Overheard in the Newsroom: (overheardinthenewsroom.com)
Reporter: “I’m going to leave and become a nun. I’ll be taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.” Editor: “Don’t be ridiculous, you’re a reporter, you already live those vows.”
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Gingrich Pressed on Affair
Here's an interesting article which reinforces our conversation of last Monday night about integrity in a politician's life. It also relates to the IRE chapter on ethics for this coming Monday.
Gingrich pressed on affair
(CNN) – Newt Gingrich was forced to wade into the thorny matter of his personal life Tuesday night during a forum at the University of Pennsylvania.
In a question-and-answer session, Isabel Friedman, a student at the university who's also Democratic activist, pressed Gingrich on how he squares his pro-family values with the fact he has been married three times and has admitted to two extramarital affairs.
"You adamantly oppose gay rights... but you've also been married three times and admitted to having an affair with your current wife while you were still married to your second," Friedman said, in comments first reported by Politico. "As a successful politician who's considering running for president, who would set the bar for moral conduct and be the voice of the American people, how do you reconcile this hypocritical interpretation of the religious values that you so vigorously defend?"
In a video of the interaction posted on YouTube, Gingrich appeared none-too-happy with the question.
"I'll bet almost everybody here can gather the thrust of your question," he said. "I appreciate the delicacy and generosity in the way it was framed . . . I hope you feel better about yourself."
The possible Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker added he doesn't think most voters will care about his past personal mistakes:
"I've had a life which, on occasion, has had problems," said Gingrich. "I believe in a forgiving God, and the American people will have to decide whether that's their primary concern."
"If the primary concern of the American people is my past, my candidacy would be irrelevant," he continued. "If the primary concern of the American people is the future . . . that's a debate I'll be happy to have."
Gingrich has admitted to cheating on his second wife in the late 1990's with the woman who is now his wife. He's also acknowledged having an affair with the woman who became his second wife while he was married to his first wife.
Gingrich pressed on affair
(CNN) – Newt Gingrich was forced to wade into the thorny matter of his personal life Tuesday night during a forum at the University of Pennsylvania.
In a question-and-answer session, Isabel Friedman, a student at the university who's also Democratic activist, pressed Gingrich on how he squares his pro-family values with the fact he has been married three times and has admitted to two extramarital affairs.
"You adamantly oppose gay rights... but you've also been married three times and admitted to having an affair with your current wife while you were still married to your second," Friedman said, in comments first reported by Politico. "As a successful politician who's considering running for president, who would set the bar for moral conduct and be the voice of the American people, how do you reconcile this hypocritical interpretation of the religious values that you so vigorously defend?"
In a video of the interaction posted on YouTube, Gingrich appeared none-too-happy with the question.
"I'll bet almost everybody here can gather the thrust of your question," he said. "I appreciate the delicacy and generosity in the way it was framed . . . I hope you feel better about yourself."
The possible Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker added he doesn't think most voters will care about his past personal mistakes:
"I've had a life which, on occasion, has had problems," said Gingrich. "I believe in a forgiving God, and the American people will have to decide whether that's their primary concern."
"If the primary concern of the American people is my past, my candidacy would be irrelevant," he continued. "If the primary concern of the American people is the future . . . that's a debate I'll be happy to have."
Gingrich has admitted to cheating on his second wife in the late 1990's with the woman who is now his wife. He's also acknowledged having an affair with the woman who became his second wife while he was married to his first wife.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Did This Reporter Step Over the Ethical Line?
On prank call, Wis. governor discusses strategy
RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents.
Walker believed the caller was a conservative billionaire named David Koch, but it was actually the editor of a liberal online newspaper. The two talked for at least 20 minutes — a conversation in which the governor described several potential ways to pressure Democrats to return to the Statehouse and revealed that his supporters had considered secretly planting people in pro-union protest crowds to stir up trouble.
The call, which surfaced Wednesday, also showed Walker's cozy relationship with two billionaire brothers who have poured millions of dollars into conservative political causes, including Walker's campaign last year.
Walker compared his stand to that taken by President Ronald Reagan when he fired the nation's air-traffic controllers during a labor dispute in 1981.
"That was the first crack in the Berlin Wall and led to the fall of the Soviets," Walker said on the recording.
The audio was posted by the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website based in Buffalo, N.Y., and quickly went viral.
Ian Murphy told The Associated Press he carried out the prank to show how candidly Walker would speak with Koch even though, according to Democrats, he refuses to return their calls.
Murphy said he arranged the call Tuesday after speaking with two Walker aides, including the governor's chief of staff. He placed the call using Skype and recorded it.
Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie confirmed that it was Walker's voice on the call. At a news conference, Walker acknowledged being deceived but stuck to his message that the union changes were needed to balance Wisconsin's budget.
"I'm not going to let one prank phone call be a distraction from the job we have to do," Walker said. "The things I said are the things I've said publicly all the time."
On the call, the governor said he was ratcheting up the pressure on Senate Democrats to return to the Capitol a week after they fled to block the legislation. He said he supported a move to require them to come to the Capitol to pick up their paychecks rather than have the money deposited directly.
He also floated an idea to lure Democratic senators back to the Capitol for negotiations and then have the Senate quickly pass the bill while they are in talks.
Walker said aides were reviewing whether the GOP could hold a vote if Democrats were not physically in the Senate chamber but elsewhere in the building. At the news conference, he insisted that idea was not a trick but an effort to get Democrats back to work.
Democrats seized on Walker's recorded comments as evidence that the governor plans to go beyond budget cuts to crushing unions.
"This isn't about balancing the budget. This is about a political war," Rep. Jon Richards of Milwaukee yelled Wednesday on the floor of the state Assembly.
The governor's plan would strip most public employees of their collective bargaining rights and force them to pay more for their health care and retirement benefits. Unions could not collect mandatory dues and would be forced to conduct annual votes of their members to stay in existence.
The proposal has set off more than a week of protests at the Capitol.
The GOP-controlled state Assembly began debating the bill Tuesday and was still hearing dozens of Democratic amendments nearly 24 hours later before taking a break. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said he expected to take a vote on the bill by the end of the day.
On the call, Walker said he expected the anti-union movement to spread across the country and he had spoken with the governors of Ohio and Nevada. The man pretending to be Koch seemed to agree, telling Walker, "You're the first domino."
"Yep, this is our moment," Walker responded.
The remarks showed Walker's private relationship with David Koch. He and his brother, Charles, own Koch Industries Inc., which is the largest privately-owned company in America and has significant operations in Wisconsin.
Its political action committee gave $43,000 to Walker's campaign, and David Koch gave $1 million to the Republican Governors' Association, which funded ads attacking Walker's opponent in last year's election.
The Kochs also give millions to support Americans For Prosperity, a conservative business group that launched a $320,000 television ad campaign in favor of Walker's legislation Wednesday. When the caller asked how he could help, Walker suggested outside groups could try to influence people to call their lawmakers and spread the message that his proposal is necessary.
On the recording, after Walker said he would be willing to meet with Democratic leaders, the caller said he should bring a baseball bat to negotiations.
Walker laughed and responded that he had "a slugger with my name on it."
The caller suggested he was thinking about "planting some troublemakers" among the protesters, and Walker said his administration had thought about doing that, too, but decided against it. Walker said the protests eventually would die because the media would stop covering them.
Walker told reporters the plan to bring in outside agitators was one of many ideas his supporters and aides have raised that were dismissed.
At the end of the call, the prankster says: "I'll tell you what, Scott, once you crush these bastards, I'll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time."
"All right, that would be outstanding," Walker replies, adding that the standoff is "all about getting our freedoms back."
The caller responds: "Absolutely. And you know, we have a little bit of vested interest as well" and laughs.
Walker's budget bill also allows his administration to sell power plants that heat and cool state buildings to private companies without any bids.
Critics have seized on that provision, saying they are convinced the Koch brothers' business interests would be able to buy power plants on the cheap, and then profit by running them and driving up the price of energy.
Koch Industries has denied any interest in buying the plants. Republicans tried to privatize Wisconsin's power plants in 2005, but the plan was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
Immediately after taking office, Walker also pushed for legislation that would limit damage awards in lawsuits against many businesses.
Koch Industries lobbied for the bill, and Walker signed it into law last month. Walker is also seeking passage for another Koch Industries-backed bill to weaken state regulations by giving him the power to approve all rules proposed by agencies, a proposal that is moving quickly through the Legislature.
Koch Industries recently opened a lobbying office a block from the Capitol. Seven lobbyists have registered in Wisconsin to lobby for various Koch Industries companies.
Even before recordings of the call surfaced, the government watchdog group Common Cause in Wisconsin released a statement saying Walker's agenda matched with that of Koch Industries.
"Koch Industries and other corporate citizens have legitimate interests in Wisconsin, but their demonstrated willingness to push large amounts of money into state politics has given them a dangerously outsized voice," said Bob Edgar, the group's national president. That voice, he said, is "now demanding a return on its investments."
RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents.
Walker believed the caller was a conservative billionaire named David Koch, but it was actually the editor of a liberal online newspaper. The two talked for at least 20 minutes — a conversation in which the governor described several potential ways to pressure Democrats to return to the Statehouse and revealed that his supporters had considered secretly planting people in pro-union protest crowds to stir up trouble.
The call, which surfaced Wednesday, also showed Walker's cozy relationship with two billionaire brothers who have poured millions of dollars into conservative political causes, including Walker's campaign last year.
Walker compared his stand to that taken by President Ronald Reagan when he fired the nation's air-traffic controllers during a labor dispute in 1981.
"That was the first crack in the Berlin Wall and led to the fall of the Soviets," Walker said on the recording.
The audio was posted by the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website based in Buffalo, N.Y., and quickly went viral.
Ian Murphy told The Associated Press he carried out the prank to show how candidly Walker would speak with Koch even though, according to Democrats, he refuses to return their calls.
Murphy said he arranged the call Tuesday after speaking with two Walker aides, including the governor's chief of staff. He placed the call using Skype and recorded it.
Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie confirmed that it was Walker's voice on the call. At a news conference, Walker acknowledged being deceived but stuck to his message that the union changes were needed to balance Wisconsin's budget.
"I'm not going to let one prank phone call be a distraction from the job we have to do," Walker said. "The things I said are the things I've said publicly all the time."
On the call, the governor said he was ratcheting up the pressure on Senate Democrats to return to the Capitol a week after they fled to block the legislation. He said he supported a move to require them to come to the Capitol to pick up their paychecks rather than have the money deposited directly.
He also floated an idea to lure Democratic senators back to the Capitol for negotiations and then have the Senate quickly pass the bill while they are in talks.
Walker said aides were reviewing whether the GOP could hold a vote if Democrats were not physically in the Senate chamber but elsewhere in the building. At the news conference, he insisted that idea was not a trick but an effort to get Democrats back to work.
Democrats seized on Walker's recorded comments as evidence that the governor plans to go beyond budget cuts to crushing unions.
"This isn't about balancing the budget. This is about a political war," Rep. Jon Richards of Milwaukee yelled Wednesday on the floor of the state Assembly.
The governor's plan would strip most public employees of their collective bargaining rights and force them to pay more for their health care and retirement benefits. Unions could not collect mandatory dues and would be forced to conduct annual votes of their members to stay in existence.
The proposal has set off more than a week of protests at the Capitol.
The GOP-controlled state Assembly began debating the bill Tuesday and was still hearing dozens of Democratic amendments nearly 24 hours later before taking a break. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said he expected to take a vote on the bill by the end of the day.
On the call, Walker said he expected the anti-union movement to spread across the country and he had spoken with the governors of Ohio and Nevada. The man pretending to be Koch seemed to agree, telling Walker, "You're the first domino."
"Yep, this is our moment," Walker responded.
The remarks showed Walker's private relationship with David Koch. He and his brother, Charles, own Koch Industries Inc., which is the largest privately-owned company in America and has significant operations in Wisconsin.
Its political action committee gave $43,000 to Walker's campaign, and David Koch gave $1 million to the Republican Governors' Association, which funded ads attacking Walker's opponent in last year's election.
The Kochs also give millions to support Americans For Prosperity, a conservative business group that launched a $320,000 television ad campaign in favor of Walker's legislation Wednesday. When the caller asked how he could help, Walker suggested outside groups could try to influence people to call their lawmakers and spread the message that his proposal is necessary.
On the recording, after Walker said he would be willing to meet with Democratic leaders, the caller said he should bring a baseball bat to negotiations.
Walker laughed and responded that he had "a slugger with my name on it."
The caller suggested he was thinking about "planting some troublemakers" among the protesters, and Walker said his administration had thought about doing that, too, but decided against it. Walker said the protests eventually would die because the media would stop covering them.
Walker told reporters the plan to bring in outside agitators was one of many ideas his supporters and aides have raised that were dismissed.
At the end of the call, the prankster says: "I'll tell you what, Scott, once you crush these bastards, I'll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time."
"All right, that would be outstanding," Walker replies, adding that the standoff is "all about getting our freedoms back."
The caller responds: "Absolutely. And you know, we have a little bit of vested interest as well" and laughs.
Walker's budget bill also allows his administration to sell power plants that heat and cool state buildings to private companies without any bids.
Critics have seized on that provision, saying they are convinced the Koch brothers' business interests would be able to buy power plants on the cheap, and then profit by running them and driving up the price of energy.
Koch Industries has denied any interest in buying the plants. Republicans tried to privatize Wisconsin's power plants in 2005, but the plan was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
Immediately after taking office, Walker also pushed for legislation that would limit damage awards in lawsuits against many businesses.
Koch Industries lobbied for the bill, and Walker signed it into law last month. Walker is also seeking passage for another Koch Industries-backed bill to weaken state regulations by giving him the power to approve all rules proposed by agencies, a proposal that is moving quickly through the Legislature.
Koch Industries recently opened a lobbying office a block from the Capitol. Seven lobbyists have registered in Wisconsin to lobby for various Koch Industries companies.
Even before recordings of the call surfaced, the government watchdog group Common Cause in Wisconsin released a statement saying Walker's agenda matched with that of Koch Industries.
"Koch Industries and other corporate citizens have legitimate interests in Wisconsin, but their demonstrated willingness to push large amounts of money into state politics has given them a dangerously outsized voice," said Bob Edgar, the group's national president. That voice, he said, is "now demanding a return on its investments."
One Way to Get Your Newspaper Prayed-For!
It's a Bird. It's a Plane. No; It's a Helicopter Full of Praying Pastors.
Teresa Neumann (February 23, 2011)
"You see these different areas of the city that you never would have thought to even pray for before, so I think praying from a different view is huge."
(Colorado Springs, Co.)—Local helicopter pilot Will Sanders—who finds flying a "profoundly spiritual experience"—runs a tour company called Colorado Vertical. He loves to take pastors up into the air about once a month to pray.
"I was given a gift. I've been so blessed. How many people have a helicopter?" Sanders said. "I do believe in the power of prayer, and I want to cover this whole community with it."
"Pastors know their areas," he added. "They know where people are hurting, where people need prayer, where people need help, and I can take them over those areas," Sanders says.
A CNN report goes into detail about how the pastors pray when they've been hovering over the communities they serve. As noted in the report, they pray for friends and "foes" alike.
Praying for a newspaper known to criticize Christians, for example, pastors pray for it and the publisher, saying they hope they [the local churches] "would be marked by our love and not by our judgment."
Said one pastor after debarking the helicopter: "As I saw the city, so many things came to me. It just gives you a whole new perspective on people, I think. You see these different areas of the city that you never would have thought to even pray for before, so I think praying from a different view is huge."
Teresa Neumann (February 23, 2011)
"You see these different areas of the city that you never would have thought to even pray for before, so I think praying from a different view is huge."
(Colorado Springs, Co.)—Local helicopter pilot Will Sanders—who finds flying a "profoundly spiritual experience"—runs a tour company called Colorado Vertical. He loves to take pastors up into the air about once a month to pray.
"I was given a gift. I've been so blessed. How many people have a helicopter?" Sanders said. "I do believe in the power of prayer, and I want to cover this whole community with it."
"Pastors know their areas," he added. "They know where people are hurting, where people need prayer, where people need help, and I can take them over those areas," Sanders says.
A CNN report goes into detail about how the pastors pray when they've been hovering over the communities they serve. As noted in the report, they pray for friends and "foes" alike.
Praying for a newspaper known to criticize Christians, for example, pastors pray for it and the publisher, saying they hope they [the local churches] "would be marked by our love and not by our judgment."
Said one pastor after debarking the helicopter: "As I saw the city, so many things came to me. It just gives you a whole new perspective on people, I think. You see these different areas of the city that you never would have thought to even pray for before, so I think praying from a different view is huge."
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Southern Indiana Newspapers Merge
Southern Indiana newspapers to merge by March 1
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Two southern Indiana newspapers are becoming one.
Publishers of the Evening News of Jeffersonville and the New Albany Tribune announced Wednesday that both organizations will be consolidated into one paper called the Evening News and Tribune starting March 1.
It will publish Tuesday through Sunday.
Evening News publisher Bill Hanson says the consolidation aims to create a more powerful media and advertising force in the region.
The merger is the latest move in an ongoing strategy of joining the newspapers' resources to provide more regional coverage for Clark and Floyd counties and southern Indiana in general. The newspapers have shared the same website for several years.
Both newspapers are owned by Community Newspapers Inc. and have operated since 1851.
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Two southern Indiana newspapers are becoming one.
Publishers of the Evening News of Jeffersonville and the New Albany Tribune announced Wednesday that both organizations will be consolidated into one paper called the Evening News and Tribune starting March 1.
It will publish Tuesday through Sunday.
Evening News publisher Bill Hanson says the consolidation aims to create a more powerful media and advertising force in the region.
The merger is the latest move in an ongoing strategy of joining the newspapers' resources to provide more regional coverage for Clark and Floyd counties and southern Indiana in general. The newspapers have shared the same website for several years.
Both newspapers are owned by Community Newspapers Inc. and have operated since 1851.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Zondervan CEO Leaving
Moe Girkins to Leave Zondervan CEO Post
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Zondervan's CEO Moe Girkins will leave the company on March 11 when her contract is not renewed, a spokesperson for the company said today.
Scott Macdonald, acting general manager at Zondervan's web-based software called The City and former president of Lemstone, will be her interim replacement. A search for a new CEO will begin immediately. The company declined to comment further on Girkins' departure.
CT previously spoke with Girkins about her move to Zondervan and about the company's decision to purchase BibleGateway.com, a searchable Bible site. Under her leadership, the company also decided to revise the New International Version, "correcting the mistakes in the past," Girkins said after acknowledging that Today's New International Version "divided the evangelical Christian community." The company also issued an apology for publishing Deadly Viper, a book that used Chinese characters and images for illustrations.
Zondervan, a Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, is owned by HarperCollins.
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Zondervan's CEO Moe Girkins will leave the company on March 11 when her contract is not renewed, a spokesperson for the company said today.
Scott Macdonald, acting general manager at Zondervan's web-based software called The City and former president of Lemstone, will be her interim replacement. A search for a new CEO will begin immediately. The company declined to comment further on Girkins' departure.
CT previously spoke with Girkins about her move to Zondervan and about the company's decision to purchase BibleGateway.com, a searchable Bible site. Under her leadership, the company also decided to revise the New International Version, "correcting the mistakes in the past," Girkins said after acknowledging that Today's New International Version "divided the evangelical Christian community." The company also issued an apology for publishing Deadly Viper, a book that used Chinese characters and images for illustrations.
Zondervan, a Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, is owned by HarperCollins.
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