Grumpy Editor

Confusion prevails as EPA clamps down on coal power

Those concerned about ever-increasing electricity bills, as low-cost coal-fired power plants are shuttered or reduced in numbers, should be aware that confusion --- overlooked by most media --- exists in Washington on tough upcoming requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency as it moves to control carbon pollution, notes Grumpy Editor.

Associated Press writer Dina Cappiello, in a weekend story, pointed out, “the federal government’s own analysis of the new power plant proposal concludes that it would have a ‘negligible’ impact on carbon dioxide emissions, pose little to no costs for the industry and provide no additional benefits to the public by 2022.”

The EPA, Cappiello mentioned, “does not anticipate this rule will have any impacts on the price of electricity, employment or labor markets or the U.S. economy.”

However, Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.) declared the EPA was holding the coal industry to “impossible standards,” added Cappiello.  “If these regulations go into effect, American jobs will be lost, electricity prices will soar and economic uncertainty will grow,” warned Manchin.

(Manchin, born in small coal mining town Farmington, W. Va., was governor of the state from 2005 to 2010.)

EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, reported the AP writer, said the proposed regulations, “rather than killing future coal, actually sets up a certain pathway forward for coal to continue to be part of the diverse mix in this country.” 

 

Most Democrats flee latest Benghazi hearing

Ignored by most media was a shameful Capitol Hill happening involving some members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee who left the second portion of Thursday’s hearing on the Benghazi attack that resulted in the murders of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, observes Grumpy Editor.

But Katie Pavlich, writing on the Townhall.com website, noted, “The majority of Democrats on the committee left the room and refused to listen to the testimony of Patricia Smith and Charles Woods. Ms. Smith is the mother of Sean Smith, an information management officer killed in the 9/11 Benghazi attack. Charles Woods is the father of Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, who was also killed.”

That resulted in most of the far side of the room, where Democrats sit, becoming empty. 

Pavlich added the only Democrats who stayed were Elijah Cummings, ranking member from Maryland, and California Rep. Jackie Speier. 

Seventeen Democrats are on the committee.

 

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Marking the 17^th anniversary of Fox News Channel, its prime time lineup starting Oct. 7 has Greta Van Susteren moving to 7 p.m. (Eastern), Bill O'Reilly remaining at 8, Megyn Kelly's "The Kelly File" at 9 and Sean Hannity shifting to 10…In other TV news:  Final season of "Mad Men" on AMC actually is split over two years with seven episodes airing next spring and another seven in 2015. The saga of Madison Ave. advertising folks in the 1960s started in 2007…The 1960s lives again as CNN reached a deal with actor Tom Hanks and his film and TV production company, Playtone, to create a 10-part documentary on The Sixties. 

In print action: The Kiplinger Letter, which calls itself the most widely read business forecasting periodical in the world, is marking its 90^th year of weekly economic and political predictions.  Spokesperson Jessica Weeg said the oldest continually published newsletter in the U.S. “pioneered a concise, telegraphic style that was widely emulated by other publications in the decades to follow”…Nancy Gibbs was named managing editor of Time magazine --- the first woman to lead the publication that first rolled off presses on March 3, 1923…Boosting coverage on its pages, the Indianapolis Star is aiming for more national and international news, plus expanding local coverage, through a partnership with USA Today.  But it’s all in the family, since The Star and USA Today are owned by Gannett Co.

Double duty in U.S. government building:  The Washington Examiner reported the roof of the Department of Labor headquarters building in Washington, D.C. was the scene Wednesday night of a same-sex marriage between a worker, described as a regional solicitor, and his long-time partner.  No names were offered.

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez was not on the scene.

Lid clamped on Benghazi attack details from survivors; Veteran Marine in Taliban corpse case plans to write book

Media’s quest in seeking input from (not heard from) survivors of the Benghazi, Libya, terror attack that killed four Americans last September continues to be hampered by a solid block wall, finds Grumpy Editor.

The Weekly Standard’s Daniel Halper reports Congressman Frank Wolf (R., Va.) on the House floor Thursday said survivors of the Benghazi attack have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements.

 "According to trusted sources that have contacted my office, many if not all of the survivors of the Benghazi attacks along with others at the Department of Defense, the CIA have been asked or directed to sign additional non-disclosure agreements about their involvement in the Benghazi attacks,” writes Halper.

“Some of these new NDAs, as they call them, I have been told were signed as recently as this summer."

Wolf, adds Halper, noted the Marine Corps Times reported the Marine colonel whose task force was responsible for special operations in northern and western Africa at the time of the attack is still on active duty despite claims that he retired…and therefore could not be forced to testify before Congress.”

The maneuvers, mentions Wolf, raise “serious concerns about the priority of the administration's efforts to silence those with knowledge of the Benghazi attack in response.”

Marine in Taliban case plans to write book

Sgt. Joseph Chamblin, a 15-year Marine veteran who was fined and demoted for urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan two years go, says he would do it again, writes Kristina Wong in The Washington Times.

Furthermore, he plans to retire in September --- and write a book.

Does he regret what he did?  “Hell, no,” barks Chamblin.

The infamous incident became international news after a video was uploaded to YouTube. It led to courts-martial of nine Marines for the episode. 

Chamblin was on a mission to stop Taliban insurgents from making roadside bombs, the kind that killed a member of his sniper team days before the incident.

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At least five retailers --- all with strong New England ties --- have banned selling the current issue of Rolling Stone with suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnev on the cover:  CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, Tedeschi Food Stores and other grocery chains Roche Bros. and Stop & Shop…Strange diversification:  The Washington Post Co. is acquiring 86-year old Forney Corp., a global manufacturer of oil and gas burners for electric utilities.  The company in 1983 expanded abroad by selling burner-management systems and other products to fossil-fuel-fired plants in China.

 

Shuttering operations:  Quebec-based Sun Media Corp. is closing 11 newspapers across Canada and eliminating 360 jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan…Three Dayton, Ohio-area community newspapers are closing Aug. 9 --- the Springboro Sun, the Kettering-Oakwood Times and the Centerville-Washington Township Times…Lawrenceville, Ga.-based Southern Community Newspapers Inc. closed photo departments at five dailies and two weeklies.  It will call on its journalists to shoot art and post on the Internet.

Expanding with newspapers:  Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is adding the Press of Atlantic City, N.J. to its family.  The Press, with a daily circulation of 67,000, marks Berkshire’s 31^st daily.

A flood that wasn’t:  Associated Press, in reporting a T-storm that rained on the Las Vegas Strip, said it amounted to 0.35 inches.  That seems like a torrent.  Actually, the correct measurement is 0.35 of an inch.  That’s about a third of an inch.  AP is not alone with the "inflated" amount.  Some news writers often wrongfully tally precipitation totals under an inch.

Will baseball All-Star Game see pickup in the pace?: While Harry Reid stresses growth/jobs, Nevada business ebbs

Will TV viewership of the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday continue downward or, with some brisk pace and spark, will video watchers be greeted with action that boosts the rating, wonders Grumpy Editor.

Last year’s game was the least-watched All-Star Game on record, drawing 10.9 million viewers, down from 11 million in 2011. 

A key factor triggering yawns and causing viewers to switch to other channels appears to be the ever-growing relaxed pace of the game that originated before the American Civil War (1861-1865) as rounders, played on sandlots. 

The front-page feature by Steve Moyer in the Wall Street Journal’s Friday Arena section notes:  “By WSJ calculations, a baseball fan will see 17 minutes and 58 seconds of action over the course of a three-hour game.” 

The almost 18 minutes of action, emphasizes Moyer, includes balls in play, attempts on stolen bases, wild pitches, trotting batters such as with home runs, pickoff throws and walks.

To those, Grumpy Editor adds other contributions to the game's slower pace and inaction just focusing on the batter --- stepping (after a pitch) far out of the batter’s box (including a circuitous route walking behind the umpire to get back to the plate), practice swings before and between pitches, spitting, tapping dirt from shoes, adjusting batting gloves after every pitch and calling time. 

Pitchers, too, slow the game.  Adjusting cap after every pitch, long staring in to catchers, walking around the mound and picking up the rosin bag, and tossing several times to a base, hoping to nail a runner. 

Will the pace tick up this year?  Stay tuned. 

 

More 'Buy America' sought; CNBC: Nevada slips 

After the June employment report, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), in a news release from his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., declared, "We need to continue advancing policies that spur growth and create jobs. It's time for Republicans to let go of their failed austerity policies that weigh down our economy and prevent a speedier recovery. We simply can't cut our way to prosperity. “ 

A key way to hypo recovery and boost jobs is by pushing for more American-based jobs. 

While Reid’s staff was preparing his “spur growth and create jobs” comment, Rob Hotakainen at McClatchy’s Washington Bureau developed a lengthy story on how the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, set to open in two months, used 43,000 tons of steel --- from China, producing thousands of jobs away from U.S. shores. 

Hotakainen mentioned that with 70,000 U.S. bridges needing repairs, John Garamendi (D., Calif.) wants Congress to pass more “Buy America” requirements, using more U.S.-made materials and creating more manufacturing jobs. 

While imported steel (for the Bay Bridge) costs less, added Garamendi, “the (Chinese) steel had flaws, the welds had flaws and the end result was no money was saved.” 

It should be pointed out that while the Senate majority leader seeks to “spur growth and create jobs,” Nevada --- the state Reid represents --- slipped to 46^th place from 45^th last year among “states for business,” reported Scott Cohn, CNBC senior correspondent. 

“The Silver State,” said Cohn, “is still mired in the housing crisis, with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. With the highest unemployment as well, it is no wonder Nevada finishes at the bottom of our economy category. It also finishes at the bottom for education, and near the bottom for quality of life and access to capital.”

 

In case you missed these… 

Extraordinary non-stop coverage on cable news channels leading up to the "not guilty" verdict late Saturday in the George Zimmerman case in Florida --- and continuing over the weekend and today on MSNBC, CNN and HLN --- sidetracks follow-ups or updates on the Benghazi incident, turmoil in Egypt, fighting in Syria, IRS scandals, ObamaCare problems and conflicts/inactions in Congress as a long summer break looms…Not getting much play in key media is a piece in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes reporting the Pentagon is eyeing plans to eliminate danger pay for service members in up to 18 countries and five waterways around the world”…”saving about $120 million each year while taking a bite out of troops' salaries.”

 

Bad PR for journalists: A Pew Research Center study finds 27 percent of Americans say journalists contribute little or nothing to society’s well being.  At the top of the list, 78 percent of those surveyed put the military contributing “a lot” to society’s well being…PC World’s August print edition will be its last after 30 years of publishing but it will continue as an online magazine…A Gallup poll shows television is the main source Americans turn to for news about current events (55 percent), leading the Internet (21 percent), newspapers/print publications (9 percent) and radio (6 percent)…Santa Ana, Calif.-based Orange County Register is expanding its reach to Los Angeles County where it plans an Aug. 19 start with the Long Beach Register, publishing six days week.

Benghazi night/Obama in White House saga continues; AARP's CEO warns seniors about proposed chained CPI

The much-discussed whereabouts of President Barack Obama on the night the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya was attacked Sept. 11, 2012 popped up again via Roger Ailes, Fox News chairman and CEO, and chairman of Fox Television Stations Group, notes Grumpy Editor.

In receiving a $250,000 award last week from the Bradley Foundation, Ailes’ acceptance speech included reference to the Benghazi attack that resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stephens.  

 “I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t even care what the president of the United States was doing that night,” Ailes said. “However, I would like to know what the commander-in-chief was doing that night” --- which yielded applause from the audience.

Meanwhile, a photo, presumably shot on Sept. 11, 2012, resurfaced last week after its first release, without much fanfare, in early January.

The caption read: “Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor, left, updates the President and Vice President on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and Chief of Staff Jack Lew are at right.”  All five are standing.

Strangely, Benghazi or Libya are not mentioned in the caption.  The photo shows Donilon holding a red file folder.  Lew and the president have hands in pockets.

However, details are given on the camera used by official White House photographer Pete Souza: a Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

See the photo here.

Obama departed Washington the following morning (Sept. 12) for a Las Vegas fundraiser.

 

'Chained CPI' means less COLA for seniors

The phrase “chained CPI” and what it is all about made its debut --- with little comment from most print and broadcast media --- after President Barack Obama’s budget plan was formally announced on April 10. 

It deals with a proposed change in the formula for the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) that will negatively affect millions of older Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. 

Now, AARP’s CEO is alerting members that if enacted it “means cutting Social Security benefits by $127 billion over the next 10 years.” 

In a message to members of AARP (formerly known as American Association of Retired Persons) Addison Barry Rand warns:  “Can you afford to lose $14,076?,” pointing out “that’s what the cumulative cut in Social Security benefits will be for the average retiree by the time they reach 90.” 

Replacing the traditional consumer price index (CPI), long used in calculating the annual COLA, by chained CPI will cut yearly benefit increases. 

Social Security and SSI recipients grumbled when this year’s COLA barely rose to 1.7 percent, about half of last year’s 3.6 percent.  

The chained CPI “is not fair to you, me or other Americans,” declared Rand in this month’s message.

That caution communication from AARP’s CEO is in contrast to support of ObamaCare at a November, 2009, press conference when Rand proclaimed: “AARP is proud to endorse the Affordable Health Care for America Act."

 

In case you missed these…

Sarah Palin, former vice presidential candidate, returns as a Fox News contributor, appearing today on the channel’s Fox and Friends…Despite a presidential visit and promises of federal assistance, West, Texas, scene of an April 17 fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15, injured hundreds and destroyed nearby properties, was denied funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  FEMA also rejected Gov. Rick Perry’s request for a major disaster declaration for the town…Al Jazeera America schedules its launch for around Aug. 24...the PBS NewsHour nightly newscast is laying off employees for the first time in nearly 20 years and closing its Denver and San Francisco offices…Helen Brush Jenkins, one of the few early female photographers on daily newspapers (at the original Los Angeles Daily News), died in Chicago at age 94.