nomoneydownrealestate

March 1, 2010

personal finance programs

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — emostreet @ 1:42 pm

“Cutting them off of dentures, hearing-aid services and diapers … I don't know how we look the elderly in the eye,” she said.

Most of the tax and fee increases approved in 2009 are scheduled to sunset at the end of the year.

Gibbons' spokesman Daniel Burns said in response that legislators “raised taxes and they raised spending.”

The governor in his speech “was merely reviewing the facts that got Nevada's budget where it is today,” he said. “But that is history.”

Burns said the governor, legislators and citizens “must work together to keep Nevada afloat.”

In Las Vegas, several hundred university students boycotted classes Tuesday to rally against plans for deep cuts to funding for Nevada colleges. Higher education officials have said the proposed cuts of $147 million could force them to close colleges and campuses, lay off staff and increase tuition.

Many boarded buses and carpooled to the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, where they chanted “no more cuts” while the Finance Committee met inside.

Lawmakers are holding hearings before a special legislative session Feb. 23, when they will try to reconcile with Gibbons on how to balance the state's budget.

Mike Willden, state health and human services director, said the 10 percent cuts the governor is calling for would have totaled $132 million, but some measure were considered too onerous, so the administration reduced the agency's target reduction to $109 million.

Reducing the number of incontinence products that Medicaid will pay for to 186 from 300 per month will save $829,000 a year, the agency said. Eliminating reimbursements for disposable gloves can save $834,000.

About 4,400 people received dentures or had their dentures relined in 2009. Eliminating that benefit is projected to save $2.5 million. Ending adult day care, used by 367 Medicaid recipients last year, will save about $2.1 million.

Cutting reimbursement rates for personal care services by $1.50 per hour to $15.50 would save nearly $3 million, and reducing hospital reimbursement rates by 5 percent would save $5.3 million.

Willden said there are no easy answers.

“I'm giving you the best of the worst choices,” he said.

He conceded that with proposed cuts so far totaling only half the state deficit, deeper cuts may be necessary.


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The bad news is that most reform comes when the existing system collpases rather than when it becomes clear that the math predicts insolvency. The good news is that reforms can work well. They change the game more quickly than expected because a savings base is formed and a huge part of the population are active capitalists. Chile is center-left politically but pretty conservative with economic policy because everyone loses when politicians start attacking private sector players or draining resources.

The actuarial reality is not liberal or conservative. The whole basis for our particular system hinged on ever expanding demographic growth in the working age category (from births, from adding work force participants and/or by moving up the retirement age.) What saved SS in the 1980's wasn't tweaking some payments or adding to retirement age, it was massive inflow of women into the workforce. Massive inflows of immigrants in the 1990's have helped FICA. There are non FICA costs to school districts, healthcare, law enforcement, etc. but FICA has benefited.

Increasing the defined benefit has been magic wand stuff - you assume that wealth will grow and productivity will increase. Social Security has played the magic game a bit through COLA and turning a blind eye to rampant fraud allowing ineligible recipients and criminals to tap payments. State and local governments have completely abdicated fiduciary responsibility and made defined benefit promises that are untethered to the tax base or common sense.It's heads I win, tail you lose for public sector employees. Stock market falls, tough luck, raise taxes and give my dough. In the private sector, companies go bankrupt and defined benefits end.

Part of the Chile story involved allowing people to choose to opt in or opt out of a private system if you were above a certain age. I think it was around 50. If you opted in, you kept the promised payments and the payments had to budgeted into the government budget. If you opted out, you received a credit based on past contributions but went to defined contribution and private accounts. Many more people opted in than pure actuarial analysis would have predicted largely because people don't trust politicians and want their own accounts.People decide if they want to retire early or work more, they can be frugal and pass savings on to their estate.

There is a safety net payment for the destitute but that is welfare not "retirement" and must be funded in each budget. You have to deal with larger reported deficits when making the move to allowing people to have their own accounts and the government is no longer robbing the funds to pay current bills. It is not as bad as it sounds and the system starts with indiviudal accounts having to allocate a percentage of investment to government bonds - something that is prudent anyway in a diversified portfolio.

Over time, most restrictions on where the investments go have been lifted and riskier investments allowed.People have separate broker accounts and could always allocate other savings to whatever level of risk they wanted.

It is not perfect but it is better than what we have and young and old pull together.

MABUHAY ALLIANCE HOST THE 6TH ANNUAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE by mabuhayalliance

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managing your personal finance

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — emostreet @ 4:59 am

IG20 Summit, London, G20 London, G20 Protests, G20 Demonstrations by G20London2009

http://removeripoffreports.net

February 25, 2010

web site promotion internet marketing

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — emostreet @ 11:28 pm

Pharmaceutical companies have begun creating a presence on Facebook characterized by control and caution. Why? Despite unclear regulations in the U.S. governing their presence online, they may still be penalized for marketing materials on the Internet. The result is, in terms of their Facebook marketing content, a mixed bag of sometimes disingenuous Pages and Groups, fluffy applications and tightly-controlled discussions.

In November of 2009 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a hearing to examine this very issue: how to regulate drug companies’ marketing online — including social networks, blogs, podcasts, Wikipedia, etc. More than 800 parties tried to register to speak at the two-day hearing that included 69 speakers and 77 scheduled presentations; most attendees were either pharmaceutical or marketing reps, and the rest were a tiny fraction of consumers, non-profits and consumer advocacy groups.

According to the FDA, which regulates the promotion or advertising of pharmaceuticals in that country: “The continually evolving nature of the Internet, including Web 2.0 and social media tools… have raised questions and concerns over how to  apply existing regulations to promotion in these newer media.”

Currently there are no laws governing what pharmaceutical companies may or may not do online — aside from the general expectation that they disclose risk information alongside drug benefits. The last time the FDA broached the subject was 1996 and has since been based on guidelines for print marketing: where both benefits and risks of drugs must be presented side-by-side.

“The worry is the drug companies will find a way via the much more malleable and fluid environment of the Internet to promote their product in one-sided ways — and that’s not good,” said Steven Findlay, a senior health policy analyst with the Consumers Union who spoke at the FDA hearing. Facebook Pages for or by drug companies ought to include benefits and risks of drugs, he said, and be regulated by the FDA.

Several drug companies we saw on Facebook tried to mediate the info shared on their pages by closing their Walls, disallowing comments/likes and keeping consumers’ comments to a minimum by wielding tight control over Discussions.

The Facebook pages of Nexium (marketed to relieve heartburn caused by acid reflux disease) and Claritin Eye (eye drops for allergies) both closed off their Wall post to comments and likes. Both pages include information available on their product web sites.

“If they have a Wall, they can’t control what’s on it. If people complain about Nexium, then they’d either have to try to censor it, which would be potentially a problem, or they’d have to spend time responding to it,” said Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Research Center for Women and Families. “I would say to anyone who wants information about a medical product: Facebook is not the place to get it.”

Zuckerman testified at the FDA’s November hearing and said companies creating Facebook pages are likely to present information in such a way as to highlight the benefits without prominently pointing to the risks. Charging companies a fee payable to the FDA to monitor these sites would be the ideal way to ensure this doesn’t happen, she told us.

Claritin’s page has 6,600 fans and no place for comments, whereas Nexium has 508 fans and controls discussions by employing an app users have to allow access to before posting comments or questions. Nexium’s Facebook admin closely monitors these discussions, posting answers to questions or referring people to more information on Nexium’s web site.

Additional information on the pages include tabs for frequently asked questions, product information and risks, product savings programs, community guidelines for Facebook users (e.g., no obscenity or defamatory language) and tips.

Prevacid 24HR is another heartburn medication that had 8,000 fans on Facebook but took a radically different approach to its presence there than Nexium. Comments and likes are allowed on Prevacid’s Wall, although there were no active Discussions, and they even offered a coupon for discounts on their products.

There’s no penalty for misrepresenting information about a drug on Facebook, explained Zuckerman, although there is such a fine for similar misrepresentations in traditional media. What’s happened online is that pharma companies will present risk information, but it may not be where a user is likely to look, she told us.

“I think that, at the very least, these companies should have all of the same risk information that they’re required by law to include in television ads and magazine ads,” she says, noting that the unlimited space on the Internet would make this easier for the drug companies to accomplish.

Another tactic pharmaceutical companies are employing on Facebook: customized apps. Claritin’s page employed one, albeit the app was not closely related to the product. Claritin Eye Makeover allows users to upload photos of themselves to change and edit their eye color. Johnson & Johnson’s Acuminder, with 511 fans, is an app that reminds users when to change or purchase contact lenses, as well as remind them of their next eye exam.

Some companies also offer a Page or Group around a cause related to a drug. This is an especially gray area. Some examples we looked at clearly disclosed their sponsor relationship while others didn’t — either way, it appears that companies can be liable in some circumstances.

A Page with almost 109,000 members called Take A Step Against Cervical Cancer has ostensibly organized around preventing cancer — doing so by vaccinating young women with the HPV vaccine Gardasil, made by Merck. The Wall is practically non-existent, although there is information about side effects and links to Gardasil’s web sites on the page. There’s also an interactive fact book and quiz, and an app that allows users to make their own symbol against cervical cancer to post to their Walls.

Although rallying more than 100,000 people around a cause like cervical cancer and hiding the connection to a pharmaceutical company on the Info tab is not entirely a deception, but it’s also not transparent. Some similar Pages take this a step further.

Epilepsy Advocate, with 4,300 fans describes its Page as, “a community of people living well with epilepsy, their family members, and their caregivers. Epilepsy Advocates are people just like you who have shown the courage to share their stories and provide support to others.” Nowhere on the page, however, does it note that Epilepsy Advocate is a program sponsored by the pharmaceutical company UCB, which makes drugs for the treatment epilepsy. Although there are no strict laws governing pharma on social media, is it legal to promote an organization sponsored by a drug company without saying so?

It’s a slippery slope.

In UCB’s case, the Page itself is not currently illegal; however, the company is also responsible for the content. If a “user reported an adverse reaction to its treatment there, UCB would need to report it to the FDA,” according to an analysis by Adweek from December. “What’s more, pharma companies can be held liable by regulators for people discussing off-label use of their products on their sites.”

ADHD Moms, a Page for mothers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is similar to the epilepsy page, but discloses on the Info tab that its page of 9,500 fans is sponsored by McNeil Pediatrics, a self-described leader of ADHS treatment with its Concerta drug. Disclosure about the Page’s sponsor is a good thing, but the implicit promotion of pharmaceuticals via an advocacy group walks a fine line.

It’s a complicated issue, said Findlay of the Consumers Union, because pharmaceutical companies have previously walked this fine line between providing useful information and hiding their sponsorship of it. Pharma companies are legally required to disclose such information in advertisements offline and, after years’ worth of reprimands from the FDA for not doing so, they’ve gotten the message, Findlay said. The way this message translates to the online world has yet to be seen.

Findlay tells us that a draft of regulations or guidelines for online marketing could come this year with a final ruling within two years. These regulations will most likely clarify the full disclosure of risks/benefits issue, he said.

“One should never make the mistake of underestimating the capacity, the resources and the willingness of companies to really aggressively marketing their products and to walk a thin line obeying the regulations,” he says. “They’ll go right up to the point where they don’t want to cross into illegality — but they come close.”

Pharmaceutical companies have begun creating a presence on Facebook characterized by control and caution. Why? Despite unclear regulations in the U.S. governing their presence online, they may still be penalized for marketing materials on the Internet. The result is, in terms of their Facebook marketing content, a mixed bag of sometimes disingenuous Pages and Groups, fluffy applications and tightly-controlled discussions.

In November of 2009 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a hearing to examine this very issue: how to regulate drug companies’ marketing online — including social networks, blogs, podcasts, Wikipedia, etc. More than 800 parties tried to register to speak at the two-day hearing that included 69 speakers and 77 scheduled presentations; most attendees were either pharmaceutical or marketing reps, and the rest were a tiny fraction of consumers, non-profits and consumer advocacy groups.

According to the FDA, which regulates the promotion or advertising of pharmaceuticals in that country: “The continually evolving nature of the Internet, including Web 2.0 and social media tools… have raised questions and concerns over how to  apply existing regulations to promotion in these newer media.”

Currently there are no laws governing what pharmaceutical companies may or may not do online — aside from the general expectation that they disclose risk information alongside drug benefits. The last time the FDA broached the subject was 1996 and has since been based on guidelines for print marketing: where both benefits and risks of drugs must be presented side-by-side.

“The worry is the drug companies will find a way via the much more malleable and fluid environment of the Internet to promote their product in one-sided ways — and that’s not good,” said Steven Findlay, a senior health policy analyst with the Consumers Union who spoke at the FDA hearing. Facebook Pages for or by drug companies ought to include benefits and risks of drugs, he said, and be regulated by the FDA.

Several drug companies we saw on Facebook tried to mediate the info shared on their pages by closing their Walls, disallowing comments/likes and keeping consumers’ comments to a minimum by wielding tight control over Discussions.

The Facebook pages of Nexium (marketed to relieve heartburn caused by acid reflux disease) and Claritin Eye (eye drops for allergies) both closed off their Wall post to comments and likes. Both pages include information available on their product web sites.

“If they have a Wall, they can’t control what’s on it. If people complain about Nexium, then they’d either have to try to censor it, which would be potentially a problem, or they’d have to spend time responding to it,” said Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Research Center for Women and Families. “I would say to anyone who wants information about a medical product: Facebook is not the place to get it.”

Zuckerman testified at the FDA’s November hearing and said companies creating Facebook pages are likely to present information in such a way as to highlight the benefits without prominently pointing to the risks. Charging companies a fee payable to the FDA to monitor these sites would be the ideal way to ensure this doesn’t happen, she told us.

Claritin’s page has 6,600 fans and no place for comments, whereas Nexium has 508 fans and controls discussions by employing an app users have to allow access to before posting comments or questions. Nexium’s Facebook admin closely monitors these discussions, posting answers to questions or referring people to more information on Nexium’s web site.

Additional information on the pages include tabs for frequently asked questions, product information and risks, product savings programs, community guidelines for Facebook users (e.g., no obscenity or defamatory language) and tips.

Prevacid 24HR is another heartburn medication that had 8,000 fans on Facebook but took a radically different approach to its presence there than Nexium. Comments and likes are allowed on Prevacid’s Wall, although there were no active Discussions, and they even offered a coupon for discounts on their products.

There’s no penalty for misrepresenting information about a drug on Facebook, explained Zuckerman, although there is such a fine for similar misrepresentations in traditional media. What’s happened online is that pharma companies will present risk information, but it may not be where a user is likely to look, she told us.

“I think that, at the very least, these companies should have all of the same risk information that they’re required by law to include in television ads and magazine ads,” she says, noting that the unlimited space on the Internet would make this easier for the drug companies to accomplish.

Another tactic pharmaceutical companies are employing on Facebook: customized apps. Claritin’s page employed one, albeit the app was not closely related to the product. Claritin Eye Makeover allows users to upload photos of themselves to change and edit their eye color. Johnson & Johnson’s Acuminder, with 511 fans, is an app that reminds users when to change or purchase contact lenses, as well as remind them of their next eye exam.

Some companies also offer a Page or Group around a cause related to a drug. This is an especially gray area. Some examples we looked at clearly disclosed their sponsor relationship while others didn’t — either way, it appears that companies can be liable in some circumstances.

A Page with almost 109,000 members called Take A Step Against Cervical Cancer has ostensibly organized around preventing cancer — doing so by vaccinating young women with the HPV vaccine Gardasil, made by Merck. The Wall is practically non-existent, although there is information about side effects and links to Gardasil’s web sites on the page. There’s also an interactive fact book and quiz, and an app that allows users to make their own symbol against cervical cancer to post to their Walls.

Although rallying more than 100,000 people around a cause like cervical cancer and hiding the connection to a pharmaceutical company on the Info tab is not entirely a deception, but it’s also not transparent. Some similar Pages take this a step further.

Epilepsy Advocate, with 4,300 fans describes its Page as, “a community of people living well with epilepsy, their family members, and their caregivers. Epilepsy Advocates are people just like you who have shown the courage to share their stories and provide support to others.” Nowhere on the page, however, does it note that Epilepsy Advocate is a program sponsored by the pharmaceutical company UCB, which makes drugs for the treatment epilepsy. Although there are no strict laws governing pharma on social media, is it legal to promote an organization sponsored by a drug company without saying so?

It’s a slippery slope.

In UCB’s case, the Page itself is not currently illegal; however, the company is also responsible for the content. If a “user reported an adverse reaction to its treatment there, UCB would need to report it to the FDA,” according to an analysis by Adweek from December. “What’s more, pharma companies can be held liable by regulators for people discussing off-label use of their products on their sites.”

ADHD Moms, a Page for mothers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is similar to the epilepsy page, but discloses on the Info tab that its page of 9,500 fans is sponsored by McNeil Pediatrics, a self-described leader of ADHS treatment with its Concerta drug. Disclosure about the Page’s sponsor is a good thing, but the implicit promotion of pharmaceuticals via an advocacy group walks a fine line.

It’s a complicated issue, said Findlay of the Consumers Union, because pharmaceutical companies have previously walked this fine line between providing useful information and hiding their sponsorship of it. Pharma companies are legally required to disclose such information in advertisements offline and, after years’ worth of reprimands from the FDA for not doing so, they’ve gotten the message, Findlay said. The way this message translates to the online world has yet to be seen.

Findlay tells us that a draft of regulations or guidelines for online marketing could come this year with a final ruling within two years. These regulations will most likely clarify the full disclosure of risks/benefits issue, he said.

“One should never make the mistake of underestimating the capacity, the resources and the willingness of companies to really aggressively marketing their products and to walk a thin line obeying the regulations,” he says. “They’ll go right up to the point where they don’t want to cross into illegality — but they come close.”

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February 19, 2010

Starting a Franchise

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — emostreet @ 10:55 pm

It was not long ago that the offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers meant that we would be losing most if not all of our players that were no longer under contract. The Steelers normally draft a player two to three years prior to having to replace someone, that way, when said persons contract is up, the Steelers can wish him well as he walks out the door.

Those days are now gone, and the normal Steelers offseason includes keeping a player or two that can still help the team.

Now that the Steelers are in the offseason, here is what they will probably do now that, barring a shocking CBA agreement, that the off season rules are about to change.

For those of you that do not know, if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is not reached between now and March 1, the NFL rules about free agents is going to drastically change.

Players will not be eligible for UFA (Unrestricted Free Agency) until after their sixth season (instead of fourth). Teams will no longer have one Franchise or Transition tag, they will have two. There will be no salary cap or salary floor.

And teams that make the Divisional Playoff game will not be permitted to sign players in free agency unless it is to replace someone they lose, and the limit on the money they spend is low enough to keep top tier players from joining already good teams (I think it is about $3 million per year).

That being said, here is what I believe the Steelers have in mind for their pending free agents.


Jeff Reed : There has been much speculation as to what the Steelers plan on doing with their troubled kicker. That question has pretty much been answered by every member of the Steelers that has a say in the situation, Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II. You can read more about that here . Suffice it to say, Reeds contract is expected to be signed shortly.


Casey Hampton : AOL Fanhouse has an article up about Casey Hampton, and his displeasure about the pending Franchise tag that is coming his way. Hampton stated in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ,

Manipulating facts has constantly been a trademark of the Warriors' organization the day Chris Cohan decided to buy his 80 percent stake in the franchise.

Through their most loyal and hypocritical member, Bob Fitzgerald (Warriors' play-by-play announcer), the Warriors have valued touting a failing product that has no coherent goal.

One of the most hazy aspects that the organization clearly attempts to bury is the Warriors' starting backcourt of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.

Despite the Warriors' horrendous record at 13-35, day-to-day broadcasts consistently indicate the productiveness of the back-court on the offensive end, but bluntly dismisses the defensive flaws they commit.

Evidently, Ellis' defense has vastly improved, as he is forced to guard the opponent's best guards every game. Curry has been a surprise at the defensive end as well, consistently moving his feet and contesting the correct way.

The Warriors' backcourt averages a combined 4 steals per game, which overshadows their limitations on the defensive end. The Warriors lead the league in opponents points scored, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent 3-point percentage.

The most vivid reason behind those stats is the backcourt. Both Ellis and Curry stand at 6'3'', 185 pounds, and have difficulty staying with their man on every play.

Ellis, for example, ends up guarding a player like Trevor Ariza, who is 6'7'', and outweighs him by 25 pounds. Ellis has a strenuous mission of keeping up with physicality and quickness when facing much stronger and taller opponents.

The physicality Ellis has to endure on the defensive end takes its toll on the offensive end where he's averaging a league-high 4.1 turnovers per game.

Thus, the Warriors' backcourt does not have the ability to prevent guards' penetration to the basket, which leaves the front line of Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf in check for most of the game with foul trouble.

Consequently, Warriors give up an astounding 111.5 PPG to opponents, which usually outshines Ellis' spectacular offensive nights. After all, winning is the best measure for success in the NBA.

Bearing that in mind, Ellis and Curry cannot coexist on the same team. Despite Ellis' brilliant season, Curry remains the front runner for this franchise.

Scoring and quickness can be replaced in this league, but vision and astuteness cannot, which the Warriors need after the departure of Baron Davis two summers ago.

In order to build the right way, teams have to possess a high quality point guard who understands the intricacies of the game, let alone a player who has spent his whole life around the game of basketball.

Sooner rather than later, Warriors' fans have to accept that Ellis will eventually be traded. The moment Curry touched his first basketball in Warriors uniform, Ellis knew that a trade scenario would eventually occur.

After clearly informing the franchise that he wants Cto be the point guard of the future, Don Nelson selected Curry in the 2009 NBA draft.

It was all decided on that day: Curry is the Warriors' new franchise player.

I remember when I was growing up many years ago sitting in the basement of our house all by myself rooting hysterically for what was at that time in my life the best Seattle SuperSonics team I probably would have ever seen. I was only eleven at the time, it was 1996, and my Sonics were playing the greatest player along with the greatest dynasty in basketball history per Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls.

That particular year for those of you who do not remember, the Chicago Bulls had a record of 72-10, of course, the best overall regular season record ever recorded, coupled with my Sonics who were 64-18. Of course, the Bulls had a clear advantage and took the series in six. Nevertheless, I was supercharged on my path to become an avid Sonics fan for what is to this day the rest of my life. I just remember being in the basement all by myself and feeling extremely confident that if I rooted my team on in a certain way, it was prophecy they would win. During halftime I would stand on my head. After every quarter, I would run all the way to the top of the steps, then back. Every free throw that was shot by an opponent, I had to look away. For any normal adult witnessing such an event must have thought I was crazy, who knows, they are probably right. Because ten years later here I am sitting at this computer not only talking to you about my favorite franchise in sports history, it is coupled with me wearing a pair of Sonics shorts and a t-shirt. Just can't help myself. To tell you the truth, I wish I could go back. Start all over. I do not consider myself an intelligent person, however, I do have the ability to read the writing on the wall.

What we have here is a classic case of psuedo-business-shenanigans. I made that up. But I have a point and would like to showcase. Clayton Bennett and his henchman have formed what is essentially a bank account, but we will call it a business under the header Professional Basketball Club LLC. His crew is devised of three guys from SandRidge Energy, one guy from MidFirst Bank, and, of course, Bennett, who is a chairman at the very respectable Dorchester Capital in downtown Oklahoma City. Just a group of Oklahomans who are dedicated to bringing a basketball team to Oklahoma City.

For those of you who don't know, this is not their first time around at doing this. Clayton Bennett was a minority owner of the San Antonio Spurs back when I was just a young boy watching my Sonics in the basement. So what exactly is going on here? Why are these guys from half-a-world away trying to own and run a team that is essentially third world to them? I'll tell you why. Clayton Bennett had a plan. Oh yes, a plan. Now obviously I am going to dabble in something that is not written in stone, but like I said, I can read the writing on the wall. They never had intentions of keeping the Sonics in Seattle, or Renton, or in the west coast at all. Like a shark smelling blood, he recognized Howard Schultz was either losing interest, or money, on a team that seemed to be wounded and flailing.

And like any shark would do, put together a company and swooped in under the miss-representation that it was his intentions to keep them right here in the great northwest. However, it is my perception that Clayton Bennett knew, absolutely, positively knew that there was no possible way that the state legislature would find it suitable to keep such an organization in the state, thus, when the team finally up's and leaves this state he can hide behind the fact that he was not responsible for such actions, and therefore is no longer liable for the situation. We have all been duped. All Mr. Bennett needed to do was spend a little time in Seattle, shake some hands, made some proposals. Ultimately giving the state a deadline in which to get a deal done, then sit back and watch the whole thing collapse. When it is all said and done, it is not his fault. Which may be so. But Bennett knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that ultimately this team would have to be moved, and they would not be responsible. Perfect. So now they have the company, the funding, the alibi to leave, and all the pieces seem to be falling into place. Now all he has to do is what until October, and it is back home to Oklahoma City where they can revamp, and create their very own ball club. Mission accomplished. Howard Schultz, you are my hero. All these years and this is what it comes to. Like I said, psuedo-business-shenanigans. Still not sure what that means.

So now we are clear on the direction of the franchise. Like I said in the header, the franchise is in disarray. Rashard Lewis has officially taken the liberty of using the 'opt out' with two years left on his contract deal to swim around in free agency. This doesn't necessarily mean he is leaving the Sonics for good, but it does give you a pretty good idea about what his thoughts are on the franchise's direction. On a side note, I just bought his jersey in the away trimmed with gold, is that going to be vintage or what. Things do look like they could be shaping up though. Lenny Wilkens is now officially the Vice Chairman of the team. That has to be a solid play. Newly appointed GM Sam Presti was whisked away from San Antonio to represent the Sonics. I heard an interview from him the other day and I had to laugh. The first thing that comes out of his mouth is that this team has to form some sort of identity on defense. Classic.

While all this was taking place, Squatch, the mascot tried to break a world record by jumping over Ray Allen and Robert Swift's cars on roller blades. However, it was raining and did not stick the land. And amidst all of that one other major factor will be coming into play very quickly and that of course is the NBA draft that is taking place June 28th. For those of you who don't know, the Sonics landed on the number two spot which I believe is destined for a Mr. Kevin Durant out of Texas. There has been some scrutiny as to Durants strength. Although I would like to bring a Mr. Adam Morrison who I saw the other day, and let me be the first to tell you he is no body-builder and does just fine in the bigs. So, I am quick to dismiss that fact. Greg Oden is a savage in the middle, and I only see him getting better, so if it was at all possible that would be a slam dunk. If not, no problem swooping up Mr. Durant.

So here I am. Tainted. KeyArena is my favorite place to go in the entire country. I love it, always have. But it will never be the same without the Sonics. I feel I will have a hard time cheering for a team that would have a name longer than the Seattle SuperSonics. Seriously. Except maybe the Portland Trail Blazers. That's pathetic. I wish Paul Allen would have rescued the franchise, problem being conflict of interest owning two teams. The stars were aligned for you and your mob Mr. Bennett. You may have won this battle, but the war, certainly not the war. I just want you to know from the bottom of my heart that you have officially killed that little kid standing on his head. Shame on you.

It was not long ago that the offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers meant that we would be losing most if not all of our players that were no longer under contract. The Steelers normally draft a player two to three years prior to having to replace someone, that way, when said persons contract is up, the Steelers can wish him well as he walks out the door.

Those days are now gone, and the normal Steelers offseason includes keeping a player or two that can still help the team.

Now that the Steelers are in the offseason, here is what they will probably do now that, barring a shocking CBA agreement, that the off season rules are about to change.

For those of you that do not know, if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is not reached between now and March 1, the NFL rules about free agents is going to drastically change.

Players will not be eligible for UFA (Unrestricted Free Agency) until after their sixth season (instead of fourth). Teams will no longer have one Franchise or Transition tag, they will have two. There will be no salary cap or salary floor.

And teams that make the Divisional Playoff game will not be permitted to sign players in free agency unless it is to replace someone they lose, and the limit on the money they spend is low enough to keep top tier players from joining already good teams (I think it is about $3 million per year).

That being said, here is what I believe the Steelers have in mind for their pending free agents.


Jeff Reed : There has been much speculation as to what the Steelers plan on doing with their troubled kicker. That question has pretty much been answered by every member of the Steelers that has a say in the situation, Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II. You can read more about that here . Suffice it to say, Reeds contract is expected to be signed shortly.


Casey Hampton : AOL Fanhouse has an article up about Casey Hampton, and his displeasure about the pending Franchise tag that is coming his way. Hampton stated in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ,

Manipulating facts has constantly been a trademark of the Warriors' organization the day Chris Cohan decided to buy his 80 percent stake in the franchise.

Through their most loyal and hypocritical member, Bob Fitzgerald (Warriors' play-by-play announcer), the Warriors have valued touting a failing product that has no coherent goal.

One of the most hazy aspects that the organization clearly attempts to bury is the Warriors' starting backcourt of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.

Despite the Warriors' horrendous record at 13-35, day-to-day broadcasts consistently indicate the productiveness of the back-court on the offensive end, but bluntly dismisses the defensive flaws they commit.

Evidently, Ellis' defense has vastly improved, as he is forced to guard the opponent's best guards every game. Curry has been a surprise at the defensive end as well, consistently moving his feet and contesting the correct way.

The Warriors' backcourt averages a combined 4 steals per game, which overshadows their limitations on the defensive end. The Warriors lead the league in opponents points scored, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent 3-point percentage.

The most vivid reason behind those stats is the backcourt. Both Ellis and Curry stand at 6'3'', 185 pounds, and have difficulty staying with their man on every play.

Ellis, for example, ends up guarding a player like Trevor Ariza, who is 6'7'', and outweighs him by 25 pounds. Ellis has a strenuous mission of keeping up with physicality and quickness when facing much stronger and taller opponents.

The physicality Ellis has to endure on the defensive end takes its toll on the offensive end where he's averaging a league-high 4.1 turnovers per game.

Thus, the Warriors' backcourt does not have the ability to prevent guards' penetration to the basket, which leaves the front line of Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf in check for most of the game with foul trouble.

Consequently, Warriors give up an astounding 111.5 PPG to opponents, which usually outshines Ellis' spectacular offensive nights. After all, winning is the best measure for success in the NBA.

Bearing that in mind, Ellis and Curry cannot coexist on the same team. Despite Ellis' brilliant season, Curry remains the front runner for this franchise.

Scoring and quickness can be replaced in this league, but vision and astuteness cannot, which the Warriors need after the departure of Baron Davis two summers ago.

In order to build the right way, teams have to possess a high quality point guard who understands the intricacies of the game, let alone a player who has spent his whole life around the game of basketball.

Sooner rather than later, Warriors' fans have to accept that Ellis will eventually be traded. The moment Curry touched his first basketball in Warriors uniform, Ellis knew that a trade scenario would eventually occur.

After clearly informing the franchise that he wants Cto be the point guard of the future, Don Nelson selected Curry in the 2009 NBA draft.

It was all decided on that day: Curry is the Warriors' new franchise player.

DSC00892 by crimsoncupcoffee

bill bartmann on making mortgage audit established franchises for sale, existing franchises for sale, low cost franchises sale

February 9, 2010

personal finance and budgeting

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — emostreet @ 10:34 am

The other week on MakeUseOf, we showed you how to ungoogle your life – if you so desire. I’ve decided to do the opposite. Since I’m a self-avowed Google fan, and am in this deep, I may as well give my entire life over to them, including managing my budget and expenses.

I’ve tried out a whole slew of web and phone apps with the sole purpose of managing my expenses, but nothing seemed to suit my personal needs. Each application was either too complex, or left out factors that were essential to me. So I decided an Excel sheet, saved on Google Documents, would be the best way to keep track of both the balance in my bank account, and my spending habits.

Depending on what your personal needs are, there are a variety of templates specifically for managing your budget, available on Google Documents, or if you need something more detailed, there’s Ryan’s guide to putting together your own personal budget on Excel, which you can then upload to your Google Documents.

When it comes to tracking my spending, there have always been two essential factors I need to consider. First, my modes of spending money are varied, whether I’m using one of my credit cards, my debit card, or cash. When I withdraw money from the ATM, I want that to be reflected in my expenses and bank balance, but I also want to keep track of what that money is being spent on.

My solution to this using Google budgeting tools was simple. Using Google Documents Checkbook Register template, I duplicated the first sheet, listing my bank balance and transactions taking place directly from my bank account – deposits, ATM withdrawals and credit card payments.

I used the second sheet to list the amount of cash I withdraw each month, and keep a record of transactions each time I spend money. That way I know what is being spent, where and how.

The template is very simple to use – enter your bank balance at the top of the balance column, and each time you add a new entry to the withdrawal or deposit columns, it will automatically calculate your new balance.

The second factor to consider was that some payments I make don’t clear until the end of the month. I decided to keep those transactions at the bottom of the spreadsheet, and to highlight them until the transaction cleared. That way, just by glancing at the balance above the highlighted transactions – I can see what my current balance is, and at the bottom, what it will be at the end of the month.

Spreadsheet formulas can be finicky, so there are a few things you need to keep in mind. You cannot leave a blank row in the spreadsheet, otherwise the formula will no longer work. Sometimes, when inserting a new transaction above the payments that have yet to clear, it can ruin the sequence of calculations. Don’t panic – simple copy the cell with the bank balance that is accurate, and paste it into all of the cells below it, and that will automatically repopulate the cells using the formula.

A word of warning when it comes to using Google Document templates. When you save a Google template to your documents, sharing is automatically set to public. Your personal budget is obviously not something you want to share with the rest of the world, so to remedy this, click on the share button in the top right hand corner. Under ‘See who has access,’ click on ‘People can view this item without signing in,’ and choose ‘Always require sign in.’

Next, click on the ‘Advanced Permissions’ tab and make sure all options are unchecked. Save your changes, and the document will now be private.

Now that I knew which Google budgeting tools I would be using to keep track of my monthly spending, I needed a way to keep track of my daily spending, so that at the end of each day, or week, I could enter the transactions into my spreadsheet.

Keeping it in the family, I decided to use Google Calendar. I wanted something I could easily access at my computer or on the go, which would also keep track of the exact dates these transactions were made.

I created a new calendar called ‘Expenses’ and each time I spend money, I immediately make an entry to that Google Calendar with a note of the amount, and what the money is being spent on.

I personally have my iPhone calendar synced to my Google Calendar. Google Sync works with the iPhone, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Nokia S60 phones.

If you’ve already set up your iPhone to sync with Google Calendar, be sure to go back into your iPhone sync settings and add your ‘Expenses’ calendar to the list of calendars that are in sync. You could also put Google’s mobile apps to good use for this purpose.

There are lots of little tips and tricks for entering transactions to your Google Calendar easier. You can use Twitter to add entries to Google Calendar. The downside to using Twitter to add your expenses is that it will add any entries to your primary Google Calendar, and of course you’re sending your spending habits to a third party.

For those of you living in the US, you can also send in your entries from your phone via SMS, but again, this option only works with your primary calendar.

There are various ways you can then access the information on Google Calendar to later input into your spreadsheet. I find the Agenda tab the most convenient to use in this instance, as it displays it all in one continuous list.

Do you have any tips on how to use Google budgeting tools to manage your expenses? Let us know in the comments.

Comments

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  1. @rww there's a new UK personal finance site in beta called @MoneyDashboard http://www.moneydashboard.com/

     Posted by: Steven Renwick |
    January 7, 2010 12:22 PM

  2. Also don't forget freeagent http://www.freeagentcentral.com/ - it's great for the self employed in the UK, with built in invoice tracking and self-assessment.

    Posted by: Andy B |
    January 7, 2010 2:21 PM

  3. I have used mint off and on. I love how the design and user interface, but I wish it would work with the bank that holds my checking account. Perhaps i'll try out some of your other suggestions. Thanks for the info!

    JG
    loanpointusa

    Posted by: Joe |
    January 7, 2010 2:35 PM

  4. I've been very happy with Xpenser. I can setup a budget and record expenses with email and sms (it also does twitter and im and a few other things). The main thing for me is ease of use so I stick with it, and this is the only one simple enough to stay with.

    Posted by: Paula |
    January 7, 2010 3:33 PM

  5. For those looking for a more proactive approach to managing finances and budgeting (versus the reactive reporting approach supported by most tools), check out the Easy Envelope Budget Aid, built natively for Android and the mobile Web. It's based on the envelope budgeting approach of setting aside cash for particular expenses–in advance–and then spending out of those categories on a declining balance basis. Stop before you run out of your balance as opposed to find out after-thefact that you overspent.

    EEBA lets you check your envelope balances and record transactions at point of sale allowing you to carry your virtual “envelopes” with you.

    We're in open Beta right now, website at www.eebacanhelp.com

    Posted by: Chi-Ming @ EEBA |
    January 7, 2010 5:27 PM

  6. Where is Mint's mobile site? I've never seen it.

     Posted by: Sivan |
    January 7, 2010 6:08 PM

  7. There is also Serbian money management web application Slamarica . It's oriented not just for Serbia, but for all Adriatic region. There's more info on Digg http://digg.com/business_finance/Serbian_No_1_money_management_home_finance_web_application

     Posted by: Nemanja Djordjevic |
    January 9, 2010 1:04 AM

  8. Thanks for this article. I'm looking forward to the rest. I find it interesting that http://moneycenter.yodlee.com doesn't show up more often in personal finance software reviews. It's free as well, and is quite feature rich. Part of the problem is Yodlee doesn't do that much to market the consumer side. (For good reason, they give it away. :-)

     Posted by: Philip Eoute |
    January 9, 2010 9:54 PM

  9. @Chi-Ming thanks for telling us about EEBA. I'm definitely trying that out!

     Posted by: Philip Eoute |
    January 9, 2010 9:55 PM

  10. @Philip, you're welcome. We're iterating quickly, so let us know what you think!

    Posted by: Chi-Ming @ EEBA |
    January 9, 2010 11:01 PM

  11. I just love Mint… simple and easy to use… user friendly.. what can I say! Thumb up!

    Posted by: RichDadWisdom |
    January 10, 2010 6:46 AM

  12. But with any of the above: (1) can you manually add accounts not on their automated list; (2) multiple currency feature; (3) mobile/iPhone app?

    I've tried Mint and Wesabe. Mint is US-only. Wesabe has dreadful import (all tags/categories are lost) and doesn't believe in account reconciliation (”Why would want that feature?” was their reply; perhaps b/c it's the oldest accounting feature in the book and I don't trust a bank's statement.)

    I'm with MoneyWell (which uses envelope accounting), and is serving me well enough. But everyone's been waiting well over a year for a promised iPhone app.

    I would pay handsomely for any online financial programme that satisfied all 3 feature requests above.

    Posted by: Mr Ulster |
    January 11, 2010 6:22 AM

  13. In the uk theres http://www.inniaccounts.co.uk, but it's more for contractors

    Posted by: Toby |
    January 11, 2010 11:47 PM

  14. I started using Mint but quickly realized that its sponsors and partners, the big banks, don't want you to use cash. Most of these “free” sites to manage your money encourage one thing - card use. Whether it's credit cards or debit cards, they make using and tracking them easy, and using and tracking cash difficult. This is because the banks all make money on card transactions, whether they are debit or credit based. They make no money on cash transactions. One of the best ways to save money and control spending is by using cash, and none of these services encourage that, by their design.

    Posted by: B |
    January 13, 2010 11:54 AM

  15. Interesting article - what is the revenue model for sites like Mint, Kublax, MoneyStrands if the resource is free?

    Posted by: Ciaran O'Reilly |
    January 14, 2010 7:05 AM

  16. Mvelopes also offers online personal finance management. It isn't free but I like the envelope based budgeting which forces you to cut down on spending. It also offers mobile access so you can track your spending while you're out shopping.

    Posted by: Valerie @ Finance Software Store |
    January 14, 2010 5:28 PM

  17. I wonder how Cloud computing will influence online financial transactions. I am waiting to see what security issues evolve first.

    Posted by: Stop Home Foreclosure |
    January 18, 2010 5:53 PM

  18. Does anyone have any recommendations for Australia?

    Posted by: Marksin |
    January 21, 2010 2:07 PM

  19. How do users of these web-based financial programs feel about having their financial data available to these companies and the problematic privacy issues?

    Posted by: Jeff |
    January 23, 2010 3:38 PM

  20. Yes, but does Mint allow you to export all your data (including tags/categories) so that you could port it into another program? As far as I can tell, it doesn't. I have several years of data built up using Quicken for Mac. This represents not only a lot of work on my part, but an important resource for understanding my spending patterns (not to mention for calculating capital gains/losses on stock transactions come tax time). I've gotten sick of Quicken's sucky user interface (and the fact that it doesn't run natively on an Intel/Leopard mac) and I'm going to switch either to iBank or Moneywell (haven't decided yet). These are both desktop programs. iBank already has an iPhone app that synchronizes with the desktop version, and Moneywell is building one. Importing all of my old data from Quicken into either of these programs will be a piece of cake, as will exporting from these programs should I change my mind later. They also talk with my bank, just as Mint does. With my data synchronized to my iPod touch, I'll have continuous access to it, all without losing control over it. The problem with Mint is that once you start spending time customizing your data, adding tags, etc, you can't leave the Mint interface without losing your work. I'm not going to use any platform that attempts to hold me hostage like that.

    Posted by: Sarah |
    January 24, 2010 11:33 AM

  21. In the UK we've been developing the new one on lovemoney.com - be good to know what you think of that too. https://www.lovemoney.com/onlinebanking/

     Posted by: emma davies |
    January 29, 2010 3:31 AM

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February 5, 2010

Ways of Making Money

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — emostreet @ 10:16 pm

Here's
David Kurtz at the liberal site Talking Points
Memo:

You may have heard that Larry Kudlow, the former Reagan
economic adviser, diehard supply-sider, and CNBC host, is
considering running against Chuck Schumer for U.S. Senate from New
York.

How can Kudlow hope to match the fund-raising prowess of the
incumbent Schumer? Thanks to the Supreme Court's decision on
corporate contributions in the Citizens United case, we
got it covered, a top Kudlow supporter and pal tells TPMDC.

“People who are worried about their taxes, particularly medium- and
large-size businesses, would be more interested in helping Larry
Kudlow than Chuck Schumer,” John Lakian says.

Kurtz doesn't explicitly say that a well-funded pro-Kudlow ad
campaign would be a bad thing. But last I checked, he
didn't like the way Citizens United came out, so –
unless I missed a subsequent post in which he reversed his stance
– I figure he considers this a reason to regret the ruling. But
why? If the effect of the Court's decision is to make a race
more competitive, so that even a powerful politician with
a potent fundraising machine has to watch his back, doesn't that
mean the system is now more rather than less democratic?

Set aside whether you like Kudlow better than Schumer. (In
another context, after all, the upstart candidate could emerge from
the incumbent's left rather than his right. The most famous example
came in 1968, when a few wealthy antiwar donors fueled Eugene
McCarthy's challenge to Lyndon Johnson.) Austin v. Michigan
Chamber of Commerce, the precedent that Citizens
United overturned, dates back to 1990. If anyone has made the
case that corporate influence in D.C. declined in the two decades
while Austin was the law of the land, please point me to
the argument, because I haven't seen it. What I have seen
is a system that favors those who already have pull in Washington
and who are better able to navigate a complex set of campaign
finance regulations. If Citizens United means elections
are now more open to outsiders, that's a reason to celebrate, not
to mourn.

Incidentally, there are ways to open up elections still further
that would reduce rather than raise the role of money in politics.
When local governments consolidate or when a city moves from
ward-based elections to a council whose members are elected
at-large, the increase in the size of the electorate means it's
harder to rely on door-to-door canvassing, making campaign ads
(and, thus, campaign war chests) more important. It therefore
stands to reason that you could make money less important
and encourage more grassroots organizing by reversing the process
and breaking up those jurisdictions, an idea that could be applied
to congressional elections by having more and smaller districts.
Yet that hardly ever comes up as a proposal when campaign reformers
make their pitches. Interesting, no?

Why Did CBS Accept Tim Tebow's Super Bowl Abortion Ad? Money.

“I'm just standing for something.” Throughout the entire Super Bowl anti-abortion advertising controversy, Tim Tebow has done a fantastic job falling on the sword for his cause. Too bad consumers, football fans, and activists are being played by CBS.

Tebow's initial comments framed the tone for much of the debate:

“Some people won't agree with it, you know, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe,” Tebow said.

From a media standpoint, this was a shrewd move. Tebow effectively changed the conversation by making a play to reframe the criticism. Notice, he did not say “I believe abortion should be illegal” - he said, “I am just standing up for what I believe.” The subtle switch allowed people to focus less on what he was actually saying and more on the idea of the quarterback as an honorable man.

Sports Illustrated took the bait:

He will be the quarterback he is. Coaches will draft him, or they won't. He will believe what he believes. Fans will love him, or they won't.

Today's AdAge discusses the impact of Tebow's stance on future endorsements, and David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California Sports Business Institute, lets fly with the idea that taking a stand is something to be lauded:

“Tebow should be all right because, unlike many athletes, he has been articulately outspoken and done so with a calm confidence about so many things, including his interests and beliefs,” he said. “Because of this track record, he won't be as polarizing as some athletes. In this era where many consumers believe athletes will say and do anything for a buck, he may just be different. This doesn't mean that he won't alienate a number of fans or consumers, simply that many will find his consistency refreshing.”

People in the public eye take stands for all sorts of things - Tebow is being promoted as some brave soul when what he is doing is actually quite ordinary. Many people use their celebrity as a way to promote a cause. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger became famous for saving 155 lives by successfully landing a distressed plane in the Hudson River. Soon after, he appeared on television discussing the plight of pilots and has also advocated for other causes. Normal. Nothing special about it.

However, most of the outrage isn't about Tim Tebow as a person. (I'd venture to say most people who don't follow football don't give two shits about this kid.) The outrage stems from the growing anti-choice climate in this country, and CBS's hypocritical broadcasting decisions.

While media manipulating sensationalists like Sarah Palin are trying to shift the debate back to anti-choice doublespeak - “women should be reminded that they are strong enough and smart enough to make decisions that allow for career and educational opportunities while still giving their babies a chance at life,” she says in a new Facebook post - the real story here is why CBS chose to reverse its long standing policy against controversial messages. (Hint: $$$.)

The official statement from CBS is a bunch of bullshit.

“We have for some time moderated our approach to advocacy submissions after it became apparent that our stance did not reflect public sentiment or industry norms,” said CBS spokesman Dana McClintock, according to the AP. “In fact, most media outlets have accepted advocacy ads for some time.”

McClintock said CBS “will continue to consider responsibly produced ads from all groups for the few remaining spots in Super Bowl XLIV.”

This appears to be a very recent change in policy. So what gives? CBS keeps trying to pretend that these ads met some kind of responsibility criteria, but advertising publications are telling a different story. Major companies like FedEx and Pepsi are sitting out the Super Bowl, taking tens of millions of dollars with them, and as more and more advertisers start to believe the largest sporting event of the year isn't the best place to draw in eyeballs, networks are trying to come up with ways to stem the shortfall; if one of those ways just so happens to be taking a few million off the hands of a church with questionable practices, so be it. CBS has also makes a point to note that there are still spots available to advertise during the Super Bowl, if one of the aggrieved women's rights groups wants to cough up $3 million in reponse.

Unfortunately, CBS probably considers its decision a marketing success:

“People are talking about this commercial two weeks prior to the advertising — it's good for the person buying the ad, good for the networks. I don't believe there's a negative. And that's without having any opinion of the content,” said Bob Horowitz, president of Juma Entertainment and executive producer “Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials,” which will air on CBS on Feb. 3.

Tim Tebow Won't Hide From NFL Scouts — Or Hide His Beliefs [Sports Illustrated]
College Football Star's Beliefs Could Scare off Some Marketers, Experts Say [Advertising Age]
Sarah Palin Wishes NOW Was More Pro Woman [The Awl]
CBS justifies 30-Second Tim Tebow Anti-Abortion Ad, standing by its choice to air spot [NY Daily News]
Why FedEx Chose Orange Bowl Over Super Bowl
PepsiCo Not Advertising Beverages During Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl ad featuring quarterback Tebow, mother riles abortion rights groups [Washington Post]

Earlier: Super Bowl Showdown: College Quarterback To Star In Controversial Abortion Ad

Send an email to Latoya, the author of this post, at latoya@racialicious.com.

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Here's
David Kurtz at the liberal site Talking Points
Memo:

You may have heard that Larry Kudlow, the former Reagan
economic adviser, diehard supply-sider, and CNBC host, is
considering running against Chuck Schumer for U.S. Senate from New
York.

How can Kudlow hope to match the fund-raising prowess of the
incumbent Schumer? Thanks to the Supreme Court's decision on
corporate contributions in the Citizens United case, we
got it covered, a top Kudlow supporter and pal tells TPMDC.

“People who are worried about their taxes, particularly medium- and
large-size businesses, would be more interested in helping Larry
Kudlow than Chuck Schumer,” John Lakian says.

Kurtz doesn't explicitly say that a well-funded pro-Kudlow ad
campaign would be a bad thing. But last I checked, he
didn't like the way Citizens United came out, so –
unless I missed a subsequent post in which he reversed his stance
– I figure he considers this a reason to regret the ruling. But
why? If the effect of the Court's decision is to make a race
more competitive, so that even a powerful politician with
a potent fundraising machine has to watch his back, doesn't that
mean the system is now more rather than less democratic?

Set aside whether you like Kudlow better than Schumer. (In
another context, after all, the upstart candidate could emerge from
the incumbent's left rather than his right. The most famous example
came in 1968, when a few wealthy antiwar donors fueled Eugene
McCarthy's challenge to Lyndon Johnson.) Austin v. Michigan
Chamber of Commerce, the precedent that Citizens
United overturned, dates back to 1990. If anyone has made the
case that corporate influence in D.C. declined in the two decades
while Austin was the law of the land, please point me to
the argument, because I haven't seen it. What I have seen
is a system that favors those who already have pull in Washington
and who are better able to navigate a complex set of campaign
finance regulations. If Citizens United means elections
are now more open to outsiders, that's a reason to celebrate, not
to mourn.

Incidentally, there are ways to open up elections still further
that would reduce rather than raise the role of money in politics.
When local governments consolidate or when a city moves from
ward-based elections to a council whose members are elected
at-large, the increase in the size of the electorate means it's
harder to rely on door-to-door canvassing, making campaign ads
(and, thus, campaign war chests) more important. It therefore
stands to reason that you could make money less important
and encourage more grassroots organizing by reversing the process
and breaking up those jurisdictions, an idea that could be applied
to congressional elections by having more and smaller districts.
Yet that hardly ever comes up as a proposal when campaign reformers
make their pitches. Interesting, no?

Why Did CBS Accept Tim Tebow's Super Bowl Abortion Ad? Money.

“I'm just standing for something.” Throughout the entire Super Bowl anti-abortion advertising controversy, Tim Tebow has done a fantastic job falling on the sword for his cause. Too bad consumers, football fans, and activists are being played by CBS.

Tebow's initial comments framed the tone for much of the debate:

“Some people won't agree with it, you know, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe,” Tebow said.

From a media standpoint, this was a shrewd move. Tebow effectively changed the conversation by making a play to reframe the criticism. Notice, he did not say “I believe abortion should be illegal” - he said, “I am just standing up for what I believe.” The subtle switch allowed people to focus less on what he was actually saying and more on the idea of the quarterback as an honorable man.

Sports Illustrated took the bait:

He will be the quarterback he is. Coaches will draft him, or they won't. He will believe what he believes. Fans will love him, or they won't.

Today's AdAge discusses the impact of Tebow's stance on future endorsements, and David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California Sports Business Institute, lets fly with the idea that taking a stand is something to be lauded:

“Tebow should be all right because, unlike many athletes, he has been articulately outspoken and done so with a calm confidence about so many things, including his interests and beliefs,” he said. “Because of this track record, he won't be as polarizing as some athletes. In this era where many consumers believe athletes will say and do anything for a buck, he may just be different. This doesn't mean that he won't alienate a number of fans or consumers, simply that many will find his consistency refreshing.”

People in the public eye take stands for all sorts of things - Tebow is being promoted as some brave soul when what he is doing is actually quite ordinary. Many people use their celebrity as a way to promote a cause. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger became famous for saving 155 lives by successfully landing a distressed plane in the Hudson River. Soon after, he appeared on television discussing the plight of pilots and has also advocated for other causes. Normal. Nothing special about it.

However, most of the outrage isn't about Tim Tebow as a person. (I'd venture to say most people who don't follow football don't give two shits about this kid.) The outrage stems from the growing anti-choice climate in this country, and CBS's hypocritical broadcasting decisions.

While media manipulating sensationalists like Sarah Palin are trying to shift the debate back to anti-choice doublespeak - “women should be reminded that they are strong enough and smart enough to make decisions that allow for career and educational opportunities while still giving their babies a chance at life,” she says in a new Facebook post - the real story here is why CBS chose to reverse its long standing policy against controversial messages. (Hint: $$$.)

The official statement from CBS is a bunch of bullshit.

“We have for some time moderated our approach to advocacy submissions after it became apparent that our stance did not reflect public sentiment or industry norms,” said CBS spokesman Dana McClintock, according to the AP. “In fact, most media outlets have accepted advocacy ads for some time.”

McClintock said CBS “will continue to consider responsibly produced ads from all groups for the few remaining spots in Super Bowl XLIV.”

This appears to be a very recent change in policy. So what gives? CBS keeps trying to pretend that these ads met some kind of responsibility criteria, but advertising publications are telling a different story. Major companies like FedEx and Pepsi are sitting out the Super Bowl, taking tens of millions of dollars with them, and as more and more advertisers start to believe the largest sporting event of the year isn't the best place to draw in eyeballs, networks are trying to come up with ways to stem the shortfall; if one of those ways just so happens to be taking a few million off the hands of a church with questionable practices, so be it. CBS has also makes a point to note that there are still spots available to advertise during the Super Bowl, if one of the aggrieved women's rights groups wants to cough up $3 million in reponse.

Unfortunately, CBS probably considers its decision a marketing success:

“People are talking about this commercial two weeks prior to the advertising — it's good for the person buying the ad, good for the networks. I don't believe there's a negative. And that's without having any opinion of the content,” said Bob Horowitz, president of Juma Entertainment and executive producer “Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials,” which will air on CBS on Feb. 3.

Tim Tebow Won't Hide From NFL Scouts — Or Hide His Beliefs [Sports Illustrated]
College Football Star's Beliefs Could Scare off Some Marketers, Experts Say [Advertising Age]
Sarah Palin Wishes NOW Was More Pro Woman [The Awl]
CBS justifies 30-Second Tim Tebow Anti-Abortion Ad, standing by its choice to air spot [NY Daily News]
Why FedEx Chose Orange Bowl Over Super Bowl
PepsiCo Not Advertising Beverages During Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl ad featuring quarterback Tebow, mother riles abortion rights groups [Washington Post]

Earlier: Super Bowl Showdown: College Quarterback To Star In Controversial Abortion Ad

Send an email to Latoya, the author of this post, at latoya@racialicious.com.

A Total Meltdown by | Bradford |

EyePet sequel on the way this year? <b>News</b> | PS3 | Eurogamer

Read our EyePet sequel on the way this year? <b>News</b> for PlayStation 3.

SEOmoz | Getting Started Publishing on Google <b>News</b>

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Making Money Ebay

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — emostreet @ 10:05 am

In 2002, Stewart Richardson, a widely respected eBay dealer, offered a slew of ceramic figurines for sale on the auction website. With over 6,000 positive reviews, customers lined up to bid, and Richardson took in over a quarter of a million dollars for the pieces. And then he vanished.
Richardson saw an opportunity: having built up a great deal of goodwill and respect in the community, he had the opportunity to trade those commodities for a quick payday. He sacrificed the respect of the community, but he calculated that doing so was worth it.

At least Richardson got money. For some reason, the Washington Post is making the same calculation, but the payoff for them is harder to decipher.

First, as noticed by Boing Boing, was a January 1, 2010, article by Michael Chertoff in which he argued for full-body scanners at US airports. It’s a topic subject to increasingly contentious debate, with civil liberties groups criticizing the systems and a recent demonstration that didn’t instill confidence. The vote of the former head of Homeland Security, therefore, could have been a compelling one in the “yes” column.

Except for the footer.

The writer was secretary of homeland security from 2005 to 2009 and is co-founder of the Chertoff Group, a security and risk-management firm whose clients include a manufacturer of body-imaging screening machines.

In other words, Chertoff is paid to advocate for full-body scanners. Why, then, did the Washington Post give him this soapbox? Was there no other objective source to make the case for this controversial technology?

This morning, the Post did it again. A column titled “How Republicans won the Internet” (which is not a reference to this) looks at the role social media tools and organizing played in recent Republican victories.

From the beginning of the race, Brown’s campaign knew its candidate was a long shot. To have any hope, his team needed to get his message directly to voters. This populist approach — and the hope for a 41st Senate vote against the Democrats’ health-care overhaul — inspired the rightroots to latch onto Brown’s campaign through blogs, Facebook and Twitter. This paid off in an overflow of volunteers and contributors from across the country and a nearly five-point victory….

In the wake of the 2008 election, after four years of aloofness from most of our party’s leaders about the role of new media and technology in electoral politics, we took a break from the day to day of campaigns and thought seriously about how to help our party move forward.

We outlined a strategy; it had a lot to do with technology, but it wasn’t just about social networking, e-mail list management or YouTube.

The authors of this piece extolling the virtues of online engagement by Republican candidates? Partners in a DC firm that provides online organizing consulting services to Republican candidates. They’re a little more careful about the claims they make than Chertoff, to their credit, but they have a few more hard numbers to overcome. And the point is made, particularly through that headline – hire us, and we’ll solve your problems.

The reason conflicts of interest are disclosed isn’t to give carte blanche for writing about things in which you have a vested economic interest – it’s to assure that, in the event a conflict is inescapable and may color a reader’s view of the piece, it isn’t ignored.

When a serious transgression arose last year around planned “salons” partnering financial sponsors, newsmakers and Post editors and reporters, one of the strongest reactions came from the newspaper’s ombudsman, who called it “an ethical lapse of monumental proportions.” They have a system to provide checks on their behavior, which is good – but the ombudsman only steps in after the fact. It’s up to the leadership of the paper’s management to prevent such occurrences in the first place. Each time the Post gives space for an interested party to promote its own product, it loses more of the respect the community has given it. To do so for no apparent gain is mystifying.

But then, they’re lucky. Even if they trade away all of their goodwill to help their bottom line, the worst that can happen is they fold. Stewart Richardson got six years in the pen.

About us: TBI Research is an industry research firm based in New York founded by former head of Merrill Lynch's Global Internet research practice, Henry Blodget.

Our flagship product is The Internet Analyst, a subscription-based research service that provides primary research and analysis of key trends in the digital media and ecommerce industries.

Our team of analysts have significant experience covering digital media and are constantly calling industry contacts, digging through reports and news feeds, and conducting additional proprietary research to provide you with the most up-to-date analysis and intelligence on the digital media industry.

Please email our sales department at sales@tbiresearch.com or call 646-484-6584 with any questions.

http://www.webjam.com/gabrielle71 http://www.prlog.org/10248797-reitbuyercom-offers-opportunity-to-onlinereal-estate-stock-traders-in-albuquerque-new-mexico.html http://www.prlog.org/tag/online-stock-trading/ http://www.prlog.org/10219817-online-traders-discover-reits-and-real-estate-mutual-funds-to-be-good-investment.html http://www.prlog.org/10248797-reitbuyercom-offers-opportunity-to-onlinereal-estate-stock-traders-in-albuquerque-new-mexico.html http://www.webjam.com/gabrielle71

In 2002, Stewart Richardson, a widely respected eBay dealer, offered a slew of ceramic figurines for sale on the auction website. With over 6,000 positive reviews, customers lined up to bid, and Richardson took in over a quarter of a million dollars for the pieces. And then he vanished.
Richardson saw an opportunity: having built up a great deal of goodwill and respect in the community, he had the opportunity to trade those commodities for a quick payday. He sacrificed the respect of the community, but he calculated that doing so was worth it.

At least Richardson got money. For some reason, the Washington Post is making the same calculation, but the payoff for them is harder to decipher.

First, as noticed by Boing Boing, was a January 1, 2010, article by Michael Chertoff in which he argued for full-body scanners at US airports. It’s a topic subject to increasingly contentious debate, with civil liberties groups criticizing the systems and a recent demonstration that didn’t instill confidence. The vote of the former head of Homeland Security, therefore, could have been a compelling one in the “yes” column.

Except for the footer.

The writer was secretary of homeland security from 2005 to 2009 and is co-founder of the Chertoff Group, a security and risk-management firm whose clients include a manufacturer of body-imaging screening machines.

In other words, Chertoff is paid to advocate for full-body scanners. Why, then, did the Washington Post give him this soapbox? Was there no other objective source to make the case for this controversial technology?

This morning, the Post did it again. A column titled “How Republicans won the Internet” (which is not a reference to this) looks at the role social media tools and organizing played in recent Republican victories.

From the beginning of the race, Brown’s campaign knew its candidate was a long shot. To have any hope, his team needed to get his message directly to voters. This populist approach — and the hope for a 41st Senate vote against the Democrats’ health-care overhaul — inspired the rightroots to latch onto Brown’s campaign through blogs, Facebook and Twitter. This paid off in an overflow of volunteers and contributors from across the country and a nearly five-point victory….

In the wake of the 2008 election, after four years of aloofness from most of our party’s leaders about the role of new media and technology in electoral politics, we took a break from the day to day of campaigns and thought seriously about how to help our party move forward.

We outlined a strategy; it had a lot to do with technology, but it wasn’t just about social networking, e-mail list management or YouTube.

The authors of this piece extolling the virtues of online engagement by Republican candidates? Partners in a DC firm that provides online organizing consulting services to Republican candidates. They’re a little more careful about the claims they make than Chertoff, to their credit, but they have a few more hard numbers to overcome. And the point is made, particularly through that headline – hire us, and we’ll solve your problems.

The reason conflicts of interest are disclosed isn’t to give carte blanche for writing about things in which you have a vested economic interest – it’s to assure that, in the event a conflict is inescapable and may color a reader’s view of the piece, it isn’t ignored.

When a serious transgression arose last year around planned “salons” partnering financial sponsors, newsmakers and Post editors and reporters, one of the strongest reactions came from the newspaper’s ombudsman, who called it “an ethical lapse of monumental proportions.” They have a system to provide checks on their behavior, which is good – but the ombudsman only steps in after the fact. It’s up to the leadership of the paper’s management to prevent such occurrences in the first place. Each time the Post gives space for an interested party to promote its own product, it loses more of the respect the community has given it. To do so for no apparent gain is mystifying.

But then, they’re lucky. Even if they trade away all of their goodwill to help their bottom line, the worst that can happen is they fold. Stewart Richardson got six years in the pen.

About us: TBI Research is an industry research firm based in New York founded by former head of Merrill Lynch's Global Internet research practice, Henry Blodget.

Our flagship product is The Internet Analyst, a subscription-based research service that provides primary research and analysis of key trends in the digital media and ecommerce industries.

Our team of analysts have significant experience covering digital media and are constantly calling industry contacts, digging through reports and news feeds, and conducting additional proprietary research to provide you with the most up-to-date analysis and intelligence on the digital media industry.

Please email our sales department at sales@tbiresearch.com or call 646-484-6584 with any questions.

IMG_5784 by Lilbethy

FOX <b>News</b> Poll: 46% Obama Approval - Real Clear Politics – TIME.com

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