Saturday, April 20, 2013

Paranoia Strikes Deep for VidTruth



This video brought to you by Conspiracy Examiner II,  dedicated to raising overall awareness of the New World Order and it's stated worldwide eugenics-based human depopulation and enslavement agenda.;

Snopes.com scopes out Boston Marathon conspiracies. (4/16/2013)



Price-Gouging Inspirations


$1.73 might seem like a bargain -- and this photo was taken at Woodman's, mind you --  but if you do the math, you pay about three times the price of what you pay for a standard-sized, pre-packaged container.  And think of the money you'll save buying spices and seasonings in bulk -- whatever you need in a little plastic bag -- at a store like the Willy Street Coop.

So How's That Gold Thing Goin' For Ya, Glenn?




Anyone want to help me look for this International Charitable Fund of the Help to Children.  (Who thought up that name?!)

Glenn Beck promotes gold to audience while profiting from gold investment firms.  (Media Matters for America, 12/2/2009)

Excerpt:
In recent months, Glenn Beck has repeatedly used his television show to plug gold as a way for his audience to "protect" themselves from the possible economic collapse of the U.S. dollar and economy. At the same time, several precious metals investment firms have regularly advertised on his television show, and Beck is a "Paid Spokesman" for Goldline International, which has an "exclusive" sponsorship deal with his radio show and bills itself as "Glenn Beck's Choice for Gold."

Oh dear!

Photo credit:  Wikipedia

Ever the paranoid, Beck is undeterred.


If not a sponsor now, they certainly have a history with Beck.

When is a Recovery Not a Recovery?

Part-Time Work Becomes Full-Time Wait for Better Job. (The New York Times, 4/19/2013)

Photo credit:  Mesirow Financial

Where the majority of hiring has taken place since 2009
  • Retailing
  • Home health care
  • Food preparation
  • Temporary hiring agencies

Low-wage service sectors, in other words.

Restaurant, bars, and other food-service establishments account for 1 of 13 jobs.

Photo credit:  Wikipedia

Those primarily minimum-wage jobs.

You can then imagine the course of this recovery.




Secessionist Talk: It Comes and It Goes

 Photo credit:  Gage Skidmore, Wikipedia

"Texas governor says secession possible".  (Oops, it's from CNN, 4/26/2009.  Probably not helping my case here.)

But now, "a pretty independent lot" dissipates like a vapor trail.

Photo credit:  U.S. News and World Report

Rick Perry Has to Eat Crow but Will Voters Notice Come Election Time?  (Woodgate's View, 4/29/2011).

Excerpt:  Perry’s adamant vitriol against the federal government was further pronounced at those Tea Party meetings two years ago when he said “ “We think it’s time to draw the line in the sand and tell Washington that no longer are we going to accept their oppressive hand in the state of Texas.” Yet since then, Think Progress’ Yglesias has pointed out that Perry has gone to the federal well more than once because the state was not “independent” enough to handle massive issues following Hurricane Ike back in Bush’s presidency and the drug-related violence occurring along the border in early 2009.

The Brave Little Bell

Nate Bell Gun Comment Draws Call For Resignation. (Huffington Post, 4/19/2013)


Excerpt:   Bell had earlier attempted to back away from the comment, saying he was only expressing "frustration" over gun control efforts supported by many Democrats.



The Brave Nate Bell is either really dumb or doesn't understand how social media works.  Or, perhaps, a combination of the 2.



Oh, and then there's this white space in Bell's biography.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Scott Walker, Keystone Pipeline Cheerleader

Photo credit:  Wikipedia Commons

No, Guvnah, the proposed pipeline will carry 830,000 of oil per day.

And p[lease give me 3 examples of how Wisconsin will benefit from this out-of-state job growth.

Cornell Global Labor Institute Study Finds Keystone XL Pipeline Will Create Few Jobs

The report concludes that the job estimates put forward by TransCanada are unsubstantiated and the project will not only create fewer jobs than industry states, but that the project could actually kill more jobs than it creates. 

Main findings include: 
  • The project budget that has a direct impact on U.S. employment is between $3 and $4 billion or about half of what industry claims. 
  • 50% or more of the steel pipe, the main material input used for Keystone XL, will be manufactured outside of the U.S. 
  • Jobs will be temporary and between 85-90% of the people hired to do the work will be non-local or from out of state. 
  • The Perryman study, which estimates around 119,000 (direct, indirect and induced) jobs is a poorly documented study commissioned by TransCanada. 
  • Job losses would be caused by additional fuel costs in the Midwest, pipeline spills, pollution and the rising costs of climate change. Even one year of fuel price increases as a result of Keystone XL could cancel out some or all of the jobs created by the project.
If you do a word search for "Wisconsin" in the Perryman study, you come up empty-handed.

Where are the projected jobs?


What the Guvnah meant to say was, "Wisconsin residents have an opportunity to benefit from this job growth by moving to Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, or Texas."

Dipping into American Libraries' "The State of America's Libraries 2013" (7)

Profession continues to move toward an elusive goal.  (page 50)


Related posts:
School librarians.  (4/17/2013)
Ebook awareness.  (4/17/2013)
Library websites.  (4/16/2013)
Salaries.  (4/16/2013)
State library agency funding, state aid to public libraries.  (4/16/2013)
Public libraries weather storm; school librarians under siege.  (4/16/2013)

The 4th and Final Joint Finance Committee Public Hearing on 2013-15 Budget, at Baldwin

(with highlights added by RG)

State budget panel hears pleas for funding at Baldwin hearing. (Eau Claire Leader Telegram, 4/18/2013)

Topics on which testimony was provided (listed in order of article's coverage)
  • Alcohol and drug treatment programs
  • Adult with disabilities:  group homes
  • School voucher program (During testimony throughout the day, public school district superintendents and school board members from around Wisconsin expressed opposition...)
  • More money for state's public universities to address rising tuition
  • Smoking cessation programs
  • The arts 
  • Transportation for elderly and disabled residents living in rural areas of state
Related posts:
Lake Delton budget hearing.  (4/12/2013)
Lambeau Field budget hearing.  (4/9/2013)
Paul Adair Attends the Joint Finance Committee Budget Hearing in Greenfield.  (4/5/2013)

Who Does Scott Walker Represent?

Take a look at these numbers before you answer.


Scott Walker: No Wisconsin bill for gun background checks. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/18/2013)

Marquette law school poll: Most residents favor gun background checks.  (Wisconsin Law Journal, 3/19/2013)

No Quarter by Daniel Bice:  NRA put big money on Walker campaign.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/22/2012)

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Larry Sabato Crowns Scott Walker as GOP's Great White Hope


Keep in mind that two senses of the verb "surge" are to "rise and fall actively : TOSS" and "to rise suddenly to an excessive or abnormal value".

What goes up, must come down, in other words.

Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball

Middleton Public Library Survey (1968): Chapter 1

5 years a city when this report was published

Chapter 1:  History, Organizations, Recreation, Religion

Background:  This document is the result of a contact made by Middleton Public Library Director Susan Mack, who in January 1968 contacted the University of Wisconsin Library School about the prospect of conducting a community needs survey.  The project was taken on by 9 students in L.S. 712 (Public Library), taught by Visiting Lecturer Bernard Schwab, Director of the Madison Public Library.  Apparently, there is a long history of current and former practitioners teaching this course.

I stumbled across this document yesterday while browsing the stacks at the UW-Madison SLIS Library.

What a surprise.

If the Middleton Public Library ever had a copy, it was not cataloged nor placed in any file drawer.  It would have been hard to miss.  The catalog record notes "various pagings"; I'd say they add up to about 200.  A not insubstantial project.

What follows is my summary of chapter 1.








Public Library Sponsorship/Partnership Policies: A Sampling

Poudre River (Colorado) Public Library District 

(highlights added)

"Donations" and "third-party fundraising" are defined on page 39.

The policy goes on to describe
  • Principles 
  • Guidelines
  • (more on) Third Party Fundraising 


The Fauquier County (Virginia) Public Library’s resources, involvement, and leadership in the community are extended through partnerships with businesses, institutions, organizations, and other County departments.

The library recognizes that partnerships can 
  • enhance its image
  • increase its visibility
  • provide funds or gifts to offset special programs and services, and 
  • help introduce new services. 

Library partners will benefit from increased exposure and visibility through their involvement with the library. Only entities deemed appropriate and compatible with the mission, goals, and policies of the library will be considered for potential partnership.

Library partnerships may include:
  • Cooperative/reciprocal agreements that are generally on-going and involve an exchange of services between the Fauquier County Public Library and other libraries, governmental, or non-profit agencies; 
  • Partnerships with corporate entities that involve the donation of services or concessions to the library for a specific project; 
  • Sponsorships in which a sponsor donates money and/or services for an activity and receives recognition for a specific period of time from the library. 
The library will develop each partnership on an individual basis and will document expectations and responsibilities in a written agreement.

The library reserves the right to cancel a partnership agreement with an organization that uses the library’s name without prior consent or develops a public image inappropriate to the library’s mission, goals, and policies.

Any partnership must respect the library’s commitment to intellectual freedom.

The library is solely in charge of the selection of materials, programs, or services.

The endorsement of products or services will not be permitted.

The library’s policies pertaining to confidentiality of records and privacy will be observed.


Beaufort County (South Carolina) Public Library

In accordance to the South Carolina Public Library Standards, sec. 7.2 that states that the library works cooperatively with other community agencies to increase service the Beaufort County Library welcomes the opportunity to partner with private and public agencies and organizations when doing so benefits the library and the community we serve.
  • Partnerships are considered to be long-range relationships with specific responsibilities and outcomes assigned to each partner. 
  • Sponsorships are considered as a means for agencies and organizations to support specific library projects, services, or programs and are short-term

Each opportunity will be evaluated by the Branch Manager or Administrator (herein: Coordinators, Assistant Director, Director) to determine the short- and long-term costs (including staff time) and benefits.

Based on the scope of the partnership or sponsorship, the Branch Manager or Administrator will determine whether a formal agreement or contract is required.
  • The Branch Manager or Administrator may enter into formal agreements or memos of understanding
  • Contracts for more elaborate partnerships or sponsorships require approval of the Board of Trustees.
  • The mission and policies of potential partners and sponsors must be compatible with the policies, vision, mission, and goals of the Library. 
  • Partners and sponsors agree to act in ways that are mutually beneficial and adhere to oral or written agreements. 
  • Priority will be given to organizations, agencies, and businesses that help the library extend or expand services to the community
  • The Library will develop each partnership individually, documenting the terms and conditions. 
  • If deemed appropriate by the Branch Manager, and with approval from the Assistant Director, these terms will be formalized in a written agreement or contract

The Branch Manager or Administrator will assign a staff member to be the primary liaison for the partnership and will expect the partner to do the same. \

The Library may cancel a partnership agreement at any time if the partner uses the Library’s name without prior consent or if the nature of the partner’s mission changes substantially or in a manner that becomes inconsistent with the Library’s mission and image.


Howland (New York) Public Library  (with an emphasis on tax-exempt status; highlights added)


Also of interest
Exploring Milwaukee Public Library Partnership Opportunities.  (Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs, 2011)
Wisconsin public library/community partnerships.  (4/3/2013)

A Great Library Advocacy Message from Baltimore (But a Different Ad, Please)



Additional excerpt:   I was met with polls on how much time teens spent on the Internet. It seems that for people my age, visiting the library is a dying tradition that needs to be revived.

Omitting the reference to the Internet, the "visiting the library is a dying tradition" could just as easily describe my peer group in the mid-to-late 1960s.


My visits to the Warren Public Library dropped precipitously by the time I entered high school.

Original library at center-right.  1981 addition to the left.
(Photo credit:  Retiring Guy)

News You Can Trust



Excerpt:  CNN and other outlets found themselves with egg on their face when they reported that an arrest had been made in the Boston bombings and were then forced to walk that news back.

Not the 1st time.


Time to stock up?

Nor likely to be the last.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Maria Tamara: "That library was everything to me"

A very touching library story.

Robin Williams sez maniacally, "You don't have to pay doodah!!"



San Francisco Public Library

Carol Stream Residents Take Their Library Back from the Tea Party


New regime at Carol Stream Library, but old challenges remain. (Daily Herald, 4/12/2013)

The winning slate of candidates (and their vote totals)
  • Jim Bailey (1,765)
  • Patricia Johnson (1,758
  • Nadia Sheikh (1,582)
  • Bonita Gilliam (1,505)
  • Edward Jourdan (1,495)

The losing "Support Your Library candidates (and their vote totals)
  • Joshua Jeffrey (838)
  • Susan Galle (1,073)
  • Jerry Clark (912)
  • Current board president and Teabagger Mike Wade (824)
  • Justin Moran (730)

Other Carol Stream Public Library posts/articles:
Library board race grows increasingly bitter.  (Daily Herald, 4/3/2013)
Board punts on library building project.  (11/20/2012)
Quick turnaround time.  (8/2/2012)
Good luck with that!  (8/1/2012)
Library Director has no doubts her firing was personal. (7/25/2012)
Do-over:  Library board votes again to fire library director officially, legally.  (7/26/2012)
Philosophical realignment of the Carol Stream Public Library Board of Trustees.  (7/19/2012)

Dipping into American Libraries' "The State of America's Libraries 2013" (6)

School librarians bear the brunt of staff reductions.  (page 28)

The number of school librarians declined more than other school staff from 2007 to 2011, with the exception of instructional coordinators and supervisors.


Related posts:
Ebook awareness.  (4/17/2013)
Library websites.  (4/16/2013)
Salaries.  (4/16/2013)
State library agency funding, state aid to public libraries.  (4/16/2013)
Public libraries weather storm; school librarians under siege.  (4/16/2013)

Have Yourself a Sandy Summer at the New Hanover County Public Library



Are You Ready for Lyle Lyle Crocodile?





This is the second time in a few days that I've watched a YouTube library video that opens with an old-fashioned film countdown.



It's already old.

Jenna Marbles' Star Shines Bright on YouTube

The Woman With1 Billion Clicks,Jenna Marbles. (The New York Times, 4/12/2013)

15,000,000+ of them here.



The standard approach to this new entertainment genre:
  • Length:  Between 5 and 8 minutes.
  • Filming the video:  
    • Talk to the camera
    • Make eye contact with your audience.
    • Keep your face mobile:  the more exaggerated the expression, the better
  • Editing the video:  Jump cuts are de rigueur.
  • Upload to YouTube and rack up views.

Jenna's ingredients for success (from NYT summary)
  • Comedy
  • Sex appeal
  • Puppies
  • Social commentary
  • Profanity

Dipping into American Libraries' "The State of America's Libraries 2013" (5)

Many remain unaware that libraries offer ebooks. (page 21)

Source:  Libraries, patrons, and e-books.  (Pew Research, 6/22/2012)

Related posts:
Library websites.  (4/16/2013)
Salaries.  (4/16/2013)
State library agency funding, state aid to public libraries.  (4/16/2013)
Public libraries weather storm; school librarians under siege.  (4/16/2013)

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Dipping into American Libraries' "The State of America's Libraries 2013" (4)

Libraries with a website, and what's on the website.  (page 18)


Related posts:
Salaries.  (4/16/2013)
State library agency funding, state aid to public libraries.  (4/16/2013)
Public libraries weather storm; school librarians under siege.  (4/16/2013)

Meet Steve Katz, New York State Assemblyman.

"He was alone and cooperative," notes the video report.


Add "hypocritical" to the list.

New York State Assembly

Dipping into American Libraries' "The State of America's Libraries 2013" (3)

Mean salaries paid, 2010 and 2012.  (Includes public and academic libraries. Page 17)

"Mean" as in "occupying a position about midway between extremes" as opposed to "penurious, stingy".


Related posts:
State library agency funding, state aid to public libraries.  (4/16/2013)
Public libraries weather storm; school librarians under siege.  (4/16/2013)

Dipping into American Libraries' "The State of America's Libraries 2013" (2)

The State of America's Libraries 2013

Most state libraries manage to hold the line.  (pages 9-10)


The current Wisconsin state budget (FY2013-15) provides a small increase in funding for 3 of the 4 library programs administered by the Department of Public Instruction.

Sidebar:  State library funding by program




Sidebar:  

Dipping into American Libraries' "The State of America's Libraries 2013" (1)


Public libraries weather storm; school librarians under siege. (pages 7-8)

According to the report, [m]ost U.S. public libraries have weathered the storm of the Great Recession, maintaining their role as a lifeline to the technological skills essential to social inclusion and full participation in the nation’s economy.



School libraries not weathering the storm well.    The total number of school librarians fell steadily each academic year from the 2006–2007 school year through 2011.

State of America's School Libraries by Maureen Sullivan,  President, American Library Association.  (Huffington Post, 4/15/2013)