Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity : another 99er opportunity to be heard

Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity may well be another golden 99er opportunity to be heard, and is sure to be a ton of fun.

Do you live in the NYC area, or can you get to NYC for a free bus ride to the rallies? If so, Huffington Post is offering free bus rides from NYC. Kian Fredrick of UWAG, who also organized 99er transportation from NYC to the One Nation rally, is also organizing 99er transportation to the Rally to Restore Sanity.

If you are a 99er and you want to join other 99ers for this rally, follow the directions below from Kian:
Next Rally in DC: Sat.,10/30: DEADLINE to sign up: This Friday, October 8.

1. Sign up for free buses from NYC to DC for 10/30 Jon Stewart “Restoring Sanity” Rally:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/03/huffpost-sanity-bus-offic_n_745313.html

*Please note: General sign-up at HuffPost is for a seat on a bus only; they make no distinction between who is/is not a 99er. You MUST sign up at HuffPost for a free seat on a bus. DEADLINE: THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8.

2. Let us know you are going so we can include you in the 99er group:
http://flashmobs4jobs.blogspot.com/p/10210-sign-up.html

*Please note: FlashMobs4Jobs sign up is NOT for a bus seat, but to be included in the 99er group and receive special information and instructions for 99ers only. Unless you also sign up at FlashMobs, the 99er group will have NO WAY of KNOWING you will be there. For the next few hours, the FlashMobs site may still say 10/2 Sign-up; we’ll be updating it very soon. Sign up anyway; it is time-stamped, so we’ll know which list to put you on.

You must sign up at BOTH sites to have a seat on a bus and to be included in the 99er-only group. All information is kept strictly confidential.

3. Please help to get this information out to any/all 99er social networking sites ASAP!

If anyone hears of buses from other parts of the country, please post that info on the FlashMobs Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/FlashMobs4Jobs/140646149305185

I’ll also see if I can find info re: cheap places to stay in DC and post it there. Thanks, Kian.

As Kian states, “We must take advantage of any opportunity to spread the 99er word.”

Followers of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are likely advocates for the long-term unemployed and will be supportive of 99er efforts. Stephen Colbert is promoting his own Keep Fear Alive rally that will be held alongside the Rally to Restore Sanity.

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CNN Fired Rick Sanchez: Poll Favors Rick; Apology To Jon Stewart On Facebook

In the Zennie62.com / Pollsb poll, a near-clear majority, of 458 votes, 44.78 percent as of this writing, claim CNN should not have fired now-former CNN Anchor Rick Sanchez. This in the wake of Rick's firing for his comments calling Jon Stewart a bigot and saying that CNN was owned by Jews.

Here's the Zennie62 YouTube video:



And here's the poll:

create a free poll on pollsb.com

CNN immediately fired Sanchez last Friday, removing his website profile. Then CNN enlisted Howard Kurtz to talk badly about him on Kurtz' show, Reliable Sources.  A move this space called "Classless."

Also, Rick Sanchez has apologized to Jon Stewart via his wife's Facebook page (his Facebook page, used for his CNN shows, has been removed).

Still A Hot Issue

Rick Sanchez' firing is still a hot issue, and threatens to reach this blogger's 12 day time span for important Internet stories. Thursday, the day that Rick's comments surfaced one week ago, marks seven days. Tuesday of next week will be 12 days.

 According to Google Insight for Search, as of this writing, "Rick Sanchez" went from just below "20" in search intensity October 1st, to almost 100 by October 2nd, then dropped to 40 the next day, and gradually fell to 30 on Tuesday, October 5th. The prediction here is that by next Tuesday, Rick's name will return to it's "pre-scandal" levels of intensity.

Not Fueled By Television

All of this isn't fueled by television, but by the Internet. While the issue started with Rick being removed from a TV show, with the exception of Howard Kurtz' show, and ABC's The View's discussion on Monday, there's been little on television about the issue. But one weekend television program that invests 15 minutes of it's time to the matter of Rick Sanchez' CNN firing could boost the search numbers, yet again.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Pican / Grand Marnier / Zennie62 Female Bartender Event A Success, BUT!

The first Oakland All Female Bartender Competition at Pican and by Grand Marnier and Zennie62 was held Tuesday night, and by all accounts, was successful. Well, except for this blogger, who's Zennie62 name was given as a sponsor - online marketing work was provided - yet, from the impression I received, no one at the event knew that I sponsored it.

That even with the emails exchanged where I did agree to sponsor it, and also agreed to put up the Grand Manier logo on the blog posts.  Plus, I agreed to make a blog about the event and did so.

But for all this, didn't even get a bottle of Grand Marnier.

United 747 Flight Delayed

What was vexing was that my United 747 Flight 973 from Chicago was delayed over three hours, which hampered my plan to show up at 6:30 PM PDT, which was when the event started. Instead, the flight was delayed two hours, then we sat on the tarmac at the gate for another hour. I called and emailed Josh at Pican to explain I would be late; I guess he got the message.

At any rate, I arrived at Pican at 9:15 or so, and to find the Oakland All Female Bartender Competition was history. A duo from Luka's won, followed by Pican's Britt Peterson, and then I later learned a bartender from Era Art Bar. Great.

But what was not great was it seems my blog's name wasn't even mentioned during the event. Also, when I arrived, it was as if I was some Joe who walked in, and not the event sponsor. I had to pay for what I ordered; there was no dinner, as we agreed I would receive.

And Michael Le Blanc, the owner of Pican, didn't even bother to come over and thank me for my sponsorship. And when I mentioned this to him (uh, I had to walk over to him) he said thanks for "helping."

Helping. Helping.

Helping. Like I'm the bus boy or something.  

And Josh, who contacted me about the idea for the event,  just came over and gave me a pat on the shoulder.  

Nice.

So by the end of all of that crap, I wondered what the hell I was doing there. It would have been better to have just went home or even not to have tried to return on Tuesday. Everyone - Pican, Grand Marnier, the event participants - were helped. And now, Pican shows up in Google News searches because of this blog and my work. My sponsorship. What Michael Le Blanc calls "my help."

Sponsorship Is A Business

Folks, I'm not taking comments on this. Not interested in snarky responses from rude people who don't get that sponsorship is a business. Sponsorship is a business or person lending their name and efforts to help promote an event. For that, they expect their name to be mentioned, to get what's called "logo exposure," and to have special treatment as the sponsor. That's business.

The only logo and name exposure, it seems, was what this blogger generated on his own. That's it. I'm really unhappy with Pican Restaurant. Moreover, I'm even more unhappy that the people I was around who I thought were my friends, but turned out to be anything but that.

I'm glad the event went well, but that's not how it was supposed to go for this sponsor.

Tired Of Rude People In Oakland

Maybe this experience is related to the overall epidemic of rudeness that's plaguing Oakland. People doing things to you without regard for your opinion or permission. Like the guy at the bar The Layover, who, even though I'm standing up over my chair with my cocktail on the bar in front of it, walks over and tries to sit down in the chair as if I'm not even there!

I asked him what he was doing and explained that he was being rude. He said "Well, you weren't sitting in the chair." And it never entered his head to ask if he could sit down!

Or how about the woman on the right, who decided to start talking past me to the guy on the left, without saying excuse me and as if I wasn't there. I pointed out that she was being rude as well.

Or how about the really ass-hole people who insist on walking over from your left to pass you on the right, even if you happen to be next to a wall, only to have no explanation for what they did when asked. (Note: stay on your right, and leave me alone!)

In all cases, people are just thinking about themselves without regard for anyone else, in this case me.

Just like at Pican. No one thought about anything other than themselves, and certainly not me. Maybe now, they will. It seems people only pay attention to bloggers when the blogger is upset, never when the blogger does something good for them.

Sad.

Chemistry Nobel Prize awarded to 3 professors By Nikky Raney

Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/AP

CNN reports that the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to three professors Richard Heck of the University of Delaware (USA), Ei-Ichi Negishi of Purdue University (USA) and Akira Suzuki of Hokkaido University (JAPAN).

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the three received this award after the creation of a tool called a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling, which was created in order to make carbon-carbon bonds in organic chemistry.

Organic chemistry is also known as carbon-based chemistry which all revolves around the basis of life such as poison in snakes, color in flowers, penicillin, etc.

The Nobel Committee told CNN that organic chemistry has allowed humans to build on nature's chemistry and create "revolutionary" materials.

Negeshi has been trying to create this for over 50 years and told reporters that a dream amongst the professors is to be able to synthesize any organic compounds of importance in order to create bigger and better things.

The Telegraph online explains that thanks to the creation of the palladium-catalysed cross-coupling scientists and researchers will be able to artificially produce a substance that is naturally found in sea sponges that is an aide used to fight cancer cells.


The three laureates all worked independently and will equally share the prize which is worth $1.47 million.

Facebook status promotes breast cancer awareness By Nikky Raney

Courtesy of NY Daily News

Many Facebook users may be puzzled when seeing how many of their Facebook friends have a status saying: "I like it on the floor." (or "I like it on *BLANK*")

Along with the many Facebook statuses saying, "I like it on the floor," there are almost as many which ask, "Why does everyone's status say 'I like it on the floor?'"

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month - this viral Facebook status trend is meant to raise awareness of breast cancer. Although "I like it on the floor" may seem to be leading to something sexual, but really it is referring to a purse or handbag according to a blog from  The Washington Post.

There have been many types of breast cancer awareness campaigns that have been questionable (like the ads with the body paint), but this one seems to be more tame than "Save the Tatas."

Time Magazine online explains how unusual this method to raise awareness truly is comparing this status to the one that had gone viral last year:

Remember last year's Facebook campaign where all of your lady friends suddenly had status updates like “Black,” “Red,” or “Polka dots” and no one had any clue what was up? Oh, but then word got around that the updates were the bra colors of choice and the updates were meant to peak interest of those left out of the joke (read: males) in order to raise awareness about breast cancer. Um, ok?

The appeal of posting the status is that it will confuse those who don't already know what it is referring to - which will cause the person to get educated in order to figure out why these statuses are being posted. Clever.

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin Claimed Psychiatric Disabilities In 2003

According to official documents sent to this blogger by an unknown source, and making for a shocking turn of events, Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin claimed she was suffering from "serious psychiatric disabilities, which limited her ability to earn a living wage," and that inhibited her ability to find gainful employment for a time.

The documents make up a filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying nearly $100,000 in delinquent student loans. Document letter "B" reads:

- Beginning in the mid-1970s, Plaintiff began to suffer from serious psychiatric disabilities, which limited her ability to earn a living wage. (Item 10, Page 3)
- During our about 1994, Plaintiff received Social Security Permanent Disability Award, and has been receiving Social Security Disability Funds since that time. (Item 11, Page 3)
- Plaintiff finally received her Bachelors degree, but was unable to complete her Masters degree due to her severe condition. (Item 12, Page 3)
- Plaintiff was hospitalized for her condition on two occasions in 1999. (Item 13, Page 3)

The next blog post will include the actual documents with the above information. The findings raise questions. Why is this coming out now? Why did Mayor McLaughlin fail to disclose this information during her campaign? Is the fact that she's served as Mayor of Richmond proof that she may have been inflating her claims to avoid paying a large debt?

Interviewed Mayor In 2009

This video blogger interviewed Mayor McLaughlin in 2009:



Stay tuned.

99ers growing restless - struggle to be heard by deaf Congress & President

With Congress on yet another 6 week vacation, their second such in as many months, the long term unemployed 99ers continue to fight on for their very survival.

The fact that Congress nor President Obama is willing to address this humanitarian crisis prior to the election, may indeed be what costs the Democrats their majorities in the House and Senate this November.

The 99ers have been calling for Obama to hold a virtual town hall meeting addressing them and this issue specifically, but Washington does not appear to be listening. So much for Healthcare being the President’s “Waterloo.”

The economy in it’s current state has many voters feeling apathetic at best and there is little time left for the Democrats to ‘rally the troops.’ The one Nation rally held last Saturday was a good start, but will those who attended really make more of a difference at the polls than millions of 99ers who are decidedly too angry to help the Democrats at all?

Consider for a moment what is at stake: a return to the failed Bush policies, 2 more wasted years of no help for those fallen on hard times, Social Security & Medicare at great risk, the undoing of nearly everything accomplished in the past 2 Congressional sessions and the possible wasted time and effort in impeaching a President that has committed no impeachable offense. What a waste and doesn’t Congress waste enough time already?

Even if one must hold their nose in order to vote for a Democrat this year, it may well be preferable to the other alternative. Republicans will likely not vote in any unemployment relief whatsoever. Do you really want to risk the only chance there is to get the help millions of Americans desperately need? This is a question everyone needs to ask themselves and the answer is deeply personal to every voter.

With the anger over the failed Tier 5 bill last month and the untenable situation many unemployed Americans find themselves in, this election could very well be about the failures of the present, rather than the hope for the future. Only not voting at all may well result in no future at all for a multitude of Americans, hurting so bad in this economic crisis.

It took President Bush and the failed policies of the last administration 8 years to create the huge mess we are in today. Is it really asking too much to allow the new administration at least 4 years to make a dent in pulling America out of the ditch?

The NOVO movement has been erroneously reported as consisting of less than a few hundred people. The San Diego Unemployment Examiner knows this not to be true. When the NOVO movement was announced, it was as a result of months of NOVO commentary observed on the blogs, Facebook and other social media. It would seem that a great many Americans, not just the 99ers, are quite vocal about punishing the party in power for failing to pass a Tier 5 after 8 months of fighting for such. Never underestimate the power of anger in the American electorate.

It certainly does not help the Democrats that the President and Vice President seem to discount the troubles of millions of hurting Americans with their statements to “buck up and stop whining.” Talk about rubbing salt in an open wound. Really Mr. President? Really Mr. Biden? Whining is basically the term used for those who complain with little or nothing to complain about. Desperate cries for help are a different story entirely.

What really needs to be done is for the Democrats to stop whining and actually get some work done for those Americans who need it most, those who cannot wait until after the election.

The 99er Nation for the most part has been without any UI lifeline for 8 months and that is after trying to survive 99 weeks on what little UI pays. They have nothing left to sell to avoid becoming homeless. 99ers cannot wait to see if Democrats keep their majorities in Congress before getting help. They need HELP NOW!

It would take some real leadership for Stabenow (now on vacation) to amend S3706 to first include ALL STATES and be paid for with unused stimulus money, to avoid Republican arguments over adding to the deficit. Then Obama should openly demand (as much as any President can) the Congress reconvene for passage of the Tier 5 bill, as amended before the election.

Two possible scenarios could come from this plan:

1) The bill is passed and signed into law, thus saving millions from hunger, homelessness and suicide - preserving a Democratic win in November

2) The bill, with funding no party could say adds to the deficit, is defeated by the Republicans, thus blowing their cover and resulting in a Republican bloodbath at the polls in November.

Without this pre-election intervention, a Democrat victory in November becomes a crapshoot at best.

Michael Vick Injury - Vick Out 1 To 2 Weeks?

Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick sustained a nasty injury as a result of a "double hit" in the game against the Washington Redskins last Sunday. Vick damaged his ribs after being hit on both shoulders at the same time while diving for the end zone. He was effectively sandwiched on the play.

Now, Vick reportedly may miss 1 to 2 weeks according to NFL.com. While that leaves the starting job to Kevin Kolb, it's not clear that Kolb can cause the team to win.

As of this writing before the game against the San Francisco 49ers, Kolb has thrown 45 times, completing 27 for 225 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 interception. His passer rating is 71.1.

Vick's performance is giant steps ahead of Kolb's in 2010 to this writing. Vick's 59 of 96 for 799 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions for a passer rating of 108.8.

Chelsea Handler and 50 Cent Hook Up In New Orleans

TMZ.com (once again) gets the story. This time of Chelsea Handler and 50 Cent hooking-up in New Orleans.

But does Chelsea Handler like the black men, or what? That's all Chelsea talks about! Not that this black guy's complaining; it's just funny.   Hey, she's hot.

Handler jokes about how brothers check out her ass (in fact, this was a skit when she hosted the MTV VMAs), and hit on her.

But you know what they say: the person who talks in playful protest really enjoys the attention.

Back to 50.

According to TMZ, Chelsea Handler and 50 cent were seen getting hot and heavy at the Blue Nile jazz bar in New Orleans.

And what about Handler's boyfriend?

Stay tuned.

Sadly, 12 Seconds Goes Dark October 22nd - Twitter App?

The micro video blog site 12 Seconds is going dark October 22nd. As one of the first to use 12 Seconds, then basically stopped, that's sad.

But the reason 12 Seconds failed from this perspective is 12 seconds is not enough time to make a video that says anything.

 The problem is once you've got the words out of your mouth you're done. Thus, what comes out is half of what you want to say, and you have to start all over again. That, at least, was my experience.

The idea is that 12 Seconds was supposed to be a Twitter app. Why? The use in this space was as a stand-alone system. Twitter was an amplifier, yes, but the idea of 12 Second should have been as an internal YouTube style network.

But the bottom line is 12 Seconds should have been 30 Seconds.

Here's what Sol Lipman, 12 Seconds Founder, blogged on the site:

Dear 12ers,

Nearly 3 years ago, David Beach and I decided to grab a beer at a local pub and talk about startup ideas. I told him a dumb idea and he told me about one called 10seconds. I said, "we should do that one." He said, "okay." And that was it. That is until we figured out that 10seconds.tv was already taken. 12seconds sounded pretty good to us too.

We set out on a journey that would take on a wild ride of ups and downs. We experienced birth, death and (Beach) even battled cancer.

Today we are announcing the end of 12seconds.

Why? As you probably know, everything has a life cycle. 12seconds is in its twilight. After all the new product launches and attempts at a revenue model, fundraising with VCs and late night coding sessions with Jacob hunched over his monitors - it's time to call it. It is time to end 12seconds.

However, if 12seconds had a bucket list it would have filled it up with amazing life experiences! We launched an innovative micro-vlogging system, built crazy mobile apps, created revenue with legit sponsors, we were nominated for awards and had the best users on the Internet - our beloved 12ers.

12seconds is not a failure - it is a life well-lived. It really is about the journey. I know this because I'm at the destination.

You're thinking, "holy crap I made like 1000 12second videos, what do I do?" Later this week, we're going to release a download tool for you to capture those moments in time. It will be available until we pull the plug - on October 22nd.

If you have any questions or want to say goodbye, feel free to click here (goodbye@12seconds.tv) to wish us all well.

There were a lot of team members and users who made 12seconds an incredible experience. I can't possibly list them all here but you know who you are. Finally, to my co-founders Beach and Jacob - I love you guys.

Sol Lipman
Founder

12 Seconds RIP.

Tim Lincecum "F- YEAH" On Video : SF Giants Beat Padres, Win NL West

SF Giants Cy Young Pitcher Tim Lincecum can be forgiven for getting off this F-bomb after the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 3-0.

Interviewed on Comcast SportsNet California, he could not help just saying what anyone would in the wake of doing something Giants fans thought was gone with the Barry Bonds era: winning the NL West and getting to the MLB Playoffs.

Here's the video;



The Giants play the Atlanta Braves this Thursday at AT&T Park at 6:30 PDT.

F-Yeah!  GO GIANTS.  Kind of torn as this blogger routinely travels between San Francisco and Atlanta.  

Rick Sanchez vs Jews, Abbie Boudreau vs James O'Keeffe : CNN Trouble

CNN is under fire.

In firing Rick's List Anchor Rick Sanchez, the Cable News Network has ignited an Internet conversation over censorship, as much as it has the overall stupidity of an employee getting on radio and getting off racist bombs against his own employer.

While many agree that what Sanchez said was wrong, there are a number of people who respond to the opposite, and say not only that Sanchez was correct, but that he had a right to make his statements. One of those with such a view is noted writer Christopher Hitchens.

In Slate on Monday, Hitchens calls for CNN to reinstate Rick Sanchez in an article called Is it so offensive to note the effectiveness of the Jewish lobby?:

In the manner in which Sanchez spoke, also, there was something like a buried resentment. He didn't descend into saying that there was Jewish control of the media, but he did imply that liberalism was linked to a single ethnicity. Still, there is nothing criminal about this, and the speed of his firing, like the other recent abrupt disappearances of Laura Schlessinger and Octavia Nasr, seems to suggest a network system that cares only about playing safe and avoiding "offense." The best way to demonstrate the hidden influence of the chosen people would be for Jon Stewart and others to join me in calling for Rick Sanchez's reinstatement. If it then didn't happen, it would help us understand who really pulls the strings around here.

In his generally indirect way, Hitchens is implying that CNN's proving Sanchez' point by so quickly ridding themselves of his presence. Personally, Rick should have been made to explain his radio blast and CNN would have enjoyed a much-needed ratings bump from curious television viewers.

Indeed, erasing Sanchez would seem to run counter to CNN's recent habit of trying to cause discussion by over-featuring the Tea Party Movement and young conservative activists. In the case of CNN Correspondent Abbie Boudreau, her entire segment called Right On The Edge, seemed to be an excuse to cover attractive young white men and women. The only thing we learned is something that's no real surprise: James O'Keefe is not a nice person.

If you're new to this story, Anti-ACORN Activist James O'Keefe, who pretended to be a pimp (badly) and made hidden videos showing how some ACORN workers helped he and his "prostitute," played by Conservative Activist Hanna Giles, tried to "pimp" Abbie Boudreau. In the segment that aired Saturday night, O'Keefe wants to meet just with Boudreau, and she agrees. Here's what was said according to CNN's transcript:

O'KEEFE: I just want to talk. I just want to have a, you know, a meeting with you and talk to you face to face about this because I don't -- you know, I feel sort of -- let's just say reserved about, about letting people into my inner sanctum.

BOUDREAU: So, I agreed. And a week later, I flew to Maryland for the meeting. James had founded a new organization called Project Veritas, and Izzy Santa was the executive director. The group is supposed to be dedicated to exposing corruption and supporting James' undercover endeavors.

But then, upon driving to meet him, Abbie realizes that it's a blue house next to a boat called "Cinco" and not an office O'Keefe's in. This is what Abbie said:

BOUDREAU: When I pulled up to the property, there was no office. Just a blue house. Izzy Santa was waiting for me.

BOUDREAU (on-camera): And she said, I need to talk to you. Can I get in the car? And I was like, OK. So, I noticed that she had like a little bit of dirt on her face. Her lip was shaking. She seemed really uncomfortable, and I asked her if she was OK, and the first thing that she basically said to me was, I'm not recording you. I'm not recording you. Are you recording me? No. And she showed me her digital recorder. It was not recording.

Then Izzy explains that it was James' intent to get her on the boat. Now, here's where details cloud the overall issue. This blogger's contention is Abbie had a certain comfort with making the trip to Maryland to meet James because he was white, attractive, and male.

That upsets some people, but the question persists: Abbie herself says she wasn't making the trip alone to interview James, but to just "talk." If she wasn't going to interview him, what the hell did she expect to have happen?

His plan was to seduce her and make CNN look bad. And James almost succeeded because Abbie put herself in the position of flying down there, but not to interview O'Keefe, only to see him face-to-face alone. Abbie at least expected that to happen - she says so in the transcript:

BOUDREAU (on-camera): And I was like well, you know, that's just not something I'm comfortable with is to have this conversation recorded. Plus, it's not an interview. I mean, I'm just here to try to, you know, answer your questions and answer your concerns, address your concerns about this upcoming shoot.

Abbie could have either done that on the phone, or not agreed to meet James by himself. Abbie never insisted that someone else be at the meeting. Meanwhile, in the transcript, O'Keefe says he wants to meet with "just you." It's right there in black and white.

Abbie Escapes Thanks To Izzy, But...

So, as reported here, Izzy Santa spills the beans on James O'Keefe's ugly plan to make a kind of sex tape, and Abbie avoids a bad situation. But, again, why did Abbie place herself in that position?

Why the story? What's the story?

Others observers are asking questions about Right To The Edge. Tommy Christopher at Mediaite says "Abbie Boudreau doesn't ask anything approaching a tough question." Heather at Crooks and Liars was even harsher:

"..All they did is lend some very undeserved credibility to Andrew Breitbart and his minions who have a terrible history with ambushing politicians or anyone else they decide to scapegoat for the week and then putting out highly edited videos later. That's not journalism. CNN should really be ashamed of themselves for this horrid piece of "investigative journalism.".."

And for the record, Mediaite, Crooks And Liars, and Zennie62.com are all liberal blogs.

Not A Good Period For CNN

Overall, score it a "D for CNN. The Rick Sanchez issue's causing a backlash. Sanchez' replacement Brooke Baldwin has the looks but not the cutting-edge zest for Twitter that Rick brought to his shows. And Abbie Boudreau's taking flack for an "expose" that really looks more like an all-white Abercrombie and Fitch commercial, with all the sexual overtones we've come to expect.

Can CNN recover? Stay tuned.

Jersey Shore says good bye to Angelina once and for all By Nikky Raney

Thursday, September 30, at 10 p.m. E.T a new episode of Jersey Shore aired on MTV. Fans expect and tune in for the drama and scandal, but this episode was so outrageous that immediately after airing MTV aired a "Jersey Shore After Show" to discuss what went on in the episode.

Snooki & Angelina fight it out

This episode stands out as a more memorable one - Angelina decides to leave the show for good. After JWOWW had actually admitted that Angelina earned her spot in the house with all the things she dealt with - Angelina decided to pack her bags. Of course, she had to make the most dramatic exit possible.

Angelina decides to scream of how she hates every single person in the house. Angelina's blood boils when she sees Snooki bring home a guy that she had once hooked up with. Snooki removes her earrings and tackles Angelina. The Situation makes sure to move the table out of the way so that Snooki and Angelina will have more room to fight. After the seemingly pathetic excuse for a cat fight Snooki walks away and chants, "I AM STILL PRETTY!"

The irony of it all is that as Angelina leaves she says that she wished someone had asked her to say. After screaming about how fake all the roommates are and how much she hates them it's unclear as to why she would expect anyone to ask her to stay - it wasn't enough that JWOWW admitted she had finally earned her spot in the house?

Angelina takes the time to tell Ronnie and Sammi what horrible friends they have been to her - even though the truth of the matter is Angelina was the phony from the start.

The after show features Vinny sitting in between Snooki and Angelina - this is the first time Snooki and Angelina have seen each other since the fight. Snooki claims that the whole ordeal with Angelina got to the point of no return when Angelina hooked up with Vinny, because apparently everyone knows that Snooki has a crush on Vinny. Vinny explains that the only reason he slept with Angelina was so that the next time she insulted him he could retort, "That's not what you said last night."

JWOWW accepts Angelina

The next two cast members who most would expect to come on stage would be Ronnie and Sammi. The cast members to appear next are described as "the only people who gave Angelina a real chance." The Situation and JWOWW show up on stage and everything goes chaotic.

Angelina goes on about how much she loves her new boyfriend, and the rest of the Jersey Shore cast members grow tired of her. One by one the cast members leave the set - Vinny is the last one sitting next to Angelina who after looking around gets up and walks away.

Angelina is always the one who left her cast mates, but this time she was the one left behind.

The third season of the Jersey Shore has already finished filming with no appearances from Angelina. It's interesting to think of how much money Angelina was paid to go through all that she did, but it wasn't even enough to stick it out until the end.

Unless by some miracle someone gives Angelina a spin-off or she somehow ends up as a relevant reality tv star it's safe to say the only time her face will ever be seen again is on Jersey Shore re-runs.

All images courtesy of MTV.com

Tyler Clementi, Ty Smalley, and Kirk Smalley At Center Of Anti-Bullying Efforts

Tyler Clementi, Ty Smalley, and Kirk Smalley are at the center of anti-bullying discussion and efforts in the wake of Clementi's and Smalley's suicides.

Tyler Clementi is the gay Rutgers University student who committed suicide after his sexual encounter with a male student was secretly broadcast online.

Ty Smalley is the 11-year-old who also committed suicide after being suspended from school for defending himself. Smalley was bullied by peers for over two years because he was small for his age.

Kirk Smalley, Ty Smalley's father, wants to end this and has taken up a new anti-bullying effort. Smalley told CNN that "I will do everything I can possibly do to stop bullying dead in its tracks."

But what can he do? One clue is in Zennie62.com Contributing Editor Christina Villarreal's blog post called "Bully-proofing Your Daughters: How To Support A Girl Facing Relational Aggression." The Doctor has an extensive post that's worthy of review.

More on this soon.

The Social Network is a movie not to miss By Nikky Raney

David Fincher's The Social Network can easily be labeled the movie of the year, because it shows how the 21-year-old evil genius Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, used his advanced abilities as a hacker to manipulate those around him in order to create the largest social networking site used by over 500 million users. Zuckerberg always seems to have an arrogant comeback for every remark thrown his way.

IMDB

Eisenberg plays the role of Zuckerberg brilliantly - the way he portrays the young Mark Zuckerberg is believable and matches up with the personality that Zuckerberg presently exhibits.

A huge part of why this is the movie of the year is, because it's more than just a movie. If this was a work of fiction then it may not have as big an impact - but this movie is based on the real story of how Zuckerberg did whatever he had to do, even if it meant betraying his closest friend, in order to make it to the top. The selfish Harvard student can easily be labeled as an arrogant jerk, but he is in fact the arrogant jerk who has created a site that millions of users spend hours of their day on.

The movie does not portray Zuckerberg as a likable character, which reflects on how he is viewed by many in reality. He shows that he will screw over whoever he has to to make his way to the top, and this is proven when he betrays his best friend who in turn ends up suing him.

It's quite intriguing to find out how Zuckerberg was able to create this empire - users are able to see how the site that they spend a majority of their time on came to be. It also gives an uneasy feeling that all the information on the site could at any point be accessed by Zuckerberg; the movie does not help Zuckerberg's case about the privacy issues that stirred up much controversy over the summer.

With Zuckerberg being so quick to screw over and break the trust of his best friend Eduardo Saverin, played by Andrew Garfield, why should users trust that he isn't hacking onto their accounts and taking account of their personal information?

While watching Justin Timberlake play the role of Napster's creator Sean Parker it's hard not to wonder what the real Sean Preston thinks of this depiction - especially since hew as fired from Facebook after being caught with cocaine, but the movie also shows him with underaged girls.

Parker is shown as cocky and delusional although playing a vital role in getting funding for Facebook - abandoning Saverin's ideas for advertising. Is this portrayal of Parker accurate - surely it will only be a matter of time until he speaks up.

It will be interesting to hear the feedback from the actual people who are depicted in the movie. It will definitely be worth while to find out what the real people have to say about the movie as a whole and how they feel they were represented.

When Zuckerberg was on Oprah he said that the movie was a piece of fiction, but the court cases, hacking, etc. are all too believable. Either way, the world's youngest billionaire will no doubt gain more traffic and the site will earn even more money and popularity due to the release of this film.

The Social Network deserves a five star rating and is a box office hit.

It would also be nice to know if Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who sued Zuckerberg for stealing the name and idea for Facebook, have their own Facebook accounts now.


Written by Nikky Raney
Journalist & Blogger

Rick Sanchez Replaced By Brooke Baldwin On CNN According To Twitter

Rick Sanchez departure from CNN, well, firing, has opened the door for his on-air sidekick Brooke Baldwin (in photo with her high school classmate Shelvis Smith-Mather) to take his place.

Rick's List was the 3 PM to 5 PM EST time slot, but on her Twitter page, Baldwin reports that she was asked to fill in "for now:"

BrookeBCNN Brooke Baldwin - @JTenBrink yes they have asked me to do the 3-5p shift. for now.....
20 hours ago

Brooke is the Twitter contact and follow beneficiary of Rick's last tweet as of this writing, as it was a re-tweet of her tweet:

BrookeBCNN Brooke Baldwin - by ricksanchezcnn
http://twitvid.com/B2HJ7 - *VIDEO* Brooke has a special surprise for Rick Sanchez! Also, Rick meets a special fan. Very cool! - 1 Oct

Brooke's On Twitter... A Lot  

Like Rick, Brooke's an active Twitter user with a Twitter Grader score of 100 as of this writing. Her Tweet Cloud reports that her most used term is she's in love, followed by @richsanchezcnn, and then in much smaller font, CNN itself.

(Now, I'm not saying she was in love with Rick Sanchez, but just reporting on the way her cloud reads, ok?)

As of this writing, she has 5,763 Twitter followers, but that will change, and fast.  Let's see how long it takes her to go by my over 8,000 Twitter followers on Zennie62.



Brooke's tweeted on everything from her height (she's 5-foot, nine) to her plan to follow-up with Perez Hilton on the blogger's comments that he may change his ways in the wake of the Cyberbullying story, to the news that she wasn't "a Barbie fan as a kid" even though she had to report on Barbie last week, to her special U.S. Open Tennis Ball, autographed by Serena Williams.

Not bad.

Rick Sanchez Replacement Speaks Spanish

There's an interesting clue as to how Rick may have managed to snare Brooke to work with her on Rick's List: she's fluent in Spanish. Rick's Cuban-American and also fluent in Spanish, which explains the more bi-lingual flavor of the show. Her ability to work with Rick in that capacity was a plus with Latino audiences. What's interesting to watch is if that will continue after Sanchez.

Other Info About Brooke

According to her CNN page, she's unfortunately a graduate of The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which means she doesn't know a lick about basketball.

From reading her tweets, Brooke really seems to enjoy what she's doing and people in general.  She will be a great replacement for Rick, but CNN should give her a chance to make the show her own.    How about having her shooting some baskets with President Obama?  He loves North Carolina basketball.

Rick Sanchez Back-Stabbed By CNN Using Howard Kurtz

CNN back-stabs Rick Sanchez.

In the wake of his firing by CNN for his stupid remarks about CNN, his employer, being ran by Jews, Rick Sanchez got back-stabbed by the network, who put Howard Kurtz up to it with a segment on his show Reliable Sources, Sunday.

Here's the video:



It's one thing for CNN to fire Rick, but frankly this action was classless. CNN did it because everyone in media and around the country was talking about it and they had to get in on the action they created. Moreover, its also because, it seems, there are a lot of hard feelings at CNN and Rick didn't apparently back down from his words behind the scenes.

Now, we have Howard Kurtz, who's work I like, taking time to essentially make the case that there were people who worked at CNN who did not like him, by presenting some of those people on his show. Moreover, this was done in public and on television for all to see.  You're seeing it now.

One can only wonder what Rick Sanchez will think of this? CNN should have handled this with more class than this shows.

As a person who's been called the both black and Jewish slurs because of my name and background, what Rick said was both hurtful and stupid. Rupert Murdock, who owns News Corporation, is not Jewish.

The Sanchez episode reminds me of how stupid my Junior High school teacher was, who said that when she saw my name said "I thought I got a nice little Jewish kid." To which I remarked "You did. You got half" (the other half black.)

That was how I thought of myself at that time, and enough to see her as an idiot. But with that, I put her in her place in my mind and always treated her with dignity and respect.

CNN should know that two wrongs do not make a right.

The Rick Sanchez Poll

What do you think CNN should have done in the Rick Sanchez case? Take my poll:

create a free poll on pollsb.com

Silicon Valley's Mitra Says TechCrunch AOL Deal Cool, Blogs Not VC Play

Menlo Park's Sramana Mitra, a true "Woman In Tech" well-known in Silicon Valley and who should have been at Tech Crunch Disrupt SF as a panelist, says the TechCrunch AOL Deal for $30 million was great for TechCrunch Editor Michael Arrington, but that it's an example of successful bootstrapping, not VC play.

Mitra's an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant who's started three companies, sold two of them, and refused a deal with Ralph Lauren for the third company. She's advised and consulted over 80 companies, from SAP, to Cadence Design Systems, and Webex, and many more.

Sramana Mitra's not afraid of giving advise, and candidly, this blogger should add from personal experience. She doesn't see the TechCrunch deal as a reason VCs should jump in and start investing in blogs. In her blog post she says and has said:

I am personally not in favor of venture funding for blogs, since they are essentially small businesses, not venture scale enterprises. The only way to build an “enterprise” out of this business model is to put a lot of successful blogs under one banner. So, if GigaOm, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, paidContent, etc. could come together as a “network”, that could, conceivably, build critical mass. They would still need to graft more properties, but the only way I see in which venture-style “bulk” can be built in this niche of the media business is through a roll-up.

Mitra observes that with TechCrunch under AOL's wing, CEO Heather Harde, a mergers and acquisition specialist, now has enough resources to launch a roll-up strategy (where they get other online media platforms) that could see the new division of AOL eventually taking in $50 million. And, as this blogger has stated, the next round of activity is in acquisition of blogs looking for an exit.

While $10 million to @20 million may not be a VC level exit, there are a number of angel investors that would not look down on such deals.

Keep an eye on this new phase in the blog industry.

Chicago Bears Offense Protection Problems Due To Martz Design - REPEAT!

The Chicago Bears are behind the New York Giants 10 to 0 with 13:50 as of this writing and Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler is out of the game with a concussion. The result of being sacked a record nine times in the first half.

This blogger is not surprised.

Bears fans were warned about Bears Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz and his offensive scheme. They were warned in this space, with a blog post titled Chicago Bears Offense Protection Problems Due To Martz Design.

Given current events, the blog post is worth repeating:

Mike Martz offensive design got 49ers Alex Smith injured
Is Bears  Jay Cutler next?

The Chicago Bears lost to the Oakland Raiders 32 to 17 and while it was a preseason game, its still important from the perspective of evaluating players and schemes. The Chicago Bears Offense under Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz can move the ball, but it comes with the protection problems that have always plagued Martz offenses.

According to ProFootballTalk.com, Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler claimed the team "had a few protection issues." Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith said that Left Tackle Chris Williams performance was "Not good enough," and added, "It's as simple as that. Whenever you give up a couple of sacks as an offensive lineman, that is not good. Chris is a better player than that."

Exactly.

But it's hard to be a good offensive tackle when your offensive coordinator has you retreat-blocking, rather than fight-blocking. The signature problem with the Mike Martz Offense is the offensive line pass pocket retreats faster than is necessary to run the patterns Mike installs.

Mike, for some weird reason, has never corrected that problem.

It's the same issue that caused San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Alex Smith to be sacked into near oblivion in 2008, then get injured.

And it is the same problem that had Detroit Lions Quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan taste Ford Field turf over 50 times in 2007. But guess what? When Martz came over from the Lions, where he lasted for two years, and to the 49ers, he brought J.T. with him and the same offensive line blocking problem.

Martz lasted one year in San Francisco.

If Mike Martz wants to last longer than the 2010 Season with the Chicago Bears, he needs to correct his design problem. And the NFL must stop giving Martz a pass by continuously hiring him and calling him a genius. Martz will be a genius in this space after he fixes the O-line blocking problem.

Otherwise, Jay Cutler may become another Alex Smith of 2008.

So who's going to send another ridiculous email now?  Martz has paid no attention to my constant criticism of his system.  Now, Jay Cutler's on the  bench with mixed up marbles.

Wild.

99er Nation launches “White Ribbon Campaign”

This week the 99er Nation launches a “White Ribbon Campaign” for all 99ers and those who support the passage of a Tier 5, for all long term unemployed Americans.

The hope is that any and all who support the plight of the 99ers will wear a simple white ribbon to show their commitment to the cause, including news media members, celebrities, politicians and of course the 99er Nation themselves.

The campaign was contrived by leaders within the 99er Nation like: Cindy Paoletti, Connie Kaplan, Rob Curtis, PalTalk participants of “Tier 5 to Survive - Unemployed” chat room and dedicated members within the 99er cause.

Ed Schultz has also been contacted and invited to wear the “99er white ribbon” to show his support. No response has yet been received from the Schultz camp on if he will do so.

By all accounts, the One Nation rallies held yesterday from Washington DC to Los Angeles were a resounding success, even as the right wing nuts have already begun to trash the marchers as "communists and socialists". Right wing blogs using pictures of trash left behind in the DC mall and depicting the crowds only after the huge crowd had dispursed, claim that the march was a bust.

No matter how "Fox psuedo News" and the right wing nuts may want to spin the impact of the unity march, the real proof will come on election day, when the true impact of the political ramifications of either side will be felt.

See for your self the crowds and speakers by viewing the CSPAN coverage of the complete 4 hour rally at this link: http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/10/02/HP/A/38847/One+Nation+Working+Together+Rally.aspx

SF Giants 3, San Diego Padres 0 - GIANTS CLINCHED THE NL WEST #sfgiants

The San Francisco Giants have done it! The Giants have won the NL west with a 92 win record!

The San Francisco Giants are in the playoffs and Bruce Bouchy's decision to give Johnny Guillen the start in right field paid off.

Now, San Francisco's going nuts and it's a safe bet that MoMo's is a tough place to get into.

Here are Giants fans watching the game:



GO GIANTS!

Michael Vick Injured; Kevin Kolb In, Eagles Defense Awful #mcnabbbowl

According to Fox Sports' Pam Oliver, Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick is out for the game against the Washington Redskins called the McNabb Bowl.   The Redskins are ahead 17 to 6 with 3:28 in the 3rd Quarter.

Vick was injured after he was hit by two Redskins defenders just one yard from the end zone in the 2nd quarter. He's injured his rib and his chest. More details to come.

Now, Kevin Kolb is in for Vick.

Kevin Kolb is obviously not Michael Vick; he's completed passes when the receiver was obviously open, and is not the runner. Kolb can't capitalize on opportunities like the giant hole Vick would have ran into to get a first down on the third down in the 3rd Quarter with 11:34 remaining.

McNabb's Game So Far

With the exception of one glaring passing error, missing a wide-open Fred Davis on a bootleg pass in the 1st Quarter, Donovan McNabb has played so-so. He's 6 of 13 for 115 yards. Kolb is 9 of 15 for 104 yards. Off all QB's to this writing, Vick's 90 is the highest rating according to ESPN.com

SF Giants 2, San Diego Padres 0 - One Win, Giants Are In #sfgiants

Big sports day: SF Giants 2, San Diego Padres 0,4th inning. One win and the San Francisco Giants are in the MLB Playoffs. At the time of this writing, the Giants got to their current lead when Johnny Sanchez' triple ignited a two-run rally.

Jose Guillen Gets The Start

Giants manager Bruce Bochy started Jose Guillen in Right Field for todays game, and according to The SF Giants website, Bochy said the reason was that the team performed better with him in the lineup.

So far, he's right. In the 5th inning, the Giants are still ahead 2 to zip.  Now, according to Twitter, Sanchez is done for the game.

TheNaturalHobbs Dustin Hobbs
Sanchez done - five solid and a shaky sixth...might be good enough if 'pen hangs on. #sfgiants

If the Giants win today's game, they're the National League West Champions and are in the MLB Playoffs.

Stay tuned.

Men's Heath Sex Survey: Indianapolis, Chicago, Among Most Sexually Satisfied Cities

Indianapolis, Indiana, home of the Indianapolis Colts, is America's most "sexually satisfied" city, according to a survey released in Men's Heath's Magazine. Using a criteria that includes condom purchases, sex toy sales from Pure Romance and Babeland, and birth rates, Indy came up the winner, with Chicago ranked number 10.

In between, six of the ten city listed are in America's midwest:

1. Indianapolis, Ind.
2. Columbus, Ohio
3. Fort Wayne, Ind.
4. Cincinnati, Ohio
5. Salt Lake City, Utah
6. San Antonio, Texas
7. Denver, Colo.
8. Austin, Texas
9. Boise City, Idaho
10. Chicago, Ill.

What's interesting is that none of the cities are listed in the Top 10 are California cities. The reason, may be that it's due to the fact that birth rates are considered. There's a known indirect correlation between birth rates and education rates. The higher the rate of education, the lower the birth rate. Or, as a 1997 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, "birth rates are highest for women with the least education."

It doesn't mean that sex isn't happening, just that the people doing it are making sure they don't produce kids. So the value of this survey diminishes a bit because it fails to adjust for that issue of birth rates versus education.

Moreover, it can be said, unfortunately, that the cities listed have problems with levels of education. That's the flip side of the results in the Men's Health Sex Survey.

Oakland Mayor's Race: The Passionate Attack On Don Perata

In the Oakland Mayors Race, no one person brings out more passions than Former State Senator Don Perata. Everyone has some kind of opinion about Perata. Everytime the subject of the Oakland Mayor's Race comes up, someone says to this blogger "Perata's going to win," as if they're watching a horse race, rather than participating in an election.

But for those who have seen Oakland's mayoral future, and it's Perata, there seem to be many more who are set to attack him or just proclaim their hatred for him. It's a level of dislike that has led to the creation of one website and two Twitter accounts, all against him.

For example, there's the website Anybody But Perata, which reads as follows:

The purpose of this website is very simple: to present reasons why former State Senator Don Perata should not be elected mayor of the City of Oakland, California.

While the election of Don Perata as Oakland mayor would probably be very good for Mr. Perata and his friends and family and a few of his associates, we believe that it would be very bad for most of the residents of the City of Oakland.

The website is a collection, mostly, of articles from The East Bay Express, where Robert Gammon has paid his bills writing about Perata, and largely in the negative. As befits it's title, you're not going to find fair and balanced coverage of Perata.

Even more negative are the twin Twitter pages The REAL Don Perata and Fake Don Perata. Their tweets were the stuff of another World during the Kaiser Center Forum of two weeks ago. Here's a sample of their tweets, some of them to me as I was tweeting about the forum:

RealDonPerata The REAL Don Perata
#oaklandforum @fakedonperata You may have won this one but I WILL HAVE ReVENgE!!!!!!!!!!!!
23 Sep

RealDonPerata The REAL Don Perata
@zennie62 #oaklandforum @fakedonperata STFU!!! You fat bald bastard! I am the only Fake Real Don! There can only be ONE!
23 Sep

RealDonPerata The REAL Don Perata
#oaklandforum WTF! @fakedonperata is stealing my style! Dawg! You should know nots ta mess with da REAL!
23 Sep

RealDonPerata The REAL Don Perata
#oaklandforum @zennie62 MY budget experience includes going over the campaign spending limit with 2 months left in the race.
23 Sep

RealDonPerata The REAL Don Perata
@JeanQuan you call that a video? I just hired Spike Jonez! Sending limit, shmending shmimmit!
23 Sep

RealDonPerata The REAL Don Perata
@fakejeanquan Damn right we've got your precious microfilm! And if you want it back it will cost you dearly. Muhahahahahaha!
20 Sep

East Bay Express Helps Perata

Why does Don Perata have so much Internet exposure relative to his Oakland Mayor's Race competitors? The East Bay Express. Proving once again that Old Media people just don't get New Media, Robert Gammon has generated or caused the generation of 17,000 items of content regarding Don Perata. In shaping Perata's current image, that of a behind-the-scenes power broker who helps his friends at the expense of the public, Gammon has single-handedly formed the foundation for Senator Perata's neme recognition.

The good news for Perata is he didn't have to spend a dime. Because Gammon's view is so unbalanced, it causes some to think about Perata and consider that the Express could be wrong. Robert's material has also made Perata look like an operative who can get things done.

So, contrary to my initial take, Robert Gammon has been Don Perata's best friend. Gammon's almost psychotic-level of attention to Perata hs caused him to ignore the other candidates beyond those in the Oakland City Council, and even then they're not mentioned so much.

Robert Gammon has caused or catalyzed or been associated with more generated online content about Perata than even current Mayor Ron Dellums: 13,000 for Dellums versus 15,300 results for Perata.  (And 11,000 for Kaplan and for Quan each, 2,770 for Terrance Candell, 2,570 for Joe Tuman, 2,260 results for Don Macleay, 1,550 for Greg Harland, 673 results for Marcie Hodge, 89 for Larry Lionel Young, and 72 results for Arnie Fields.)

If Perata should win the Oakland Mayor's Race, his first course of action should be to thank Robert Gammon.

Raiders Louis Murphy Is Hot Topic After Clavicle Injury

The Oakland Raiders play The Houston Texans, who find themselves looking at a possible two-game loss pattern. But that may not be at the Raiders Wide Receiver Louis Murphy has a clavicle injury.

The find is causing a dramatic shift in fantasy football rosters today. This because while Murphy is set to play, he's not expected to be at full speed. But here's the issue for the Raiders: both wide receivers, Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey are listed as "questionable" for the Texans game.

As of this writing, Louis Murphy has 15 receptions for 238 yards and one touchdown.

Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy of The Blind Side Make News

Michael Oher with Sean And Lean Ann Tuohy

Ironically, Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who's adopted son and parent relationship make up the story and movie called The Blind Side are making news at the same time, but for different reasons.

Michael Oher, now Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle, who followers of this space may remember as the focus of this bloggers' interview at the 2009 NFL Draft, was fined $5,000 for hitting Cleveland Browns defensive end Robaire Smith.

Reportedly, Smith had pushed Baltimore Ravens tight end Todd Heap after a play had been whistled dead.

Michael Oher rushed to his defense by attacking Smith, stating that Heap's his teammate, and given the same set of circumstances, he'd do it again.

Leigh Anne Tuohy Gives Message

Meanwhile, Leigh Anne Tuohy was in Savannah, Georgia, giving a message that everyone should hear, explaining that "We devalue people too quickly." Tuohy was telling the story of how she and her husband Sean gave the then homeless Michael Oher a home. Oher was eventually admitted to Ole Miss, Tuohy's alma mater (which was controversial in itself), and then was drafted by The Ravens in 2009.

CNN's Abbie Boudreau Escapes James O'Keefe's Sex Tape - So What?

CNN's Abbie Boudreau has a documentary on now that, to this blogger, is totally annoying. It's supposed to be a kind of expose against young conservative activists.

But on its surface it seems like an excuse for Abbie Boudreau, who's described as one of the "hottest reporters" on CNN to be around young attractive white guys.

Oh, and to talk about escaping the production of a sex tape with her in it.

Abbie Boudreau And The Sex Tape Caper

That's the big news we get out of this? This CNN Documentary called Right On The Edge? That Abbie Boudreau 'escaped" the obtuse Anti-ACORN  James O'Keefe's "sex den" boat called "Cinco" where he planned to seduce her on camera and make a sex tape from it?    Oh boy.  Fire up the Feminist bloggers!

So what? So we need this episode to be reminded of how creepy this group is? That's not news!  And what's more idiotic is how the blogs just pick up the story without questioning how they're being manipulated into paying attention to this crap without a critical eye.

Even Cord Jefferson at the black-oriented news website  The Root fell for this, accusing O'Keefe of exhibiting white privilege, but failing to note that Abbie, who's white, was trusting enough of O'Keefe to drive to the boat by herself to board it, rather than refuse his invitation altogether.   In other words, she trusted an attractive young conservative white guy enough to consider meeting him on his boat alone.

If it were not for O'Keefe's assistant in the sex tape prank coming forward to warn Abbie beforehand, there would have been another sex tape for Harvey Levin at TMZ to get a hold of.

As Abbie stated herself, Izzy Santa essentially saved Abbie from the trip to the boat. Had she not done so, Abbie was prepared to go along with James. The point here is that it should not have taken Izzy Santa's intervention. The assertion is that Abbie was too trusting of James because he fits all of the cues that for Abbie would cause her to trust him: young, attractive, and white.

And the reason for her story in the first place.

Just Wants To Be With The White Guys

Moreover, in the documentary, CNN's Abbie Boudreau prances around in skin tights and generally arousing dress, while the guys she talks to are all clean-cut, white, young, athletic types. Get the image?

I'd have far more respect for Abbie Boudreau's work, and would be a fan of her work, if she, as a white reporter, produced a documentary on black political activists in Washington DC.

This blogger doesn't buy the idea that a black person should do that story because that idea is segregationist.  Doing it would show that Boudreau has a real curiousity that extends beyond her skin, and bring a new, untold story to America's view.

Yes, Abbie Boudreau has done good, award-winning, journalistic work - but not great.  Much of it cements stereotypes about myopic and ineffective government and questionable military policies hampering soldiers.

What Right On The Edge does is just serve as an echo chamber to show us white young conservatives that people who pay attention to politics have already known about.  And what this blogger is tired of is how these people are being turned into household names by CNN, and by reporters like Abbie.

It's socially irresponsible to use media communication to reenforce, rather than change, social patterns.  Abbie's work only serves to make young conservatives look cool and sexy.  That James O'Keefe may have some sexual fetishism is not likely to diminish how attractive his overall approach may be to a conservative sympathizer in the television audience.

Who may have their own fetishisms.

Toward Good, Revealing News

Meanwhile, the story of reporting what happens to Democrats in Congress and why it can't get out its message to the public, suffers.  Problems of how the Democratic message to African American and to the public isn't getting out there.  A problem that Rep. James Clyburn talked about at length in a meeting with black bloggers, and ignored by CNN and undoubtedly not known to Abbie Boudreau.

If she were curious, she would have known about it.

In fact, Abbie should have been the only white person in the Clyburn meeting, if only to see another side of America that this blogger bets she routinely ignores.

Oregon Destroys Stanford, USC Loses To Washington : The New Pac-10

Oregon destroys Stanford 52 to 31, USC loses to Washington 32 to 31, welcome to the new Pac-10, the last year we can effectively call it that.

The Stanford Oregon game was one The Cardinal would like to have back. While Oregon would roll up 626 yards of total offense, their inability to hold on to the ball, coupled with Stanford's early ability to score on turnovers, saw the Ducks in a 21 to 3 hole they had to climb out of.

In the post-Super Bowl XL era, where New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Peyton called for an onsides kick to start the second half of the NFL Championship against the Indy Colts, coaches should know to look for the use of the kick when they're behind and to establish a sudden change.

From that view, Oregon's Chip Kelly out-coached Cardinal Coach Jim Harbaugh, who's team was surprised by the call. Kelly told Oregon Live it was planned.

The kick changed the game and the Ducks has a 49 to 10 scoring run afterward. Well, that and Stanford failing to score twice in the red zone in the 4th quarter. And yes, there was the hit on Stanford Wide Receiver Chris Owusu by Oregon's Jason Lewis, who went strutting around the sidelines in a very classless way afterward. A behavior that made you just hate Oregon after all.

Call it swagger. I call it dirty. Even at its best USC was never like that.

USC Falls To Washington

For the second straight year, USC lost to Washington, meaning that Huskies Coach Steve Sarkisian has The Trojans number, and that USC's looking at quickly posting two losses as Stanford, which it also lost to in 2009 comes to town next week. And the Cardinal's not going to like losing to Oregon the way it did.

Now, USC officially looks beatable. It's no wonder Pete Carroll headed for the relative shelter of Seattle and the Seattle Seahawks. For the always positive Carroll, this year would have been a test like no other.

Now, the headache falls to Lane Kiffin. Can he deal with it? We'll see.

Cal v. UCLA

On the note of headaches, we have Cal hosting the suddenly hot UCLA Bruins and their "Pistol" offense next Saturday. This space wonders if Cal will learn to take away the inside running of that offense, force their corners, and funnel plays to the outside. In other words, don't try to defense every aspect of the offense; take one part of it away.

We'll see.