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Huffpost hill - september 28th, 2010

• Sep 28, 2010 from mood977(Mahmoud) in Sports
  Deja vu all over again all over again. Senate Democrats failed to start debate on a jobs bill. A prominent labor official is under scrutiny. Ethics investigations are being politicized. Obama is putting down the Huffington Post. Jim DeMint is being a wet blanket. And Alan Grayson has a peculiar new ad -- an homage to the Wonder Years intro...if the Wonder Years intro was required by Jessica's Law to knock on its neighbors' doors upon moving to town. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, September 28th, 2010:
  
  SENATE AVOIDS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN - For all you macro-masochists hoping to see a government shutdown precipitate an economic tailspin before the election, today's 84-14 Senate vote to move forward with a two-month federal budget will come as a cold shower (but not too cold, lest you enjoy it). The tally was actually 83-15 for about two hours, until Lamar Alexander realized he'd voted the wrong way, came back, and switched to a yes. Overall, according to a summary being circulated among Democratic aides, the CR, as it's known, funds the government at a rate $9 billion less than the FY10 budget. Most of those savings come from the Census, with most of the rest coming from the base-closing commission. (An appropriations spokesman cautioned that the summary we got was informal and not final.)
  
  SENATE FAILS TO CLEAR HURDLE ON ANTI-OUTSOURCING BILL - Hello and thank you for waiting. My name is Avinash Krishnamma but you can call me Steve. How can I assist you with this HuffPost Hill blurb about the Senate voting today 53 to 45 against beginning debate on a bill that penalizes American companies for employing me? Perhaps this Roll Call article will help you with your query: "Democrats decided to try to bring up the bill late last week to give Members another item to run on this fall. The decision to bring up the outsourcing measure came after Democratic leaders decided to put off a debate on extending the Bush-era tax cuts. Tuesday's vote followed a rare Monday night 'live quorum,' which Reid called to try to force a dramatic showdown over the bill." More: http://huff.to/ciZoAj
  
  BUDGET INCLUDES $193,400 FOR BOBBY BYRD'S FAMILY - The strangest line item in the summary of the budget extension that is circulating among Dem staff is certainly the last one: "Provides $193,400 for the survivors of Robert C. Byrd, the late Senator from West Virginia." Say wha? "If you die in office your next of kin gets one year salary. It's in the Senate handbook," said a Democratic aide, explaining the expenditure. It was done for Ted Kennedy's family, as well as the family of any other senator who died in office.
  
  ANDY STERN UNDER INVESTIGATION - AP: "The FBI and the Labor Department are investigating prominent labor leader Andy Stern in a probe of corruption at the Service Employees International Union, according to two people who have been interviewed by federal agents. The two organized labor officials met with federal agents this summer to answer questions about a six-figure book contract that Stern landed in 2006 and his role in approving money to pay the salary of Alejandro Stephens, a former SEIU leader in California who allegedly performed no work. The title of the book is 'A Country That Works.'" http://bit.ly/bRsQ6i
  
  ANDY STERN NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION, SAYS ANDY STERN - "The stories appearing today in the L.A. Times and the on AP are simply false. I have absolutely no reason to believe, and not the slightest indication, that I am being investigated by federal authorities with respect to Alejandro Stephens, or A Country That Works, or for that matter anything else," Stern said in a statement. SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette tells HuffPost Hill that it was standard practice for Stern to approve Stephens' contract and that Stern did speak with federal investigators in 2009 about Stephens but has been given no indication that he himself is being targeted. Ringuette said that the stories felt like they came from NUHW, a rival union locked in the biggest private sector labor election since the 1940s, battling over more than 40,000 Kaiser workers. NUHW folks deny the charge.
  
  A reenactment: http://bit.ly/arfwrL
  
  STERN INVESTIGATION CONTEXT - Union officials who've been wary of Stern lately -- he's on the board of a biowarfare company and talking about putting Social Security money into the stock market, after all -- worry that the pressure of the (alleged) investigations will push him further to the right. Stern is a critical vote on Obama's deficit commission and proponents of cutting Social Security hope he can provide progressive cover. The broader labor movement context is the ongoing war on the West Coast over how to organize workers. The Stern news could effect the NUHW election currently underway by mail in ballot.
  
  HOUSE REPUBLICANS WANT RANGEL, WATERS INVESTIGATION BEFORE MIDTERMS - In other news, Alex Rodriguez wants a human growth hormone ban to take effect AFTER the World Series. AP: "The House ethics committee...

Freelance Payment Problems at Blackbook [Media Crack]

• Aug 06, 2010 from gawker(Gawker) in Entertainment
  In your contentious Friday media column: freelancers say BlackBook's not paying them, a family sues Metro for misleading photo usage, WaPoCo makes money (no thanks to the newspaper), and a bidder for Newsweek says he was ignored.
  
  Magazine freelancer payment kerfuffle! Natasha Vargas-Cooper took to her Tumblr to vent her complaints about not being paid by BlackBookshe says they've owed her $1,200 for nearly eleven months, despite "dozens" of calls and emails. Another freelancer claims that he hasn't been paid for an article from March. We emailed Chris Mohney, Blackbook Media's SVP of content, and he replied:
  
  The shortish answer is that we're settling up these old overdue accounts almost all of which are from the print side as fast as we can. Natasha emailed me a few weeks ago and I asked her a question about her invoice, but she never responded. I don't know who else she talked to. She has a right to be angry though, and I've asked that her check get settled within the week. She's incorrect about us not paying anyone since May, so not sure who she talked to there. Anyone in the same boat can email me and I'll investigate and respond personally, like I always do: cmohney@blackbookmag.com.
  
  So, email him! Let us know how it goes.
  
  
  The family of a ten year-old Brooklyn boy is suing Metro International after the New York Metro paper ran a file photo of the kid looking at a crime scene with a story about gang violence. Eh. If you're looking for some easy lawsuit money these days, getting hit by a car is an easier way than suing a newspaper.
  
  The good news: profit at the Washington Post Company nearly octupled in the second quarter! The bad news: the profit, of course, was not from the company's namesake division. "The Washington Post newspaper would have swung back to profitability in the second quarter were it not for the anticipated $17.7 million cost of withdrawing from a multi-employer pension plan."
  
  Interesting postscript to the Newsweek sale: Syrian media entrepreneur Abdulsalam Haykal tells Jason Fell that he put together a group of investors and an offer, but couldn't get an answer: "In fact, we tried again, with the help of a friend, who is a well-respected American diplomat who has access to [Newsweek senior writer] Elizabeth Weymouth. He passed me the details of two people at Allen Co., and I emailed them but got no reply." If true, that's rude. Although to be fair, if you're seriously considering doing a deal with costs that will run into the hundreds of millions, you'd think that perhaps it would take more than an unreturned email to dissuade you.
  
  [Photo via NatashaVC]

HUFFPOST HILL - SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2010

• Sep 28, 2010 from huffpolitics in Politics
  Deja vu all over again all over again. Senate Democrats failed to start debate on a jobs bill. A prominent labor official is under scrutiny. Ethics investigations are being politicized. Obama is putting down the Huffington Post. Jim DeMint is being a wet blanket. And Alan Grayson has a peculiar new ad -- an homage to the Wonder Years intro...if the Wonder Years intro was required by Jessica's Law to knock on its neighbors' doors upon moving to town. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, September 28th, 2010:
  
  SENATE AVOIDS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN - For all you macro-masochists hoping to see a government shutdown precipitate an economic tailspin before the election, today's 84-14 Senate vote to move forward with a two-month federal budget will come as a cold shower (but not too cold, lest you enjoy it). The tally was actually 83-15 for about two hours, until Lamar Alexander realized he'd voted the wrong way, came back, and switched to a yes. Overall, according to a summary being circulated among Democratic aides, the CR, as it's known, funds the government at a rate $9 billion less than the FY10 budget. Most of those savings come from the Census, with most of the rest coming from the base-closing commission. (An appropriations spokesman cautioned that the summary we got was informal and not final.)
  
  SENATE FAILS TO CLEAR HURDLE ON ANTI-OUTSOURCING BILL - Hello and thank you for waiting. My name is Avinash Krishnamma but you can call me Steve. How can I assist you with this HuffPost Hill blurb about the Senate voting today 53 to 45 against beginning debate on a bill that penalizes American companies for employing me? Perhaps this Roll Call article will help you with your query: "Democrats decided to try to bring up the bill late last week to give Members another item to run on this fall. The decision to bring up the outsourcing measure came after Democratic leaders decided to put off a debate on extending the Bush-era tax cuts. Tuesday's vote followed a rare Monday night 'live quorum,' which Reid called to try to force a dramatic showdown over the bill." More: http://huff.to/ciZoAj
  
  BUDGET INCLUDES $193,400 FOR BOBBY BYRD'S FAMILY - The strangest line item in the summary of the budget extension that is circulating among Dem staff is certainly the last one: "Provides $193,400 for the survivors of Robert C. Byrd, the late Senator from West Virginia." Say wha? "If you die in office your next of kin gets one year salary. It's in the Senate handbook," said a Democratic aide, explaining the expenditure. It was done for Ted Kennedy's family, as well as the family of any other senator who died in office.
  
  ANDY STERN UNDER INVESTIGATION - AP: "The FBI and the Labor Department are investigating prominent labor leader Andy Stern in a probe of corruption at the Service Employees International Union, according to two people who have been interviewed by federal agents. The two organized labor officials met with federal agents this summer to answer questions about a six-figure book contract that Stern landed in 2006 and his role in approving money to pay the salary of Alejandro Stephens, a former SEIU leader in California who allegedly performed no work. The title of the book is 'A Country That Works.'" http://bit.ly/bRsQ6i
  
  ANDY STERN NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION, SAYS ANDY STERN - "The stories appearing today in the L.A. Times and the on AP are simply false. I have absolutely no reason to believe, and not the slightest indication, that I am being investigated by federal authorities with respect to Alejandro Stephens, or A Country That Works, or for that matter anything else," Stern said in a statement. SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette tells HuffPost Hill that it was standard practice for Stern to approve Stephens' contract and that Stern did speak with federal investigators in 2009 about Stephens but has been given no indication that he himself is being targeted. Ringuette said that the stories felt like they came from NUHW, a rival union locked in the biggest private sector labor election since the 1940s, battling over more than 40,000 Kaiser workers. NUHW folks deny the charge.
  
  A reenactment: http://bit.ly/arfwrL
  
  STERN INVESTIGATION CONTEXT - Union officials who've been wary of Stern lately -- he's on the board of a biowarfare company and talking about putting Social Security money into the stock market, after all -- worry that the pressure of the (alleged) investigations will push him further to the right. Stern is a critical vote on Obama's deficit commission and proponents of cutting Social Security hope he can provide progressive cover. The broader labor movement context is the ongoing war on the West Coast over how to organize workers. The Stern news could effect the NUHW election currently underway by mail in ballot.
  
  HOUSE REPUBLICANS WANT RANGEL, WATERS INVESTIGATION BEFORE MIDTERMS - In other news, Alex Rodriguez wants a human growth hormone ban to take effect AFTER the World Series. AP: "The House ethics committee...

New Orleans Saints

• Sep 30, 2010 from weatherforecas
  New Orleans Saints
  History
  Main article: History of the New Orleans Saints
  Early history
  The brainchild of local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who also founded the Louisiana Superdome and the USFL, the Saints were actually secretly born in a backroom deal brought about by Congressman Hale Boggs, Senator Russell Long and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. The NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL-NFL merger. Dixon and a local civic group had been seeking a NFL franchise for over 5 years, and had hosted record crowds to NFL exhibition games. To seal the merger, Rozelle arrived in New Orleans within a week, and announced on November 1, 1966 that the NFL officially had awarded the city of New Orleans an NFL franchise. Named for the great jazz song most identified with New Orleans When the Saints Go Marching In, the franchise was announced in a great coincidence on November 1st, which is the Catholic All Saints Day. Boggs Congressional committee in turn quickly approved the NFL merger. John W. Mecom, Jr., a young oilman from Houston, became the teams first majority stockholder. The teams colors, black and gold, symbolized both Mecoms and New Orleans strong ties to the oil (black gold) industry.[citation needed] Trumpeter Al Hirt was part owner of the team, and his rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In was made the official fight song.
  That first season started with a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown by John Gilliam, but the Saints lost that game 2713 to the Los Angeles Rams at Tulane Stadium. Their first season record was 311, which set an NFL record for most wins by an expansion team. However, they could not manage to finish as high as second in their division until 1979. That 1979 team and the 1983 team were the only ones to even finish at .500 until 1987.
  One of the franchises shining moments came on November 8, 1970, when Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL record-breaking 63-yard field goal to defeat the Detroit Lions by a score of 1917 in the final seconds of the game. This record, although equaled 29 years later by Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos, has yet to be broken.
  In 1980, the Saints lost their first 14 games, prompting local sportscaster Bernard Buddy D Diliberto to advise Saints supporters to wear paper bags over their heads at the teams home games; many bags rendered the clubs name as the Aints rather than the Saints. The practice of wearing a bag over ones head then spread rapidly, first to fans of other poorly performing teams within the NFL, and ultimately to those of other American team sports, and has become a firmly established custom throughout the United States.
  Mora era
  Current Saints owner Tom Benson acquired the franchise in 1985, and hired Jim Finks as general manager and Jim Mora as head coach. That combination provided the Saints with their first-ever winning record and playoff appearance, going 123 in 1987, which had one fewer game than normal due to a players strike. Another playoff berth would follow in 1990, and the clubs first division title came in 1991. During Moras tenure the Saints made the playoffs four times, with teams marked by strong defenses led by the Dome Patrol linebacking corps, but they were never able to win a playoff game. Mora coached the Saints until the middle of the 1996 season, when he stepped down halfway through a 313 season.
  Ditka era
  After the end of the 1996 season, ironically as Diliberto had suggested before Moras resignation, former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka was hired to replace Mora. Although this initially generated a lot of excitement among Saints fans, Ditkas tenure ended up being a failure. The Saints went 610 in their first two seasons under Ditka (1997 and 1998). During the 1999 NFL Draft, Ditka traded all of his picks for that season, as well as the first-round and third-round picks for the following season, to the Washington Redskins in order to draft University of Texas Heisman Trophy running back Ricky Williams in the first round. Ditka and Williams had a mock wedding picture taken to commemorate the occasion. However, Ditka, most of his coaching staff, and general manager Bill Kuharich were fired at the end of the 1999 season due to the clubs 313 record.
  Haslett era
  Jim Haslett held the post from 2000 to 2005. In his first year, he took the team to the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota Vikings a week after beating the St. Louis Rams for the teams first ever playoff win. After winning the 2000 NFL Executive of the Year Award, General Manager Randy Mueller was fired between the 2001 and 2002 seasons without explanation by Benson. The Saints failed to make the playoffs in 2001 and 2002, although in the latter year they had the distinction of beating the eventual Super Bowl XXXVII champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in both of their regular season meetings, only the second team to do so in NFL history.
  In 2003, the Saints again missed the playoffs after finishing 88. The 2004 season started poorly for...