This is a monumental occasion. POTUS is now a fan of the TEAM OF DESTINY, the 2010 Chicago CUBS!President Obama, Unwilling Chicago Cubs Fan
by Dan Fogarty | 5:37 pm, April 16th, 2010
President Barack Obama’s allegiance to the Chicago White Sox is a well-publicized fact: he donned a Sox cap after his White House win, called to congratulate Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle after his perfect game last July, and awkwardly wore a White Sox hat with another team’s jacket whilst throwing out the first pitch on opening day.
But while this has surely been a source of pride for White Sox fans, the president’s public flaunting of team spirit has surely ticked off Washington politicos who root for the Sox hated crosstown rival, the Chicago Cubs. So what do you do when your commander-in-chief roots for the team that you despise?
You make him a member of the Verban Memorial Society, your politically-connected Chicago Cubs fan club, without his knowledge.
This bipartisan group, which is based in Washington and dedicated to supporting the Chicago Cubs, has 700 members ranging in political temperament from Dick Cheney to Rahm Emanuel. For 35 years, no ideological clash, corruption scandal or fruitless season of Cubs baseball has been able to fracture the unusual bond between its members, who meet up for game outings and luncheons.So who was this “person on the inside?” Who would be conniving enough to make Obama a member of a Cubs fan club, without his knowledge? Dick Cheney is too obvious, and although we could totally see Rahm Emanuel flipping out about his boss’s baseball allegiance, surely he wouldn’t jeopardize his work place environment.
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The only criteria for Verban membership, is to be nominated by a person on the inside.
Our prime suspects are Senator Dick Durbin and columnist George Will, both of whom are Verban members, and both of whom sounded a tad proud of themselves when asked about their newest constituent:
“I know it will be hard for him to accept this accolade,” Mr. Durbin said. “It’s like telling him he was elected to the board of directors of the Republican National Committee.” Conservative columnist George Will, a Verban stalwart, says the president ought to embrace his induction. “Diversity,” he says. “It’s a great liberal value.”Oh, snap!
To add insult to injury, when the White House found out about Obama’s membership, a staffer called the club’s founder (and former member of the Nixon administration) Bruce Ladd. When the staffer inquired about Obama’s removal from the club, he was flatly denied.
filed undervia mediaite.com
Friday, April 16, 2010
President Obama - Chicago Cubs Fan | Mediaite
Carole King And James Taylor Are Coming To St. Louis!
Two of my favorite artists are coming to St. Louis on July 10th. Carole King and James Taylor are playing the Scottrade Center.
They've got a new DVD/CD coming on May 4th, and here's a video talking about the new project and the tour.
Carole King and James Taylor CD promo
They've got a new DVD/CD coming on May 4th, and here's a video talking about the new project and the tour.
Carole King and James Taylor CD promo
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Friday, April 09, 2010
Some Things Just Can't Be Made Up (REAL ad)
A friend of mine sent me the audio clip that's part of this post. Listen to it. This client wanted to put the ad on one of America's most listened to radio stations. I'm guessing the ad was turned down.
Over the years, almost everyone in any kind of media has made up parodies of real ads or created comedic ads from scratch. This time, the ad is real. And no, I did NOT sign up.Wednesday, April 07, 2010
TV News Calls On Me For Reaction To Prop A Victory
Its kind of wild when the lady at the front desk calls and says "there's a TV crew here to see you". That could be a bad thing, or a fortunate moment. Luckily it was the latter today, as KSDK, the local NBC station, dropped by to talk about the passage of Proposition A Wednesday afternoon.
Alwas a good thing when I can get on TV without the terms "accused", "alleged" or "person of interest" somehow associated with my name.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
St. Louis Returns Public Transit To The 20th Century
Thank you, voters of St. Louis County, for passing Proposition A and funding public transit in our region!
After a heated and sometimes ridiculous campaign, it looks like the voters of St. Louis County passed Proposition A, a half cent sales tax that will fund public transit in the St. Louis region. I for one could not be more happy about this, as my very poor vision prevents me from driving and I rely on public transit to get to and from work, as well as to other business and personal destinations around St. Louis.
By passing this measure, the people of St. Louis County have begun to see the importance of public transit, not just for people like me or people who can't afford an auto, but for the region as a whole. Metro, the region's mass transit agency, has been struggling to provide even a bare bones level of service due to the often provincial attitudes of people who most likely have never set foot on a bus and the tunnel vision of local radio talk show hosts.
This measure would not have passed without the tireless efforts of Chesterfield, MO Mayor John Nations,
More reasons to vote YES on Proposition A in St. Louis TODAY
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I use public transit every day, and along with thousands of others face the real possibility of not being able to get to my job if Proposition A doesn't pass. Please take the time to vote YES on Proposition A today.
Thank you in advance for supporting transit and the economic stability of our region.
TODAY IS THE DAY TO VOTE YES FOR PUBLIC TRASIT IN ST. LOUIS
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| You have been invited by The St. Louis Region to Vote Yes On Proposition A For Public Transit. |
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If the link doesn't work, please click here. And please share this with everyone you know who lives in St. Louis County!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Craving: Peepza | FOODBEAST - Because we're hungry.
Yes, Peeps marshmallows on a pizza. Thrown on a completed pizza just minutes before the actual pizza was done cooking for the highest caliber integration of “peeps as a pizza topping” as possible. For some reason, this does not look half bad to me. I’m craving to try a slice! (Thx SeriousEats)
via foodbeast.com
Uh.....Happy Easter?
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Do You Have An iPad? Then You Need The Radio.com App!
The new Radio.com app for iPad gives you radio you can touch, read and hear.
Radio.com makes it easy to get updates on your favorite artists, follow twitter feeds; watch original videos; listen to podcasts; and see photo slideshows.
Enjoy over 600 stations from CBS RADIO, Aol Radio. and Yahoo! Music.
Built specifically for iPad, Radio.com makes internet radio fun and easy. Lookup your favorite Music, News or Sports stations by using the interactive map. Just click on a city and we’ll give you a list of stations to choose from.
Experience Y98 and hundreds of other radio stations in a whole new way. Get to Radio.com today. Look for the Radio dot com app in iTunes iPad app store…it’s free!
Friday, April 02, 2010
More Reasons To Vote YES on Proposition A in St. Louis
Some things about the upcoming St. Louis County Proposition A vote from The St. Louis Beacon http://www.stlbeacon.org/content/view/101349/74/
Please plan now on voting YES on Proposition A on Tuesday in St. Louis County.
John Nations: The facts support 'Yes' on Proposition A, the one-half cent sales tax for Metro
By John Nations, Special to the Beacon Posted 11:30 a.m. Wed., 03.31.10 - An unbiased review of the facts surrounding Proposition A in St. Louis County on April 6 will lead to a fair and obvious conclusion: The public-transit system in the St. Louis region benefits all of us, but cannot continue operations or make improvements without the new, long-term funding source provided by the half-cent sales tax in Prop A.
But opponents of Proposition A are desperately attempting to kill public transportation in St. Louis by misrepresenting the issue and misquoting its supporters. Opponents appear to be hoping that you do not find out the truth about Proposition A. John Burns wrote an article in this space a few days ago, which misleads the voters.
It's time to cut through the political rhetoric and get to the facts that you need when you go to the polls in St. Louis County on Tuesday, April 6.
BURNS: "Only 10,300 St. Louis County residents use mass transit."
FACT: Burns's numbers come from an old census questionnaire and not from the actual Metro verifiable ridership figures. Which would you rather rely on? The numbers for 2006-2007, before the service reductions last year, showed 15.6 million boardings of Metro vehicles a year in St. Louis County. Further, Burns' numbers do not count the thousands of daily riders in St. Louis County who are not county residents but who rely on public transportation to get to their employment in the county. Nor does the include the thousands of students, disabled, and elderly. We will not have successful businesses in St. Louis County if we do not allow people from outside the county to get to their jobs.
BURNS: "Metro has ... repeatedly asked for tax increases."
FACT: Metro has been in operation for 60 years and has had only two small sales taxes in St. Louis County during that entire time, during which there has been tremendous change in the St. Louis region. The last increase was in 1994 -- 16 years ago -- and the only other tax levied to support public transportation was in 1974. Since then, federal funding for operations was eliminated and in the last four years, the cost of fuel has quadrupled. The St. Louis County Council voted to put Prop A on the ballot in April because so many citizens were distressed by service reductions after the defeat of the sales tax in 2008.
Read more from beacon
How much will Prop A for Metro cost county residents?
TRANSITion: Who rides Metro? Low-income workers need Metro to get to their job
TRANSITion: Without state or federal help, Metro depends on sales taxes to pay for operations
TRANSITion: From horses to high speed, the history of the region's mass transit
TRANSITion: Metro explains what Prop A's half-cent sales tax would buy
BURNS: "Metro made the disastrous decision not to apply for federal funding" for Cross County MetroLink expansion.
FACT: Metro did not, and in fact could not, make that decision. That authority legally resides with the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCG), the region's planning agency. Also note that EWGCG, the St. Louis County Council and the Metro Board have all agreed to pursue only future expansions that are supported by federal funds.
BURNS: "The plan doesn't contain simple information such as where a new light-rail route will be built and by what date."
FACT: After more than 30 regional public meetings, Metro has produced a long range plan which has been adopted unanimously by both the Metro Board and by East-West Gateway. The plan's priorities are (1) restore service cuts implemented in 2009, (2) expand the bus system and improve service throughout St. Louis County with expanded Metro Bus, Call-A-Ride for the elderly and disabled, and new Bus Rapid Transit, and (3) plan for future light rail expansion, which will only happen if economically feasible and with continued extensive public participation. Metro is not empowered to decide where a future light rail would be; that decision belongs to East-West Gateway.
BURNS: Metro "hasn't proven to voters that it can successfully manage itself."
FACT: More than 20 independent reviews and audits over the last two years have given Metro's new management team a clean bill of health. In fact, Metro has won awards for excellence in financial reporting, budget practices and risk management. The region's political leadership and more than 250 endorsements confirm that there is a "New Metro" which has definitely earned the public's trust and support.
BURNS: "Metro doesn't allow the public to look at its books."
FACT: Metro is a public agency and its financial statements, audits, budgets and nearly every other document it has are open to public inspection -- many of them online -- and are discussed in public meetings by the Board of Commissioners. Visit MetroStLouis.org and click on the "Inside Metro" tab.
BURNS: "With all of this oversight, why are they $50 million in the red?"
FACT: Oversight does not create revenue. Only revenue from fares, which Metro has increased four out of the last five years, is keeping pace with inflation. Federal funds for operating systems like Metro ended in 1999, leaving (in today's dollars) a $30 million annual gap. Many regions filled that gap with state and/or local support; ours did not. Missouri contributes about 1 percent of operating funds while the national average from states is about 23 percent. Revenue from regional sources has been flat or declining. Those are the reasons Metro needs more revenue. Opponents want you to believe that the funding situation began with the latest light rail extension, but the truth is that Metro has been talking about this for more than a decade.
BURNS: "Metro has demonstrated it doesn't care about its employees or the poor."
FACT: Metro's employees and the poor, who are among the highest number of Metro riders, are among the biggest supporters of Prop A. They all know how essential public transit is to them and to the region as a whole. Metro took many steps to avoid layoffs or service reductions, but it can only go so far when costs increase and revenues decrease. All one has to do is look at the many groups who are supporting this issue to realize how shameful Burns' political tactics are.
Those are the facts and they're readily available to anyone interested in the truth. And they clearly support a "yes" vote on Proposition A.
John Nations is mayor of Chesterfield, chairman of the Advance St. Louis campaign supporting passage of Proposition A, and a long-time advocate on employment and transportation matters in the St. Louis region. To reach him, contact Beacon features and commentary editor Donna Korando.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Please Join Me In Voting Yes To Restore Public Transit In St. Louis
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| You have been invited by The St. Louis Region to Vote Yes On Proposition A For Public Transit. |
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If the link doesn't work, please click here. And please share this with everyone you know who lives in St. Louis County!
Monday, March 29, 2010
MMMMMM Free Dunkin' Donuts Coffee
I am not being compensated in any way for sharing this information. Really.
Can St. Louis compete? Finding a niche - STLtoday.com
Part two of the series on the potential problems St. Louis has in attracting and keeping jobs.
Can St. Louis compete? Finding a niche - STLtoday.com
Can St. Louis compete? Finding a niche - STLtoday.com
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Can St. Louis Compete? A Truly Depressing Series From The Post-Dispatch
Despite the tone of some of my posts, I do not hate St. Louis. I actually LOVE the region and raising my children here. However, I've seen the area decline in so many ways that it pains me to think about what will become of the region if something doesn't change, and soon. That's why I think making transit a priority is important. That's why I think funding our schools is important. And that's why I share this story from the March 28th St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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The sign posted on the side of the former Chrysler plant in Fenton boasts 5 million square feet for sale. |
Can St. Louis compete?
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
> First of a three-part seriesFor a long time, St. Louis has been falling behind.
You know the story. The long, slow drift from grand Gateway to the West to the
faded outpost of flyover country. The shuttered factories and the departed
corporate headquarters. The bleeding away of the best and the brightest.
It's almost a cliché.
But it is true. And it is real. And it is threatening to get worse.
As we turn the corner out of the Great Recession and into whatever new economy
comes next, our region is struggling to keep up. Our population is growing
slowly. Our work force is aging rapidly. And we have a hard time cultivating
the sort of innovators, entrepreneurs and bright minds who will build the
economy of the future.
These challenges are not new. But facing them is more important than ever if
our region hopes to grow in the years to come.
For we are no longer just competing with Memphis or Milwaukee for jobs and
economic relevance. We are competing with Rio and Bangalore and Guangzhou. And
to compete, we need a world-class work force, the sort of people who can make
sure that the ideas that drive the new global economy are conceived and carried
out here, not halfway across the world.
"People with just a high school degree aren't going to cut it anymore," said
Richard Longworth, a fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and author
of a book on the Midwest in the global economy. "Those jobs are gone."
TALENT DEFICIENCIES
When it comes to the size and skill of our work force, St. Louis is slipping on
several fronts:
— If current trends hold, our working-age population will soon begin to shrink,
and will decline by 85,000 between 2018 and 2028, leaving 5 percent fewer St.
Louisans to power area companies and compete with faster-growing cities.
— Our high school dropout rate is among the highest in the nation. One in eight
students region-wide drops out at some point in high school, according to data
compiled by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.
— Although the region is adding college graduates, it is doing so at a slower
pace than many other places, especially among young adults who are deciding
where to launch a career. One-third of St. Louisans age 25 to 34 have at least
a bachelor's degree, compared with 48 percent in Washington and 53 percent in
Boston.
These trends have direct, measurable costs, said Joe Cortright, a Portland,
Ore.-based economist who studies work force and regional economies. Such trends
slow growth. They dampen productivity. And they can deter big companies from
locating in St. Louis and small ones from growing here.
"Employers are increasingly putting emphasis on their ability to find and
attract talented employees," Cortright said. "They tend to grow more in places
where those people are easier to find."
He even puts a number on it, a figure he calls a "talent dividend."
Research, said Cortright, shows a clear link between a region's rate of college
graduates and its economic health. Boosting the percentage of St. Louisans with
bachelor's degrees by 1 percentage point would generate an additional $2.1
billion a year in economic activity. That's $746 per person.
DEAL FALLS THROUGH
Richard Fleming cast the problem in another light: in terms of jobs that didn't
come here.
As president of the Regional Chamber and Growth Association, Fleming spent a
year just before the recession trying to woo a major employer to open a data
center. Fleming wouldn't name the firm, but said it was "a Fortune 50" company
that wanted to hire 1,500 people at good wages. Forty cities wanted the
facility, and the company narrowed it down to two finalists — St. Louis and
Raleigh, N.C.
The firm's consultants recommended St. Louis, Fleming said. But the company was
worried about the region's slow growth, concerned that it couldn't get the
workers here it would need over the years to come.
"Perception became reality," Fleming said. "And we lost the deal."
Whether real or perceived, the importance of talent is hardly a new idea.
Cities have been trying to cultivate it for a long time.
But that effort has taken on a new urgency in a global economy where anything
that can be done more cheaply somewhere else probably will be. Economic growth,
the thinking goes, lies in doing what no one else can. And that takes brains.
Compounding the urgency for St. Louis is the long, grinding recession, which
has wiped out nearly 60,000 jobs here in the past two years, including those of
many highly skilled professionals at companies such as Anheuser-Busch InBev,
Macy's and KV Pharmaceutical. Those are 60,000 people who could leave the
region for greener pastures, and take their skills with them.
So far, there has been little of that kind of movement — the recession is
hitting hard just about everywhere. But as the recovery takes hold, many
experts expect that to change; high-skilled workers will flow to the places
with good jobs.
RETENTION WORK
Keeping skilled workers from flowing out of St. Louis is a full-time job for
Blair Forlaw.
She oversees talent development programs for the RCGA, which, Fleming said, has
stepped up its focus in those areas since losing that data center. Forlaw leads
an effort to help laid-off information technology workers find new jobs in St.
Louis. And after Pfizer, a major pharmaceutical company, said last fall that it
will cut nearly 700 jobs in Chesterfield, she is helping to launch a similar
effort to keep science workers here.
With Pfizer's cuts, there will be roughly 2,200 scientists and skilled
technical workers who have been idled in St. Louis since the start of 2009,
Forlaw said. If the region hopes to keep growing its biotech and medical
industries, keeping them in town is essential.
"These folks who are being let go, they have not only skills but experience,"
she said. "We don't want to be in a position of having lost them, and then
trying to bring in companies that need that kind of talent."
The science-worker program is just starting, and it got an early boost from an
unrelated decision by St. Louis University to hire 12 former Pfizer employees
for a new health research center. But the RCGA program will focus mainly on
connecting the jobless with companies, or startups in need of talent, and on
helping people shift into new science-related industries. Anything to put them
to work here.
"This is all about the economic strength and vitality of the region," Forlaw
said.
And these high-skilled workers will generate more than just high-end jobs.
Their ideas will provide a range of opportunity for others, said Roderick Nunn,
vice chancellor for work force development at St. Louis Community College.
"Look at Austin, Seattle, the Research Triangle. You see a cluster of highly
trained professionals, and a lot of other jobs being created," Nunn said. "For
every scientist, you've got to have lab techs. For every surgeon, there are
nurses and aides."
SEEDS FOR SUCCESS
These sorts of workers are the people most likely to launch innovative
startups, or use their talent to help small firms grow. This, too, generates
jobs.
Startups may not make as big a splash as luring a corporate headquarters or an
auto plant, but there is far less competition to attract them, said Longworth,
of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. And once established in St. Louis,
startups are more likely to plant deep roots.
"We're not talking about landing a Fortune 500 company," he said. "We're
talking about launching 500 little companies and hoping some of them grow."
That has been the recipe for some of the region's most-touted success stories,
such as World Wide Technology, a supply-chain management firm that has grown in
20 years from startup to $2.2 billion in revenue; or Express Scripts, which has
become one of the largest pharmacy-benefit management companies in the U.S. But
all sorts of cities are trying to attract the kind of people behind companies
such as those. And there are only so many to go around.
Many regions, including St. Louis, have poured millions of dollars into
amenities — from parks to loft apartments to event centers — designed to
attract footloose young talent. Results have been decidedly mixed, and skeptics
abound.
What really draws talent, Longworth argues, is opportunity. Smart people want
to use their brains and will go where their talents can be rewarded. No amount
of amenities will change that.
"It takes more than bicycle paths and coffee shops," he said. "You need jobs."
Message To St. Louis-Vote Yes On Proposition A on April 6th
I know people everywhere read my rantings, but this is a special message to the readers in the St. Louis area.
I use mass transit in St. Louis. I have to because I'm visually handicapped and can't drive. In my almost nine years here, I've seen Metro service shredded due to the ignorance of County government and lack of awareness by voters. I've seen my commute times triple, and I've had long periods where I simply could not get to my job because of a lack of public transit.
The transit election on April 6 is vital, not only to me, but to the entire St. Louis region. I am sending you this web site, www.moremetrolink.com that discusses why we need to restore cuts in Metro service as well as expand the Metro system for future growth of the St. Louis area. If you don't have time to look at the entire site, PLEASE take less than a minute to read this one page.
I hope you join me in voting Yes on Proposition A for continued Metro growth! Want to learn more about why this is so important to me and our region? Just drop me a note. Thank you for helping make a difference for thousands of St. Louis County residents and our region.
The transit election on April 6 is vital, not only to me, but to the entire St. Louis region. I am sending you this web site, www.moremetrolink.com that discusses why we need to restore cuts in Metro service as well as expand the Metro system for future growth of the St. Louis area. If you don't have time to look at the entire site, PLEASE take less than a minute to read this one page.
I hope you join me in voting Yes on Proposition A for continued Metro growth! Want to learn more about why this is so important to me and our region? Just drop me a note. Thank you for helping make a difference for thousands of St. Louis County residents and our region.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
No Cubs Fan Should Be Without This-From marke.mlblogs.com
Words fail me as to how cool I think this is. The fine people at Scott's Lawn Care have come out with Wrigley Field grass seed and fertilizer! Who wouldn't want the same grass as at the Friendly Confines on their own "home turf"?????
Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to get this fine product in St. Louis, but you can get it in Chicagoland. If you want to find out more about these amazing items, just click here.
And NO, I'm not getting anything for writing about this. I just think its THAT cool.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
There is no doubt in my mind that Spring has sprung, and I commend the good people at Ace Hardware and Scotts for making the item in the upper left hand corner available to deserving Americans.
Sadly, for some reason, I can't find that item in St. Louis.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
My Body Is Not A Wonderland
Its always great when John Mayer comes to St. Louis, as he's been an artist I've had the pleasure of being associated with ever since my first stint here at the late River. He's an incredibly talented musician, very funny, and has always been very kind to me and the radio stations I've worked for.
He put on a truly amazing show Saturday night, and we had a chance to catch up backstage before the concert. My station also made two girls' night by upgrading them to the front row and giving them the chance to meet John. You can see photos of the winners and their experience at Y98.com. Its always a real thrill for us in radio to give listeners experiences like these ladies had, and I'm sure its something they won't soon forget.Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Thursday, March 04, 2010
I'm Movin' On Up In The Cubs Season Ticket Line!
Thank you for checking your place on the Cubs Season Ticket Wait List.
Your current place on the Wait List is 25467.
To check your place on the Cubs Wait List at any time, or for more information, go to cubs.com/waitlist.
Funny Or Die's Presidential Reunion
Comedy with a message, directed by Ron Howard. As Tom Hanks once said, "That Opie Cunningham can sure cut some film".
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