Fresno City Manager talks about Independent Auditor report
City Manager Mark Scott today released the following open letter to the public this morning about the 2010 annual report of the Office of Independent Review:
"I am looking forward to Monday's release of the OIR's Annual Report for 2010. I regret my failure to get this report published earlier, but I am eager to clear the record on what has transpired.
"Regrettably, my delay in releasing the report has led to speculation that the report includes information that would embarrass the Police Department. That is unfair and inaccurate. The report does make findings and recommendations to improve our operation, but there is nothing substantive in Independent Reviewer Eddie Aubrey's unedited report that I am at all reluctant to share with the public.
"So why has it taken so long to release this report? I found the 74-page report very hard to read, and I spent what I now realize was far too much time trying to help Mr. Aubrey present it more effectively. I believe strongly in the OIR function and felt it was my duty to try to present the report in readable fashion. However, the last call on edits has always been Mr. Aubrey's. At this late date, he and I both agreed it is best if we just release the report as originally presented to me. I will issue my own side memo to highlight Mr. Aubrey's key findings and discuss our plans for the future.
"On Monday, we will present Mr. Aubrey's Annual Report. It will be issued with absolutely no edits from me or anyone else at City Hall. It will be published exactly as Mr. Aubrey originally wrote it unless he chooses to correct the punctuation errors. In my comments to Mr. Aubrey, I made many suggestions, ranging from typos and punctuation, to format and flow of the report. I questioned the intended meaning of many unclear comments and suggested that he make stronger statements on at least two of his primary findings. All of my comments (probably a couple hundred of them) were made by handwritten note and will be posted on the City's website so that the public can see that there was never any effort on my part to eliminate or alter the intent of a single finding or recommendation in Mr. Aubrey's report.
"I hope the public will read this Annual Report. I advise readers to start with the 25 Internal Audit Summaries included in Appendix B of the report because it will make it easier to understand the context within which the report's 50+ recommendations are made. The report says the Police Department does a credible, professional job. It also says that improvements are possible.
"There is little discussion in the report concerning Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS) investigations because most of them are incomplete, pending receipt of District Attorney final reports. In my suggestions to Mr. Aubrey, I proposed that we move forward on our OIS reports without the DA reports. I do not believe they are coming soon; therefore, it is important that we complete our investigations, with appropriate caveats. We need to finish those reports in fairness to complainants, victims and their families, suspects and their families, and certainly to our officers and their families.
"Mayor Swearengin and I are determined to find funding to reinstate the full OIR function in next year's budget. We believe it is important in establishing trust between the public and the Police function.
"We are committed to a policy of transparency with the public, and to that end, I once again accept criticism of the delay in publishing the 2010 annual report. I accept that responsibility."
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
United Nations officials say that Iran is on the threshold of nuclear arms capability. (The Washington Post)
Here's proof that Michele Bachmann has completely lost it. She calls GOP presidential rivals such as Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Herman Cain "frugal socialists." (Politico)
Celebrity and women's rights attorney Gloria Allred reportedly represents a fourth woman making sexual harrasment claims against Cain. (Politico)
The right's response to Occupy Wall Street? How about Liberate Main Street? (The Weekly Standard)
Italy worries that its biggest employer, the car-maker Fiat, will leave the country and set up shop in Detroit. (The Economist)
Judge on credentials, not on sexuality: Assembly Member Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livington, announces that she is gay. (Stockton Record)
There's a changing of the guard atop California State University campuses with five long-serving presidents stepping down. (Los Angeles Times)
Ole Miss defeated Fresno State in football this season, but Rebels coach Houston Nutt reportedly won't return for 2012. (ESPN)
Laugh of the Day: "Hookers in Times Square, God bless 'em, are offering a Mitt Romney Special. For an extra $20 they'll change positions." -- David Letterman
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter: @Fresnomac.
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New York Times critic Janet Maslin skewers Joe McGinniss's unauthorized biography of Sarah Palin. The review is here.
Searching for Geronimo: More than 100 years after the legendary Apache warrior surrendered to the U.S. Army, Geronimo's descendents are deeply divided over where his remains should rest. (Vanity Fair)
President Obama has a case of the blue state blues. In Democratic strongholds from Vermont to California -- not to mention New York City -- he is moving in the wrong direction. (Politico)
Language matters: By examining speech patterns, Northwestern University researchers predicted the political affiliation of U.S. Senators with 94% accuracy. (Freakonomics)
NBC's new series stirs childhood memories for the author of "My mother, the Playboy Bunny." (Salon)
Justice delayed: The Supreme Court should act with dispatch to untangle Obamacare. (The Economist)
Gov. Jerry Brown vows to veto "a lot" of the 600 legislative proposals on his desk. (Sacramento Bee)
Teamsters demand that Visalia give up $2 million federal grant. (Visalia Times-Delta)
The condition of Fresno's Courthouse Park chronicles the essence of personal failure and social decline. (George Hostetter blog)
Laugh of the Day: "President Obama described himself as an eternal optimist. He then explained that he's the kind of person that sees the country as 'half employed.'" -- Conan O'Brien
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
How fast can China go with High Speed Rail? British-American author Simon Winchester gets on board and finds out. (This is a long-form narrative.) (Vanity Fair)
Fred Barnes declares Mitt Romney the winner in Monday night's GOP presidential debate and says that Rick Perry flubbed the Social Security issue. (The Weekly Standard)
Remember "paradigm shift" and "metrics"? The new phrase of the times is "hourglass economy." It describes the concentration of wealth and poverty and the shrinking of the middle class in America. (Salon)
A Southern California water district goes out and buys positive "news" coverage. (Los Angeles Times)
A Los Angeles insurance executive personally contributes $8.1 million to overturn Proposition 103, the state's landmark auto insurance law. (Los Angeles Times)
Want to buy a Tony Award? If you're uber wealthy, the odds are with you. (Freakonomics)
Chowchilla City Council approves partnership with company hoping to develop 580 acres along Highways 99 and 152. Proposed uses: industrial, commercial, entertainment and recreation. (Merced Sun-Star)
Horses 9, 1 and 1 win on anniversary on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. (ESPN)
Laugh of the Day: "The candidates at the Republican debate looked like a town council that was outlawing dancing." -- David Letterman
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at 4 p.m. on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
The audacity of weakness: President Obama's rope-a-dope political strategy will end up with him on the canvas in 2012. (Salon)
Gov. Jerry Brown appears ready -- finally -- to take on public pension reform. (Sacramento Bee)
California lawmakers are up to their old trick of introducing last-minute bill that could have big impacts. One example: raising the surcharge on electricity bills. (Orange County Register)
A chorus of "tax the rich" grows louder as corporate profits rise and America's middle class erodes. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Uniforms improve school attendance, but have no impact on grades. (Freakonomics)
Entrepreneurial technologists such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg lead this year's New Establishment list. (Vanity Fair)
Why does the University of Oregon football team win so much? Some people say it's the uniforms. (Grantland)
Laugh of the Day: "Gadhafi is apparently on the run, though today he released a message congratulating Beyonce on her pregnancy." -- David Letterman
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is challenging the accuracy of ex-Vice President Dick Cheney's new book "In My Time." Powell says that some passages are "cheap shots." (MSNBC)
Cheney, meanwhile, says that he offered to resign as vice president three times in 2004. (Los Angeles Times)
With a book to peddle and the experts running her campaign now, Michele Bachmann has become a boring, run-of-the-mill presidential candidate. (Salon)
Today's guilty pleasure: despite what you may have heard, there is no secret wedding in the works for Angelina and Brad. (Vanity Fair)
Bad news for President Obama: according to the latest Rasmussen poll of likely voters, Americans support the repeal of Obamacare by a margin of 20 percentage points (57% to 37%). (The Weekly Standard)
Is Ryan Harrison the future of American men's tennis? (Grantland)
Laugh of the Day: "Dick Cheney says that when people in Washington read his new book, 'Heads will be exploding.' When Cheney says heads will be exploding, he means it." -- Craig Ferguson
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Is Rick Perry dumb? Or crazy like a fox? These are the questions asked by political insiders as the Texas governor assumes the national stage. (Politico)
Natural disasters such as Hurricane Irene pose a problem for small-government Republicans.(Salon)
Along with everything else, redistricting could cost California political clout in our nation's capital. (Los Angeles Times)
Death penalty opponents begin a ballot effort to replace the death penalty in California with life in prison without parole. (Sacramento Bee)
Modesto city officials consider privatizing sewer treatment plants. (Modesto Bee)
Backyard chickens are California's latest fad. But Jim Boren says that owners of egg-laying fowl will quickly lose interest. (Fresno Bee Opinion Talk)
The long sad decline of pro wrestling's Ric Flair. (Grantland)
Laugh of the Day: "The earthquake registered 5.8 on the Richter scale. I've had bigger heart attacks than that." -- David Letterman
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
California's legislature -- its voter approval rating at 25% -- has four weeks to prove that it's worthy of full-time pay and status, writes veteran Capitol columnist George Skelton. (Los Angeles Times)
Trying to be all things to all people and fix a broad range of problems, President Obama has Americans confused about his vision for the country. (Politico)
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann rides the crest of her Ames Straw Poll victory that vanquished former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. The story is at Politico.
View her rounds of the Sunday talk shows below.
Pawlenty has quit the race, a victim of Mitt Romney's respectability and Rick Perry's ability to offer GOP voters a record of results and conservative ideology. (U.S. News & World Report)
"The majority of Americans expect us to work together on a bipartisan basis to solve our nation's economic problems. Failure is not an option," says Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno. (Bakersfield Californian)
A Merced company runs by the Naim family shows how to profit from being "green" in this tough economy. (Merced Sun-Star)
American Chevrolet in Modesto has installed three solar-powered charging stations for owners of the Volt and other electric cars. The service is free. Six stations are being installed at Best Western Plus Villa Del Lago Inn, next to Interstate 5 in Patterson. (Modesto Bee)
More praise for Philip Levine's selection as national poet laureate. (Sacramento Bee)
Asset manager wins $50,000 by betting on PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley at 125-to-1 odds. (CNBC)
Laugh of the Day: "Some political analysts are saying that President Obama is making many of the same mistakes that President Bush made. Obama said, 'That's ridiculous, and if you'll excuse me, 'SpongeBob' is on.' " -- Conan O'Brien
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
The Republican debate in Ames, Iowa was good stuff -- even for Democratic viewers. Ron Paul always shows up with the most supporters in the audience. Mitt Romney did little -- a victory when you're the front-runner. And Tim Pawlenty took off the gloves, peppering rival Michele Bachmann nearly as often as he did President Obama. Here's an analysis from the right via The Weekly Standard.
It's called a straw poll, but for some candidates Saturday's spectacle in Ames will be the guillotine. (Salon)
Study predicts savings for California if hybrid public employees pension system is used. (Los Angeles Times)
Mad markets: Is high frequency trading making things worse? (Freakonomics)
Here's why you have to regulate and watch Wall Street like a hawk: The SEC is now investigating insider trading by Standard & Poor's employees in advance of the credit downgrade. (Politico)
Confirming the obvious: cycling, even if you ride an expensive carbon bike, is better for the environment than driving a car. (Slate)
How will the London riots affect that city's hosting of the 2012 Olympics. Here are some observations. (ESPN)
Laugh of the Day: "Congress got an 81% disapproval rating in the polls Monday. They had just passed a toothless debt reduction bill that crashed Wall Street. The next day every House member got a nice note from Casey Anthony thanking them for changing the subject. " -- Argus Hamilton
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of muse and news. Post comments below.
What happened to Obama? A psychology professor provides the answer, casting the president as a man adverse to risk and conflict. (New York Times Sunday Review)
Voice of the working man: Fresno's Philip Levine is selected as our nation's poet laureate. You can read the New York Times version here and Donald Munro's story for The Bee here.
It's the economy, dummkopf: Ace author Michael Lewis explains why a reluctant Germany is the only country that can save Europe from financial ruin. (Vanity Fair)
His political base splintered by redistricting, Dennis Cardoza isn't shooting down speculation that he will retire. Apparently Cardoza, a Democrat from Merced, would rather leave Congress after 2102 than go head to head against either longtime ally Jim Costa or rival Jeff Denham, a Republican, in next year's election. Cardoza has represented the northern San Joaquin Valley in Congress for more than eight years. (Modesto Bee)
We warned you several times that California's budget was balanced with gimmicks and smoke screens. Now the reality is becoming too obvious to ignore, says Dan Walters. (Sacramento Bee)
Visalia and Dinbua officials are battling over how to carve up Tulare County's supervisorial districts. (Visalia Times-Delta)
While California judges complain about budget cutbacks to their courts, 119 new Superior Court judges are spending two weeks in a "rookie camp" at a posh San Jose resort. (San Francisco Chronicle)
For GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty -- remember him? -- it's Ames or bust. (Politico)
Laugh of the Day: "By the way, the ratings agency is Standard & Poor's. Who's going to listen to a company whose name translates to Average & Below Average?" -- Jon Stewart
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Amid the politically manufactured debt-ceiling crisis, I wonder how many Americans noticed that Republicans and Democrats are united on reducing entitlements and further squeezing the middle class. (Politico)
Fresno Bee Editorial Page boss Jim Boren is on a crusade to force California Assembly Speaker John Perez to release public records on lawmakers' budget. He wants you to call Perez's office at (916) 319-2046 and demand that the records see a little sunshine.
Some people would rather engage in fantasies than get down to the hard work of governing. Example A: Rep. Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican and Tea Party crony who said today that President Obama should be impeached. (Politico)
Kiss Country's summer concert series at Woodward Park is a bargain at $5 and provides a great chance to see acts before they become superstars, writes Mike Osegueda. Some examples: Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton. (Fresno Bee)
After London riots, officials use social media to organize cleanup and identify looters. (Techland)
Google says that a crash involving one of its self-driving cars was caused by . . . . human error. (CBS News)
Enter the Cyber Dragon: A look inside the world of Chinese hackers. (Vanity Fair)
The Great Recession: How America turned poverty into a crime. (Salon)
Is this the end for the San Francisco Giants and Barry Zito, their $126 million underperforming lefty? (Grantland)
Laugh of the Day: "Think how far Obama has come. Not long ago, a lot of people in this country thought he was a secret Kenyan, or a secret Muslim. Now we know he's a secret Republican." -- Bill Maher
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Nancy Grace, who played fast and loose with ethics as a Georgia prosecutor, now serves as a televised mouthpiece for the prosecution in high-profile murder cases. Tim Rutten wonders: is the HLN network's use of her any less a betrayal of public trust than Britain's phone-hacking scandal? (Los Angeles Times)
The various Tea Party groups preach the importance of government fiscal responsibility. But at least one Tea Party organization is blowing off its financial obligations. (Slate)
If Washington actually worked, this deal from the bipartisan Concord Coalition would cut federal saving and ease market concerns about America's escalating debt. writes Erza Klein. (Washington Post)
ABC News gets the scoop from woman who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault. (ABC News)
Here is video of hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo:
Nearly 60% of Californians, according to a poll, would like local voters to have the authority to approve local taxes on cigarettes, sodas, liquor and oil production. (Los Angeles Times)
Cut red tape on the solar industry, and California would add nearly 4,000 green jobs over the next decade, a San Francisco-based solar company says. (Sacramento Bee)
Google +, a new social networking site, is off to a strong start with more than 20 million visitors the first three weeks. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Cadel Evans is a worthy champion of a worthy Tour de France conducted without riders doubling as human chemistry labs, writes Austin Murphy. (SI.com)
Laugh of the Day: "I gotta say, of all my issues with Michele Bachmann's brain, migraines are not even in the top 20." -- Jon Stewart
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Unlike a lot of Valley cities, Visalia leaders are doing something about the recession and continuing to enhance an already health downtown. (Visalia Times-Delta)
Michele Bachmannn should be basking in the glow of her latest polling numbers. Instead the GOP presidential candidate is facing tough questions about her history of migraine attacks. (Politico)
Here is Republican strategist Karl Rove talking about Bachmannn's migraines.
The neutering of John Boehner: The House Speaker's biggest enemy isn't liberal Nancy Pelosi -- it's Tea Party flag-bearer Eric Cantor. (Salon)
Rupert Murdoch and the phone-hacking scandal: Too dumb to know it was going on, but smart enough to remain the man in charge.(Slate)
Get your fake New York Post front page (special Murdoch edition) right here! (Vanity Fair)
There's going to be a court fight over California's new political boundaries. (Sacramento Bee)
California's term limits isn't whittling the ranks of career politicians. (Capitol Notes)
What happens to Chinese athletes who can't cut it? At least one is begging on the streets. (The Telegraph)
Laugh of the Day: "Donald Trump has a new grandchild. Today, he demanded to see its birth certificate." -- David Letterman
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at Fresnomac.
Absent the Tiger Woods of old, the question must be asked: Where the hell is golf going? (ESPN)
Laugh of the Day: "According to a survey by Charles Schwab, 16 percent of teenagers expect their parents to help them financially forever. I believe they're called 'philosophy majors.' " -- Jay Leno
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Conservatives often complain about liberals pulling the "victim card." Well, guess who singing the Victimology Blues? None other than the conservative-to-the-bone Wall Street Journal. In an editorial, the paper pushes back against criticism dished by critics of its owner, Rupert Murdoch (pictured, left) for his company's involvement in a phone-hacking scandal. (Politico)
Farmers say that an E-verify-type bill targeting illegal immigrants would devastate agriculture. The bill is being pushed by California Republicans. (Stockton Record)
Today's thoughtful read: Steve Lopez share his thoughts on the cost of health care as his father faces the last days of his life. (Los Angeles Times)
Did Gov. Jerry Brown do the right thing when he signed into law a bill requiring public school social studies classes to teach about the contributions of gays and lesbians? You may disagree, but I say that Brown did. (Fresno Bee)
With Los Angeles residents staying close to home for the weekend, the "carmageddon" closing of the 405 freeway turned out to be much ado about nothing. Here's how a team of cyclists -- and a guy on the subway and a Rollerblader -- beat a Jet Blue flight from Burbank to Long Beach. (Slate)
In the high stakes game of deficit poker, President Obama appears to have a slightly stronger hand. (The Weekly Standard)
Do people install solar panels to save money, appear environmentally responsible or both? The discussion begins at Freakonomics.
Our friends in San Jose top a Top 20 list of U.S. cities whose residents have the longest life expectancy. (The Daily Beast)
A debate that refuses to die: Michael Wilbon writes that college athletes deserve to be paid. (ESPN)
Laugh of the Day: "he Treasury Department is shifting from paper to electronic savings bonds next year. But don't worry -- the electronic bonds will be just as worthless as the paper ones." -- Jimmy Fallon
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Recently, we posted a link to a story theorizing that Eric Cantor, not John Boehner, has the most power in the Republican Party. Actually, the man who pulls the most strings is anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. Rare is the Republican at the state or federal level who doesn't genuflect in Norquist's presence. (The Washington Post)
The things you learn in school: a new study by the University of Chicago suggests that the sight of an American flag shifts people toward Republican beliefs. (Freakonomics)
If you had to pick a disease, would it be diabetes or cancer? Well, choosing one or the another is akin to the Democratic and Republican positions in the debt-ceiling drama. (Esquire)
Will Fido gnaw on you if he's hungry? Turns out that food -- not man -- is a dog's best friend. (Slate)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommends 12 changes to prevent a Fukushima-like disaster in the United States. (Associated Press via Slalon)
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, says that California taxes on the rich shouldn't be raised. (Orange County Register)
Sorry, boys and girls, you'll have to wait. The Citizens Redistricting Commission holds off on publishing California's new political maps. (California Watch)
The state Board of Education has approved the rules for allowing families to yank children out of low-performing schools and enroll them elsewhere. (Los Angeles Times)
Blogging from A to Z: MetaFilter's founder says that Twitter and Facebook are killing blogs. (Willamette Week)
Slideshow: Highlights from the 15th annual Redneck Games. (SI.com)
Laugh of the Day: "Michele Bachmann says that if she's elected, she'll ban pornography. We have multiple wars, skyrocketing debts, a recession, unemployment . . . Yeah, let's ban pornography." -- David Letterman
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Republicans wants an 85-to-15 ratio of spending cuts and tax loophole eliminations. President Obama is offering a plan that has an 83-to-17 ratio. So, why can't a deal get done? Join the debate with the smart bloggers and readers at The Economist.
A liberal view of the American debt ceiling/tax debate suggests that Republicans simply want to protect the wealthiest 1% of Americans. (Vanity Fair)
Meanwhile, it appears that Eric Cantor -- not House Speaker John Boehner -- is the real mover and shaker in the Republican Party. (Politico)
The anger of Lorena Bobbitt is passed on: a California woman allegedly drugs her husband and then severs his pride and joy. (Slate)
Juror No. 8 speaks: The accused's passion for partying didn't factor into the not guilty murder verdict in the Casey Anthony trial. (ABC News)
The dish on the McCourts: how they met, how they made their money and how they ruined the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Vanity Fair)
Amazon wants California voters to decide online sales tax issue. (Sacramento Bee)
How fast can man run? The answer might surprise you. (Grantland)
Laugh of the Day: "The U.S. is now in serious danger of defaulting on our foreign loans, which explains why today, China showed up and broke the Statue of Liberty's kneecaps." -- Jimmy Fallon
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
President Obama challenges Congress to step up and do the right thing on reducing the deficit. (Politico)
Not so fast. Proponents of legalizing marijuana say that the drug doesn't impair driving. But marijuana-related traffic accidents are increasing, police say. (Los Angeles Times)
A view from across the pond: The Economist writes about Minnesota's government shutdown here.
The hacking scandal spreads to other Rupert Murdoch newspapers. (The Guardian)
GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann has pulled the slavery reference from her pledge to Iowa voters. (Salon)
LA"s coming "Carmageddon" on the 405: Wouldn't the city be better off investing in commuter rail? (Freakonomics)
Max Boot goes on the attack against Republicans who suddenly are dovish on America's military interventions. (The Weekly Standard)
A summer fairy tale: Three views on the United States' amazing women's World Cup soccer victory over Brazil. (Grantland)
Laugh of the Day: "Lady Gaga complained that the U.S. is allowing Iran and North Korea to get nukes and we have to stop them. Before the White House makes any decision, they're waiting to hear from Britney Spears." -- Jay Leno
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
The latest jobs report: it's actually worse than you think. (Freakonomics)
The guys at CalBuzz didn't much like an analysis by The Bee's Michael Doyle on Sen. Dianne Feinstein's re-election prospects. Their criticism and Doyle's response is here.
Will the "Fast and Furious" guns to Mexico fiasco kill the embattled Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives? There are signs that it could happen, especially with the National Rifle Association influencing many federal lawmakers. (Politico)
Conservatives fear that their side will "sell out" to President Obama in the national debt/entitlements negotiations. (The Weekly Standard)
Meanwhile, Obama's proposal to cut Social Security benefits and raise tax revenues arouses opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Nobody but nobody can spend money like Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of the Sultan of Brunei. He has blown through billions, including amassing a collection of 2,000 cars. (Vanity Fair)
How much are your tweets worth? Here's a formula to figure it out. (Esquire)
The kids are all right with it: a look back at LeBron James and "The Decision" one year later. (ESPN)
Laugh of the Day: "Vice President Joe Biden has a new Twitter account. He said he will not rest until he can embarrass the president on every media platform ever invented." -- Jay Leno
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
Hope you had a safe and happy Fourth of July. Here's your morning platter of news and muse. Post comments below.
Is Groupon the next success story ala Facebook or the next overhyped dud ala Pets.com? (Vanity Fair)
One of America's best-known "super" pastors, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is ousted from the Crystal Cathedral by the church's board of directors. (Los Angeles Times)
Layoffs at a BMW parts distribution center epitomize the squeeze on America's middle class. (Los Angeles Times)
The state Senate takes up a proposal to limit vehicle seizures for unlicensed drivers caught in DUI checkpoints. (California Watch)
Point/Counterpoint: Two Visalians debate the effectiveness of Congressman Devin Nunes. (Visalia Times-Delta)
Dan Walters says that California no longer can afford the death penalty because it punishes taxpayers, not killers. (Sacramento Bee)
Bill Simmons wants to know: why does Hollywood keep force-feeding no-stars such as Ryan Reynolds on the ticket-buying public? (Grantland)
Australia's Cadel Evans beats defending champion Alberto Contador in the fourth stage of the Tour de France. The leader's yellow jersey remains with Thor Hushovd. (Cycling News)
Laugh of the Day: "Rev. Pat Robertson says that if more states legalize gay marriage, God will destroy America. He did say that afterwards, gays will come in and do a beautiful renovation." -- Conan O'Brien
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632. Listen to his talk show daily at noon on KYNO (AM 940). Follow him on Twitter at @Fresnomac.
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