During the April 24 edition of Fox News' Special Report, White House correspondent Wendell Goler cropped a comment by President Obama and took it out of context -- effectively reversing the statement's meaning -- to falsely suggest that Obama supports creating a health care system "like the European countries."
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Arlen Specter To Switch Parties ... Dems now filibuster-proof!
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Monday, April 27, 2009
YouTube and Apple Almost One: QuickTime Sync With YouTube
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For whatever reason - proximity to each other in Silicon Valley, a mutual admiration for the culture of each firm, or more concretely Apple's constant drive to make its computers the best for video-bloggers - it seems Apple Computer and YouTube are all but one company.
Consider that according to Apple Insider, Apple now has built in support for YouTube across all of the latest versions of its main product lines: IPhone, Apple TV, iMovie, and now QuickTime. Soon, you will be able to directly upload your QuickTime-based video to YouTube right from the upcoming QuickTime X Player software (and part of the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system to be released this summer).
Why is this a big deal?
Consider what a video-blogger has to do as of this writing to upload a video. Let's take the one I installed today regarding ESPN and The Oakland Raiders. First, I used my Flip Video Camera to record my monologue, then took the camcorder and plugged it into my MacBook. That action opened the Flip Video software and I downloaded the clips I created. Then I opened iMovie6 (I'm not a fan of the current version of iMovie), edited and compressed the clips, and the result was a ".mov" file that I can open in QuickTime. Instead I used TubeMogul to upload the video to multiple sites including YouTube, Blip.tv, and Viddler.
(As a note, never use just one video-distribution site. You'll be sorry. More on why in a later installment.)
Now there are occasions where my video files are larger than 500 MB, making TubeMogul unusable. For those scenarios and this new provision I could just open QuickTime and do the uploading from there. What I love is Apple Computer has made creating video-blogs a nearly super simple task. And YouTube has altered its site such that its easier than ever to actually earn revenue from making videos and promoting ones channel. To digress for a moment, I can now embed a small version of my YouTube channel on a blog or website, like so:
But the bottom line is the constant advance of the mating of Apple and YouTube for the benefit of video-bloggers. Videoblogging is the next frontier of media but many people are still intimidated by it. Hopefully as these developments continue, more and more people will take up videoblogging in much the same way they blog today.
ESPN: No Oakland Raiders Bias - NFL Draft Notes
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My long-time friend Richard Lieberman is prone to hyberbole and god-love him, this is one of those moments. The San Francisco Chronicle blogger may have made some hay by charging ESPN with a "bias" against the Oakland Raiders, but where I am in New York, and where I was at Radio City Music Hall for the NFL Draft, the notion was quickly put to rest. I'm going to spend about as much time on this as ESPN did, but the bottom line is a lot of people didn't like the Raiders draft, almost from top-to-bottom.
I was editing videos in the Interview Room when I overherd NFL Network's Pat Kirwan, and Clark Judge of CBS Sports doing a take for NFL Network, and both were almost laughably derisive of the Raiders decision to take Darrius Heywood-Bay, who's the third ranked receiver in the draft over Michael Crabtree who was picked in an almost regional slap-in-your-face move by the cross-bay San Francisco 49ers. The preseason game will be interesting.
This is what one scout at draftcountdown.com wrote about Heywood-Bay:
Strengths:
A smooth, fluid athlete...Long strider with rare speed...Explosive with great acceleration and a burst...Quick and agile...Terrific height and bulk with long arms...Excellent leaper...Nice body control and ball skills...Tough and not afraid to work the middle...Vertical threat who can separate...Also a dangerous weapon on reverses...Great work ethic...Could also contribute as a return man...Still has a ton of upside.
Weaknesses:
Is inconsistent catching the ball and does not have great natural hands...Questionable instincts and awareness...Still very raw as a route runner...Not much wiggle and won't make people miss...Doesn't break a lot of tackles...Average strength...Marginal blocker...Has little or no special teams experience...Wasn't real productive..Workout Warrior?
As to the best draft? Well, that's three years before anyone can determine, but I'm going to give props to The Miami Dolphins for getting West Virginia Quarterback Pat White in the second round of the Draft. It's the best mating of man, scheme, and need I've ever seen. In the "Wildcat" offense they run he will succeed and perhaps be in line for "rookie of the year" honors by seasons end.
Print that.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
NFL Draft: Mark Sanchez Interview, New York Jets
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Sporting a dark green tie purchased by his aunt Marlene and a New York Jets sports cap, now former USC Quarterback Mark Sanchez came down to the Interview Room at Radio City Music Hall to a small group of media people including yours truly about 30 minutes ago from the start of this blog post.
Sanchez fielded a set of questions starting with my query to determine if it was true he left USC early to avoid the possibility of losing to Cal this year. The Jets' newest signal called got a kick out of that one and recalled the last game played at Berkeley, a rain-soaked affair that USC won when John David Booty was the quarterback, 24-17.
On the matter of how it feels to be a jet, "Oh," he sighed, "It's really special. I'm really grateful that Mr Mike Tannenbaum (Jets GM) and Mr. Woody Johnson (Jets owner) made the trade (up to the number 5th pick, trading places with the Cleveland Browns, who gave their first- and second-round picks, and adding defensive end Kenyon Coleman, safety Abram Elam and quarterback Brett Ratliff)
But Sanchez added "Nothing's been accomplished yet, I've only gotten into a uniform. It's going to take a lot of practice and hard work.
The underclassman Sanchez who has a 14-2 record at USC offered that the reason he came out early (he has one more year of eligibility) was a personal decision arrived at after the Rose Bowl and after talking it through with his family and his high school coach Bob Johnson. "I thought about it long and hard and ..this is what I really want to do."
Will Not Hold Out On Jets
Sanchez' agent David Dunn told me they don't anticipate a hold out situation to develop, but he's concerned about the economy's impact on the ability to get good endorsement deals. "It's definetely a factor, Dunn said.
NFL Draft: Mark Sanchez Has Entered The Building in NYC
More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter!
Sporting a dark green tie and a New York Jets sports cap, now former USC Quarterback Mark Sanchez came down to the Interview Room at Radio City Music Hall to a small group of media people including yours truly about 30 minutes ago from the start of this blog post.
Sanchez fielded a set of questions starting with my query to determine if it was true he left USC early to avoid the possibility of losing to Cal this year. The Jets' newest signal called got a kick out of that one and recalled the last game played at Berkeley, a rain-soaked affair that USC won when John David Booty was the quarterback, 24-17.
Mark Sanchez Photo by Bill Chachkes
"That was a lot of fun," Sanchez remarked.
There's more in my upcoming video with Sanchez. It's being compressed and edited now.
As to the matter of who had the best Draft, I'm putting early my vote in for The Denver Broncos, then the Phili Eagles snagging Jerry Macklin as a companion to DeShawn Jackson at wide receiver, and then Miami Dolphins because they took the man I feel is the best quarteback in the Draft, West Virginia's Pat White, who's perfectly suited to their "Wildcat" system and in the second round, and got the zone cover corner and hitter they needed in CB Vontae Davis of Illinois in round one.
As to the worst draft, I'm sorry and its not personal as everyone here at Radio City Music Hall has the greatest respect for Al Davis, but the Oakland Raiders passing on Michael Crabtree was a real shocker here. People are still talking about it today.
More soon.
Art Torres, California Democratic Party Chair Sends Letter of Resignation
This came to me via email just three minutes ago:
My Fellow Democrats,
It has been an honor to have served for thirteen years as Chairman of the most incredible state Democratic Party in the nation. Together we have made great strides in improving our Party by registering voters with the Bounty program, by grassroots activists opening up offices and creating a sense of community and service to many, and by electing Democrats to the Assembly, Senate and Congress who are protecting the values we all cherish in our state.
Our Party has also embraced our young people and they have joined with us as never before, creating a new generation of Democratic voters and activists. We have elected the first woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi of California -- one of the highest offices in our country. And of course, California proudly provided a strong margin of victory to elect President Barak Obama.
We are all proud of what President Obama has accomplished during his first 100 days, giving our nation strong initiatives to renew and reinvest in our economy and improve the quality of our lives in the most difficult of times. He is a President who will provide great leadership for our country and our world.
Since 2004, we have added six blue counties with the help of dedicated folks in Alpine, Stanislaus, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, and Ventura. We also increased our numbers in Orange County to nearly 34% Democratic registration. These are not small achievements! This is the result of a huge amount of hard work by very dedicated Democrats.
In short, I leave the new Chair and Party leadership a healthy Democratic Party, both politically and financially, as I move to another chapter in my life -- the Vice Chairmanship of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which was created by the voters as Proposition 71 in 2004.
As a colon cancer survivor, I will also be a patient advocate for CIRM in my new role. I join a team of dedicated scientists and policy makers to help raise the more than $400 million needed to fund the research necessary to target diseases that have plagued so many California families. Every day I spend at CIRM headquarters, I sense the excitement of a field of science moving forward rapidly, in fact more rapidly than anyone on the science staff there imagined possible even a couple years ago. When CIRM adopted a scientific strategic plan in October 2006 the scientists there envisioned reaching a stage this year where they could fund “disease teams” that would combine basic researchers and clinicians to work together to develop a therapy ready for clinical trials three-to-four years from now.
In 2006 they predicted funding one or two such teams that would be ready for this challenge today. But when the initial grant applications for the Disease Team Awards were counted a couple weeks ago, there were 73 of them. That is 73 California research teams that think they can get a stem-cell based therapy ready for clinical trials within four years. These teams are targeting a broad array of diseases from osteoarthritis and blindness to cancer and a host of neurodegenerative diseases. Only a subset of these applications will make it through CRIM’s rigorous grant review process, which strives to bet on only the very best science in which to make California’s investment, but no matter the outcome of the grant reviews, this represents a tremendous acceleration toward reaching the promise of stem cells.
The California research community has been able to get to this point in large part because of three years of sustained funding from CIRM. Since the agency issued its first training grants in April of 2006 it has been able to provide consistent support for its new cadre of stem cell researchers. All the scientists I talk to tell me that this type of sustained funding is what science requires to get the results that create new therapies and even cures and, in turn, the jobs that the fast growing biotech industry will provide for Californians. CIRM’s ability to continue this sustained funding is linked to the budgetary health of the state and the state’s ability to issue bonds that support CIRM’s work. So the health and well being of patients in California – and around the world – is one more thing to keep in mind as we vote on the budget initiatives May 19.
This letter is not a goodbye for me, but rather a fulfillment of new path ahead – as we all continue to make a difference in the lives of Californians.
God speed my fellow Democrats!
Sincerely,
Art Torres
Sen. Art Torres (Ret.)
Chairman, California Democratic Party
My Fellow Democrats,
It has been an honor to have served for thirteen years as Chairman of the most incredible state Democratic Party in the nation. Together we have made great strides in improving our Party by registering voters with the Bounty program, by grassroots activists opening up offices and creating a sense of community and service to many, and by electing Democrats to the Assembly, Senate and Congress who are protecting the values we all cherish in our state.
Our Party has also embraced our young people and they have joined with us as never before, creating a new generation of Democratic voters and activists. We have elected the first woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi of California -- one of the highest offices in our country. And of course, California proudly provided a strong margin of victory to elect President Barak Obama.
We are all proud of what President Obama has accomplished during his first 100 days, giving our nation strong initiatives to renew and reinvest in our economy and improve the quality of our lives in the most difficult of times. He is a President who will provide great leadership for our country and our world.
Since 2004, we have added six blue counties with the help of dedicated folks in Alpine, Stanislaus, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, and Ventura. We also increased our numbers in Orange County to nearly 34% Democratic registration. These are not small achievements! This is the result of a huge amount of hard work by very dedicated Democrats.
In short, I leave the new Chair and Party leadership a healthy Democratic Party, both politically and financially, as I move to another chapter in my life -- the Vice Chairmanship of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which was created by the voters as Proposition 71 in 2004.
As a colon cancer survivor, I will also be a patient advocate for CIRM in my new role. I join a team of dedicated scientists and policy makers to help raise the more than $400 million needed to fund the research necessary to target diseases that have plagued so many California families. Every day I spend at CIRM headquarters, I sense the excitement of a field of science moving forward rapidly, in fact more rapidly than anyone on the science staff there imagined possible even a couple years ago. When CIRM adopted a scientific strategic plan in October 2006 the scientists there envisioned reaching a stage this year where they could fund “disease teams” that would combine basic researchers and clinicians to work together to develop a therapy ready for clinical trials three-to-four years from now.
In 2006 they predicted funding one or two such teams that would be ready for this challenge today. But when the initial grant applications for the Disease Team Awards were counted a couple weeks ago, there were 73 of them. That is 73 California research teams that think they can get a stem-cell based therapy ready for clinical trials within four years. These teams are targeting a broad array of diseases from osteoarthritis and blindness to cancer and a host of neurodegenerative diseases. Only a subset of these applications will make it through CRIM’s rigorous grant review process, which strives to bet on only the very best science in which to make California’s investment, but no matter the outcome of the grant reviews, this represents a tremendous acceleration toward reaching the promise of stem cells.
The California research community has been able to get to this point in large part because of three years of sustained funding from CIRM. Since the agency issued its first training grants in April of 2006 it has been able to provide consistent support for its new cadre of stem cell researchers. All the scientists I talk to tell me that this type of sustained funding is what science requires to get the results that create new therapies and even cures and, in turn, the jobs that the fast growing biotech industry will provide for Californians. CIRM’s ability to continue this sustained funding is linked to the budgetary health of the state and the state’s ability to issue bonds that support CIRM’s work. So the health and well being of patients in California – and around the world – is one more thing to keep in mind as we vote on the budget initiatives May 19.
This letter is not a goodbye for me, but rather a fulfillment of new path ahead – as we all continue to make a difference in the lives of Californians.
God speed my fellow Democrats!
Sincerely,
Art Torres
Sen. Art Torres (Ret.)
Chairman, California Democratic Party
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