Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Nation Ready To Be Lied To About Economy Again (The Onion)
‘From now on, just tell me the bullshit I want to hear,’ one Ohio resident said. ‘Tell me my savings are safe, everybody has a job, and we’re No. 1 again.’
Do I have to tell you it’s a satire? I get in trouble when I don’t. But then, I get in trouble a lot, anyway.

Jamiol’s World

Vote Highlights Tension For Senators Between Constituents, Funders (by Michael Beckel at Capital Eye, OpenSecrets.org)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the all-time top spender on lobbying, [vowed] that senators who voted for Durbin’s legislation will pay a financial price… A dozen [Democrats], including newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), appear to have bent to the pressure, according to the Huffington Post, which surmised, using CRP data, that these senators did not want to rock the boat for some of their biggest campaign contributors. Indeed, the finance, insurance & real estate sector has been the No. 1 career contributor to half of these lawmakers, and near the top of the list for almost all of the rest.
Click through for a chart. Not a whole lotta tension there, though, constituents almost ALWAYS lose.

Congress Does Exactly What They Want To Do (by Natasha Chart at Open Left)
[E]ach new ‘moderate’-led defeat under the glorious Democratic trifecta leaves me freshly wondering how much it’s possible to reform such lousy human beings through public pressure… They are independent moral agents and when they keep doing bad things that they bleeping well know screw over their constituents, they’re responsible for those actions. Not me and you for failing to call their office or send them that email. Not the soulless mortgage banking lobbyist they had lunch with. Not consumer advocates for somehow failing to make a dent the last dozen times they briefed congresscritters and their staff on the Very Dire Straits of ordinary Americans. It isn’t that they have no principles. It’s that they have bad ones, and they’re doing exactly what they want to do.

They Just Don’t Care (by Susie at Suburban Guerilla)
What Natasha said. [See above.] You know, I really didn’t think I was going to spend the next four years trying to mobilize people against a Democratic-controlled Congress.

In Their Own Words: Why Dem Senators Screwed Homeowners (by Ryan Grim at the Huffington Post)
Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.): “A number of things. I thought the 31 percent is an arbitrary number. I think there are a whole lot of folks, are likely folks, out there who have little debt outside their home who could — I just thought it was an arbitrary number and I didn’t like the way it was constructed.”…
Ben Nelson (D-Neb.): “I’ve not supported the cramdown for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I hate to see that authority to determine what the future contract is ceded to the court.”
Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who ultimately voted yes: “My concern about this is that in our appropriate zeal to help the four or five percent of Americans who might be faced with bankruptcy, we don’t unduly raise the costs of homeownership on the 95 percent who never will.”
Tom Carper (D-Del.): “One of the reasons why usually mortgage rates are cheaper for primary homes is that the markets have the certainty that the judge won’t be invited to come in and change the terms of the mortgage.”…
Jon Tester (D-Mont.): “I just think a deal’s a deal. I have a lot of empathy for folks who tend to get led astray, but I just think it’s going to create some problems — pretty obvious, actually. I don’t have to list them. I’m generally opposed. I don’t think it works well.”
Click through for more.

Bank objections delay stress tests (Financial Times, U.K.)
US regulators will delay the release of stress test results for the country’s 19 biggest banks until next Thursday, after some lenders, including Citigroup and Bank of America, objected to government demands that they needed to raise billions in fresh capital.

Tests of Banks May Bring Hope More Than Fear (New York Times)
The results of the bank stress tests to be released by the Obama administration this week are expected to include more detailed information about individual banks — assessing specific parts of their loan portfolios — than many analysts have been expecting. Using these results, the administration seems prepared to argue that, while a few banks may need additional money, the broad financial system is healthier than many investors fear… The administration is expected to make the case that the needs of the troubled banks can be met with the bailout funds that Congress has already approved. That would be a departure from what administration officials were saying as recently as March and evidently reflects the recent improvement in banks’ conditions.

Obama announces plan to close tax loopholes (AP)
President Barack Obama vowed Monday to “detect and pursue” American tax evaders and go after their offshore tax shelters. In announcing a series of steps aimed at overhauling the U.S. tax code, Obama complained that existing law makes it possible to “pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York.” The president said he wants to prevent U.S. companies from deferring tax payments by keeping profits in foreign countries rather than recording them at home and called for more transparency in bank accounts that Americans hold in notorious tax havens like the Cayman Islands. “If financial institutions won’t cooperate with us, we will assume that they are sheltering money in tax havens and act accordingly,” Obama said.
Great. Excellent. Now, let’s see a crackdown on the INsourcing problem, letting skilled foreigners in the country who will work for less than American workers.

Status QuObama: A Hundred Days of Fake-Progressive BS and Liberal-Left Surrender (by Paul Street at the Black Agenda Report)
Black president proceeds unmolested by the Left as he moves mountains of money in a crusade to save the investment banking class. Anti-war forces dissolve into nothingness as Barack Obama extends the U.S. occupation of Iraq indefinitely. A new theater of war called Af-Pak coagulates in South Asia, yet benumbed “progressives” praise their president as the consummate man of peace. “By demanding nothing of Obama and the Democrats except that they not technically be Republicans, our so-called “progressive” organizations effectively grant advance approval to whatever corporate and imperial policies the new president and the Democrats execute.”

Riots across Europe fuelled by economic crisis (The Telegraph, U.K.)
Tension over the global economic slump have fuelled May Day protests and riots across Europe with trouble breaking out in Germany, Greece, Austria, Turkey and France.
Why is there no rioting here?

U.S. Workers’ Wages Stagnate As Firms Rush to Slash Costs (Washington Post)
Across the country, workers’ earnings are stagnating or, in some cases, declining. For many Americans, the setbacks are all the more troubling because they have lost so much wealth in recent months, with the value of their homes and retirement packages plummeting… According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, more than a third of Americans say they or someone in their household has had their hours or pay cut in the past few months. That’s a nine-point increase since a similar poll was conducted in February.

Once middle class, they’re now the new homeless (McClatchy)
Kenneth and Stacy Dowdy can’t afford a place to live in Charlotte. Neither can Charles DuPree. But if you passed them on the street, you might not recognize them for what they are: Homeless.

Falling Wage Syndrome (by Paul Krugman)
We’re suffering from the paradox of thrift: saving is a virtue, but when everyone tries to sharply increase saving at the same time, the effect is a depressed economy. We’re suffering from the paradox of deleveraging: reducing debt and cleaning up balance sheets is good, but when everyone tries to sell off assets and pay down debt at the same time, the result is a financial crisis. And soon we may be facing the paradox of wages: workers at any one company can help save their jobs by accepting lower wages, but when employers across the economy cut wages at the same time, the result is higher unemployment…

[W]e basically need more: more stimulus, more decisive action on the banks, more job creation. Credit where credit is due: President Obama and his economic advisers seem to have steered the economy away from the abyss. But the risk that America will turn into Japan — that we’ll face years of deflation and stagnation — seems, if anything, to be rising.

HomeOwner’s Equity: Less than 15% (by Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture)
[I]f we want to understand the potential further mischief real estate land can cause, it is the mortgaged properties we should be watching. Back out the third of home owners that have no mortgage — the 33% of homes with 100% equity — and the Fed’s measure of 43% net equity drops precipitously. Thus, Pomboy’s assertion that it would be more informative to say that those homes with a mortgage have homeonwers equity of less than 15%.

As Foreclosures Surge … (Editorial, New York Times, thanks to Susie at Suburban Guerilla)
The Obama administration sat by last week as 12 Senate Democrats joined 39 Senate Republicans to block a vote on an amendment that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify troubled mortgages. Senator Obama campaigned on the provision. And President Obama made its passage part of his antiforeclosure plan. It would have been a very useful prod to get lenders to rework bad loans rather than leaving the modification to a judge. But when the time came to stand up to the banking lobbies and cajole yes votes from reluctant senators — the White House didn’t. When the measure failed, there wasn’t even a statement of regret.

Chrysler Bankruptcy Plan Is Announced (New York Times)
President Obama forced Chrysler into federal bankruptcy protection on Thursday so it could pursue a lifesaving alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat, in yet another extraordinary intervention into private industry by the federal government. Flanked by his automobile task force of cabinet secretaries and business advisers in the White House’s grand entranceway, Mr. Obama announced a plan that would allow the United Automobile Workers, through their retirement plan, to take control of Chrysler, with Fiat and the United States as junior partners. The government would lend about $8 billion more to the company, on top of the $4 billion it had already provided.

The arrangement came after an intensive round of White House-sponsored negotiations among the Treasury Department, the union and Chrysler’s executives and creditors. After working through the night, a small group of debtholders balked at Mr. Obama’s final terms, leading the president to decide that bankruptcy could not be averted.

Fiat eyes new company with GM Europe, Chrysler (AP)
Fiat Group SpA confirmed Sunday it was in talks to acquire General Motor’s European operations with the aim of possibly creating a new company to also include its newly acquired Chrysler automaker. Combined, the new automaker would have euro80 billion ($105 billion) in annual revenues, Fiat said in a statement. Fiat said it was evaluating the possible spinoff of its auto business to form the core of the new company. Fiat Group Automobiles includes the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari brands.

Justice Souter to be replaced by October, Leahy vows (McClatchy)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said he plans to “certainly have somebody in place” to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter by the time the court begins its next session in October.

Supreme Court Kingmaker (by Richard Wolffe, writing at the Daily Beast)
Soon after his election victory in November, Obama began preparing for his first Supreme Court selection with a meticulous planning exercise. As if he and his team didn’t have enough work with the monumental tasks of assembling a Cabinet, fighting two wars, and rescuing the economy, the transition period included detailed discussions about his Supreme Court shortlist. He managed a working group looking at judicial appointments, including those for the highest court in the land.

This was no cursory effort at checking boxes. He started by spelling out the kind of criteria he would apply to nominees, according to administration officials. Intellect and constitutional values may be vital. But Obama made clear that he really wants judges who view the law less as an abstract legal or ideological debate, and more as a social tool that impacts real people far outside the courtroom. Obama’s top-down approach gives context to who is running the Supreme Court selection. The shortlist work has been led by Greg Craig, White House counsel, not VicePresident Joe Biden, as some early reports suggested. With Craig running the Supreme Court selection process, Obama is leading the work out of the Oval Office.

Fox News’ Gallagher: “[Y]ou can’t really appoint somebody or nominate somebody who’s too liberal, right, because then you are talking about this ideological shift” (video at County Fair, Media Matters for America)
What we desperately need is an ideological shift.

Limbaugh: Obama is looking for “a failure” for the Supreme Court, “somebody who’s been on the wrong side of the law” (video at County Fair, Media Matters for America)
From a man who has, himself, been on the wrong side of the law.

Buchanan wants Obama to pick a justice “who has real stature, impresses people” but thinks instead he’ll pick “a minority, a woman and/or a Hispanic” (video at County Fair, Media Matters for America)

How about a Hispanic woman, Pat?
Inside Obama’s Court Deliberations: Sotomayor Most Mentioned (by Sam Stein at the Huffington Post)
According to a Democratic strategist with knowledge of the process, many possibilities have been bandied about in these “process groups.” But the one most often mentioned has been Sonia Sotomayor, the odds-on favorite who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
I hear she is a corporatist, though the right wingers will call whoever is the nominee a commie pinko.

They’re already practicing:
Hannity suggests SCOTUS nominee will be “somebody extremely radical” since Obama’s policies have been “radically left” and “socialist” (video at County Fair, Media Matters for America)

GOP Begins Laying Out Campaign Against Obama’s Court Pick (by Sam Stein at the Huffington Post)
The framework of the forthcoming battle over Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick began to materialize on Sunday, as a range of Republican officials sent out trial-balloon criticisms of a pick that is likely weeks away from being announced. Talk of a filibuster was not directly addressed or, for that matter, ruled out. Republicans on the talk show circuit repeatedly noted that Obama himself had voted against cloture on the nomination of Samuel Alito in late January 2006. “Well, it’s a matter of great concern,” said Hatch on ABC’s This Week. “If he’s saying that he wants to pick people who will take sides, he has also said a judge has to be a person of empathy? What does that mean? Usually that’s a code word for an activist judge…”

On the whole, every GOPer who took to the cameras on Sunday granted the president the right to choose someone who was of a liberal judicial mindset. “Elections have consequences,” acknowledged former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. But they pledged to put up a fight if the person was not of the requisite intellectual and legal qualifications. “The key thing,” added Romney, “and the place we draw the line is this: is a individual who will follow the constitution or the law or is this an individual who believes in making the law? And if it’s the latter, I think we should stand up and scream loud and hard.”

Rove Hypocritically Argues Right Should Oppose Potential Obama Court Pick Just Because She’s Liberal (Think Progress)
[Saturday] on Fox News, former Bush political adviser Karl Rove criticized Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a potential nominee for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy. “She could be even more liberal than Souter was,” Rove said… Needless to say, Rove is being hypocritical. When he was shepherding Bush’s Supreme Court nominees through the process, he explicitly made the argument the President was owed deference to choose a qualified nominee and opposition party had a “responsibility to back” that pick.
Click through to watch the video.

When Women Rule, It Makes a Difference (by Christina L. Boyd, PhD candidate in political science at Washington University in St. Louis and Lee Epstein, professor of law at Northwestern University)
[A] diverse Supreme Court isn’t just about a bench that looks like America. This is about jurisprudence, too. In research that we conducted with our colleague Andrew D. Martin, we studied the votes of federal court of appeals judges in many areas of the law, from environmental cases to capital punishment and sex discrimination.

For the most part, we found no difference in the voting patterns of male and female judges, except when it comes to sex discrimination cases. There, we found that female judges are approximately 10 percent more likely to rule in favor of the party bringing the discrimination claim. We also found that the presence of a female judge causes male judges to vote differently. When male and female judges serve together to decide a sex discrimination case, the male judges are nearly 15 percent more likely to rule in favor of the party alleging discrimination than when they sit with male judges only. This holds true even after we account for judges’ ideological leanings.

April deadliest month for US in Iraq in 7 months (AP)
The U.S. death toll for April rose to 18, the military said Friday, making it the deadliest in seven months for American forces in Iraq. The sharp increase from the previous month came as a series of bombings also pushed Iraqi deaths to their highest level this year.

Iraq bloodshed rises as US allies defect (The Times, U.K.)
Obama’s withdrawal pledge is at risk as militias paid by the US begin to rejoin the insurgency

Senators Accuse Pentagon of Delay in Recovering Millions (New York Times)
The Pentagon has done little to collect at least $100 million in overcharges paid in deals arranged by corrupt former officials of Kellogg Brown & Root, the defense contractor, even though the officials admitted much of the wrongdoing years ago, two senators have complained in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. The letter also said that the Army had almost completely failed to move away from the monopolistic nature of the logistics contract that has paid the contractor, now called KBR, $31.3 billion for logistics operations in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.
And how many billions can the Pentagon still not account for at all?

‘Abu Ghraib US prison guards were scapegoats for Bush’ lawyers claim (The Times, U.K.)
Prison guards jailed for abusing inmates at the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq are planning to appeal against their convictions on the ground that recently released CIA torture memos prove that they were scapegoats for the Bush Administration.

U.S. May Revive Guantánamo Military Courts (New York Times)
The Obama administration is moving toward reviving the military commission system for prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, which was a target of critics during the Bush administration, including Mr. Obama himself… Officials who work on the Guantánamo issue say administration lawyers have become concerned that they would face significant obstacles to trying some terrorism suspects in federal courts. Judges might make it difficult to prosecute detainees who were subjected to brutal treatment or for prosecutors to use hearsay evidence gathered by intelligence agencies… Several officials insisted on anonymity because the administration has directed that no one publicly discuss the deliberations.
If they can’t be convicted in our regular courts, they shouldn’t be convicted at all. And what’s with this anonymity nonsense?

Kinder, Gentler Military Tribunals? You Betcha. . . . (Dissenting Justice)
Perhaps the Obama administration believes that it can clean up the military courts. But if he ultimately decides to opt for military tribunals, this would probably reflect a bare desire to win difficult terrorism cases and to avoid political fallout from holding the trials in federal courts. A lot of the evidence against the terrorism suspects includes hearsay and statements extracted through torture or other coercive techniques. Federal rules of evidence would not permit the use of such materials, which would make prosecution difficult [Translation: would require the government to prove its case "beyond a reasonable doubt"].

Furthermore, the prosecution of terrorism suspects in federal courts would generate another round of criticism from conservatives and moderates who oppose the idea. Although federal courts have prosecuted numerous terrorism suspects in the past (with high conviction rates), the issue remains a political lightning rod.

Calif.’s Harman Rails Against Wiretapping That Ensnared Her (Washington Post)
Rep. Jane Harman vowed yesterday to clear her name after the revelation of a wiretapped conversation in which she reportedly agreed to intervene in the federal investigation of two pro-Israel lobbyists in exchange for help in getting a coveted congressional post. The California Democrat noted that she had called on the Justice Department to release all the information it had about secretly monitored conversations that involved her. “I want it all out there. I want it in public. I want everyone to understand, including me, what has happened,” Harman said.
That’s funny, she went along with it when she thought it was just us rubes who were being listened to.

Why does Obama support science in stem cell research, and censor science in health care reform? (by lambert at Corrente)
(And no, censor is not to strong a word.) Merton Bernstein, Professor of Law Emeritus at Washington University, writes: “Science does not permit ideology to foreclose inquiry; it requires facing facts and following where they and logic lead. Hence many cheered when President Barack Obama announced that science is back, that predisposition will no longer be permitted to trump reality. Everyone knew he was talking about stem cell research. Who could have guessed that the Obama administration and key congressional players would exclude single-payer/Medicare-for-all programs from consideration even though that means ignoring the cost savings of hundreds of billions of dollars… Odd that the scientific method does not apply to medical care where science should govern.”

Massive takedown of for-profit “health” “care” (by lambert at Corrente)
The health insurance parasites don’t need to be “nudged” — they need to be beaten down with a very large bat. Clark Newhall: “Don McCanne, the web editor of the Physicians for a National Health Plan, commented on a recent report released by the Congressional Budget Office…[:]What is clear is that each policy decision under this scenario increases the administrative complexities of the financing system, and that the inevitable tradeoffs that must be made can only result in compromises that cause us to fall short on our goals of universality, equity, efficiency, quality, access, and affordability. Once the decision is made that we must build on our current system, there is no possible way to avoid spending more money for reform that would fall so short of a high-performance system.”

Obama proposes single payer for student loans, so why not for health care? (by lambert at Corrente)
WaPo: “At stake is a plan to expand the Pell Grant program, making it an entitlement akin to Medicare [So why not Medicare for all?] and Social Security. Key to the effort is a consolidation of student lending that would give the U.S. Department of Education a near monopoly over the practice [in other words, a single payer. Why not in health care?] — a proposal that has mobilized the private loan industry, which lent $55.3 billion to 6.4 million students in the 2007-2008 school year.” Great policy choice. I’m for it! Why doesn’t all the same logic in its favor apply to health care?

Single Payer Action sez AARP = Ain’t Arguing with the Ruling Powers (by gob at Corrente)
At Single Payer Action’s web site, PNHP’s Dr. David Himmelstein defends single-payer against the health-insurance-peddling AARP’s anti-HR676 propaganda… [T]he summing up: “AARP: In addition H.R. 676 has not gathered bipartisan support which is important to enacting and implementing any reform.” Dr. David Himmelstein: If freeing the slaves failed to attract bipartisan support would the AARP also oppose it?
The AARP SELLS insurance. They don’t want the current cozy arrangement to change drastically.

White House Significantly Weakens Website Language On Repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (Think Progress)
[On the White House website, a] paragraph was slashed to one half of a sentence promoting only “changing” the law “in a sensible way”… The edits seem to be Obama’s latest attempt to walk back his firm campaign promise to outright repeal the anti-gay policy. His 2010 budget included funding to enforce the policy; Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently admitted that a discussion about repeal “has really not progressed very far at this point in the administration,” and that it hoped to “push that one down the road a little bit.”

In this, Obama is out of touch with the mainstream. In fact, a poll released just yesterday showed that 56 percent of Americans, including 50 percent of military families, favor repealing DADT. (A poll last year found that75 percent support gays serving openly in the military.) An even stronger majority — 58 percent — “reject” the argument that changing the law would be “divisive.”

The White House’s Latest Web 2.0 Push (Think Progress)
The White House plunged deeper into the world of social networking Friday, creating profiles on MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook. The new accounts join existing White House ones on Flickr and YouTube. A quick glance at the profiles shows that they mostly just link to or copy entries on the existing WhiteHouse.gov blog, but they welcome comments and are quickly gathering thousands of fans. Earlier this week, the General Services Administration reached agreements with several social-networking sites that resolve legal concerns on issues like advertising, endorsements and liability. That means even more federal-government social-networking profiles are likely on the way.

Clyburn at FCC – Obama’s Harriet Miers? (by publius at Obsidian Wings)
In case you haven’t seen, Obama plans to nominate Mignon Clyburn for FCC Commissioner (she would be third Democratic seat – there are 5 total).  Name sound familiar?  It should – she’s Jim Clyburn’s daughter.  He’s the House Majority Whip from South Carolina. Sound fishy yet?  It should.  In fact, it’s a baffling, frustrating nomination… Verizon and the cable trade association are very happy.  All in all, not good… [T]his is a very risky gamble.  She’s an unknown.  Her father voted against net neutrality and [with Obama] in favor of telecom immunity (suggesting home-state political ties with Bells).  There’s simply too much at stake – and the opportunities are too ripe – to gamble with the third Democratic seat in this way.

Remember James Clyburn (D-SC)? (by lambert at Corrente)
I certainly do. Sean Wilentz: “The Obama campaign had already begun injecting race into the campaign, notably on the morning after the New Hampshire primary, when its national co-chair, Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois, went on national television to accuse Senator Clinton of false emotion and racial intent in her tearful description of her commitment to public service. ‘Those tears also have to be analyzed,’ said Obama’s co-chair. ‘They have to be looked at very, very carefully in light of Katrina, in light of other things that Mrs. Clinton did not cry for.’… [Jim] Clyburn immediately followed up, upping the ante by ripping into Bill Clinton and telling him to ‘chill.’”

White House Grants Jarrett Ethics Waiver to Lead Efforts to Bring 2016 Olympics to Chicago (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
On Friday night, the White House posted on its website a special ethics waiver allowing senior adviser Valerie Jarrett to lead the White House’s efforts to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. Jarrett had previously served as Vice Chair of the non-profit entity “Chicago 2016.”

Desirée Rogers Plays Powerful Role In ‘Brand Obama’ (SLIDESHOW) (Huffington Post)
In a lengthy feature article on Desirée Rogers, the Wall Street Journal Magazine writes that the White House Social Secretary has played a powerful role in creating “Brand Obama,” thanks, in large part, to the conga line-generating parties she throws and her fabulous sense of style.
Because what matters in our nation, and certainly in its capital, is how well you brand yourself, how well you throw a party and, of course, how fabulous is your sense of style.

Specter: I Am Not a Loyal Democrat (by Alegre)
The Hill’s blog has links to some great stuff on the net, and I’ve seen a couple references to something that Andy Stern (SEIU) tweeted… “Congressman Sestak impressive on CNN. Visiting him [Monday].” A lot of folks are talking up the idea of Cong. Sestak launching a primary challenge against Specter and it’s little wonder.  Specter’s come out against the EFCA, an opt-in re Medicare re health care reform, and one of BHO’s key nominees (not to mention his budget).  I wonder if Stern’s interest in Sestak  has anything to do with Specter’s declaration on MTP.
From the embedded video: “I never said I am a loyal Democrat.”

Specter Didn’t Dispute Story That He Vowed To Be “Loyal Democrat” When It First Appeared (by Greg Sargent at The Plum Line)
The journalist who reported that Arlen Specter privately promised Obama that he would be a “loyal Democrat” tells me he’s sticking by the story, despite Specter’s high-profile denial of it yesterday… So Specter wants us to believe that this story is false — even though he and his office stayed quiet about it and didn’t dispute it for a full five days after it appeared. If Specter privately fibbed to Obama in vowing loyalty to him and the Dems, and is now publicly fibbing about having ever said this, it seems like something Dems might want to keep in mind about their newly-minted Senator.

Fleeing Moderates Caused Specter to Switch (Political Wire)
The Philadelphia Inquirer has details from the internal poll that Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) took before deciding to switch parties last week. The survey found Specter trailing Pat Toomey in a Republican primary by 15 points in a three-way matchup with antiabortion candidate Peg Luksik. Said a source familiar with the poll: “The numbers reflected the exodus of moderates from the party in the eastern part of the state.”

Only Ridge Could Challenge Specter (Political Wire)
A new Quinnipiac poll in Pennsylvania shows Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) would crush former Republican rival Pat Toomey, 53% to 33%, in the 2010 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race, but if former Gov. Tom Ridge (R) becomes the Republican candidate, Specter’s lead is cut to three points, 46% to 43%. Said pollster Clay Richards: “A former Republican Senator running as a Democrat against a popular former Republican governor seeking to make a political comeback would be a battle royal in Pennsylvania… Ridge is probably the only political figure in Pennsylvania who could give Sen. Arlen Specter a run for his money.”

Arlen Specter Coverage: A Double-Standard on Party-Switchers? (by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post)
It’s worth hitting the pause button to examine how media organizations chronicled the Arlen Specter party-switch saga. In the straight-news reports, little attention was devoted to this question: Was this a betrayal of the voters who elected Specter?

Reid Caves to Colleagues (Political Wire)
After Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid initially said he would let Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) keep his seniority after switching parties, he now seems to favoring a compromise, The Hill reports. ”Under pressure, Reid now says it will be up to the Democratic caucus to determine whether to recognize Specter’s 28 1/2 years of seniority. Furthermore, Reid now does not think Specter will displace any senior Democrat atop a coveted committee or subcommittee.”

Ben Nelson opposes Obama’s health care plan. (Think Progress)
President Obama has said that he would reform the health care system by establishing a “public insurance program to compete with private insurers” that would help reduce costs and guarantee coverage. But Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), whose biggest campaign donor is the insurance industry, said he’s not interested in a public option. HuffPost reports why: “Nelson’s problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans…”

As the Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky has written, “When considering health reform, policy makers have a choice to make: restructure the health insurance market so that it provides affordable and comprehensive health benefits to all Americans, or protect the monopoly of private insurers and continue redistributing as much income as possible to the private insurance industry.” Unfortunately, it appears Ben Nelson values the profits of insurers over affordable coverage for all.

Senators want to expel junk food from U.S. schools (Reuters)
U.S. schools with vending machines that sell candy and soda to students could soon find the government requiring healthier options to combat childhood obesity under a bill introduced on Thursday by two senators. While school meals must comply with U.S. dietary guidelines, there are no such rules on snacks sold outside of school lunchrooms. Many are high in fat, sugar and calories. Senators Tom Harkin and Lisa Murkowski said their bill would allow the U.S. Agriculture Department to establish “common-sense nutrition standards” for food and beverages sold in school vending machines, stores and similar outlets.
Right wingers thought it was just fine to have the federal government dictating how schools could handle sex education, but you can bet they’ll be up in arms about this bill.

John Edwards faces federal investigation (AP)
His once-prominent political career is buried and the turmoil of his marriage is playing out in public. Now, John Edwards is facing a federal inquiry. The two-time Democratic presidential candidate acknowledged Sunday that investigators are assessing how he spent his campaign funds — a subject that could carry his extramarital affair from the tabloids to the courtroom. Edwards’ political action committee paid more than $100,000 for video production to the firm of the woman with whom Edwards had an affair. The former North Carolina senator said in a carefully worded statement that he is cooperating.

Most New Yorkers Would Prefer Spitzer to Paterson (Political Wire)
New York Gov. David Paterson’s (D) approval continues to sink like a stone with just 19% saying he is doing either an excellent or good job in office, according to a new Marist Poll. That is a seven point drop since March. In fact, voters are so dissatisfied with the governor’s performance that a majority — 51% — say they would prefer his sex scandal-plagued predecessor, Eliot Spitzer (D), be in office than he.

More Than $6 Million Spent in NY-20 (Political Wire)
CQ Politics reports that Scott Murphy (D), who won the NY-20 special congressional election, and Jim Tedisco (R), spent almost $4 million combined on their contest. Though the candidates’ spending was considerable, the total spending on the race by all interested parties was even higher: more than $6 million. These figures are even more impressive considering the race only began in January for a March 31 election.
“Impressive” isn’t the word that comes to MY mind. I think “horrific.” And “frightening.”

The corruption is everywhere:
California lawmakers give no-bid jobs to ex-colleagues, friends (McClatchy)
When Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg launched an effort this year to root out waste in state spending, he tapped a Sacramento attorney who is one of his best friends to lead it.

Rep. Steve King calls Black and Hispanic Congressional Caucuses ‘separatist groups.’ (Think Progress)
[Thursday], Rep. Steve King (R-IA) took to the House floor for an hour-long speech consisting of tired denunciations of Obama shaking hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and more hysterical complaints about how new hate crime legislation protects gays. During his tirade, King decided to direct part of his vitriol at the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, calling both organizations “separatist groups.”
Click through to watch the video.

Asked About Health Care, GOP National Council Attacks Single-Payer, Offers No Ideas (Think Progress)
On Saturday, Republican Party leaders Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney participated in a town hall in a small pizza parlor in Arlington, VA to launch the National Council for a New America. The Council, an effort to rebrand and revive the GOP, was established by Cantor to “duel with the Obama administration in policy areas” where Republicans have a “track record.” After almost 40 minutes of speeches, including several reminders that Republicans should not be “nostalgic about the past,” the speakers opened up to questions from the audience. Ed McKee asked about what Republicans would do to reform health care, citing his own business’ struggle to deal with “health insurance rates,” which recently “went up 34%.”
Click through to watch the video.

Quote of the Day (Political Wire)
“The problem isn’t that Americans are less conservative. It’s that our credibility with them is shot. It’s that we left them along the side of the road on our way to drinking that Potomac River water, getting high on power and influence and forgetting how we got where we are.” — RNC Chairman Michael Steele, quoted by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The End of Base-Style Campaigns (Political Wire)
GOP pollster Neil Newhouse on the rapidly declining numbers of people who identify themselves as Republicans: “For Republicans, this data reinforces the need to put aside the outdated targeting recipe for victory (95% of R’s, 55% of I’s, 10% of D’s) and replace it with one that calls for more cross-party partisan support in order to achieve victory (95% of R’s, 60% of I’s, 15%-20% of D’s). The current partisan affiliation data is the clear death knell for the ‘base-style’ campaigns favored by some in the early part of this decade.”

Palin supports parental consent abortion initiative (McClatchy)
Gov. Sarah Palin is backing a ballot measure to bypass the Legislature and make it illegal for teenagers to get an abortion without telling their parents.

“Barnicle declares that “the base of the Republican Party…is talk radio” (video at County Fair, Media Matters for America)

Bush Raises $100 Million for Library (Political Wire)
Longtime financial backers of President George W. Bush have raised more than $100 million for a presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas that will house his official papers, reports Time magazine. ”Unburdened by campaign finance regulations, former presidents traditionally raise money for their libraries the old fashioned way: by meeting or telephoning a few dozen, very wealthy, benefactors and asking for large sums, often on the order of $5 million to $10 million each.”
They made so much money from the guy that they can afford to give him big chunks of it for his “library.”

The Truth About Consequences (by Sara at Orcinus)
There can be no restoration and reconciliation until people are reassured that the outcome will actually matter, that the real story will be told, and that people will be held accountable for their choices. They are also the very definition of justice, and the necessary precondition of freedom. The most important change we need right now is leaders with a quickening sense of liberal discipline—including the self-discipline and moral courage to stop looking the other way.
Yes, and that goes for last year’s stolen nomination as well as the wrongdoing of the Bush administration.

Blogging On The Bus: What About The Sexism? (by Big Tent Democrat at Talk Left)
Eric Boehlert’s book, “bloggers on the bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press”, is a tour de force about the rise of activist political blogging that deftly describes the rise of political blogging in the Bush Era… Of all the episodes of the 2008 primary wars, to my mind, the pervavsive acceptance, even encouragement, of sexism and misogyny remains the most shameful and the one that must be remembered. Progressives abandoned one of the most basic tents of progressivism – all due to their love of one politician and their loathing of another politician. It should never have happened. And it is a wound that has not been addressed forthrightly. Boehlert’s book provides us another chance to heal this wound. Perhaps it will be addressed now. Not likely I know. But we are all for hope and change now no?
I should have realized back in March of 2006, when I dared to criticize the fact that there are more men than women in so-called progressive media, that sexism is rampant among progressives.  Silly me, I thought it was an aberration. Click here and scroll down to see right-wing sexist drivel coming from people who call themselves progressives.

There are a lot of former Democrats because of the way Hillary was treated:
Half empty? Or half full? (by lambert at Corrente)

Barnicle: “No one has been more demonized over the last 15 years than Hillary Clinton” (video at County Fair, Media Matters for America)

Talking Points Memo founder aims to make the site less dependent on him (Politico, via Poynter Online)
“My goal is to de-Joshify the organization progressively over time,” says Joshua Micah Marshall. The website founder says he’s got a team — a “boy’s club,” some say — now in place that can function even while he’s away.
It is, indeed, a boy’s club, and was rather bizarre in its coverage of Hillary Clinton last year. But on the other hand, Josh and his crew uncovered the politically based firing of the U.S. attorneys.

Travel Day – Heading Home (by Tengrain at Mock, Paper, Scissors)
The conference is over, and it is time to head back… Cindy Sheehan is on stage giving some final remarks – she is pretty unfiltered, there is no polite pre-digested sound bites. She does not do the obligatory “Obama’s election was historical, but…” preamble that so many others did. She pretty much jumps into her thesis with, “If you liked George Bush’s wars, you are going to love Obama’s – because he has the exact same foreign policy…” and she was off at the races. When she came back to the table (yes, we were sitting together now), her iPhone started buzzing, and she read the message and then showed it to our table: “FUCK OFF YOU STUPID BITCH. YOU ARE A LOSER.”

She didn’t seem surprised by it, though I was shocked. Here’s the part I need help with: are we on the left just as guilty of ideological purism as the right?
My comment: Some on the left are guilty of purism, but it isn’t ideological. It’s to benefit a person. Which to me makes it even worse than ideological purism because there are no principles, no beliefs, behind it. Putting personalities before principles isn’t good for individuals, and it’s really bad for nations. Just look at what the adoration of George Bush brought on.

Accountability & Responsibility and What it Means for the Human Spirit (by Mary at The Left Coaster)
Sara Robinson[:] “Thirty years of conservative misrule have muddled Americans’ understanding of words like responsibility, accountability, discipline,and punishment to the point where nobody knows that they mean any more—and don’t seem to want to know, either. The social conservatives go on and on about the evils of postmodern morality and situational ethics; and on this score, I can’t quite summon myself to disagree. It’s been as though nobody on Planet Washington ever had a parent who was able to explain right from wrong, or demonstrate the role cause-and-effect plays in the ethical universe. It’s like a moral-gravity-free zone.”
My comment: If there were only the misrule part of the equation, we might be in a better position to deal with it. But it’s much more than that. Much of the muddling and misunderstanding stems from the more than 30 year, multibillion dollar campaign by a few rich, right wing families to convince Americans that greed is good (and up is down, black is white, etc.) Until liberals address this problem, the right wing will continue to win political victories, especially since much of the muddle has taken root in the heads of some top Democrats.

“Morning Edition” needs a new Monday political pundit (Poynter Online)
Jack Shafer urges NPR to boot Cokie Roberts. “I can think of no comparably sized media space that’s as void of original insight and information as Roberts’,” he writes.
I can think of many whole shows, not to mention segments, that are void of original insight and information. But anything involving Cokie Roberts is bound to be one of them.

Swine flu may be less potent than first feared‎ (AP)
The swine flu outbreak that has alarmed the world for a week now appears less ominous, with the virus showing little staying power in the hardest-hit cities and scientists suggesting it lacks the genetic fortitude of past killer bugs.
Aw, man, couldn’t we get a LITTLE more leverage out of it?

Former CNN reporter Mark Feldstein on Swine Flu coverage: “The media have … an economic vested interest in promoting the fear” (video at County Fair, Media Matters for America)

It’s exploding:
The Red Scare Index: 82 (by Karl Frisch at County Fair, Media Matters for America)
Here is today’s daily Red Scare Index — our search of CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, MSNBC and CNBC for uses of the following terms: Socialism, Socialist, Socialists, Socialistic, Communism, Communist, Communists, Communistic, Marxism, Marxist, Marxists, Marxistic, Fascism, Fascist, Fascists and Fascistic. Here are the numbers for last Friday, May 1, 2009: TOTAL: 82

When the Cellphone Teaches Sex Education (New York Times)
Sex education in the classroom, say many epidemiologists and public health experts, is often ineffective or just insufficient. In many areas of the country, rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases remain constant or are even rising. North Carolina — where schools must teach an abstinence-only curriculum — has the country’s ninth-highest teenage pregnancy rate. Since 2003, when the state’s pregnancy rate declined to a low of 61 per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19, the rates have slowly been climbing. In 2007, that rate rose to 63 per 1,000 girls — 19,615 pregnancies.

In the last 15 years, school officials and politicians in many states rancorously debated whether sex-ed curriculums should mention contraception. Meanwhile, public health officials became alarmed about the fallout of risky adolescent sexual behavior and grappled with how to educate teenagers beyond the classroom. A few universities and hospitals set up blunt Web sites for young people, like Columbia’s Go Ask Alice! and Atlantic Health’s TeenHealthFX.com, allowing them to post questions online. More recently, researchers have explored how to reach teenagers through social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube. Now, health experts say, intimate, private and crucial information can be delivered to teenagers on the device that holds millions captive: their cellphones.

Media Matters for America headlines

Limbaugh, Fox Business push disputed claim: White House “threatened” investment firm

Fox Nation falsely claims “Obama Spending $400K to Studying Drinking and Sex Habits of Gays in Argentina”

Hannity faults Obama during stock market downturn but gives no credit when it’s up

Ignoring Politico’s own reporting, Budoff Brown advances misleading CPR ad

Fox & Friends advanced disputed allegation against Obama “auto czar”

Drudge smears “joker” Franken with doctored photo

Unreliable source: Amy Holmes advanced Obama approval falsehood on CNN

CNN’s King drops medicine ball during Romney health care interview

Matthews falsely equates a “publicly financed [health care] option” with “single payer”

Fox’s Garrett deceptively cropped Obama remark on judicial role

Old Japanese maps on Google Earth unveil secrets
When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn’t expect a backlash… The maps date back to the country’s feudal era, when shoguns ruled and a strict caste system was in place. At the bottom of the hierarchy were a class called the “burakumin,” [who] still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived.

EU Urges US to Share Control of ICANN With Other Countries
Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for Internet-related issues, called Monday for a new multilateral approach to Internet governance once the current system expires at the end of September.

The Hunt for Insights in the Online Chatter About Swine Flu
Data from the Web can provide tools that can save lives and money, as the authorities can schedule inoculations and staff up hospitals.

Quindlen decides to give up her Newsweek column
Anna Quindlen says reading the entries for the Livingston Awards — given to journalists under 35 — ratified her decision to step aside for a new generation. “They were so thoroughly reported, so well written. Whether local, national or international news, they were just what journalism ought to be. The next time anyone insists the business won’t survive I may bash him with one of these binders, which are heavy with hope for the future.”

Chicago Tribune Story Idea Survey: Good Idea, Poorly Executed (by Amy Gahran at Poynter Online)
The Chicago Tribune reports that it has halted a “short-lived research project in which the Chicago Tribune solicited responses from current and former subscribers to descriptions of Tribune stories before they had been published.” The project — a collaboration between the paper’s editorial and marketing departments — was stopped because newsroom staff raised journalistic concerns. Originally only selected “would-be readers” were surveyed about general topics and previous Tribune coverage. But in the last two weeks, participants had begun being surveyed about their preferences on synopses of stories currently in the works.

In all, 55 reporters and editors voiced their complaint in a letter to Tribune editor Gerould Kern and managing editor Jane Hirt. The letter “expressed concern that providing story information to those outside the newsroom prior to publication seemed ‘to break the bond between reporters and editors in a fundamental way.’”

Newspapers’ Essential Strengths (by David Carr, New York Times)
Certainly, the Web is an amazing reporting tool in the hands of almost anyone and has enabled all manner of efforts by bloggers and others to reveal stories. But some stories are beyond the database. Sometimes, people have to make the calls, hit the streets and walk past the conventional wisdom.

Newspapers Build Digital Portfolios
The nation’s print media may be on life support, but some are quietly building digital portfolios again — albeit on a smaller scale — and some are starting to bear fruit. We’re not talking about the digital editions of papers themselves, but startups that take old media in new directions.

Usability Expert: BBC Publishes World’s Best Headlines (by Will Sullivan at Poynter Online)
Usability expert Jakob Nielsen recently picked the BBC as the news Web site with the best headlines. He cited several ways in which the BBC editors, “consistently do an awesome job”: “It’s hard enough to write for the Web and meet the guidelines for concise, scannable and objective content. It’s even harder to write Web headlines, which must be:

• short (because people don’t read much online);
• rich in information scent, clearly summarizing the target article;
• front-loaded with the most important keywords (because users often scan only the beginning of list items);
• understandable out of context (because headlines often appear without articles, as in search engine results); and
• predictable, so users know whether they’ll like the full article before they click (because people don’t return to sites that promise more than they deliver).”

Not only do the BBC headlines represent good usability for users who scan information, their front-loaded, keyword rich, short and contextual headlines are excellent for search engine optimization.

Local TV tries to deliver all the news once fit to print
Michael Malone reports TV execs are studying what new prospects await them in a paper-free world. “There’s lucrative opportunity to reach out to former newspaper advertisers and, perhaps even more significant, there’s a chance to become a more trusted source of local news,” he writes.

Buffett Sees ‘Unending Losses’ for Many Newspapers
Warren Buffett’s view on the future of the newspaper industry is dismal. “For most newspapers in the United states, we would not buy them at any price,” he said in response to a question about whether he would consider investing in newspapers. “They have the possibility of going to just unending losses.”

New York Times to Increase Price
The New York Times is expected to announce a price increase this week as it races to shore up liquidity amid industry-wide falls in advertising revenues and circulation. The price is expected to go from $1.50 to $2.00 for Monday to Saturday editions and from $5 to $6 on Sundays.

WSJ’s Free iPhone App: Rupe ‘Displeased’
A Dow Joneser says the reason the Journal isn’t charging for its content on the iPhone is simple: It can’t. The technological platform to do so isn’t up to speed yet. Rupert Murdoch himself said he was “displeased” that his company’s valuable content is being given away free.

Comments are a tricky proposition for newspapers
Online discussions often devolve into personal heated battles that have to be closely monitored by newspaper staffes. At the same time, comments keep readers on the websites longer and create engaged communities.

Big Screen Kindle Coming This Week? (Mashable)
According to the New York Times, Amazon plans to introduce a new version of its e-book reader Kindle as early as this week. The new Kindle will have a bigger screen and it will be aimed at reading magazines and newspapers; NYT already calls it a possible saviour for the crumbling newspaper industry.

Publishers Nurture Rivals to Kindle
Some newspaper and magazine companies, feeling let down by the Kindle electronic reader from Amazon.com Inc., are pushing for alternatives. A few publishers are forging alliances with consumer-electronics firms to support e-readers that meet their needs.

Relix Returns From the Dead 
Relix was launched in 1974 as a handmade fanzine for Deadheads. Now, it’s returning from the dead. Three months after its publisher, Zenbu Media, put Relix on temporary hiatus, a group of investors has acquired the mag and a pair of related Web sites.

Newsweek.com Will Deemphasize News for Deep-Dive Reports, Blogs
As it prepares to revamp its print edition to serve a smaller, more affluent audience, Newsweek on May 15 will unveil a relaunched Web site that acknowledges that, just as the weekly can’t be all things to all people, it also can’t cover the entire waterfront when it comes to news online.

Da Vinci Code sequel criticised by Catholics
They have accused director Ron Howard, who will attend the movie’s world premiere in Rome on Monday, of distorting history for dramatic effect. The storyline for Angels & Demons, which stars Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor, centres on a plot by the Illuminati, a secret society of intellectuals, who are intent on gaining revenge for a brutal massacre of their predecessors by the Church centuries ago. Although the society once existed, there is no historical evidence that its members were butchered by Catholics… The Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon, the Bishop of Nottingham, warned that the film could stir up anti-Catholic sentiment.
Yes, well, the Da Vinci Code was also full of historical nonsense, but it was a whale of a good story and a lot of fun to speculate about (the book was great, the movie was so-so).

Singers tell Congress: Money (That’s What I Want)
[I]t bothers [Jack] Ely, 65, when he hears his voice singing “Louie Louie” on the radio or in sports arenas, knowing he’s not getting paid… A bill moving through Congress aims to change that. It would let performers and the recording labels get a share of the ad revenue that radio stations collect from playing their songs. This pool of royalties could be hundreds of millions a year — which would be crucial for the record industry, as compact disc sales plummet and digital song sales aren’t making up the difference.

It could also unlock an estimated $70 million to $100 million per year that is collected by radio stations abroad for U.S. artists, but never paid out because U.S. stations don’t pay foreign artists in return. France, for example, takes the U.S. artists’ portion and puts it into French cultural funds.

Learning the Lesson of ‘Less Is More’ (by Josef Adalian at TV Week)
There’s simply too much original content on TV these days. The explosion of quality scripted dramas on cable, combined with the Tribble-like multiplication of reality projects, has created an impossibly overcrowded environment for entertainment-seeking consumers.
One of the nice things about the original shows on cable channels is that they are repeated several times during the week. There’s almost never such a great conflict that I can’t get the shows I want to see on my recorder.

CBS Launches Major Ad Campaign
CBS is launching an unprecedented campaign to publicize its prime-time successes weeks before the year’s most important ad sales season. It includes a front-page ad Monday in The New York Times, a USA Today section front ad, and commercials throughout CBS television, radio, and the Internet.

NBC to Expand Weekend Update
Weekend Update, the satirical television news segment, worked during the presidential election year, and now NBC will again try to capitalize on interest in the news by producing it as half-hour specials during its next prime-time season, as well as the usual segments in Saturday Night Live.

TV Networks Uneasy About Declining Advertising
One prominent analyst estimated that the major broadcast networks could be down as much as 15 percent for prime-time advertising sales for the fall season. “While network sellers remain publicly adamant that they intend to hold the line on price, we expect to see year-over-year declines,” wrote the analyst.

MTV Agrees To Split Ad Revs From New Show With Facebook, Twitter (Paid Content)
Faced with slumping prime-time ratings and dwindling ad revenues, MTV is hoping that showing live tweets, Facebook updates and even RockYou videos will get teens excited about its new show, What You’re Watching With Alexa Chung. Blending social media with TV content is a no-brainer (especially for a network whose target audience is the 18-24 set). What’s more unusual is that MTV sharing some of the ad revenue with Facebook and Twitter.

Disney’s Hulu Investment Could Be a Milestone for TV
Disney’s decision to take a 30 percent stake in online video aggregator Hulu could be a significant milestone in the evolution of television. That’s because Disney is adding its premium content to an already robust lineup from other Hulu stakeholders, including NBC Universal, News Corp., Sony Pictures, MTV Networks, Paramount and more than 100 others.

It’s a virtual life for swine flu-bound Mexicans
Churchgoers celebrate Mass via television. Congressional candidates campaign with real-time speeches on the Web. A magazine promises Internet tours through the real Mexico — the one with open museums and pyramids. And rock bands plan online concerts.

An Upstart Gossip Site With a Gentler Tone Is Making a Big Splash
In three months, Wonderwall has jumped to the top tier of celebrity-news sites, occupying a middle ground that’s not too tame, but not too rancorous.

Pentagon uses Facebook, Twitter to spread message
You don’t often hear a three-star general using the word “friend” as a verb. But for Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley and other Army brass, a new era has brought a new language — and new tools like online social networks Twitter and Facebook — for seeking out young recruits and spreading the military’s message.

Losing Popularity Contest, MySpace Tries a Makeover
The News Corporation, the owner of the social networking site, is trying new leadership and sleeker profile pages.

Myst makes its debut on the iPhone and iPod touch
Myst, the legendary graphical adventure game, has made its iPhone debut.

MySpace’s Makeover
MySpace faces an acute demographic problem. While Facebook is adding users, MySpace is losing them. Many user profile pages on MySpace are either cluttered or neglected, and the users who remain tend to be younger and poorer, putting a drag on advertising revenue from blue-chip clients.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour released for iPhone, iPod touch
Electronic Arts (EA) has released Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Mini-Links to Web Sites Are Multiplying
Services that abbreviate long Web addresses are growing and may have commercial value because of their ability to track Internet use.

The Hispanic Audience Grows Online
Studies give marketers clues on how to reach Hispanics online, as more of the group uses the Internet and favors entertainment sites.

HP and RIM form alliance on BlackBerry
(Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd said they have formed an alliance to provide services for the BlackBerry.