Washington Budget Deal to Impact State Revenues

During the recent debt ceiling negotiations, the impact of federal government funding to states wasn't really discussed very much. Yet Washington provides states with considerable money for key social net programs. The federal budget haircut will compel states to swallow some bitter fiscal medicine.

An article in today's Miami Herald noted that federal funds "accounted for 34.7 percent of state budgets." In Florida, the story noted, Uncle Sam provides the Sunshine State government with its single largest source of money. This situation puts its Republican governor, Rick Scott (photo), on the spot. Florida has many issues connected to the funding agita, such as the state's AAA bond rating and a large elderly population that's vitally interested in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

These issues are mirrored in nearly every other state in the Union. There are no easy answers, and absolutely no one knows where the money will come from. The notion that the country, or individual states, can economically grow their way out of this fiscal disaster seems more of a hope than a plan.

Patrick McGilligan's New Bio of Director Nicholas Ray

Pat McGilligan, the rare film historian who prefers living in America's interior to either coast, has just published a biography of director Nicholas Ray. He discusses his new book -- Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director -- in an interview in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

McGilligan, with whom I was acquainted during our undergraduate years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, does his work the old-fashioned way. He really interviews subjects, does plenty of documentary due diligence, and takes a professional approach to his writing. Some of his books, such as his George Cukor biography, are significant contributions to film histories written in English. My personal favorite is Backstory, a five-volume series McGilligan edited and, in some cases, wrote. The books feature intelligently conducted interviews with screenwriters who discuss their experiences in the movie business over many decades. The interviews' length, depth, and respectful treatment of its subjects are in marked contrast to the harried Q&A film journalism that clutters many contemporary magazines and newspapers. They also offer a useful window into how movie projects became finished films. In that way, the interviews provide a dose of reality about a business resolutely involved with illusion.

Nicholas Ray's body of work, and his controversial personal life, make the stuff of a great tale. My guess is that Pat McGilligan relates the director's story well, and the book would be a stimulating, enjoyable book to read. You should check it out.

Charles L. Gittens, First African-American Secret Service Agent -- RIP

Charles L. Gittens (photo), who broke the Secret Service's color barrier in 1956, passed away recently in North Carolina. The Herald-Sun of Durham carried his obit; the link requires a further name search or patient scrolling to find the special agent's notice. After a full, upwardly mobile career with the Secret Service, Gittens retired and subsequently joined the Department of Justice. He became a Deputy Director of the Office of Special Investigations, where he was in charge of hunting down Nazis living in the United States.

Gittens lived long enough to have a scholarship named in his honor. The Charles L. Gittens Scholarship Award is offered to graduating high school seniors interested in a criminal justice or law enforcement careers. NOBLE -- the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives -- has more information about the scholarship.

Rep. Darrell Issa Issues Subpoena to NLRB in Boeing-Union Case

On a day when the financial markets dominate headlines, some interesting news slips through the cracks. Today's example involves Republican congressman Darrell Issa, the National Labor Relations Board, Boeing, and the state of South Carolina.

Issa (photo), whose San Diego district is over two thousand miles from Boeing's Chicago headquarters, has taken a strong interest in the aircraft manufacturer's efforts to staff a new facility in South Carolina. The Palmetto State is among 22 right-to-work states, which one can fairly identify as anti-union. Boeing has experienced struggles with unions over the years, and that history may have influenced the development of the North Charleston, South Carolina facility. The National Labor Relations Board has filed suit against Boeing in 2009, citing violation of federal labor laws.

This incident has become something of a GOP cause celebre. Issa, among the wealthiest members of the House of Representatives, believes in the power of congressional subpoenas and investigations. As with Democratic (and fellow Californian) congressman Henry Waxman, the congressional hearing becomes a mix of show trial, veiled or explicit threats, payback theatre, and stroking favored constituencies. In Issa's situation, he is acting on the proposition that federal bureaucrats should not obstruct corporate, propertied interests in their business pursuits. To that end, Issa has requested the NLRB to produce considerable documentation about the Boeing case, which has the potential to undermine the federal agency's legal strategy.

Two perspectives on this story are linked here. One is from the right-wing Washington Times; the other is an AP file run in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Issa's campaign is consistent with the Republican Party's goal of placing increasing power in the hands of the powerful, while weakening the federal government, the weak's last line of defense. The effort is consistent with the GOP philosophy that created the Wisconsin political uproar over public employees' collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin's state senate recall elections, which take place tomorrow, are a visceral public reaction to the provocative right-wing political agenda. Meanwhile, as far as the Republicans are concerned, there should be no labor rights at all. For Issa and his GOP colleagues across the country, those were the good old days, and they want them back.

Postscript on August 9th: A federal judge on Monday, August 8th, ruled that South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and state labor department head Catherine Templeton were within their rights to express "political animosity towards unions." The plaintiffs had asserted that government officials should be neutral in labor disputes, such as Boeing and the machinists union are currently experiencing in South Carolina.

Baltimore Budget Cuts May Compel Edgar Allen Poe House Closure

Baltimore officials recently indicated the budget-strapped city may have to suspend funding of the city's Edgar Allen Poe house (photo). The decision's impact would effectively prevent the public from entering the structure, exploring its slim collection of Poe artifacts, and understanding its role in Poe's life and work. The house itself, included in the National Regsiter of Historic Places and owned by the Baltimore City Housing Authority, would remain intact.

Charm City's Poe house has been something of a tough sell, as it's removed from Baltimore's tourist and literary itinerary. The residence, a period structure in the midst of a grim housing project, diminishes the house's potential allure. Let's face it: most Poe appreciators are more likely to prefer to experience scariness via the printed word rather than at a parking space or bus stop near the author's museum.

Baltimore City's annual support to the Poe museum, according to a New York Times story, equals $85,000. Surely, some collection of funders can be allied to produce a sum less than the annual bonus of the average T. Rowe Price or Legg Mason analyst. (Both financial services firms are based in Baltimore.) Meanwhile, "Gaia," the alias of a Baltimore-based street artist, has donated sale proceeds from 100 limited-edition prints of "'The Raven' (Forevermore), 2011" towards Poe House funding.

More funding is needed, and the push should go far beyond an individual artist's efforts. I do have two suggestions to accomplish this goal. An organization connected to the Poe house or Poe's legacy could set up an online donation page. Contributors could authorize a $9.95 donation to maintaining the Poe house's annual operating costs. That's the typical cost of an e-book. Alternatively, an e-book version of Poe's works, all of which are in the public domain, could be offered by a Poe-related venture for $10.99, with $9.99 going to the Poe house and $1.00 to the e-book provider. In that way, readers honor Poe's legacy and keep his influential works alive for these digital times.

New "Imported From Detroit" Video Features Gospel Group, Cornelius K9 Brundage, Jumping All Stars

"Where there is crisis, there is opportunity." One location where that observation hits home is Detroit. The city and its auto industry, twin symbols of imperial American decline, are beginning to generate renewed, positive activity in manufacturing, technology, and the arts. While it's a long road back to glory for the Motor City, these signs of life are heartening and even exciting.

One senses that energy and commitment in the new "Imported From Detroit" video and song. Commissioned by Chrysler, the video showcases the Detroit area's "Selected of God" choir singing a soulful rendition of Eminem's "Lose Yourself." The video also includes cameos by boxer Cornelius K9 Bundrage, the Jumping All Stars jump-rope ensemble, and the Cass Tech High School marching band. "Imported From Detroit" is available via iTunes. In the meantime, one can see the video now; it's included in the very interesting Detroit Free Press story on the video's inception, purpose, and execution.

According to the Free Press article, proceeds from the video go to selected Detroit nonprofits. According to the story, and consistent with the video, Chrysler product references are very discrete. The firm considers "Imported From Detroit" as a "marketing" piece, rather than a "product" sales item.

The video is another sign that Detroit, with its proud musical and automotive legacy, is beginning to show signs of a rebound. One reason is financial. It's simply less expensive to do any sort of enterprising activity there than, say, in New York, DC, the Bay Area, or southern California. There's also far less hubris in Detroit, a willingness to risk and state a case without obsessing over its impact on self-absorbed, inside-the-Beltway parties or exquisitely calibrated media mafias. Detroit just doesn't have the luxury of posing; it must succeed to survive. As the "Lose Yourself's" lyrics note, "You only get one shot."

Given this weekend's humbling events for the United States, the nation should consider "Lose Yourself's" point. Ironically, it is the once-demoralized Motor City that is showing leadership towards a better day.

The image, from the "Imported From Detroit" video, shows the Selected of God choir in front of the Detroit skyline.

Attorney with Links to George H.W. Bush Files Complaint to Remove Anti-Fox News Media Matters' Tax-Exempt Status

Media Matters for America, a liberal non-profit organization which has virulently criticized Fox News and the Murdoch media empire, has become a target of right-wing legal action. In a recent complaint filed with the IRS, C. Boyden Gray, former President George H.W. Bush's White House counsel, requested the agency revoke Media Matters' tax-exempt status. His reasoning, according to an article by award-winning Fox Business News reporter Elizabeth MacDonald, was that Media Matters "'has executed a partisan strategy,' in violation of U.S. tax law as it exists 'no longer to educate the public but, rather, to declare 'war on FOX (sic),' Gray says, quoting from an interview its founder David Brock (photo), gave to the website Politico."

The story also reveals evidence Gray cited as proof of Media Matters' intent. His IRS complaint, MacDonald's piece noted, asserted that the nonprofit attempted "to disrupt News Corp.'s purchase of BSkyB, a British satellite broadcaster, and its efforts "to turn regulators in the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere against the network."

Gray's concern to mighty Media Matters kicking sand in the Murdoch empire's collective face didn't stop with BSkyB. "Gray writes that aside from Media Matters' 'unsupportable attempt to tie FOX News to the Republican Party, the fact that Media Matters equates FOX News' with the GOP shows the nonprofit's 'own partisan intent.'"

Gray's story, part of a much longer three-part article by MacDonald, appeared on Fox News' website this morning.

The former White House counsel's "evidence" certainly made the rationale for attack clear enough. Big, bad Media Matters tried to block the BSkyB deal. The Murdoch clan is clearly upset their carefully staged plan to seize total control of the UK's single most valuable media asset was thwarted. Their revenge and counterattack, which is probably in its earliest stages, has taken this primitive form. Meanwhile, the notion of associating Fox and the Murdoch media behemoth with the GOP and conservative causes is just plain common sense. When I initially read the piece, I thought Gray was pursuing this line of reasoning to get a bar room laugh. Alas, George Herbert Walker Bush's former legal eagle was quite serious about it.

One irritant Gray wants to rub out is Brock's venture. The Bush-41 coterie has deeply disliked Brock, a Republican and Bush-era political apostate who has since become a vocal critic of right-wing tactics and objectives. Brock was mixed up with the Anita Hill hearings and performed some dirty work on behalf of Bush and then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in that episode.

Gray has vehemently denied any link to Fox, Murdoch, or anything or anyone but himself. He just had time on his hands, and a bone to pick with Media Matters. Maybe Gray just doesn't see the nonprofit as "fair and balanced."

Perhaps there's another reason. Since the UK phone jacking scandal exploded, it has seemed inevitable that the Murdoch empire would strike back against its accusers. August gave News Corp. and the Murdoch family time to catch its collective breath, formulate a counterattacking strategy, call in favors, and use its "leverage." (Some suspect that News Corp.'s attempts at "persuasion" are really nothing more than thinly disguised blackmail threats.) The dreadful debt debacle and shameful downgrade of the United States' credit rating provide further cover for News Corp. The firm, and the Murdoch family, are not the current headline, at least in the United States. The UK, where everyday people felt violated by News Corp.'s reporters' routine phone tapping, is another matter. The disposition of Gray's legal complaint remains to be seen. However, one can assume the Murdochs and News Corp. will soon be on the march, defending Fox News against "scurrilous" attacks from liberal think tanks virtually no one knows or pays attention to.

American Bio-Chem Weapons Expert Jonathan B. Tucker -- RIP

Slipping through today's stock market sound and fury was a Washington Post article noting the passing of WMD and nonproliferation expert Jonathan B. Tucker. (The initial is necessary to distinguish the scientist from an actor with the same first and last name.) His work includes concern over landmarks of American foreign policy. He was a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq in the time between the two American-led wars with that country. His testimony as a respected, trusted scientist influenced Washington's thinking and planning about the second US-Iraq conflict. It's easy and convenient to forget that Saddam Hussein once had a formidable chemical and biological weapons arsenal. Tucker did not forget. In 1997, the Post story notes that Tucker testified before a House subcommittee that Iraq "deployed chemical weapons against coalition forces". That testimony contradicted Defense Department and CIA findings.

For a sense of Dr. Tucker's career, and the respect with which he was held, take a few moments to explore the remembrance posted by the James Martin Center of Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Tucker's photo is from the CNS website. It also offers links to professional blogs and useful summaries of different aspects of Tucker's work. However, for the layperson, Tucker and his colleagues remain distant and enigmatic. How could they be otherwise? Most scientists who work this truly dark, frightening corner of human endeavor work in obscurity. They reside in a compact, yet global intellectual community that rarely, and deliberately, receives any limelight. The scientists typically know one another's reputations and follow their peers' available published research. These biologists, bacteriologists, and other scientific specialists survive under profound government scrutiny, regardless of their nationality or other allegiances. One wonders why this select group does what it does. Don DeLillo, in his novel Underworld, explored this question via the character of a scientist who worked on the design of nuclear weapons. Even with a novelist of DeLillo's skill, the whole thing remains chilling. What drives people to explore these doomsday tools? That's only explicable by entering the labyrinth that is of the nature of human curiosity. It is a sobering thought that no one has ever returned from that passage with a clear, articulate understanding of their enigmatic journey.

Real-Life "Up in the Air" Frequent Flyers Go on the Record

A recent San Jose Mercury News story focused on the u

ber-elite of frequent flyer travelers. These are characteristically businesspeople that fly hundreds of thousands of miles annually. Similar to George Clooney's character in the movie Up in the Air, these endless travelers scheme and plan to collect as many frequent flyer miles as possible. Yes, they do keep score, and high achievement, as measured by accumulated mileage, greatly matters to them. The story isn't too long, and it's fun to read as a window into this select group.

The article reminded me that Up in the Air's dialogue was pretty good. Here's an example, taken from imdb.com:

Natalie Keener: Hungry much?
Ryan Bingham: Our business expense allots forty dollars each for dinner. I plan on grabbing as many miles as I can.
Natalie Keener: Okay, you got to fill me in on the miles thing. What is that about? You're talking about, like, frequent flyer miles?
Ryan Bingham: You really want to know?
Natalie Keener: I'm dying to know.
Ryan Bingham: I don't spend a nickel, if I can help it, unless it somehow profits my mileage account.
Natalie Keener: So, what are you saving up for? Hawaii? South of France?
Ryan Bingham: It's not like that. The miles are the goal.
Natalie Keener: That's it? You're saving just to save?
Ryan Bingham: Let's just say that I have a number in mind and I haven't hit it yet.
Natalie Keener: That's a little abstract. What's the target?
Ryan Bingham: I'd rather not...
Natalie Keener: Is it a secret target?
Ryan Bingham: It's ten million miles.
Natalie Keener: Okay. Isn't ten million just a number?
Ryan Bingham: Pi's just a number.
Natalie Keener: Well, we all need a hobby. No, I- I- I don't mean to belittle your collection. I get it. It sounds cool.
Ryan Bingham: I'd be the seventh person to do it. More people have walked on the moon.
Natalie Keener: Do they throw you a parade?
Ryan Bingham: You get lifetime executive status. You get to meet the chief pilot, Maynard Finch.
Natalie Keener: Wow.
Ryan Bingham: And they put your name on the side of a plane.
Natalie Keener: Men get such hardons from putting their names on things. You guys don't grow up. It's like you need to pee on everything.

I can't imagine flying nearly a half-million miles, never mind ten million. Would you really want to spend that much time in commercial aircraft and airports?