Grumpy Editor

GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMS BEING CONSIDERED BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS

So what are House Democrats working on in the new 117^th Congress as we enter 2021?

They propose a rules change switching male and female references like "he" and "she" to gender-neutral terms, notes Grumpy Editor.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern are focusing on a rules package to "honor all gender identities by changing pronouns and familiar relationships in the House rules to be gender neutral."

That means eliminating terms such as mother and father, son and daughter, and aunt and uncle.

Proposed changes call for gender-neutral terms such as parent, child, sibling and parent’s sibling.

The plan also includes establishment of a House “Office of Diversity and Inclusion.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

CENSUS BUREAU MISSES DEADLINE.  The Census Bureau misses a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used to determine congressional seats. That’s the first time the year-end deadline is missed since it was implemented more than four decades ago.

DRUGMAKERS HIKE PRICES FOR NEW YEAR.  Following its annual routine, about 70 drugmakers rang in the new year by raising prices an average of 5.8 percent on many products.

MARINE CORPS STARTS TO ISSUE SILENCERS.  The Marine Corps starts issuing thousands of silencers to infantry units worldwide. The suppressors are designed to reduce the visual and noise signature of carbines and rifles including M4 and M4A1 carbines, M27 infantry automatic rifles and M38 designated marksman rifles.

WOOD FOR COFFINS SCARCE.  Coffin manufacturer Universal Caskets Manufacturing Corp. says wood --- especially pine --- for caskets is becoming scarce as the firm struggles to meet demand in the Los Angeles area.

AMERICAN RADIO IN BERLIN ENDS.  American radio presence in Berlin since 1945 ends when the last U.S. radio station in the German capital ceases operation.

MOST YOUNG AMERICANS UNABLE TO SERVE COUNTRY.  The Department of Defense reveals 71 percent of young Americans are unable to serve in uniform, largely due to obesity, drug abuse, poor education or crime record.

STOLEN WWII CHURCH BELL BEING RETURNED.  A church bell dating back to 1555 will be returned to its home in Poland, 77 years after it was taken in World War II by the Nazis who melted down 80,000 bells to make weapons or ammunition.

REP. OMAR GRABS ATTENTION OF PRINT/BROADCAST MEDIA

With 535 members of Congress --- 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives --- one member gets heavy coverage just about every day, observes Grumpy Editor.

That’s Rep. Ilhan Omar, a far-left, first-term Democrat from Minnesota’s 5th congressional district.

 

In her latest controversial comments, as reported  by CNSNews, she blames the U.S. for the problems in Venezuela.

 

"A lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela,” says Omar.  “And we’ve sort of set the stage for where we’re arriving today. This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States."

In response, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says “for a member of Congress, who, frankly, one who sits on an important national security committee, to make a statement blaming America first in this way, it’s not only ignorant, it’s disgusting."

The problems in Venezuela, adds Pompeo, “have been years in the making. It has been a socialist regime, first with Chavez, now with Maduro.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

WORKERS' EFFICIENCY JUMPS.   Labor Department reports U.S. workers’ efficiency increased over the past year at the best pace in nearly a decade, pointing to stronger wage growth and further economic expansion.

POLL SHOWS BEST DAYS AHEAD.  The latest Rasmussen Reports survey finds 54% of likely voters say America's best days are in the future --- the first time a majority of voters has expressed this sentiment since November 2006.

SEXUAL ASSAULT IN MILITARY RISES.  The Defense ‘s Department’s 2018 report on sexual assault in the military finds 20,500 servicewomen experienced sexual assault within the past year, up 38% from 14,900 in fiscal year 2016.

SNAKE WITH EXTRA EYE.  Northern Australia wildlife authorities discover a three-eyed snake found on a highway.  Nicknamed Monty Python, the baby carpet python died weeks after it was found .  The snake's third eye was on top of its head.

WORSHIPERS FADE.  Gallup finds the percentage of Americans who belong to a church, synagogue or mosque is at an all-time low, averaging 50% in 2018. The past 20 years have seen an acceleration in the drop-off, with a 20-percentage-point decline since 1999 and more than half of that change occurring since the start of the current decade, adds Gallup.

HISPANIC UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD LOW.  National seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for Hispanics and Latinos in the U.S. labor force falls to a record low of 4.2% in April, finds the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Last month, unemployment rate for Hispanics and Latinos, age 16 and up, was 4.2%, down from 4.7% in March.

IT'S TUITION OR DINNER.  A survey by Temple University’s Hope Center for College, Community and Justice indicates 45% of student respondents from over 100 institutions say they have been food insecure in the past 30 days.  Paying off student loans is taking much of their funds.

SINCLAIR BUYS SPORTS NETWORKS.  Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a deal valued at $10.6 billion, plans to buy 21 regional sports networks from Walt Disney Co.

KELLOGG SALES SINK.  Kellogg Co., with lofty prices for cereal boxes, reports first quarter North America earnings decline 36.5% on weaker demand.

 

 

Ex-Marine Grimm bellows harsh words, stirs up media

New York Congressman Michael Grimm last week provided the kind of material that makes print and broadcast staffers lick their chops:  dynamic, threatening words by a politician  to a reporter --- who veered off track from the intended discussion on the president’s State of the Union address, points out Grumpy Editor.

Heavy coverage of Grimm extended several days after the irritated congressman, the only Republican representing a significant portion of New York City, told NY1 cable reporter Michael Scotto at the Capitol Rotunda that “I’ll break you in half”…and “I’ll throw you off this f-----g balcony.”

Grimm said for Scotto to ask about a federal investigation into campaign finances --- in which he has not been charged with a crime --- as part of that interview was a “cheap shot.”

Grimm later apologized, saying he had "lost his cool."

Background factors for his actions media overlooked:  Grimm, a businessman and attorney, spent eight years on Marine Corps active duty and as a reservist.  He was involved in the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.  Among his awards was the combat action ribbon.  He later worked as an FBI agent for nine years.

 

In case you missed these…

AP WRITERS (AGAIN) SCRUB BYLINES FOR A DAY.  Other than family members, friends and fellow staffers, most newspaper readers probably didn’t notice that most Associated Press writers, for 24-hours late last week, withheld bylines.  It marks the fourth time in recent years they did this, this time protesting health care and job-transfer proposals.

ARMY OPENS PREVIOUS OFF-LIMITS SPECIALTIES TO WOMEN.  Female soldiers, starting in April, will be eligible to serve in about 33,000 positions in 132 specialties previously off-limits to them following a now-canceled policy designed to keep women out of combat.  Thus, they will be eligible to serve in direct ground combat units below brigade level.

BUT WILL HE WEAR RED SOX IN THE PUBLISHER’S OFFICE?  John Henry, who purchased the Boston Globe from the New York Times Co. last October, named himself publisher of the newspaper.  He is principal owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

SNOWDEN JOINS LIST OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CANDIDATES.  Two Norwegian politicians jointly nominate former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden, now in Russia, for the 2014 Nobel peace prize.  He will be among the many names that the Nobel committee considers for the prestigious award.

WASHINGTON POST GEARS UP TO ADD DOZENS OF JOBS.  Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos, who bought the Washington Post last August, plans to beef up the newspaper by increasing its budget and adding dozens of editorial employees.

UNIVERSITY PLANS ANNUAL REPORTING AWARD.  University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics is seeking applications for a national Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics.  It’s named after a graduate, winner of two Pulitzer prizes, who died in 2012 while crossing the Syrian border on a reporting assignment for the New York Times.  A $1,000 award goes go to the journalist (or team) whose reporting “best exemplifies four key criteria: accountability, independence, reporting in search of truth and minimization of harm to subjects, sources and the public at large,” says the university.

LOCAL TV NEWS GAINS GROUND LAST YEAR.  A Pew Research Center analysis finds, after a period of declining viewership, audiences for local TV news last year rose 6 percent in the 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. period and 3 percent in the 5 to 7 p.m. newscasts. 

Mystery: Who ordered shutdown of D.C. zoo panda cam?

While the partial U.S. government shutdown has many people up in arms about some of the strange closures at home and abroad, one of the most unusual is the “panda cam” that went dark at the National Zoo in Washington, notes Grumpy Editor.

Federal resources, including funds, are not an issue in showing the giant pandas on camera.

Thousands of viewers check in daily to see female panda Mei Xiang, her six-week-old cub and companion Tian Tian.

National Zoo's panda cams are sponsored by the Ford Motor Co. fund, part of a two-year, $400,000 grant to study giant panda health and the majority of the grant covers research into disease transmission, points out Danielle Elliot at CBS News.

And zoo staff doesn’t figure into the panda’s cam transmissions because volunteers operate the cameras.

As part of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Zoo is a 163-acre zoological park set amid Rock Creek National Park in the heart of Washington.

With the shutdown, the zoo and the rest of the Smithsonian museums are closed to the public along with all vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle paths into the area.

For panda cam watchers, an alternative:  Try the panda cam here to see Ya Ya and Le Le at the Memphis Zoo.

Senator cites shutdown for scrapping media call

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, cited the federal shutdown as the reason to eliminate his weekly press call with Iowa reporters, finds Grumpy Editor.

“Due to the funding lapse, Senator Harkin’s offices are now closed. Therefore, he will not host an Iowa media call this week. The call will resume when the lapse has ended,” Kate Cyrul Frischmann, Harkin’s communications director in Washington, advised Iowa reporters via email.

However, the Des Moines Register reported the federal shutdown didn’t stop U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, from briefing Iowa reporters on his usual Wednesday conference call.

Braley, active with other House members while the Senate was mostly silent, is running for the Senate next year, seeking to replace Harkin, who is retiring.

In case you missed these…

Two words absent from weekend reporting on the unusual autumn snowstorm that smacked the upper Midwest with up to almost four feet of snow (in Lead, S.D.):  global warming…Stock of Tesla Motors, following media playing up a fire in one of its electric cars, dips 6.2 percent on Wednesday and 4.2 percent Thursday, but rebounds 7.67 percent on Friday as word gets out that its Model S becomes the best-selling car in Norway in September, its second month on the market there…The Associated Press and NPR are cutting back use of the term ObamaCare (for Affordable Care Act).  NPR describes the nickname as seeming "to be straddling somewhere between being a politically-charged term and an accepted part of the vernacular”…Political columnist and author George Will joins Fox News as a contributor.  Will, a long-time fixture as a panelist on ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," will offer analysis and commentary across Fox News’ daytime and primetime programming…While many newspapers are reducing editorial content, the 113-year-old Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal is seeking freelance journalists and photographers to boost news, business, features, community events and sports coverage…Wichita radio station KLIO dumps its oldies format and moves to service its market’s Spanish-speaking population with sports talk using ESPN Deportes around the clock…Thomson Reuters plans to cut as much as 5 percent of newsroom staffers (out of 2,800 journalists worldwide) --- “to simplify and strengthen the Reuters news operation”…NBC and CNN shelve television projects focusing on former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.  Both efforts were slated to air prior to the 2016 election.

Media, especially television, gearing up for winds that some predicted would blossom into the first hurricane to hit the U.S. this year, see tropical storm Karen fizzle in the Gulf of Mexico…with no deep low-pressure systems (candidates leading to a hurricane) on the horizon.

Shutdown drama plays on in Washington --- without snow

With most print and broadcast media busy focusing titanic attention on the looming federal government partial shutdown tonight, noting it would be the first such action in nearly two decades, Grumpy Editor calls attention to a more recent shutdown --- less than seven months ago with scant coverage --- when Washington turned off the lights.

Reason? 

Washington comes to a standstill when only a few inches of snow cripples the area.  Thus, it was a “snow day” --- without coast-to-coast, wide-scale front-page fuss over federal operations shuttered in the region. 

That’s what happened March 6 this year in the District of Columbia when the U.S. Office of Personnel Management called a snow day, allowing federal workers to stay home with full pay. 

About 320,000 federal workers are affected when Washington closes office doors. 

Media didn’t get too excited with a questionable shutdown (via a snow day) in Washington that occurred Christmas week, 2009.  With a heavy snowfall on Friday night (Dec. 18) and Saturday, many federal employees stayed home on Monday, without losing pay --- 36 hours after the flakes stopped falling. 

With the approaching national shutdown, about 40 percent of the federal workforce of 2 million people could be furloughed without pay. 

In the countdown to a shutdown, Republican action from the House two days ago would keep the government funded through Dec. 15, delay the health care law, repeal a 2.3 percent medical device tax and assure payments to military personnel.

While House members were busy trying to hammer out a solution over the weekend, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., gave members of his legislative chamber the weekend off. 

Senators return today at 2 p.m. --- 10 hours before the fiscal year ends. 

Meanwhile, with the shutdown drama on Capitol Hill, the Washington Post reported President Obama on Saturday played golf at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. 

As for today's weather, no snow is in the forecast.

 

Most newspapers snub Sen. Cruz’s endurance

Grumpy Editor asks:  If you were a newspaper editor, would you front-page someone speaking 21 hours and 19 minutes non-stop while standing continuously and with no “rest period” breaks or time out for food? 

Well, most editors around the nation looked the other way when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, engaged in a talkathon against the health care law in the Senate starting last Tuesday afternoon. 

Most of the next day’s major newspapers ignored the effort.

Absolutely no front-page mention, even in briefs, was observed in the New York Times, Detroit News, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Miami Herald. 

However, The Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe worked in front-page references to stories inside the “A” sections. 

Despite extraordinary use of his voice, before going home Cruz then went on Rush Limbaugh’s radio talk show for a further discussion. 

 

In case you missed these… 

More staff chopping ahead at Tribune Co.?   The parent of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and others is in a budget review process that will determine further staff reductions.  Over the last three years, the company slashed about 2,200 jobs, with about 11,500 remaining on payrolls…London’s Lloyds List, the world’s oldest continuously published newspaper, will end its print edition in December and go digital.

In marketing developments:  Burger King promotes new lower fat/calories fries in the U.S. --- produced by Canadian firm McCain Foods Ltd., which also makes fries for Wendy’s and McDonalds…Wrong placement?  A TV commercial for blackhead dissolving gel aired over the weekend on the Wall Street Journal Editorial Report on Fox News Channel.

A nifty deal tailored for “Norm” on the old Cheers TV show:  Groupon, the daily deals website, last week offered eight hours of an open bar at a Las Vegas Strip location for $24.99 --- “a $50 value.”

Washington Post stats slump as executives scratch heads

As circulation and advertising figures slide at the Washington Post Co., management is probably wondering why --- and the Internet is not wholly to blame, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The Post reports print advertising skidded 12 percent in the 2012 fourth quarter, to $67.5 million.  The Post also cites average daily circulation in 2012 declined 8.6 percent to an average of 471,800, while average Sunday circulation fell 6.2 percent to 687,200. 

What’s behind advertising and circulation drifting lower at most newspapers?

When businesses, large and small, envision less money to spend, advertising is one of the first things slashed. 

Daily news reports are loaded with uncertainty, especially with predictions --- and scares from the nation’s capital --- of economic messes ahead. 

A heavy flow of new business/personal rules, regulations and taxes coming out of Washington plus the confusing financial wake looming from ObamaCare and the upcoming sequestration are among key contributors to the wide-scale uncertainty. 

For businesses, that’s not conducive to boosting advertising. 

Thus, the constant negativity running in news columns triggers less advertising space sold, putting a major dent in the bottom line of newspaper publishers. 

Eventually, and sadly, this also results in newspapers’ periodic staff trimming, among other measures. 

With circulation, when readers find their favorite newspaper is more of a lap dog rather than a watchdog --- echoing information, especially fuzzy math and misleading facts, fed from the White House and some lawmakers without newspaper fact checking or solid investigating --- they move on to other news sources. 

Getting back to the Washington Post:  Seeking to highlight a bright spot in the company’s glum 2012 financial figures, the Post cited:  “One benefit of the paper’s woes: lower newsprint costs,” down 10 percent.

 

 

AP okays ‘husband,’ ‘wife’ for same-sex couples

Updated in the Associated Press Stylebook, used by most newsrooms:  

Regardless of sexual orientation, use of husband or wife is acceptable in all references to individuals in any legally-recognized marriage. 

Spouse or partner may be used if requested, adds AP.

 

In case you missed these… 

Time magazine runs the longest article in its 90-years of publishing with a 24,000-word piece on “Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us” by Steven Brill…The New York Times Co. is putting the “for sale” sign on its Boston Globe which also includes the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette…CBS News’  Bob Schieffer will receive the National Association of Broadcasters distinguished service award on April 8 in Las Vegas…David Axelrod, former White House senior adviser and senior strategist for President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, joins NBC News and MSNBC as a senior political analyst…Los Angeles Times scrubs its daily prime time television schedule from the newspaper’s Calendar section starting tomorrow…CNBC acquires the long-running Nightly Business Report from PBS and will move production from Miami to CNBC headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. on March 4…Generally overlooked in coverage of the wide-scale manhunt for rogue ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner, who later died in a Big Bear (Calif.) cabin fire, was the early-morning shooting in Torrance, Calif. of two L.A. Times delivery women by eight LAPD officers who mistook them for Dorner.  The injured women’s attorney says he counted 102 bullet holes in their blue Toyota Tacoma…Comedian Conan O'Brien, who hosts a nightly show on TBS, will emcee the annual White House Correspondents Dinner on April 27, airing on C-Span…Journal Register Co., which owns --- and plans to sell --- Michigan dailies The Oakland Press, The Macomb Daily, Morning Sun and Daily Tribune, says it plans to lay off more than 840 employees, with hopes that the new owner will rehire them. 

Weighty matter: Lawmakers focus on $1 coins --- again

Many newspapers over the weekend carried a lengthy Associated Press story on a pending push for still another $1 coin to replace the dollar bill in efforts to “save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years,” notes Grumpy Editor.

The move comes despite past efforts (some continuing) to go metal rather than paper for $1 have proven to be unpopular with the public and businesses.

Over the past four decades, attempts to utilize coins in place of $1 bills have been snubbed.

With $1 in coins rather than in paper, it means carrying extra weight, now in addition to cell phones and other modern gear.  Imagine the additional pounds in lugging $15 or $20 in $1 coins.

The latest effort to go to $1 via coins route stems as lawmakers --- rather than putting a critical or investigative eye on fraud, waste and duplication in federal operations --- explore ways for the government to save money.  So, for them, switching to more durable $1 coins seems one way to go.

Along with a change in composition, the $1 metal version would require new equipment to be purchased or existing production methods overhauled --- using taxpayer funds, of course.

Most noteworthy (not mentioned in the AP story), is that the Susan B. Anthony $1 coin, minted from 1979 to 1981 with another try in 1999, fizzled.

Circulation of the Sacagawea dollar coin, minted since 2002, also has been unpopular.

Then there was the Eisenhower $1 coin, issued from 1971 to 1978, which saw limited circulation.

But an Eisenhower coin will return in 2015, as part of the Presidential $1 Coin Program.  Coins in that program now are minted only for collectors.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D., N.Y.) sums up the feelings of many who frown on the $1 coin: 

“If the people don’t want it and they don’t want to use it, why in the world are we even talking about changing it?”

Who’s ‘minding the store’ this week in Washington?

Despite growing hostilities in the Middle East, aggressive actions elsewhere, continued post-superstorm Sandy struggles plus the looming fiscal cliff at home, Washington is at a standstill this week as key government leaders and Congress are away from their desks, observes Grumpy Editor. 

President Barack Obama is in Myanmar (also known as Burma) today, the second day into a four-day tour that started in Thailand yesterday, with Cambodia slated for tomorrow. 

Not widely broadcast in the first leg of his around-the-world flight, is that Air Force One headed east from Washington with a stop in Germany on Saturday.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, also in the Southeast Asia-Australia region, joined Obama in Thailand. 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was traveling from Southeast Asia over the weekend, after a week-long trip that took him to Australia, Thailand and Cambodia. 

The House and Senate are on a Thanksgiving break this week. 

The Senate, by the way, met in a pro forma session Friday for a whopping 28 seconds and reconvenes at 2 p.m. Nov. 26. 

So who is "minding the store."? 

After being on the road yesterday touring superstorm Sandy-wrecked parts of New Jersey, Vice President Joe Biden remains, quietly, in D.C. today. 

His official Website notes “no public schedule” this week.

But there may be some stirring at the vice president's residence tomorrow.

It’s his 70th birthday.

Inquisitive minds muzzled at Obama press conference

In reporting on President Barack Obama’s first news conference in eight months, newspaper stories yesterday were missing some items of interest to ever-squeezed taxpayers, notes Grumpy Editor. 

With the economy, Benghazi and taxes of most concern to Americans, among questions fielded by the president at the White House news conference pertained to immigration and climate change --- overcovered topics that brought lengthy responses parallel to what was heard for months on the campaign trail leading to Obama's Nov. 6 re-election. 

During his 50-minute appearance (clocked at one hour by the Washington Post) in which he called on reporters from a pre-selected list of names, the president repeated some other campaign stump material. 

Among his comments: 

(Under a law awaiting passage in Congress), “98 percent of all Americans and 97 percent of all small businesses won’t see their taxes go up a single dime.” 

“Five and a half million jobs have been created.” 

“I know the math well.  There will be a modest tax increase on the wealthy.” 

“I’m open to new ideas on tax rates.” 

No member of the note-taking press was allowed to raise a hand in seeking amplification on any of the above statements. 

Also, no questions were asked about Obama’s Southeast Asia trip, departing tomorrow, to Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Thailand.

Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal story yesterday that focused on the president pressing for higher taxes mentioned: 

“About $400 billion in tax increases on virtually all working Americans will begin Jan. 2 unless an alternative plan is hatched.”

No sooner back in D.C., lawmakers eager to leave town

As soon as Congress returned from a five-week recess on Monday, Capitol Hill talk immediately turned to taking more time off, starting with senators on Friday, finds Grumpy Editor. 

Such action --- or inaction --- underscores why taxpayers give the lawmakers a record-low approval rating. 

Senators are the most eager to get more free time, some to campaign in their home states, and return after the Nov. 6 elections.  Party leaders would like to depart again on Friday, says Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), majority whip. 

However, senators face action on a six-month stopgap measure to keep the federal government operating after Oct. 1. 

Also eager to finish business early is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.). 

But he is not giving a target date, although “the word is out” (as Reid likes to say), that Senate offices have been alerted unofficially that they would recess at the end of this week. 

The House is scheduled to leave for recess at the end of next week and return for a few more days in October. 

Some lawmakers want Congress to stay in session to finalize action on a multiyear farm bill.  

Members of Congress “need to show they’re doing their job,” says Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University. 

An August Gallup poll finds only one in 10 Americans approves the work Congress is doing.  That record low compares with 84 percent in 2002.