Three years after taking over for Larry King, Mr. Morgan has seen the ratings for “Piers Morgan Live” hit some new lows, drawing a fraction of viewers compared with competitors at Fox News and MSNBC.
It’s been an unhappy collision between a British television personality who refuses to assimilate — the only football he cares about is round and his lectures on guns were rife with contempt — and a CNN audience that is intrinsically provincial. After all, the people who tune into a cable news network are, by their nature, deeply interested in America.
CNN’s president, Jeffrey Zucker, has other problems, but none bigger than Mr. Morgan and his plum 9 p.m. time slot. Mr. Morgan said last week that he and Mr. Zucker had been talking about the show’s failure to connect and had decided to pull the plug, probably in March.
Crossing an ocean for a replacement for Larry King, who had ratings problems of his own near the end, was probably not a great idea to begin with. For a cable news station like CNN, major stories are like oxygen. When something important or scary happens in America, many of us have an immediate reflex to turn on CNN. When I find Mr. Morgan telling me what it all means, I have a similar reflex to dismiss what he is saying. It is difficult for him to speak credibly on significant American events because, after all, he just got here.
I received a return call from Mr. Morgan and was prepared for an endless argument over my assumptions. Not so. His show, he conceded, was not performing as he had hoped and was nearing its end.
“It’s been a painful period and lately we have taken a bath in the ratings,” he said, adding that although there had been times when the show connected in terms of audience, slow news days were problematic.
In case you missed it, the anti-union movement is alive, well, and gloating over its success while working people in both the public and private sectors suffer from stagnant and negative wages, more expensive benefits and the prospect of losing what dignity they have at the altar of unfettered free enterprise and wealthy-worship.
The story of the UAW’s loss at the Volkswagon plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee last week because of scare tactics imposed by Republican national and state legislators is well-known. The surprising part is that VW seemed to be friendly to the idea of representation given that they had envisioned a workers council, which is prevalent in many other countries, that would protect worker’s rights and act as a partner in running the plant. This could still happen, despite the right’s irrational fear of unions, but it weakened the already-fragile union movement and did damage to its efforts in the south.
The picture is similarly bleak in the Midwest, as Governor Scott Walker’s Wisconsin experiment is burying public union workers. A new report in the New York Times shows that many towns and cities are finding that they have more money to spend, or at least less debt, because of the anti-union laws passed in 2011, but that workers are being devastated by the law, called Act 10. In short, public unions were stripped of their collective bargaining rights on anything except salaries, but even they were to be capped at no higher than the inflation level. The result is a one-two punch.
One:
Demoralization is the flip side of Act 10. In Oneida County in northern Wisconsin, the county supervisors jettisoned language requiring “just cause” when firing employees. Now, said Julie Allen, a computer programmer and head of the main local for Oneida County’s civil servants, morale is “pretty bad” and workers are afraid to speak out about anything, even safety issues or a revised pay scale. “We don’t have just cause,” she said. “We don’t have seniority protections. So people are pretty scared.”
Assessing Act 10, Lisa Charbarneau, Oneida County’s director of human resources, said: “It’s been a kind of double-edged sword. It’s saved some money, but it’s hurt morale. It’s put a black eye, so to speak, on being a government employee, whether management or hourly. All government employees seem to have taken a hit, there’s this image that they’re sucking all these good benefits.”
Two:
Leah Lipska, the president of Local 1, scoffs at Mr. Walker’s famous suggestion that public employees are the “haves” in society, noting that many earn less than $35,000 a year. And the law, says Ms. Lipska, an information systems technician with the state corrections system, has made things much worse.
“My family is now on food stamps,” said Ms. Lipska, a mother of three who earns $18.62 an hour. (Her husband’s computer installation business is struggling.)
This simply reinforces the idea that GOP orthodoxy on economics is dangerous. Taking money out of people’s pockets and making them afraid to speak up because they might lose their jobs will not in any way help the economy to grow. And Scott Walker wants to be president (shudder).
Meanwhile, here in New Jersey, where the governor also wants to be president but won’t be, the end of Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf’s term is proving rather dangerous for teacher rights. The Superintendent of Newark’s schools is asking Cerf for a waiver so she can ignore seniority while making massive cuts to Newark’s teaching force. Even better, or worse, is the suspicion that Anderson is doing this to protect the Teach for America teachers she’s hired at the expense of more expensive, experienced educators. Anderson was a former executive at Teach for America.
This assault on both tenure and negotiated rights would be the most serious attempt by the know-nothing corporatists on the teacher’s associations in the state. It would also be an opportunity for Cerf to make a final, lasting imprint on the state’s education system that has already seen an ineffective evaluation system and massive cuts to school programs go into effect during his and Christie’s term. My sense is that Cerf won’t do it because the governor is facing multiple investigations into questionable behavior by his aides, and Christie won’t need the added attention, but this would be an opportunity for both men to show their conservative bona-fides and take some eyeballs of the GW Bridge and Sandy affairs.
The bottom line is that the bottom line is guiding everything the GOP touches these days and public workers continue to be obstacles to knock over and criticize. Never mind that these are the same middle class workers who need to start spending if the economy is to make a broad rebound and will need to lead the country if it is to educate its next generation of citizens.
An Iowa law allowing the legally or completely blind to acquire permits to carry guns in public has stirred up debate as to whether or not the visually impaired should have “full access” to firearms.
“Up until 2011, it was solely up to the sheriff of your county who decided who got a gun permit and who did not,” Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington, who has been granting gun permits to the visually impaired since he became sheriff in 2007, told ABCNews.com. “So you were basically at the mercy of whether you had a pro-gun sheriff or an anti-gun sheriff.”
In 2010, Iowa became a “shall-issue” state when the legislature amended a law to create a uniform procedure for issuing gun permits statewide. As a result, Iowa residents could get a gun permit so long as they did not have a criminal background or history of mental illness, Wethington said.
“Once those restrictions were limited, we basically had to approve anybody who applied for a permit,” said Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere. “Our opinion no longer matters and our information on an individual, as far as their character, was something we could no longer consider.”
While applicants need to take a firearm safety course to obtain a permit, it is available online and does not need to include hands-on firearms training, which “makes it a little difficult,” LeClere said.
“If we have a person who is possibly eyesight impaired, he is certainly entitled to defend himself,” he said. “But should he be carrying [a firearm] in public? Should there be further restrictions placed on him based on eyesight?”
“I have some reservations about full access for people who are blind,” said Patrick Clancy, superintendent of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton, Iowa. “That’s just because shooting requires a lot of vision to be accurate outside of controlled settings with safety courses.”
ESPN is reporting that Jason Collins, who came out as openly gay last year, will become a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
He is expected to sign a 10-day contract and be in uniform tonight.
Collins, 35, has averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in a 12-year NBA career. The 7-foot tall center has built a long career based on his defense and joins a Nets team doing everything possible to make a playoff run.
On Friday Apple announced a fix to a security bug in its iOS 7 system. Today Web security experts have parsed the patch to figure out what exactly the problem was… And apparently it’s a doozy.
“[The] terse description in Apple’s announcement yesterday had some of the internet’s top crypto experts wondering aloud about the exact nature of the bug. Then, as they began learning the details privately, they retreated into what might be described as stunned silence. “Ok, I know what the Apple bug is,” tweeted Matthew Green, a cryptography professor at Johns Hopkins. “And it is bad. Really bad.”
The culprit of what may be one of Apple’s biggest security snafus is an extra “goto” in one part of the authentication code, Wired reported. That spurious line of code bypasses the rest of the authentication protocols.
The bug could could allow hackers to intercept email and other communications that are meant to be encrypted, according to a Reuters report which was issued late on Friday night.
As ZDNet’s contributing editor Larry Seltzer wrote:
Make no mistake about it, this is a very serious bug. The bug makes it fairly straightforward to intercept and decrypt SSL/TLS communications, probably the most important security protocol there is today.
Your signature is your public face. In our daily life we sign contracts, checks, tax forms, admission forms, bank forms, and other important documents. Many celebrities give autographs, lovers sign letters. Your signature is as unique as your fingerprints. Different people have different styles of signatures. One study found that on an average if a person is given a blank paper the first thing that they are most likely going to write first is their name, or signature. Your signature says a lot about you.
Here are some observations:
1. Size of Signature
A large signature shows a sense of high status. If your signature is larger than your handwriting, it shows higher self-esteem and confidence level.
Those whose signatures are same as their writing (medium signature) are likely to be balanced with a sense of value and modesty. These people do not act or pretend and have knowledge of how they are perceived.
A small signature shows a high degree of self-motivation. Such people do not care what other people think but are likely to have low self-confidence.
2. I-Dot Signature
A signature with i-dot’s speaks about the personality of the person. A creative i-dot signifies that the person is different from the crowd and loves to stand out. The small straight line used as an i-dot talks about the impatient behavior of a person. This person is likely to always be in hurry. No i-dot shows the person does not need heed details and finds it tough to follow minute details. A long and continuous i-dot shows creativity and intelligence.
3. Rising and Descending Signature
Most signatures are rising in direction or descending. Rising signatures show the positive attitude of the writer. Such writers are usually optimistic and have a sense of ambition. These writers have the ability to face tough times or difficulties with confidence head-on. Descending signatures depict a rough patch in your life, it can be depression or pessimism.
Those who have straight and horizontal signatures are balanced in life. These writers are generally satisfied with life and the things coming to them.
4. Signature Underline
A simple underline shows the self-reliance of the writer. Such writers like to follow rules and traditions blindly. The more stylized the underline, the more attention a writer is likely to seek. These writers love to get noticed everywhere and are ready to do anything to be the center of attention.
A zigzag underline shows uncertain behavior of the writer. If the line is toward the right it shows self-reliance of the writer while the left shows uncertainty. Long zigzag lines shows less independence.
5. Other Random Messages
A smooth signature shows the gentle, outgoing, sociable, and charming personality of the writer.
If the signature is not readable towards the end it shows impatient behavior.
If the first letter of the signature is stylized the writer is more likely to be creative and out of the crowd.
If one writes their middle name first it shows attachment to hobbies and disability to make faithful friends.
A signature which has the first and the second name interconnected shows the richness in the character and a strong parental connection.
If the first letter of the signature is stylized and in lower case it shows that the person has highly usable skills that are beneficial for others, not themselves.
Your signature can give many hints about your personality and character. Make your signature wisely as this can leave an impression and your public image to the world.
“My dear girl, the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through.
If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: “You said the same thing a minute ago”… Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.
When I don’t want to take a bath, don’t be mad and don’t embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a girl?
When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don’t look at me that way… remember, honey, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life’s issues every day… the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through.
If I occasionally lose track of what we’re talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can’t, don’t be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you.
And when my old, tired legs don’t let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked.
When those days come, don’t feel sad… just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love.
I’ll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I’ve always had for you, I just want to say, I love you… my darling daughter.
Everything Jesse Williams — star of “Grey’s Anatomy” — says here about the Michael Dunn trial is spot on. Dunn was convicted of attempted murder (but not first-degree murder) for firing on four black teenagers who wouldn’t turn down their “rap crap” outside a Jacksonville, Fla., convenience store in 2012, killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
My four favorite parts of Williams interview: 1) When he explains how people are tired of the criminalization of black people in America — it’s a white problem, an American problem, a societal problem, NOT a black problem. 2) The “What the fu…” look on his face when she says, “We’re on our way to justice — we have an African-American president…” 3) The fact that we have to explain why it’s racial is a huge problem. 4) Would this have happened if Davis had been blasting Bon Jovi?
Name calling is now a staple of today’s Republican party and being that they have nothing else to offer the American people, these Republicans resort to what they know best.
Charlie Crist, who was a Republican governor of Florida, then left the party because of the downward spiral Republicans adopted in recent years, held a book signing to promote his new book, The Party’s Over, How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat. The party he wrote about showed up to the book signing and protested. Then naturally, the name calling began.
A Miami Sun-Sentinel‘s political reporter — who tweets under the name @BrowardPolitics — wrote on Twitter, “On his way out, one of the Republican protestors called @CharlieCrist a ‘commie whore.’ And that was the most printable comment.”
Shark-Tank.com reported that the protester who shouted that Crist looked “like an AIDS victim” repeated the remark three times as the governor walked to his car after the event.
Actress and singer Bette Midler noted the incident and tweeted a message alluding to the Tea Party’s history of posing as a grass roots movement while actually receiving support from corporations and wealthy oligarchs like billionaires Charles and David Koch.
“Yesterday, at book signing in Fort Lauderdale, @TeaPartiers shouted ‘commie whore’ at @CharlieCrist and other insults. Wonder who paid ‘em?” she wrote.
In an unexpected move, the lawyer for Gov. Chris Christie’s office in the George Washington Bridge scandal withdrew this week as counsel to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in an ongoing federal lawsuit, setting off speculation about what it means and why he did it.
Randy Mastro, a head litigation partner of the law firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, represents the governor’s office in the bridge scandal and other controversies tied to Hurricane Sandy aid. At the same time, he had served for more than a year as a lead attorney for the Port Authority in a federal lawsuit focused on controversial toll hikes.
Christie hired Mastro in January after the disclosure of emails showing that a Christie aide allegedly orchestrated a four-day closure of two local-access lanes to the bridge, causing massive traffic jams in Fort Lee. Many suspect the closures were retaliation after the borough’s Democratic mayor didn’t endorse the Republican governor for re-election.
In recent weeks, some attorneys and legal observers had expressed concern about Mastro’s dual role, especially because Mastro’s duties for Christie include his firm assisting with an internal review of the governor’s office’s actions, including events tied to the Port Authority.
On Wednesday, Mastro quietly withdrew as counsel to the Port Authority in the ongoing lawsuit brought in federal court in Manhattan by the New York and North Jersey chapters of the AAA. The suit aims to block toll increases at six bistate bridges and tunnels, contending that the Port Authority violated federal law by imposing toll hikes as part of a plan to finance certain capital projects unrelated to transportation.
Mastro declined comment Friday. In mid-January, he told the Wall Street Journal through a spokesperson that there was no conflict of interest in his “firm’s separate representation of the Port Authority and the governor’s office in these separate matters.”
TODAY – Jimmy Fallon closed out his first week hosting “The Tonight Show” in what fans were calling “the best thing ever.“
In other words, the comedian spent an entire hour with his partner in musical laughs, pop star Justin Timberlake. And even better, the duo launched into the fifth edition of their popular “History of Rap” series from “Late Night” before a single word was uttered during JT’s interview.
This time, the pair dropped the rhymes of LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Tone Loc, Will Smith, Salt-N-Pepa, Notorious BIG, Snoop Dogg/Lion, Warren G, Kriss Kross, Ludacris, Run DMC and many, many others.
They didn’t just show off their smooth flow during the medley, but some pretty great comedic timing as well. As Fallon ferociously rapped NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” and suddenly got in the camera’s face, Timberlake quickly interjected, “Hey hey hey! Hold on a second! … You’re straight outta compton?!” And just in time too, as Fallon was about to drop some of the tune’s naughty words.
The internet is buzzing over reports that Janet Jackson wants out of her marriage to Arab billionaire businessman Wissam Al Mana.
But Miss Jackson’s plan isn’t to just walk away, so the reports say. Nope, she wants compensation.
“Janet Jackson’s marriage to super-wealthy Arab businessman Wissam Al Mana has collapsed, and a source says bitter divorce battle over his billion dollar fortune could be about to explode … She confided to a few close friends and (her mother) Katherine that she’s preparing to leave him. And she’s begun calling friends at all hours crying and saying how miserable she is … Janet is getting set to challenge the prenup and demand a flat lump sum payout from his fortune,” according to one tabloid.
If the reports are true, it will be the end of her third marriage. Before Wissam Al Mana (39), who Janet (47) wed in 2012, she was previously married to Réne Elizondo from 1991-2000 and James DeBarge from 1984-1985.
For the record, Rumor Fix says it reached out toJackson’s rep for a response.
One thing that’s not a rumor is Janet’s listing of her NYC apartment for $35,000 a month!
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