next year.

The comic book I produced with Marty Whitmore and Megan Morris made it to Slideshare, a world popular website for great ideas. The book has been posted on dozens of websites worldwide and over the coming months...thousands, if not millions of people will be tuning in to read this blog, to find out more about what's happening in Danville, VA and perhaps - to BUY the newspaper....we'll see. More changes are in store!! Thanks for your vote. I look forward to posting more as TED comes closer.

A world stage

2009-01-14T06:26:00.000-08:00

The voting isn't over until tomorrow, but it looks like I'm going to England on an all-expense paid trip to attend the 2009 TED conference, thanks to Seth Godin's endorsement today. He is an amazing marketer and an even more amazing man. I've been a member of Triiibes.com for more than six months now. Triiibes is a social media network Seth established this year just prior to the launch of his book, "Tribes" - which is an INCREDIBLE book and you should definitely go buy it (see it on the right of this blog and click on it for more info).

Anyway - I recently became a finalist in the Johnny Bunko writing contest (one of three out of hundreds of entries). The winner is selected by popular vote. Go here to vote. Vote for "Stay Hungry".... The race was tied at 40% 40% 20% last night. Then this morning I got up and checked and wow! At last count, thanks to Seth's blog post below - I'm at 64% and climbing!! Looks like I'll attend the all-expense paid trip to England to the TED conference in July!! I know a LOT of you guys have voted for me and I thank you!! So, just wanted to pass along the good news that "Things get BETTER when you LEAVE the Register & Bee." You won't read the news about my trip in the paper - they're pretty lousy that way...so spread the word!! You read it here first!! P.S. Download the FREE comic book I wrote and my friend Martin Whitmore illustrated to help win this thing! by going to Seth's blog.

Traffic magnets

Here's a trick that's as old as the web: Run a popularity contest with public voting. It could be anything from a listing of the top blogs to a creative contest for best tagline or ad.

The nominees run around like crazy, hoping to get their friends to vote. Which of course brings you more traffic. This is a large part of the strategy behind Threadless.

I get invited to vote in these all the time, to participate as a nominee regularly and most vexing, to post them here as a way of helping this person or that person achieve some sort of nirvana.

My feeling is that most of the time the cause is too thin and the prize is too lame. If your blog gets picked as the most popular woodworking blog by some other blog, it's really unlikely that you'll find many benefits other than a nice smile for your ego. On the other hand, if you can offer a great prize and/or be useful and relevant, this is a permanent tool in the web toolbox for you.

As I've said, I don't promote these. But, just this one time, I'm breaking my rule for Becky, who didn't even ask me to mention this, and for my friend Dan Pink, who has written another terrific book. If you'd be so kind to visit Dan's site and vote for "stay hungry," it's quite likely that Becky will win a paid for trip to TED UK, which she deserves and will benefit from.(She's only a hundred votes out of first place as I write this).

I promise to do something like this no more than once a year, so wait unto 2010 before you send me a note about your contest! Thanks.

Oh - late breaking...one of the members of Triiibes.com put together this video and posted it on YouTube.com. It's GREAT to get such support!! And the comic book made the FEATURE page of SLIDESHOWS last night too!

Amazing what is possible when people are positive, focused and CARE about people rather than simply wanting to exploit them, ridicule them or treat them with disrespect isn't it?

Start your own newspaper

2009-01-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

Seth Godin says it's "Time to start a newspaper"

What should not-so-busy real estate brokers do?

Why not start a local newspaper?

Here's how I would do it. Assume you've got six people in your office. Each person is responsible to do two things each day:

* Interview a local business, a local student or a local political activist. You can do it by phone, it can be very short and it might take you ten minutes.
* Get 20 households to 'subscribe' by giving you their email address and asking for a free subscription. You can use direct contact or flyers or speeches to get your list.

Twice a week, send out the 'newspaper' by email. After one week, it will have more than 500 subscribers and contain more than 20 interesting short articles or quotes about people in the neighborhood. Within a month, (if it's any good) every single person in town who matters will be reading it and forwarding it along to others.

It will cost you nothing. It will become your gift to the community. And it will be a long lasting asset that belongs to you, not to the competition. (And yes, you can do this if you're a plumber or a chiropractor. And yes, you can do this if 'local' isn't geographic for you, but vertical).

Own your Zip code. The next frontier is local, and this is a great way to start.

Begining of the end of the Register and Bee

2009-01-06T00:47:00.000-08:00

What happens when one business can't deliver, treats its readers and advertisers poorly and runs roughshod over a town? People pull their ads and find some other business that will. Alan Lingerfelt, having been badgered by residents for months now to add news and events to his paper, is doing just that! The email below recently went out to residents all over Danville. The circulation of The Piedmont Shopper, Danville's most popular source for classified news, now exceeds that of The Danville Register & Bee. The free publication is packed with classified ads, jokes and business ads, but now Alan is pushing ahead with more. He appeared before Danville City Council several months ago to inform council. Now he's making his move. Once Alan is able to get news, sports and events and publish them on a weekly basis for at least six months, he'll be able to make the bid to become a paper of record. Being a paper of record will enable him to go after the "legal advertising."

For those of you not familiar with publishing, the cost of legal ads is a significant chunk of advertising revenue and is the life's blood of a newspaper - particularly when the car dealers have pulled their ads and the the realtors are seriously considering pulling theirs. So send your news and information, photos and things into Alan today!

Get onboard the CLUE Train Register & Bee....

2009-01-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

First of all, thanks to all those who have written with support and encouragement about this blog. I'm pleased to say that even Al Tompkins at The Poynter Institute has acknowledged that blogs like this are the direction the country is moving in. I told him that six months ago when I sent him the link, but now that popular writers and other sources are whipping the band wagon into a trot he's on board. He wrote:

2009 Marks the Arrival of Feedback 3.0
I am a fan of a site called TrendWatching.com. From "rough luxury" to clothing that is designed for gadget users, the site defines megatrends that are emerging in business. One trend, called Feedback 3.0, really caught my eye and sent my mind racing.

The site identifies the history of feedback as:

* FEEDBACK 1.0 (one of those early Web phenomena) saw outraged individuals posting scathing reviews, feedback and complaints, often to the delight of other netizens. Brands remained unaware or chose not to listen, dismissing these outbursts the way they'd dismissed any kind of customer dissatisfaction for decades.
* FEEDBACK 2.0 (which we're in right now) is about these rants -- and some raves -- having gone 'mass' (no, make that MASS!). The long-predicted conversation is finally taking place, albeit amongst consumers and not, as intended, between corporations and consumers. Companies have started to take note, but to a large degree still choose to listen, not talk back, trying to 'learn' from the for-all-to-see review revolution. Which is surprising, to say the least, since a quick and honest reply or solution can defuse even the most damaging complaint.
* FEEDBACK 3.0 (which is building as we speak) will be all about companies joining the conversation, if only to get their side of the story in front of the mass audience that now scans reviews. Expect smart companies to be increasingly able (and to increasingly demand) to post their apologies and solutions, preferably directly alongside reviews from unhappy customers. Expect the same for candid rebuttals by companies who feel (and can prove) that a particular review is unfair or inaccurate, and want to share their side of the story.

As the website The ClueTrain Manifesto points out, companies that do not listen to and engage the audience/customers miss out because:

1. People in networked markets have figured out that they get far better information and support from one another than from vendors. So much for corporate rhetoric about adding value to commoditized products.
2. There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.

Trendwatching.com goes on to show examples of emerging Feedback 3.0 in action:

* Tripadvisor's management response feature allows representatives of hotels, restaurants and attractions to respond to reviews written about their properties. Local business review site Yelp allows business owners to manage their own page with detailed information, and lets them respond privately to reviewers. The latter is also offered by product ratings and reviews provider Bazaarvoice, which allows owners direct contact with posters of negative reviews. HomeAway, the vacation rentals marketplace, has an owner-response feature that allows property owners to publicly post in response to reviews.
* There's also a self-organized 'right of reply': we've argued (for years, really) that setting up one's own conversation Web site for customers is the most amazing way to prevent damning reviews from popping up all over. It's been happening for quite a while on sites like Dell Ideastorm and My Starbucks Idea, where anyone can post suggestions, with Dell and Starbucks actually replying for all to see. Starbucks also Twitters about the latest happenings on My Starbucks Idea. Two conversation-expert firms that can get you started with this kind of FEEDBACK 3.0 are Feedback 2.0 and Salesforce Ideas, which powers Dell and Starbucks.
* Also, check out GM Facts and Fiction, a theoretically interesting approach by GM to tackling the many 'myths' about the company and its current problems. Pity they don't allow for any kind of real conversation… Last time we checked, the comments feature was turned off.

Do Ads work?

2009-01-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Do ads work?

Newspaper people believe they do. They've been taught to tell you what you want to hear in order to close the sale. Ask them about their degree in marketing. Do they have one? No. When's the last time the Register & Bee did a survey, one-on-one with their readers ASKING them about what ads they read? Never? uh-huh.

Now, I'll tell you what the studies show - it takes a MINIMUM of 12 ad views - that's right - 12 views for a reader to BEGIN to recognize your company/ad and that's IF they see the same ad. MOST people do not read the ads unless they are looking for a specific item. Many people will simply SCAN the ads looking for words like "SALE" or "40% OFF" or other items that indicate possible savings."

The ads that WORK are grocery store ads, car ads, real estate ads - ads that keep a constant presence in a publication that people read - not one that is printed and then the extra copies thrown in the recycle bin still bound from the printer.

The OLD way of advertising was to blanket as many newspapers, magazines and billboards as possible, and to buy as much television and radio air time as you could afford. That was BEFORE the internet. Now society is forming groups or "tribes" of people interested in certain things - like gardening magazines. If you sell gardening supplies do you think you'll get a better response placing ads where gardeners go for information (magazine or website) or in the local paper? You don't need to REACH 20,000 readers. You need to reach 2,000 or 200 readers who WANT TO BUY. See the difference? Would you rather try to sell 50 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to anyone walking into a hardware store or to people walking into a bakery or grocery store? Hint. The people walking into a bakery or grocery store are more likely to be in a cookie buying mindset. And the bakery may even be better than the grocery. Sure the bakery is smaller, but it's not size that counts. It's NUMBER OF POTENTIAL cookie buyers that count.

So - if YOU were a small business, what's your best advertising? Word-of-mouth, newsletters aimed at your customers, and the best return of all, permission marketing. What is permission marketing? Permission marketing is when you sign up to receive email or information from a company or business because you're interested in what they're selling. When we request a catalog from The Pottery Barn or The Gap, or LL Bean, we're giving them permission to send us ads.

They don't send their ads to people who don't buy their stuff and don't want to buy their stuff and save themselves millions of dollars that way. Why are YOU paying to put your ad in front of thousands of people who don't want to buy what you're selling?

If you sell hair care products, why not invest your ad dollars in a flyer with information about hair care (download the one I wrote/laid out/created here. IT'S FREE)

Put YOUR products in a flyer and leave the flyer at area hair salons. In exchange for leaving the flyer there (ie. what's in it for the hair salon) you put the names of the hair salons where YOUR product is available!!! The hair salon wins because they're not paying for advertising - they're just handing out your brochure! They're making their money from selling your product! So yeah - they're going to hand out the flyer.

NOW the people who use hair care products and come into salons are getting your "ad" and are MORE likely to buy. You haven't spent all your money in newspaper ads where people are only buying the paper for the grocery ads and the sports page. The money it costs to buy a half page ad in the Register & Bee that will run for ONE DAY is three times what it costs to have the flyer made. Add another $100 for printing and you have enough brochures for weeks - maybe months. And the brochures keep circulating. The newspaper doesn't. It's trash in a day or two. Why keep burning your money? Do you have that much to waste?

If you join Danville Business (joining is FREE), you can advertise for free on your page. No gimmicks. No tricks. As part of a social network you not only meet other people who get to know you and spread your name FOR FREE, you join the growing movement of new business practices - social media. What is social media? Watch this video.

And, as marketing guru Seth Godin writes in his business blog:

Do Ads work?

If the local bank were offering a sale on dollar bills, ninety cents each, how many would you buy?

Most rational people would say, "I'll take them all please." Especially if you had thirty days to pay for them.

So, why, precisely, do you have an ad budget?

If your ads work, if you can measure them and they return more profit than they cost, why not keep buying them until they stop working?

And if they don't work, why are you running them?

If you like advertising in a newspaper, it should be because it works, not because it feels good. Massages feel good. Winning at something feels good. But throwing money away on ads that DON'T work? HOW can that feel good?

Good management

2009-01-02T18:09:00.001-08:00

With all the lay-offs around Danville a lot of people will be taking new jobs, any job they can get hired for. In the short term, the money is important right? But in the long run you can end up in a bad situation. Studies show that more than 67% of us quit our jobs because of a supervisor - a BAD supervisor. What's a bad supervisor? Well, when I was at The Register & Bee I had an evaluation - not early on when it might have been helpful, but more than a year after I'd worked there. What's that say about supervisors and management? BAD!! Clueless really.

During the evaluation I said I needed more feedback and that some appreciation wouldn't hurt. The pseudo-HR person, Ann Austin, and my supervisor, Bernard Baker, BOTH told me "We'd all like to be appreciated, but that doesn't happen around here so get used to it."

Wow. What's it take? Five minutes to say, "Thanks, I appreciate you staying late. Thanks, I appreciate your being willing to work a split shift and not have a life this week so we were covered." Doesn't cost them a dime, but by God! Appreciation is just something that doesn't happen there. Remember the toilets? Yeah...So when YOU are looking for your next job, and the person interviewing you asks if you have any questions for them, ask them, "How do you show appreciation for employees here?" If they can't give you examples, or look confused or even upset and WORSE if they're all cheery and say, "Oh! We love our employees, we're always appreciative," but the can't give you specifics, then keep looking. This goes for you newspaper carriers or would be carriers.

Oh, by the way, the law says if the carriers HAVE to pick up their papers at a certain time and HAVE to have them delivered by a certain time and are docked if they're late...that SOME lawyers - especially with the new laws passed recently, see that as EMPLOYMENT, not a contractor position...check with an attorney. You may be an employee of the Register & Bee - or so I've heard.

Back to appreciation. Take time this year to appreciate your people, especially those last two Register & Bee/Media General employees in this region who are still in the sights of the "convergence team" - I hear two more, I reported five, three down and two to go still....both supposedly in editorial...especially once they lose the real estate ads this year ;-D

Anyway....Happy New Year!

Great Ideas

2009-01-01T17:09:00.001-08:00

Thursday, January 1, 2009
Great Ideas! How about social media? What is social media/social networking? Watch this and then read the story below!

DANVILLE - The Danville Register and Bee's editorial this week called for "Great Ideas,' but the newspaper is ignoring one of the best ideas to happen in Danville in a long time - "Danville Business."

Danville Business, a social media site for local businesses and individuals, is a free website with information, news, blogs and groups for anyone who wants to join. Small businesses often need support, help and information when they start-up and Danville Business is just the place for them to get that help and information FREE.

If you are a small business owner you can meet and talk with other small business owners about things like how to grow your business, how to advertise and how to start your own social media group to increase customer traffic.

Started by The Longwood Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the site has more than 60 members, with more joining every day.

Businesses may advertise and post free on their site, everyone has free email and a free blog where they can post ads, hours, menus and other information about their business. It's not a place for "hard selling" and in fact, that is discouraged. True sales take place through connecting with others. Watch the video below and see what social media is all about. Then consider joining Danville Business. Just call or email Diane Arnold or Dave Slayton at the SBDC:

Longwood SBDC
300 Ringgold Industrial Parkway
Danville, VA 24540

Telephone: 434.791.7321
Fax: 434.791.7341

Diane Arnold
Director
arnoldjd@longwood.edu

David Slayton
Program Coordinator & Business Counselor
slaytonjd@longwood.edu

Reasons why The Danville Register & Bee won't write about it? Because I set it up and play a part in making sure that small business don't waste their advertising dollars, that they understand the landscape of small business, even big business is changing and that social networking, not large expensive, worthless newspaper ads are the way things are going. Don't believe it? Then look around and ask yourself why so many newspapers are failing. The OLD way of marketing, selling and reaching customers is dying. The new wave is social networking and social media.

And if YOU and YOUR business want to learn HOW to do it effectively - FREE, without being charged an arm and a leg - then join Danville Business. No, you do not have to be from or in Danville to join. But is is invitation only. We promote NO hard sell and the kind of environment described in the video - one of people getting to know people. So check us out. You have nothing to lose...but don't expect to read about it in The Danville Register & Bee.

Remember, their idea of social interaction was filming......yeah..yeah...you know. Read the rest of this blog if you don't. They will NEVER apologize and will continue to insist nothing is wrong with hostile work places... so, our prayers go out to them.

Danville's Backyard Burgers closes for good

2008-12-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

Backyard Burgers - MY favorite place in town to get a great sandwich, closed it's doors for good today at 3:00 p.m., according to readers who stopped by there for lunch.

I'm REALLY sorry to see them go. Rumor has it they won't be the last restaurant to leave.

Julian's Gift

2008-12-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

Frank and Holly Henderson, would like to share a story with you -- Julian's story. At this time of year when so many of us are thinking of giving gifts to children, this seemed like a great opportunity to share how we can give to those who have lost theirs.

In 2006, we learned that we were pregnant with our second child. At 20 weeks, we were told that our unborn son had a genetic defect known as Trisomy 13, which can be fatal. As you can probably imagine, this news was devastating. The doctors did not expect me
to carry full term, but our little one was a fighter. After many sleepless nights and painstaking decisions, we had our son, Julian, at 38 weeks. Frank and I were blessed to have and hold him for a little over an hour before the Lord called Julian home.

During the weeks preceding Julian's birth, we tried to plan ahead for his funeral arrangements, however we found it to be extremely difficult. When the time came to finalize the arrangements we were shocked by the costs. We had to purchase a cemetery plot, a grave marker and pay the funeral home for their services (most of which
they discounted). Without financial assistance from our friends and family, I honestly do not know how we would have laid our son to rest.

This got me wondering. How do other parents do it? We had time to prepare for Julian's death, but not everyone does. How do families do it when a death is unexpected or when there are no friends and family members to offer assistance? That is when we came up with the plan to start a non-profit organization, aimed at assisting families who lose a child under 12 months old.

I cannot begin to tell you how comforted Frank and I were, knowing that Julian had a proper funeral and knowing that we could visit his grave any time we wanted to. And having been through the questions, disbelief, pain and sorrow, Frank and I wanted to be
able to give some peace and comfort to other parents in a similar situation. To lose a child during your life can be like losing a piece of your soul.

If, through this organization, we can help to relieve some of the stress a family feels in planning a funeral for their child, then we know Julian's life, though short, had a purpose. This is why we've decided to call this organization Julian's Gift.

Please see Julian's site for more details: http://www.juliansgift.org/index.html

My condolences to the recent layoffs at Register & Bee

2008-12-11T18:57:00.001-08:00

Three more Register and Bee employees were laid off today. All in circulation. It's no secret circulation is down. But, as usual, layoffs come at Christmas and are devastating to those affected. But you're not alone. Media General is consolidating even more offices and trimming everything but Steve Kaylor's salary. Odd isn't it? How the managers who couldn't keep the paper from spiraling downward by providing value and content, don't suffer....

Several other Danville businesses are laying off as well. eToys, one of the beer distributorships and several other businesses are expected to be making announcements in the coming weeks. And - the rumor that a couple of reporter positions are on the chopping block is still circulating. More stories are being outsourced to free-lancers -including former Register & Bee reporter Susan Elzy - who is no longer with Showcase magazine, but is back at the Register & Bee as a freelancer.

With almost 60 members, Danville Business (by invitation only) is becoming the hot spot for businesses in Danville who want to advertise for free, network with other businesses and get the kind of value added help lacking at the local newspaper. Free to join, free to belong. Look for the new newspaper to come out in January 2009....watch for the launch date here.

With the Register & Bee on its last legs, it won't take much to put that beast out of its misery - a few good writers and the backing of some dissatisfied advertisers - definitely ought to do it!.

Perp walk or Professional?

2008-12-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

When the Register & Bee lays people off, they put them through a sort of "perp" walk - shove a box at them, tell them to get their stuff and get out...making them parade through the workplace with their meager belongings in a box while everyone stares at them. Perp walk.

Last Christmas/holiday season, about a dozen employees - several of them with 30+ years of hard, loyal service, were laid off, given 15 minutes to get their stuff and shown the door. Their computers were locked down. They weren't able to get information and files that would have helped them get other jobs. Their jobs were moved to Lynchburg and they were never given the option of transferring to existing jobs at other papers. Temp employees were hired instead.

Thirty years of service and they were treated like criminals - given 15 minutes to get off the premises. I don't think they had police escorts, but other employees have had cops come in and walk them to the door, unnecessary humiliation and embarrassment. I didn't give Steve Kaylor the pleasure. He had to call me at home after I posted this blog and sent him the link. His voice quivered.

So, layoffs are inevitable. The question is, "Will you be a professional? Will you be compassionate?" Will you be kind and treat the employees you have to lay-off with some degree of respect and appreciation for the time they have worked for you? We all understand that layoffs are hard and frightening for everyone - particularly for people who may not be able to find another job. But you can do it with dignity. You can let people know you appreciate them and you can make it a not-so-public and not so criminal exercise, and by publicly acknowledging their contributions.

This year those same employees are remembering last year - and the way they were treated, embarrassed and cast off without a second thought. If you must lay an employee or employees off - do it with dignity and appreciation. Don't do it like the Register & Bee did it - with arrogance and paranoia and total disregard for its employees.

Merry Christmas to all those laid off, fired, abused and mistreated at The Register & Bee over the past year. Be glad you're not there any longer. Stock has plummeted from $75 to a couple of bucks....morale is low, quality is low, the few readers they have complain that it looks like children are laying out the paper....you escaped a sinking ship. Let's all be grateful. Advertisers are pulling out...notice there are no car ads....and it's only going to get worse.

What goes around, comes around.

Crafters will be forced out of business next year

2008-12-07T22:01:00.001-08:00

If you make craft items, toys or any kind of item that could be construed as a toy, this may be your last Christmas with an income. H.R. 4040, signed into law by President George Bush last August, has just put you out of business.

A friend of mine in the toy industry wrote to tell me that the next industry to go under is the toy industry - not because of any problems in the industry....but because of a new regulation!

The thing is, Rob tells me that the toy industry is in pretty good shape. They're one of the few industries NOT laying people off. People have jobs - for now. But if you are a crafter or in the toy industry, or in an industry that supplies craft stores, lumber, paint or items TO toy manufacturers....get ready to be laid off next year when this regulation goes into effect.

Danville's economy will be affected adversely too. eToys carries a lot of toys made by smaller manufacturers who will be out of work because of this regulation. The Danville Farmer's market - a lot of crafters there will be affected. How many local layoffs or jobs will be impacted? If you sell your items on ebay or esty....you'll have to show proof of testing....How will craft shows all over the country be affected? Or state fairs? Vendors won't be able to manufacture or make their items nor sell them.

As one crafter says:

"So as a crafter this has hit home for me, last night my DH and I, and my mom on the phone.. sat down and read the 68 pages line by line, to see where I and my business fit into this. This affects anyone who sells goods to children under the age of 12, anyone who HAS children under the age of 12, anyone who MAKES goods for children under the age of 12, and anyone who buys things for children under the age of 12."

Rob said,

"I, along with thousands of companies in my industry are hoping just to stay alive past February....and, no, I am not the CEO of Ford or GM. I am not even in the auto or banking industry.

My industry, particularly the niche that I am in is relatively healthy compared to the rest of the economy. However, recent changes in government regulations are putting our $100bn+ industry at risk of complete collapse. I am in the Children's Products business. In particular, I sell toys. Not mass marketed, Chinese toys. Not the ones you read about in the news. Let me explain.

First, let me stress that I have been an avid supporter of strict toy standards. When the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was signed into law I was pleased to have a stronger federal standard. However, like anything else, the devil is in the details. In this case, there are a number of issues that threatens the thousands of businesses, and over 100,000 jobs.

1. Testing Methods: In the coming weeks companies will be required to have new products tested by 3rd parties. Reasonable, right? Unfortunately the method is not so reasonable. A reasonable method would be to test the materials then make the products. If I produce jeans....I should test the materials (denim, buttons, zippers) then make as many different styles as appropriate. If I am a woodworker, I test the wood, test the paints, then make little wooden cows, pigs, lions, and tigers. However, the law says that I am required to test each sku or style of the finished product. At a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per test, this can add up fast, especially for (1) small, innovative companies that are trying to get introduce new products, (2) larger companies with thousands of skus, and (3) in general companies that specialize in niche markets.

2. Markings: In August 09 new products will be required to have permanent marking on the actual product, indicating where, when, and by what company the product was manufactured. Sounds okay, but do you know how expensive that is for small companies? Did you know that small companies have a pretty good grasp on where and when their products were made. Not only that, if a recall were needed in such a case, you would be dealing with very low numbers...(ie. tens, or may be a few hundred)...not the tens or hundreds of thousands required by companies like Mattel.

3. Complexity & Penalties: The new law is extremely complex. It contains many requirements (few. if any, of which increases the safety of a single toy), requiring certificates for each product to be shipped with each item in a shipment, confusing rules about how often testing is required, and more. The more complex a set of rules, the more difficult it is to do it perfectly, all the time. This is not to say the safety would be jeopardized, more likely a t won't be crossed or an i dotted...but this can cause big problems when the penalties for non-compliance have also been raised in this law (from $5,000 per infraction to up to $100,000), plus possible civil penalties. Who wants to be in a business like that?

That leads me to my next point. Assuming, the small, interesting companies can survive these issues, who wants to? I have better, more interesting things, to do than worry about incredibly complicated and cumbersome rules that do not make my toys any safer. I would move into other markets. So where does that leave the children's products industry? Full of the few mass market toy manufacturers that can survive. Hey! Aren't those the guys that got us into this mess in the first place?"

Educational toys, niche market toys, all kinds of items that you, your kids and the school system depends on - will be impacted because smaller manufacturers can't afford that kind of testing. So - will your job be affected? Better start finding out now. Go to this web site to learn more! http://cpsia-central.ning.com/

Is your business next on the media hit list?

2008-12-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

When the mayor of Bluff City couldn't afford to pay a $10,000 bill to a supplier, the supplier sued him to collect. There was no fraud. There was a bad economy and business projections fell. The mayor, who is also a businessman, is having financial problems like everyone else in this bad economy. But because he's the mayor, a simple civil issue has become front page news. Simply by putting this story of a legitimate business having legitimate problems in the paper, what was a civil case between businesses has become a very public embarassment. One reader responded to reporter Mac McLean's story. Mac, as you will recall, is the reporter who delighted in filming the breasts of local businesswomen in Danville and showing them around the newsroom. The reader wrote:

Mac Mclean has gone to far with this one. Why has Mclean and the Bristol Herald Courier picked Malone to exploit? Small business owners across the United States are really suffering with the bad economy. Articles like this should be viewed from a personal standpoint and not be made headline news. Mclean, what are you trying to prove picking on individuals that have good character that bad economic times
dealt a bad hand. Perhaps the Bristol Herald Courier will sell far less newspapers bringing a bad situation financially and then we can read about it in the Kingsport Times or the Johnson City Press. THe Herald Courier
needs to be more selective about what it prints pertaining to civil matters. This is no big deal considering the economy, the big deal is the 10.5 trillion the Fed has already given out in bailouts and should be called handouts. Mclean grabs for anything he can make a story from and the Bristol Herald Courier prints anything that can
help fill the pages of their skimpy newspaper.

Who is really served when a hometown newspaper starts making front page news of news that is already in the bankruptcies listings? If you fall behind, file bankruptcy, lose your job - is that really newsworthy? Apparently Media General thinks so. I'm not sure exactly how that benefits citizens or does anything more than generate fear mongering and sell newspapers. How sad a local paper does more to tear down businesses rather than help them find solutions.

What truly valuing your employees looks like!

2008-12-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

Good companies, companies who value their employees, show it in word and in deed. When Zappos recently laid off 8% of their employees this is part of what they did, and said:

"...we are reducing our staff by 8%, but because we are being proactive instead of reactive about it, we are able to take care of our employees and offer them more than the standard 2 weeks severance (or no severance) that most other companies are giving.

We are offering to pay each laid-off employee through the end of the year(about 2 months), and offering an additional amount for employees that have been with us for 3 or more years.

In addition, because our regular health benefits cover 100% medical, dental, and vision for employees and 50% for spouses and dependents, we decided to offer to reimburse laid-off employees for up to 6 months of
COBRA payments.

In doing all of this to take care of laid-off employees, we expect that it will actually increase, not decrease, our costs for 2008, but we feel this is the right thing to do for our employees. It will put us in the position of having a lot more financial flexibility in being able to respond to potential changes in the economy in 2009.

Ecommerce growth has slowed compared to its growth rate a year ago, but the good news is that even in this tough economic environment, ecommerce overall is still growing.

Within the footwear category, we are the online market leader. When times are tough, the strongest players in any market have an opportunity to gain even more market share, even if overall growth may be slower. Historically, we have actually grown faster than the overall ecommerce market, and we anticipate for that to continue in 2009.

For the rest of 2008 as well as for 2009, we anticipate continuing to grow year over year. Our current forecasts are that we will continue to be profitable and cash flow positive, as long as we are proactive instead of reactive in managing our business and financials.

I know that many tears were shed today, both by laid-off and non-laid-off employees alike. Given our family culture, our layoffs are much tougher emotionally than they would be at many other companies.

I've been asked by some employees whether it's okay to twitter about what's going on. Our Twitter policy remains the same as it's always been: just be real, and use your best judgement.

These are tough times for everyone, and I'm sure there will be many follow up questions to this email. If you have any questions about your specific job or department, please talk to your department manager. For all other questions, comments, or thoughts, please feel free to email me.

* Tony Hsieh, CEO

Brilliantly written opinion piece in Star Tribue

2008-11-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

If you like reading unedited opinion pieces, don't miss this one from Anne Cockrell in The Star Tribune. The Tribune tends not to hack up their editorial submissions to fit the amount of space that have. They care about content, not just butchering a letter to make it fit. Well written. Whatever side of the uranium mining in Virgina issue you're own, this is outstanding.

A Little Puff?' - a focus on the absurdity of uranium mining

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:08 AM EST

Patrick Wales, a Virginia Uranium Inc. geologist, has been often quoted in Virginia newspapers of late. Some of what he has said has been variations of the truth; some statements have been absolutely absurd.

Let's focus on the absurd, shall we?

Wales was quoted in the Danville Register & Bee (Report tackles lobbying efforts, J. R. Crane, November 24, 2008) as saying: "That's what we're up against as a small, locally-owned company... [VUI] has a very difficult, uphill battle."

Calling VUI a small, locally-owned company is laughable. Small in employee numbers, it may be, but it's a company incorporated in the Yukon Province of Canada that has millions of foreign-backed dollars to help achieve VUI's objective: overturn Virginia's moratorium on uranium mining and begin mining in Southside Virginia.

VUI's $100,000 payment to lobbyists was well within the company's financial means, and Wales knows this.

In fact, it paid off. Lobbyists were successful in getting the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission to go before the Richmond General Assembly (Nov. 6, 2008) and push through a uranium mining study for Southside Virginia - one that had died a legislative death in a House committee on March 3, 2008.

So much for "a very difficult uphill battle."

In the Martinsville Bulletin, an article ran following Wales' address to the Martinsville Rotary Club (Virginia Uranium geologist touts benefits of mining, K. Barto, Wednesday, November 19, 2008).

The article stated: "The Coles' property, which is a 'historic structure,' sits between the two uranium deposits, and the family plans to continue living there while mining goes on, Wales said."

I wonder if the Rotarians really believed Walter Coles (VUI's founder) and his family are going to live in a house between two operational uranium mines where there will be daily surface blasting of low-level radioactive bedrock.

Even if the miners bubble-wrapped the house and were able to save it from flying rock projectiles or, by some miracle, kept it standing post 30 years' endurance of surface-blast vibrations, it would still lose its allure when viewed through the chain-link fence which will one day surround the former Coles Hill homestead.

On the fence, the Department of Energy's radiation hazard signs will warn folks to stay away from this U.S. government-owned property. That's the only entity that will have any use for this land once all mining and milling of uranium ceases, and this is only because it will become a superfund site.

How can I make that assumption?

Wales spoke of the "worst-case scenario," the Canonsburg Mill site in Canonsburg, Pa.

Per the article: "In the mid-1980s, the Department of Energy cleaned up the site and contained the waste in a disposal area lined with soil and clay barriers. Since then, Wales said, 'Not one milling-related constituent has shown up in a nearby creek.'"

Now, this is the very same site that Walter Coles has previously touted to be a place where uranium was milled "successfully east of the Mississippi."

In reality, it's an 18.6 acre plat of acreage that is now a $48 million superfund site. Today, this site stores 376,000 cubic yards of contaminated material behind a fenced-in area. It will be monitored in perpetuity to protect Pennsylvanians from the radioactive wastes buried there.

Wales and VUI plans to mine uranium out of Walter Coles' 900-acre-property (plus annexing and mining additional acreage belonging to surrounding families) once the state's moratorium is lifted.

If it cost $48 million to remediate an 18.6-acre plat of land where uranium was milled, one has to wonder what the price tag will be for cleaning up over a thousand acres once uranium is both mined and milled at Coles Hill.

Big question: Who will pay the remediation costs?

Perhaps it's the "new technology" that gave Wales the confidence to make yet another absurd statement regarding mine tailings (the leftover mined rock that must be buried or submerged in holding ponds to try and contain its radioactivity.

Per the article: "He explained that tailings are contained in a pit underground, removing any interaction between the tailings and the atmosphere,' he said."

Well, isn't the low-level radioactive bedrock going to come in contact with the atmosphere when it is surface-blasted out of the ground over a period of 30 years? This is VUI's proposed timetable to mine at Coles Hill.

How about the milling process where mined rock will be ground into a fine powdery state for ore extraction?

Think it will all be done in a clean, sterile, indoor environment? No, open-pit/surface-blast mining implies just that.

The daily, successive explosive blasts and milling process will create a continuous low-level radioactive fallout which will be carried by the winds onto food and water sources and into the airways of man and all other animal life unfortunate enough to be downwind from the mine.

When asked in the article about how far dust would blow from the mining operations, Wales stated, "If you use underground mining, it's a moot point...even it other methods are used [surface-blast], there is very little dust. There may be a little puff when blasting."

A little puff?

Wales, VUI and anyone who believes surface-blast mining will create only "a little puff" should google and watch the Mountaintop Removal Movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPixjCneseE).

It's an eight-minute video with Woody Harrelson (sitcom actor of "Cheers") discussing the sad demise of 450 mountains along the Appalachian Mountain chain where surface-blast mining is being used for coal removal.

It clearly illustrates that surface-blast mining creates more than "a little puff" of dust. It also speaks of the enduring hardships of the people living adjacent to these mined areas.

Lastly, Wales stated: "We feel confident that there are many examples around the world of how it's [uranium mining] done safely."

Uranium mining opponents simply ask Wales and VUI to name five of these places where uranium mining and milling has not caused adverse effects to the surrounding people and environment.

Funny, Wales didn't offer up an example.

Stay tuned. Let's see him name even one.

Anne Cockrell,

Southside Concerned

Citizens member

Danville

Did you know? Shift happens...

2008-11-25T21:15:00.001-08:00

How bad is the economy? These guys say, not so good

2008-11-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

As a matter of fact, they think it's really, really bad. Here's a video interview with The Black Swan author Nasim Nicholas Taleb and his mentor, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, who say the current economic situation could be worse than the great depression. From BoingBoing.com:

"The banking system, the way we have it, is a monstrous giant built on feet of clay. And if that topples, we're gone."

Maybe that's why the US Gov't has pledged $7.7 Trillion (half of America's annual GDP to fix this). I wonder if it'll work?

Do more than think of the troops this Christmas....

2008-11-25T20:02:00.001-08:00

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

Thanks!

Customer service

2008-11-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

With the economy in the tank for many, businesses are wondering what to do to increase or even just maintain their sales. The number one thing you can do to retain customers? Be nice. Offer great customer service! It costs you NOTHING, yet reaps great rewards. Think about it. Do you enjoy shopping at a place where you feel welcomed and appreciated? You bet you do! You go back don't you? I do.

Given the choice between saving a few pennies most of us do pick a business, church or organization that cares, or at least seems to care, about our needs and wants as much as they do making money.

Here's a recent for instance:
Do you love those free business cards from VistaPrint? Yeah....Nice huh? NOT SO MUCH. Read the fine print. I'm still getting billed after canceling an account I had with them. They canceled the account, but kept billing me. After two weeks they've assured me they'll refund the money in the next couple of weeks. So, they hold onto my money and make money off of it...not much by itself, but when they do it with a thousand other customers, it adds up.

What makes it so difficult to cancel an account with VistaPrint is they don't let you cancel your own account online. You sign up by yourself online, but can't leave. You have to call during business hours, and talk to a representative and then cancel. Very inefficient. It also means you have to answer a lot of questions about WHY you want to cancel and gives them a chance to try to convince you to stay. Not fun. Not easy. And of course, the operation is overseas, so sometimes the accents and information are hard to get past as well.

I'm not the only one complaining about customer service. Marketing guru Seth Godin's blog today bemoaned the lack of customer service from KitchenAid! He writes:

How to answer the phone

The KitchenAid tea kettle (adorned in bright Squidoo orange, of course) in my office melted, leaving hot orange plastic on my thumb. Yes, it hurts as much as you probably imagine it does.

But that wasn't the worst part.

I called 1-800-334-6889 to whine a little bit and to hear why they made a meltable teapot. I counted how many prompts I had to press in order to talk to a human being. It was NINE.

Nine! Try it. I'll wait.

The last step was a recording that they were closed and I should call back after 10 am. Click.

I know you've heard this before, but it's really simple:

The only reason to answer the phone when a customer calls is to make the customer happy.

If you're not doing this or you are unable to do this, do not answer the phone. There is no middle ground on this discussion. There are no half measures. Saving 50 cents a call with a complicated phone tree is a false savings. Think of all the money you'll save if you just stop answering altogether. Think of all the money you'll make if you just make people happy.

Your choice.

Seth Godin

*************

Okay, if the top marketers in the country are complaining about customer service, what do you think your customers are doing? They're complaining too - only not to you. They're complaining to their friends, who aren't buying from you, who - if you're a newspaper - aren't advertising with you.

What would it cost you to treat your employees right so they actually enjoy working for you? What would it cost you to smile, to act like you're glad to see a customer walk in the door? What would it cost you to treat people, your customers, the way you want to be treated?

If Steve Kaylor's wife had had her breasts videotaped so the newsroom could laugh at her and joke about his wife, would he have fired some people? (probably not, but we can hope). Would Bernard Baker's wife like to be on a computer monitor while all the men in the newsroom laughed. Would he have thought that as funny?

Customer service begins with treating your employees well, with respecting people, with saying "Thank you," with applying the golden rule. And if a business doesn't do that? You vote with your money. You spend it elsewhere. And if the business continues to treat people and employees like The Register & Bee does, eventually they go belly-up.

The economy is bad and only getting worse. You can change how well you do with a few simple things - happy employees, good customer service and truly caring about your customers.

Bagels and Republicans

2008-11-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of comments re: two recent posts, one about the "bagel" shop...which the poster thinks is awesome! Well, the food IS awesome. The service is often very slow and the servers are rude. If you want the true New York experience, you get it there. Not just my opinion, but that of many who are in Danville. Several people I know have spoken with the owners, but that's what it is. If you like great bagels, pastries and food and don't mind bad service or rudeness - go for it. The owners know this. It's not the first time anyone has said anything to them. It's just the first time someone has said so publicly. I have a right to my opinion, you have a right to yours.

I was in there a couple months ago just to get a soda and see if things had changed...not so much. I agree. The food really is great. Love the sandwiches. But I like to think a business is happy to see me spend my money in their establishment. Food doesn't taste quite as good when the server is rude.

And the second issue - the Republicans aren't happy with the newspaper - which has become predominantly Democratic. The Republicans want a new newspaper and want to raise money for it - then it's a Republican paper. If people are asking me to start a new newspaper, and they're asking The Piedmont Shopper to do something and the Star Tribune, and the Register & Bee is losing advertisers, OBVIOUSLY something isn't working. Stock has dropped to a little over $2 a share....and even major investors are disgusted.

According to Reuters:

Media General Inc shares lost as much as 54 percent of their value last Thursday. The loss came after a disgruntled investor sold stock in the newspaper publisher. October classified advertising revenue fell 38 percent.

Reuters wrote:
"Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone cut Harbinger Capital Partners's stake in Media General to 16.67 percent from more than 18 percent, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Harbinger got directors elected to Media General and the New York Times (NYT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) earlier this year after criticizing the management at both companies on their Internet strategies and for not paying enough attention to non-family shareholders.

Media General, which publishes the Tampa Tribune and Richmond Times-Dispatch, along with other papers, has two classes of shares. The second, stronger class is held by the Bryan family. The Ochs-Sulzberger family holds a separate class of shares that give it control of the New York Times Co.

A spokesman for Harbinger had no immediate comment.

Media General's shares dipped as low as $1.36 from their close of $2.96 on Wednesday. They later recovered to $2.17, still down more than 26 percent."

Don't forget, in March, Harbinger nominated three contenders for the board to oppose those selected by Media General. Harbinger was tired of the "management" decisions (or LACK of management decisions) by the existing board and forced three new board members onto the board in hopes of fixing things before the whole organization went south.

Gee....They laid of 80 employees in Tampa - well, they offered buyouts - and other deals....to the paper that everyone else in Media General terms the "big sucking drain" on other revenues.

StopBigMedia.com smells a rat. The advocacy blog notes that Media General was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the FCCâ€™s decision to lift its 30-year-old ban on media cross-ownership. The layoffs are thus hitting geographies where readers already have little choice in media, meaning that Media General will simply hack away at quality in the name of profitability, the blogger alleges. It appears, though, that the FCCâ€™s decision will be reversed by Congress.

Does Danville need another newspaper? You bet it does. Can the Republicans and conservatives in the area do a better job? We can hope. I don't think they'll tolerate the same sort of behavior that goes on at The Register & Bee. One would hope not. I'm not the only pointing fingers at the way they run things. Google Media General and see for yourself. StopBigMedia.com is all over them all the time.

Virgial Goode calls for recount

2008-11-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

With only .23% dividing candidates, Congressman Virgil Goode will seek a recount.

November 24, 2008— Rocky Mount, VA— At 3:00 pm today, Congressman Goode held a Media Conference where he made the following statement.

"Over 316,000 votes were cast in this Election for U.S. Representative. The morning after the Election Night, with all precincts reporting, we were ahead by 446 votes. Since that time, over 3,200 votes have changed -- the largest changes coming from cities and counties that voted for my opponent. Now, we are trailing by 745 votes in the certified count.

Virginia law provides for a recount in any election where the vote difference between the candidates is one percent or less. Here, the difference between the candidates is 0.23 percent. In an election this close -- with less than one-quarter of one percent separating the two candidates, and with literally thousands of vote changes taking place during the post-election canvass process -- a recount is an important protection for voters. It ensures that each ballot that was lawfully cast in the Election is counted, and that the votes are accurately tallied. It also gives us a chance to ensure that each candidate's tally is comprised only of votes that were properly and lawfully cast.

Over the last few weeks, voters from across the Fifth District have encouraged me to seek a recount of the Election. Tomorrow, I will file the appropriate legal papers to request a recount of this Election."

Just doing my job....

2008-11-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

"Just doing my job"

What a bogus excuse.

If you take a job, you've bought into what the company does. You're responsible.

If you work for a company headed off a cliff, hey, you're going too. The fact that you're just doing your job doesn't make unemployment any better. And if the company is hurting people or the world you operate in, it doesn't matter who told you to do it, you still did it.

It's not just your job. It's a big part of your life. And you're way smarter than you're giving yourself credit for. Speak up, change things or get out. Whining later is a low-return strategy.

Sorry for the rant. Been getting a lot of email this week from people explaining why they work for companies doing dumb things.

*****

This is not MY writing, but I concur with it totally. It's written by Seth Godin, marketing and business guru. I'm in Seth's social media network and five of my case studies on businesses are in the FREE ebook that accompanies his latest best-selling book, "Tribes." Seth's right. Speak up. Change things, or get out. Whining later is a low-return strategy. I'm in the speak up. Change things mode. I was smart enough enough to get out. Are you? Or will you be one of the people who goes off the cliff as well?

The problem with the Register and Bee and all the short-sighted people who attempt to manage it is, they don't care about people. They don't care about community. They don't care about Danville. They care about themselves. The problem with that is, the new marketing and business model demands businesses who care about others, who connect with community, who help others.

Forces are moving now to bring a newspaper to the area who will do just that. Who will it be? Hopefully it will be someone who is everything the Register and Bee is not.

Media General stock still dropping...

2008-11-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Media General stock prices are dropping, but rumors about layoffs at the paper are on the rise. They're already running a skeleton crew - with most of the offices now crowded onto the main floor. Many of the vending machines have been removed and deliveries are down so much the machines are frequently empty. The bathrooms in the basement have been closed for quite awhile. The press is shut down and being disassembled.

Recognize the signs? A business struggling to survive. Who will be given a cardboard box and shown the door next? We all know loyalty counts for nothing. Even those who won awards this year weren't sent to pick them up - the paper couldn't afford it. Bet Steve Kaylor's paycheck didn't take a hit. He still has an expense account.

I made $28,000 a year, plus overtime. What are you making? More importantly, how much longer will you be making it? Layoffs always come around the holidays folks. Better be saving money, not spending it.

Media General shares fall to $2.96!!!! WOW!!!

2008-11-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Glad I got out when they were at $14 a share.

The New York Times and Media General's shares have fallen to the lowest point in decades!!

The New York Times shares closed Wednesday at $6.35. Media General's shares fell to $2.96. Why? Harbinger Capital Partners, which holds seats on both companies' boards, limited its interest in the newspaper publishers...with good reason. Especially for Media General. Wonder if Harbinger reads my blog? ;-D

Those who invest good money hate to see it being pissed away on sexual harassment lawsuits and lawyers. They WANT good management who is making a difference as well as money in communities.

Read the entire article here.

Too bad Media General. Maybe if you weren't so busy being stupid, racist, sexist, inept and incompetent you'd fare better.

Why the Register & Bee will FAIL, how others can succeed

2008-11-20T07:45:00.001-08:00

I read a marketing blog by David Scott called Web Ink Now. He posted this about marketing and politics and he's right. The Register & Bee is all about THEM THEM THEM...not their readers, not the community. Their main interest is in making money, not in caring about people. They have a policy about NOT running stories about people who are trying to raise money for a loved one who has cancer, or needs a kidney transplant...unless it's the friend of an employee of course. If they did that, they say, everyone would want a "free ad." Well - "everyone" means they fear unscrupulous people would SAY someone was sick and they'd abuse the system. Being the newspaper, people would give it credibility....and might get fleeced.

But I ask - how hard is it really to check out a story, to talk with a doctor (with the family's permission of course) or to make sure the story is legit? Not hard. Not hard at all...but then, that person wouldn't buy an ad then would they? They don't check out who buys their ads. They haven't really checked out some of the people who they've run stories on. I know of at least one story they featured where the guy was a con-man and a crook - but no one wanted to ask the hard questions.....now the business is gone, people are out of jobs and the guy bankrupted. But he knew someone at the Register & Bee...so we did a story. tsk, tsk, tsk..... so much to tell.... and they won't tell it. Anyway, here are:

Ten marketing lessons from the Barack Obama Presidential campaign
By Dave Scott

I wanted to make a few observations about why Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States.

This is a marketing blog, not a political blog. These are not political observations, but thoughts about marketing. It doesn't matter who I supported or voted for or who you supported or voted for us all to learn from Obama's victory.

1. Social media and the new rules of marketing are essential. The other campaigns seemed to be fighting using the playbooks of past campaigns. Hillary Clinton was relying on what worked to elect Bill Clinton. John McCain was relying on what worked to elect George W. Bush. Obama realized that to become president, he had to deliver information to people online as a primary tool, not an afterthought. In my opinion, Barack Obama is the most successful "new marketer" in history.

2. Embrace citizen journalists. My friend Steve Garfield is a well-known videoblogger. He's got tens of thousands of followers. During the primaries, Garfield attended several rallies held by various candidates. When he asked to go to the media section at a Hillary Clinton rally in Boston he was tuned away (because he was "not a real journalist") and had to cover it from the back of the crowd. However, Obama's campaign immediately brought him up to the media section where he was placed with print reporters from the major dailies and TV crews from the networks. The Obama campaign understood that citizen journalists have immense power.

Change2
3. Clearly and simply articulate what you want people to believe. From the beginning, Obama was about "change." The word "change" was everywhere in his campaign, so much that the entire world knew what Obama stood for. I asked a group of 300 people in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia what was the one word they think of when I say Barack Obama and all in the room said "CHANGE". Amazing. Quick: What do the following candidates stand for? John McCain, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, or any others. Hard to say isn't it?

4. People don't care about products and services, instead they care about themselves and about solving their problems. Obama understood that his job was to solve the problems facing voters. He also knew that voters were buying into solutions, not just an individual. Did you notice in speeches how often Obama referred to his audience compared to how often he referred to himself? How about the other candidates in the primaries? How about John McCain? The other candidates talked about themselves a hell of a lot more than Obama did. Obama was the most Tuned In candidate.

5. Don't obsess over the competition. Did you notice that Obama rarely talked about his competition? Once in a while he would, but mainly he talked about the problems facing voters. McCain talked a lot about Obama. Interestingly, Clinton and McCain both tried to associate themselves with the "change" word (the competition's word) but both failed because people already associated it with Obama.
Bidentwitter

6. Put your fans first. Obama had many ways to make an inclusive campaign and alert fans about developments first. I found out on Twitter that Joe Biden was to be Obama's running mate. Amazing. Obama told his fans first BEFORE mainstream media. (Of course, smart reporters were following his Twitter feed).

7. People don't like tele-marketing. Do you like getting phone calls at dinnertime? McCain supporters seem to think so as they unleashed a barrage of so called robo-calls, which seemed to have backfired.

8. Negativity doesn't sell. Obama’s theme of hope and the idea that life can be better with change was uplifting to many people. The other campaigns of fear didn’t work this time around.

9. When someone becomes a customer, they want to talk about it. Obama tapped over 3 million donors who provided $640 million to the campaign. The majority contributed small amounts online. Once someone donates money, they have a vested interest in the candidate. So lots of small donors are better than a few fat cats.

10. Take time for your family. (Okay maybe this isn’t really a marketing observation). Obama took time to be with his wife and daughters when he could have done another rally somewhere. He took several days at the end of the race to spend time with his ailing grandmother. While he was pulled away from "work" I think people respected his devotion to family.

Anyone have any other observations?

Marketers can learn a great deal from political campaigns. I encourage you to take a look at these ten lessons and apply them to your business.

P.S. Steve Kaylor - EVERY time I get an email from your folks I add another post because obviously they enjoy responding to them and I like to keep them happy and writing ME FOR FREE on YOUR dime. The more they're thinking about this blog and writing me and spewing venom and hate, the more fodder I have! Have a nice life Steve.

Virginia may ban lap dogs for driver safety reasons

2008-11-20T06:40:00.002-08:00

Virginia and New Hampshire have wrapped proposed lap-pet bans into driver safety legislation that would prohibit using hand-held cell phones while driving and require using headlights when it's raining.

Other states, including Arizona and Illinois, have covered the issue in more sweeping driver laws that say any driver who is distracted by anything could be ticketed.

Store closings....Do you have a gift card? Better use it!

2008-11-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Many stores around the country and the region are closing or going bankrupt. If you have any "gift cards" for these stores, make sure you use them, or you will lose them! Watch those store money cards and gift cards.. and credit slips! Stores that informed the Security Exchange of closing plans between October> 2008 and January 2009. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

Circuit City stores... most recent closures
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide are to be shuttered
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherine's to close 150 store nationwide> > Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down all stores
J. Jill closing all stores
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January.
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ (New Brunswick)
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pacific Sunware closing stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/ Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stores
K B Toys closing 356 stores
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores.

Chickens stop rabbit fighing

2008-11-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks Secret Reader. You're right. Chickens are smarter than penguins. Got fighting rabbits? Put the chickens in with them. Readers send me the funniest stuff and every once in awhile I like to post it! You're right. At least someone HERE is managing the barnyard! lol!!!

Political retaliation?

2008-11-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

Casewell County blog readers say that the Register & Bee's report on Hugh Webster's small claims court case is political retaliation. Webster, says one reader, has been a thorn in the side of liberals for years and the Register & Bee is playing up the story now that they have a Republican in their sights.

Having worked at The Register & Bee I can say that's possible, but more likely it was a slow news day and someone called to tell Bernard to show up for the story since he was seen hanging around the courthouse before the case was filed. Notice they used a FILE photo of Hugh Webster....not usually done since it's considered lazy and half-assed reporting...but, they do it.

Unfortunately, if it's a slow news day - meaning no one was stabbed, shot, their house set on fire or a store robbed, the next "newsworthy" item that takes little investigation, relies mostly on documents that can be quoted - like a court case, and involves someone in the public eye - unless it's a drunken sports reporter working at the Register & Bee - (historically the R&B keeps its own shortcomings out of the paper), they'll end up on the front page. Any lawsuits against the Register and Bee that involve an R&B reporter, are also kept out of the paper. So....

"Anti-Bullying Bill" passes in New York!!

2008-11-18T05:19:00.000-08:00

Looks like my testimony before Congress next year may actually help! At least some of our legislators are getting the message - bullying is wrong!

Breaking news as of today.....

Big News in New York State!

S08793 The Senate companion bill to the Healthy Workplace Bill A10291 was just sponsored by Senator Thomas P. Morahan and Senator Dale M. Volker on November 14, 2008 as S08793.

With both of the New York State legislative houses on board, the New York Healthy Workplace Advocates will work to rally the legislative support necessary to transform the Healthy Workplace Bill into an actual law.

Please consider personally thanking Senator Morahan for signing on as the Primary Sponsor of S08793, and Senator Volker for signing on as the Co-Sponsor of the bill.

Their contact information is below:

Senator Thomas P. Morahan
Room 848 Legislative Office Building
Albany , NY 12247
(518) 455-3261
morahan@senate.state.ny.us

Senator Dale M. Volker
Room 427 Capitol Bldg.
Albany, New York 12247
(518) 455.3471
volker@senate.state.ny.us

This is a very historic occasion for New York State and the nation! Take a moment to pause and fully experience the significance of this event. http://nyhwa.org/

From a reader!! Thanks for the humor!

2008-11-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

This article was written by Susan Elzy of The Danville Register & Bee, last year. A reader who really loved it sent it in. It is NOT making fun of Danville, it is celebrating the quirks and personality of a small town that so many people love. If this upsets you, you haven't read the Register and Bee much...or this blog much.

You know you're from Danville when...

- You have driven for nearly 15 minutes, have made a series of left and right turns and are still on Main Street.

- You've been asked by the last three people you met where you go to church.

- When you drive to South Boston to get an elegant dinner.

-You think Shag dancing should be the national sport.

-You go to Myrtle Beach in August to get away from town and meet the rest of the city there!

-You are merging impaired.

-You're still not sure what The Institute does!

-You think eating out is a form of recreation.

-You think Mount Hermon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

-The sun shining off the car roofs at Wal-Mart blinds you as you cruise in.

-There's an herb shop named "Bubba's"

-You open conversations with, "Hey, How Y'all been doing?"

-You think a Target store is going to save the town.

- You know it's there, but you've never toured the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.

-When the Taco Bell closes before midnight.

-When people bring their 3-year old with them to Buffalo Wild Wings on a Saturday night.

-When a diner conversation can continue for 30 minutes debating where the best biscuits are found.

-The Smurf Bridge (once blue) is now painted black, but still called the Smurf Bridge.

-When no matter where you turn, you're only a stone's throw from water, historic buildings or victorian homes.

-You give, "used to be" directions to people: "turn at what used to be the King of the Sea," or down by what used to be the boat dock, and turn on the street by the place that used to be Wimpy's. If you remember all of those you really are a Danvillian!

-A night out with the wife is a trip to Lowe's and an ice cream cone at Bubba's (Not the herb shop).

-You choose to shop at Wal-Mart on Wednesday nights when everyone else is at church.

-Rush hour is from 5 to 5:15 on Piney Forest Road.

Bagels

2008-11-15T09:51:00.000-08:00

To the reader who wanted me to comment on local businesses - a local bagel shop in particular. Yes - it does take a LOOOOONNNGGGGG time to get your order there. That's why I don't eat there. I have other places I can waste an hour or two.

The food is great - but you're so starved by the time it arrives - why wouldn't it taste good? I agree! But customer service and wait times are things you need to address with the owner. Sorry. Or start your own blog with restaurant reviews and I'd be happy to link to it!

What will it cost to start a new newspaper?

2008-11-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

In 2001 I started a newspaper with $250 raised by citizens who held a yard sale for me. For six months I did the layout, writing, photos and distribution by myself. I didn't have to sell ads. Advertisers came to me. Why? Because I produced a conservative newspaper that told the truth, didn't shy away from controversy and produced both sides of the news - not just the Democrats, or the environmentalists, or the Republicans. People could make up their own minds. It became the first paper in 20 years in Washington State to become a paper of legal record. Not bad for a one-woman band. I had a volunteer manage the finances and billings and later added a couple of salespeople. It does not cost a million dollars to start a newspaper.

It does take committed readers - and advertisers. It takes a commitment from readers to buy the paper and advertisers to agree to advertise for at least two years so that the business owner(s) have some guaranteed income to pay for the printing, the distribution and the expenses. A million dollars would be nice, but great things start small. There are many excellent writers, photographers and desire for a newspaper with LOCAL NEWS about LOCAL businesses. Do we need a 40 page, all color slick publication? No. That just costs more money. My paper was all black and white - and was still well read. When your content is GOOD, and fair, and balanced and true....people will support it.

I suggest organizers begin by looking at the resources that already exist here - The Piedmont Shopper or The Star Tribune. They're already doing well. They're set up to handle advertising. The Piedmont Shopper simply needs to start adding editorial and photos. The Star Tribune could simply add a reporter devoted to Danville. Continue to use Richard Davis for photos - he's a great photographer and knows his way around the county. The Register & Bee LIED to get rid of him. But we know that about the R&B....they lie...a LOT.

Nothing changes until you, the readers and advertisers, take action. Contact The Piedmont Shopper. Talk to The Star Tribune. Others are and have. If you want a real newspaper, you have to support it.

Ready for a change?

2008-11-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for a change? Ready for a newspaper OTHER THAN the Danville Register & Bee? Ready to have a paper FREE of mistakes, poor editing and biased writing? In the next few months area organizers will be contacting advertisers and citizens asking for your support to bring a new newspaper to Danville. If you'd be willing to subscribe to or advertise in a local weekly in Danville, please email RepublicanPaper@yahoo.com with your name and contact information. A representative will verify your name and contact information and call you.

Republicans fighting back-starting own newspaper

2008-11-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Pittslyvania County Virginia, the largest county in the state and home to Danville, is predominantly conservative. And they're pissed. The local newspaper, The Danville Register & Bee, backed Democrat Tom Perriello over incumbent Virgil Goode and Goode lost - by a few hundred votes.

Major advertisers have already begun to pull their ads in protest and Republican "old money" has started seriously shopping for a new newspaper. Other advertisers in Danville are being approached by citizen groups carrying petitions and are being asked not to advertise with the Register & Bee. It's not a boycott, just readers voting with their wallets.

Rumors that local real estate agents will be next to pull their ads have circulated for months, but the recent action by the area's largest auto dealership - Woodall's, has seemed to push a few more folks off of the fence.

"We (Republicans) raised a million dollars for Danny (Marshall)," one potential investor said. "I don't see why the Republicans can't raise that much to start a new newspaper."

According to those close to the efforts, anger over the editing of anti-Perriello comments were edited OUT of their letters to the editor and many letters to the editor have also been edited in such a way as to change the intent and message in the letter.

"I want a paper that reports both sides fairly, not just the democrat's viewpoint," another investor said. "I can make up my own mind if I hear both sides, but The Register & Bee doesn't give you that option."

Angry subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the election and also began calling and contacting advertisers or pulling their own ads. The Register & Bee has suffered under the weak management of Publisher Steve Kaylor and Managing Editor Arnold Hendrix. Advertisers and readers pulled ads and canceled subscriptions and protested in the last year over the newspaper's Sunday feature story in which reporter Mac McLean described a local drink as a "real panty dropper"....McLean also filmed the breasts of a local advertiser and business woman and showed the video of her and another business woman around the newsroom while giggling like a little girl and saying, "I can see her nipples." MacLean was NOT disciplined, but those who objected to the video were fired or later forced out for protesting a "hostile workplace."

No car ads???

2008-11-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Gee....economic downturn? or advertisers beginning to show the Register & Bee they're serious about how upset they are with the newspaper's bias and treatment of readers, employees and Virgil Goode?

Except for a couple of Barkhouser car ads on Sunday - there was a conspicuous absence of car ads from Woodalls Automotives in Sunday's paper. Hmmmmm....

Will the real estate folks be next? What will it take to make the Register & Bee realize that readers and advertisers are tired of being treated like they are? The Register & Bee's management obviously believes that they can print whatever they want, be as offensive, sexist and arrogant as they want....and remain the only game in town.

Is it time to let Publisher Steve Kaylor know his arrogance and mismanagement style isn't working? Not like he cares or anything. Remember....he LIED to the woman his reporter abused - claimed he knew nothing about the incident - although emails I posted here show differently. Will he LIE to you? How can you trust a manager who is supposed to represent what is honorable when he takes the side of managers who laugh at women, and a reporter who thought it was funny to humiliate and degrade women, who will keep on an EDITOR who had 13 police charges, including three DUI's and an evading police charge....while keeping all that out of the paper.... THAT is "leadership"?

Danville needs a NEW newspaper, new leadership and a new vision. Danville needs change. Who will step up to the plate? Is there anyone? Anyone at all?? Maybe the Star Tribune needs to hire a few folks and expand THEIR coverage into Danville. From what real estate and car dealers have told me - they'd love to put their ads into a new venture - one that covered local news. The opportunity is out there. Who's going to invest in Danville?

Threats

2008-11-09T02:27:00.000-08:00

Ah....threats from the Register & Bee.....how sad. How pathetic. Media General cowards have taken to anonymous email in an attempt to harass, intimidate and threaten me. tsk tsk tsk....it's not nice to threaten people.

While your anonymous emailer SEEMS anonymous, it seems you have violated the TERMS of SERVICE and attorneys have contacted hushmail already. You are trackable! ;-)

Have a nice life. Get some help. According to Brandi, there are a couple of folks at the Register & Bee on medication. Maybe one of them will give you the name of their doctor. You might consider prayer. Come to Jesus. Stay away from the porn, the adultery and infidelity, the lies and Satan worshipping going on down there....Get a life. Stop eating so much. Stress is bad for you!

p.s. not everyone who seems to be your friend is...

More bad news for newspapers

2008-11-09T01:11:00.000-08:00

Greensboro's News & Record has offered all of its employees a voluntary buyout. The newspaper is trying to reduce its work force by up to 10 percent.
Declining revenue and the cost of distributing the paper are among the reasons the publisher said the company is reducing its force. If not enough people take the buyout, layoffs will begin.

Like the Register & Bee's readers in Danville, Greensboro's residents are most likely to see the newspaper's quality decline and mistakes and errors increase. And - with that - ad revenues are even MORE likely to drop.Gannett Co., one of the nation's largest newspapers, eliminated more than 1,000 positions earlier this year. McClatchy Co. announced its second major round of job cuts in September. The Register & Bee has also cut its force dramatically - and sent its advertising layout jobs to Lynchburg to be done by temps, who, according to readers and many of the Register & Bee's own sales staff, "continue to keep screwing things up."

The Register & Bee hasn't experienced all bad news however. Like Virgil Goode's office THEY were also thanked in the making of the GAY movie they hammered Virgil over. At least someone is glad for their support....

When people matter...

2008-11-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

Con-Way Freight is closing its Goodyear Boulevard location. They're moving to a new location in Winston-Salem this month. That's about a little further than Lynchburg - quite a commute, but still a job if the 17 employees who work there want it. At least Con-Way Freight DID THE RIGHT THING and offered its employees a chance to follow the company. Their loyalty was rewarded. They are valued. The Danville Register and Bee walked in to the employees they laid off, gave them no prior hint by the way, handed them some ratty old cardboard boxes and said, "You have 15 minutes to get out of the building." Some of those folks worked there 30 plus years. They weren't given the option of commuting to Lynchburg or staying with the company. They were treated like dogs. WORSE than dogs.

Steve Kaylor, the seagull manager he is (flies in, shits on everyone and everything then flies away and leaves it to someone else to clean up the mess) didn't give anyone a chance to stay or move. They didn't care. Just bodies to them. But then again....this is a company who won't let its newspaper carriers use the bathroom facilities and forces them to pee in the parking lot.....eeeewwwww.....remember that if you think you want a job delivering papers for them. You buy your own plastic bags and rubber bands, your own gas, wear and tear and on your car, you get fined/docked for late papers or papers the subscriber said they didn't receive....and paid crap to do it...and you have to sit in your car waiting for the papers to arrive....and it's dark, cold and no bathroom and in a bad neighborhood to boot.

Yeah....some job....

4th Circuit rules AGAINST Media General

2008-11-05T04:51:00.000-08:00

Inconsistent Enforcement of Email Policies: the Employer's Hobgoblin?

Consistency is a good idea when it comes to enforcement of email use policies. Too bad Media General hasn't figured that out. Maybe a recent ruling by the Fourth Circuit will help.

In Media General Operations, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, the Fourth Circuit upheld the NLRB's finding that the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a newspaper owned by Media General, had wrongly interfered with employees' union communications. Although Media General had a policy prohibiting personal use of the company email system, the court noted that the company's enforcement of the policy was uneven, allowing a "wide variety of messages unrelated to company business" while prohibiting "union messages."

Although this decision dealt with the narrow issue of labor relations, its reasoning could affect how courts treat claims by or against employees where employer monitoring of employees' communications or workers' violations of company computer policies are at issue. The lesson for employers: without uniform enforcement, an email use policy might not be very useful.

Is the rumor true?

2008-11-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

Word on the street is, Robert Woodall is so upset with the Danville Register and Bee's decision to oppose Virgil and back Tom, that he's cancelling his car ads. Since car and real estate ads are the bread and butter of any newspaper, this could signal a big financial hit for the paper and start an avalanche of businesses pulling their ads. Will it? Is this the decision that could turn the Piedmont Shopper into a viable weekly in Danville? All Alan needs is editorial content. He has the ad market.

If realtors pull out next, things could get even more interesting. Perhaps Obama will infuse the paper with some campaign ad funds.....

The FACT is, petitions are circulating, advertisers are upset, and readers expect the Register and Bee to back Virgil. It's time to vote with your wallet. Who will follow Robert or not?

Get Medication

2008-11-02T02:24:00.000-08:00

"Sarah Arkin is not a Democrat. We've probed. Let it go. Get medication." If you check the comment boxes you'll see that's the message Kang has left. (see post below too). Thank you Kang. Kang also told me, "You realize you are totally insane."

That's so sad!!! How dare you talk about mental illness in such a demeaning and negative way when there are people at The Danville Register and Bee on "TERMINAL" doses of Prozac, clinging to life and happiness and bringing smiles and giggles to their co-workers through the sheer miracle of modern medicine. The Register and Bee wouldn't get produced every day if not for serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. Play nice now. If the Register and Bee had "done the right thing" and apologized to its readers for allowing reporter Mac McLean to film the breasts of a local businesswoman (and advertiser - yes, see how they treat you for spending money there) without her consent and flashing the video around the newsroom for managing editor Arnold Hendrix, Bernard Baker and Robert Benson to laugh at....and for publisher Steve Kaylor to deny it....well....maybe things would be different. But they're not....

Do check out Mac's website. He has a pretty photo of a sunflower. Guess that was in the days before he was taking photos of women's breasts.

Ah.....then half of Danville must be insane too, because I have so many readers who consistently tell me how glad they are to have this blog and how much they wish someone would start another newspaper. The Piedmont Shopper seems to be doing very, very, very well. And Danville Business, the FREE online news and info site for local businesses, is certainly picking up steam.

Sara Arkin has been probed

2008-11-02T02:09:00.000-08:00

Danville Register and Bee Reporter Sara Arkin has been probed. At least that's what a reader (probably someone from the Register and Bee, who knows. The coward won't sign his name) claims. The probe has determined that she is NOT a democrat. I know. She's a socialist who supports democrats.

Sara Arkin made her politics pretty clear when I worked at The Register and Bee. She's a major Obama supporter, bragged about knowing him and growing up in the same neighborhood as Obama etc. And I think everyone is well aware of her bias against Virgil Goode. And, for the first time since Virgil's been in office the newspaper has decided to oppose Virgil Goode. But not being one to censor news, as The Register and Bee has been known to do, I thought it important to make sure that my readers know that "KANG, not from the Simpons" (as his email says), assures me that "Sara Arkin has been probed. She is not a Democrat." Just so you know. I doubt Virgil Goode would agree, and I know from her comment to me about wanting America to be more socialist, that the probe probably didn't go very deep. But then again, considering the extent of adultery, cheating husbands and general morals at The Register and Bee, probing seems to be a popular thing. A reader sent in this photo of Sara with a Virgil Goode sticker on her back. A good Republican or not?

oooohhhh!! ANOTHER LAWSUIT!!!!

2008-10-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

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.