Blogs Posts on "Public Interest"
FEC unwisely OKs return to cheap private jet travel by members of Congress by Scholars & Rogues on Nov 20, 2009Let’s say you’re Sen. John Dough. You’re running for re-election. You need money. Often, you have to travel to where the money is to get it. Say, in Los Angeles. So you fly. But you wish to avoid flying commercial. Too much time was...
It’s not Congress. It’s legalized corruption. Time to end it. by Scholars & Rogues on Nov 16, 2009Former Rep. William J. Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, is off to prison. In August, a jury told him that bribery, racketeering and money laundering were not acceptable behaviors for anyone, let alone a member of Congress. As a felon, Jefferson has h...
Gay marriage loses in Maine: the campaign finance scorecard by Scholars & Rogues on Nov 6, 2009On Nov. 3, 299,483 citizens of the state of Maine were persuaded to tell women who love women and men who love men that they cannot marry. Those Downeasters who voted “Yes” on Question 1 — to repeal a same-sex marriage law — bashed ga...
Motivating climate action: Last Chance – Preserving Life on Earth by Scholars & Rogues on Nov 5, 2009In the introduction to Last Chance – Preserving Life on Earth, author Larry J. Schweiger, the CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, comes right out and says that he’s not trying to change minds with this book. Instead, it’s his...
Newspaper circulation falls again: Expect more cuts by Scholars & Rogues on Nov 2, 2009If you were a newspaper subscriber last year, there’s a 10 percent chance you aren’t this year. That’s because paid circulation of daily newspapers nationally fell more than 10 percent from a year ago. Some papers suffered truly hor...
Fixing what isn’t broken by Scholars & Rogues on Nov 1, 2009We have this great little library around the corner, which is very convenient. In London, there are lots of libraries, but it’s such big city geographically that it’s not always the case that there’s a library just around the corner. It’s a...
Fox beats CNN in prime-time news, but so what? by Scholars & Rogues on Oct 30, 2009CNN’s prime-time ratings — those hours between 7 and 11 p.m. that command premium advertising rates — have fallen sharply. CNN, reports The New York Times and MSNBC, now trails three of its principal competitors, Fox News Channel, M...
Loss of newspaper environmental reporters costly to the public by Scholars & Rogues on Oct 19, 2009On the same day that The New York Times said (buried in its Media Decoder blog) that it would cut 100 newsroom jobs (again), Columbia University said it would not accept applications next year for its dual-degree graduate program in environmental jou...
Gore says ‘tipping point’ close for public push on climate change by Scholars & Rogues on Oct 13, 2009SEJ member Tom Yulsman asks a question of Vice President Gore in Madison. Photo: Anne Minard. The fate of the earth could end up determined by which tipping point is reached first: a physical shift that ushers in abrupt climate change with catastrop...
Politico misquote of Perriello: sorry, but an apology just isn’t enough by Scholars & Rogues on Oct 9, 2009On September 22, Politico ran an article by Glenn Thrush that egregiously misrepresented the words of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA). The subject was town hall meetings and racist comments that he had witnessed. In due course Thrush’s “error...
