Left of Centre: 02/01/2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Weird

This headline is not a reference to oral sex written by an editor with only tangential knowledge of common vulgarities, which is even weirder than if it were.

Technorati Tags: humor

Do Penn State Students Run the Development Office?

The Old Main Propaganda Shop has been very successful in branding the Penn State Dance Marathon, a.k.a THON, as the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. They pitch the meme relentlessly. Here's the Penn State Propaganda Portal last week as THON was underway.

THON 2009 began Friday, Feb. 20, in the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's University Park campus. The 46-hour Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, the largest student-run-philanthropy in the world ...

And news outlets, like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, uncritically repeat the claim. Last year I put the lie to this idea and this year the Centre Daily Times did some very good reporting which made it even clearer that this isn't a student-run event in an meaningful way.

Penn State spokeswoman Jill Shockey said the university’s Associated Student Activities office within Student Affairs helps the finance committee for Thon — as it does with all student clubs — and the university development office handles corporate donors and donations for those wanting tax receipts.

Information on those donors is considered “proprietary,” Shockey said.

If this were a student-run philanthropy wouldn't this information be controlled by the students and not Old Main?

In its other reporting on the event this year, the CDT,to its further credit, did not state as fact that THON is the largest student run philanthropy in the world.

Organizers call "THON" the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. They say they've
raised $52 million since 1973, including $6.6 million last year.

I hope this signals a more skeptical attitude from the CDT toward Old Main.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, THON, false branding

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Does the FDA Have Guidelines for an Organic Tradition?

Because I erroneously titled a post last year State Paddy's Day rather than State Patty's Day, I've been getting a slew of traffic from Google searches from people who now have the same misconception about the name of the this event as I did last year.

Not much has changed since last year. Safeguard Old State is still flogging the "organic" tradition nonsense, so I thought that for all those people landing here in search of information on State Patty's Day, I'd recycle another post from last year which gets the name right and encapsulates my thoughts on this stupidity.

I want to thank the folks at Safeguard Old State for demonstrating with their support of State Patty's Day that Penn State flack Bill Mahon is wrong about the cause of alcohol abuse at Penn State.

Here is Bill in 2006, shortly after the news of Penn State's number two rank as a party school broke, explaining that yes there is an alcohol problem at Penn State, but no it isn't Penn State's fault; it's the bar's fault.

...Bill Mahon said with the amount of marketing of alcohol, he is surprised the university isn't number one. He said 353 Penn State students were taken to the emergency room for alcohol overdoses last year. "There are 90 bottle shops, beer distributors, bars, state (liquor) stores and restaurants that sell alcohol within a five mile radius of Old Main. Our students don't stand a chance," Mahon said in an e-mail. "We are not going to wave the white flag and give up, but it is a struggle every year to compete with the businesses in this community that aggressively promote alcohol consumption with our students," Mahon said

I've always found this a bit odd. It's as if Old Main were arguing that the large enrollment at University Park isn't due to any Penn State policy, rather it is a result of all of the student housing within a five mile radius of the Old Main.

The reason there is an alcohol problem at Penn State isn't the bars, it's because of the party school culture amongst the students, as SOS has so clearly shown us. Many student select Penn State because of that culture and many of those that come here for other reasons are soon enough adopted into the culture. This means that it is self-sustaining. And the bars are a product of the culture not its cause.

The reason that such a culture can exist is that University policies make it possible. Low academic standards, the celebration of sports over academics, and the ethos of the primacy of practical over liberal education, means that the life of the mind gets short shrift and students aren't challenged and pushed to think. Parties and alcohol are an escape from the dull grind of being trained for life in a cubical.

Old Main can begin the long process of changing the culture by raising standards and emphasizing the joy of learning for its own sake.

That won't happen with Spanier at the helm. He's the the epitome of the anti-intellectual party animal only without the alcohol. Let's call him Graham "O'Douls" Spanier.

So thank-you once again Safeguard Old State for your Spanieresque defense of State Patty's Day. It makes clear exactly where the problem lies.

Postscript: As always, ha-mace is a must read on the topic.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, State Patty's Day, Safeguard Old State, Spanier, Bill Mahon, alcohol abuse, anti-intellectual

The Importance of EFCA

I've noted that Graham has spent University funds to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). I recommend this statement signed by a diverse group of economists in support of the EFCA to those of you who wonder why EFCA is important.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Spanier, Employee Free Choice Act

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Keeping an Eye on GT

Sixteen Republicans House members broke ranks to vote with their Democratic colleagues to pass this year's omnibus appropriations bill. GT wasn't one of them.

Technorati Tags: Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), H.R. 1105, omnibus appropriations bill

Deep Thought*

Twitter is the perfect medium for Republicans given the depth of their ideas.

*I wonder if Atrios collects royalties.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Hey Graham, Can You Beat This?

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that

Carnegie Mellon University today announced a 2.94 percent increase in undergraduate tuition, the smallest increase in 34 years.

What can Penn State undergrads expect next year?

"It is not a good time to try to raise tuition any more than even a fraction of a percent over what was proposed," [Spanier] said. "It would come at a time when it is harder than ever for the families of our students to cope with that."

The proposed increase, voted on at the Sept. 19 Penn State Board of Trustees meeting, would raise tuition by 4.5 percent for out-of-state students and 5.5 percent for in-state students at University Park for the 2009-10 academic year.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, tuition increases

Tough Times For Newspapers

Bad news out of Philly for a traditional media company.

Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com, filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday in a bid to restructure its $390 million in debt load.

Technorati Tags: Philidelphia Inquire, bankrupt

Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Clock Runs Down on Run Up the Score

Best of luck RUTS in your blogless future. You were great while the run lasted.

Technorati Tags: Run Up The Score

CDT Photo Contest Gone Wild

Technorati Tags: Centre Daily Times, humor

Friday, February 20, 2009

I Was Wrong, Let's Celebrate

I don't like being wrong, but I was wrong about Graham and Russell. I thought he would accept Russell's response to his ultimatum. He didn't. This time I am rather happy I was wrong.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Spanier, Russell Athletics

What Are They Teaching Them in the Business School?

CNBC's Rick Santelli gave Left Blogistan a hardy laugh yesterday with this rant on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trading floor.

Jane Hamsher at FDL picks the story up today and draws attention to this observation from Charles Lemos at MyDD.

I spent a decade on Wall Street working for Alex. Brown & Sons, Deutsche Banc Securities and Goldman Sachs. I found Wall Street a largely liberal environment with one major exception, the trading floor. In my experience I found traders, who are largely white ethnics -Irish, Italian, Greek, Polish or Slovak among others- and graduates of the Seton Halls, the Boston Colleges, the Notre Dames, the Penn States were the most rabid conservative and foul mouthed people on the planet.[Emphasis added.] Nor could any of them ever get my name right. "My name is Charles, not Chuckie" was something I would repeat whenever I had the misfortune to have to interact with them. Some of these folks made William Buckley appear moderate.

Whatever my own views on traders and their culture, it appears that Rick Santelli is their patron saint. In his five minute rant, Mr. Santelli went on to compare Barack Obama's America to Castro's Cuba and to suggest a kind of modern day "Boston Tea Party" - a call for a Chicago Tea Party as an anti-spending revolt. Mr. Santelli's "I'm mad as hell and I am not going to take it" tirade on CNBC brought cheers and applause on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade not to mention accolades from across the conservative blogs.

It must make the people in Smeal proud that their high tech showpiece Trading Room has produced such outstanding graduates.

Of course, I've always thought that most of Penn State was a glorified trade school.

Technorati Tags: Rick Santelli, Penn State, Smeal College of Business

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Thon: The CDT Late to the Party, But a Welcome Guest

Nearly a year ago I wrote about the lack of transparency and accountability which surrounds the fund raising for the Penn State Dance Marathon.

...THON is not registered as an independent charitable organization. When you make a donation to THON you use Penn State's tax-exempt identification number:24-6000-376. [Ed 2/19/09: The link from last year is dead. Here are screen shots from this year and of the Penn State's IRS W-9 Form used for the tax-exempt donations to Thon.] Hence the money disappears into the the Penn State information blackhole and since The Four Diamond Fund is also a part of the University, the money never sees the light of day again.

Is the money misused? There is no way of telling. But it is worth recalling how Old Main has been handling the donation to student groups and colleges.
Beginning this year, donations to colleges and student groups exceeding $5,000 will take a pit stop at the Office of University Development for 90 days while Penn State pockets the interest, a university official said.
And the University never told anyone about this scheme including the those donating the money. Imagine then what they might do with $6.6 million.

Yesterday, Anne Danahy at the Centre Daily Times wrote a piece about this very issue.

...Thon and the Four Diamonds Fund are not independent charitable organizations. Rather, they are part of Penn State and get their tax exempt status from the university. As such, they — and Penn State — are not required to make any part of their finances public.

Aside from the list of the top 10 fundraising fraternity and sorority teams, and the top three independent fundraising groups, Thon releases few details on its donors. Similarly, the Four Diamonds Fund doesn’t have to provide specific information about its budget.

In Pennsylvania, educational institutions are exempt from the Charitable Purposes Act, which oversees registration of charities.

Danahy does some good reporting and the article is well worth a read. I would like to see more of this type of reporting in the CDT.

Technorati Tags: Thon, Penn State Dance Marathon, Centre Daily Times, Ann Danahy, Penn State,

If You Were a Kid in NYC Wouldn't You Like to Spend a Summer in Central Pennsylvania?

The rather persistent Sara Wilson informs me that the Fresh Air Fund is looking for families to host children this summer. To learn more about the Fund and how to become a host, click here.

Technorati Tags: The Fresh Air Fund

Penn State and Russell Collude, Workers Get Screwed?

The last time we checked on Old Main's sweatshop dealings we found that Graham had come up with an underhanded plan to renew Russell Athletics' contract, while appearing to take a principled stand against Russell's unfair labor practices. Graham's plan called for Russell to promise to fix things in return for a renewal of its Penn State contract. Well it turns out that-surprise, surprise-Russell made that promise on February 16. (H/T Rein In Russell) So it looks like there won't be any need for Graham to cut those ties to Russell. And if all goes according to plan, by the next time the contract is up for renewal this whole nastiness will have been forgotten. Pretty slick, huh?

But there could be even more to this than Old Main scheming to preserve it's Russell contract while pretending to take the high moral ground. Let's recall the plan, which I've dubbed Double Super Secret Probation, as Graham explained it to a Collegian reporter.

"We made a decision several weeks ago to put Russell on probation. We informed them more recently of our deadline for addressing issues that have been identified and for answering questions we posed to them," Penn State President Graham Spanier wrote in an e-mail. "Their response will determine whether we renew our relationship with them."

Notice the time lags between the conception, execution, and public announcement of the plan. What was happening during that time? Could it have been that Old Main was colluding with Russell during that time to cook up a plan to staunch Russell's loss of contracts with other schools? Now that would even be slicker.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The GOP....

...puts the twit in Twitter.

Technorati Tags: GOP, Twitter, humor

Monday, February 16, 2009

GT's Big Move

Full-time Republican Whip and part-time performance artist Eric Cantor has tasked a group of House Republicans with establishing fundamental, long-term solutions designed to rebuild the American economy and to create jobs in the in stronger partnership with the private sector.

Let's review some of his more memorable set pieces in the lead up to the unified House Republican opposition to the stimulus legislation.

On January 22 on "The Early Show," Cantor wanted to meet with Obama [Update 2/18/09: The link is dead. Here's the Google Cache.] to discuss his concerns with parts of the then $825 billion stimulus bill. What gave Mr. Cantor pause.?

He singled out a provision for weatherizing poor people's homes, causing it a worthy goal but saying it does nothing to create new jobs.

...because weatherizing homes requires no labor. That's a pretty weak reason to oppose the bill.

But that whole weatherizing thing must have really bothered Eric, because on January 28 he and House Minority Leader John Boehner announced in a House GOP meeting that that they wanted "100 percent” opposition to the recovery package and no one in their caucus objected.

On the other hand, it may have been more than just weatherizing that worried Eric. There was that CBO report. He kept telling people that a CBO report said the stimulus is not stimulative. This was based on a preliminary report which did not look at the entire stimulus package and was contradicted by a latter full CBO report. Eric kept on pimping this canard even after the full report was issued. Maybe Eric has trouble reading.

Or just maybe Eric takes his cues from Rush. The same day that Eric and John told the GOP caucus that they wanted total opposition to the bill Eric played straight man to Rush on Rush's show.

LIMBAUGH: You could call this the “porkulus.”

CANTOR: Right. (laughing) Let me tell you something. It is porkulus. That’s a great description.

Eric really shouldn't hang around that profane old Rush; he's such a bad influence. How else can we explain the profanity laced video that Eric, an anti-obscenity crusader, sent out in response to a AFSCME video targeting conservatives trying to block the stimulus package.

Do you wonder How did Eric get that total opposition that he was looking for from the House GOP? A small amount of pressure never hurt, I guess.

After the passage of the stimulus Eric has begun to look for a role model to guide him in the future. He is considering two options. The failed former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and a Winston Churchill who never existed-don't get me wrong I know Churchill existed, but the version of Churchill that Eric imagines never existed.

This brings me back to that group of GOP House members that Eric has whipped up to study this economic crisis. Our very own Glenn Thompson is one of its members. Remember GT. Here's his explaination of the unanimous House GOP vote against the stimulus bill

Every member made their own decision and decided to vote against the bill. It was nice to see that we were all united.

Yep, sure thing GT. Joseph Cao is the perfect example of how individual House Republicans made their own decisions.

Technorati Tags: Rep. Glenn Thompson(R-PA5), stimulus bill, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Thomas Paine He Ain't

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an interview with Fox News personality Glenn Beck.

Q: When your audience began to grow and the power you wield to influence people grew did the message change?

A: From 2000 to today you see a profound change in me. I am extraordinarily aware of the responsibility that I have. I still have to be an entertainer. I still am who I am. I get a lot of mail from the Fox viewers saying, "Can you please watch your language?" I mean, help me, please. I'm an alcoholic that gave up everything in my life. I'm working on it. I'm a work in progress. So I am still a flawed individual, but I'm trying my hardest to do my job in a responsible way. Nobody listens to each other anymore. They just put you in a box, a category. I am truly not against Democrats, and I am truly not for the Republicans. I am for common sense. I just said to my producer I don't know how we do this show without politicians, but I have found myself in the last week finding myself as the host not even listening to them, left and right. I don't think the majority of them believe anything. It's just like a show to them. It's a game. I really truly believe our republic is at stake.

To better understand what Beck has in mind when he talks about common sense, watch the following video clip (Via Media Matters) of Beck with Bill O'Reilly.

Beck does the near impossible. He makes O'Reilly look sane.

Technorati Tags: Politics, Glenn Beck, wingnut

Sunday, February 15, 2009

In Defense of Pseudonyms

Dana Houle, the formerly pseudonymous blogger at dKos DHinMI, has a long and wonderful post defending the age old practice of writing under a pseudonym. Here's a taste.

Pseudonyms have long served writers whose voice would be otherwise suppressed or who, because of professional or political constraints, would not have been able to bring their thoughts to the public. Until the 20th century women would often have to use a pseudonym to ensure their works would be read, or even published. Popular writers such as Stephen King and Anne Rice have used pseudonyms, especially for fiction outside their normal genres. Nobel laureate Doris Lessing wrote two books under a female pseudonym to highlight the difficulty unknown writers have in garnering an audience. Authors of erotica often use a pseudonym. Revolutionaries and political agitators often use pseudonyms. And people have long used pen names and pseudonyms to avoid using their foreign-sounding names.
Other writers have used pseudonyms to separate their professional life from their published works. David Cornwell, an agent in the British intelligence services MI-5 and later MI-6 wrote three novels under a pseudonym. After the success of his third novel, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, John Le Carre' left MI-6 to devote himself full time to writing. A few years ago the New Yorker ran a terrific series of articles by a NYC police officer writing under the pseudonym Marcus Laffey. When no longer a beat cop, the writer eventually "came out" as Edward Conlon, author of the memoir Blue Blood and now a detective with the NYPD.
As anyone with even a smidgen of knowledge American history can tell you, our most famous pseudonym is Publius, the name used by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay for The Federalist Papers, their articles published in newspapers urging adoption of the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists, too, used pseudonyms from Roman history such as Cato and Brutus. In the eighteenth century using pseudonyms was widely accepted in public political discourse. Among other virtues, it helps focus attention on the argument instead of the person advancing it.
Pseudonymous writing can, of course, lead to abuses. A few years ago I was managing a Congressional campaign in New Hampshire when the bloggers at three separate blogs (which have since been merged in to Blue Hampshire) figured out that a commenter urging readers to support Democrats in other states was really a staffer for the Republican incumbent we were trying to beat. (That case is used as an example in the Wikipedia entry for concern trolls.) Certainly at DKos we have to ferret out a decent number of sock puppet and other miscreants who hide behind pseudonyms.
Pseudonyms are also used for more dubious reasons. It's hard to argue that anything other than his privileged position in the Washington press corps and unquestioned access to inside sources with the Clinton administration were put at risk when Joe Klein published his loose roman a clef novel Primary Colors under the pseudonym "Anonymous." And it can sometimes be harder to assess public and historical figures because their writings include lesser-known works published under a pseudonym. The writer of alchemical works who published as Jeova sanctus unus would probably deserve to be little more than a historical oddity if his real name wasn't Isaac Newton (who himself pulled a John Lott/Mary Rosh and wrote letters under fictitious names vouching that he was the inventor of calculus).
The Klein case probably contributed to the frenzy of activity trying to figure out the identity of a blogger who back in 2003 seemed to know everything. "Is it Sidney Bluenthal? It just HAS to be Sidney Blumenthal," thought a lot of people. But no. The guy blogging as atrios was an academic economist with a temporary appointment who wasn't a mouthpiece for DC insiders, but rather a guy who had a computer, internet access, read a lot and had a terrific wit and an eye for hypocrisy and cant.
The atrios situation should probably have told some of the hide-bound and insecure journalistic protectors of decency and promoters of "transparency" that their fevered beliefs about the identities of these new pseudonymous bloggers were probably crazy. Like most people who write comments on political blogs, the pseudonymous bloggers—who are also sometimes anonymous; the two are not the same—were often people without any particular inside access, but simply informed readers who wrote well and could attract an audience.

I recommend reading the whole thing. I especially recommend that Bob Heisse, who whines incencently about anonymous bloggers and commenters, read it and then reread it each time he is temped to vent over something an anonymous blogger or commenter did.

Technorati Tags: pseudonyms, Bob Heisse

Penn State, Inc.

Davis at Onward State attended a meeting over the Kleer-Cut Campaign between members of Eco-Action, a longtime Penn State student environmental group, and Paul Ruskin of the Penn State Office of Physical Plant. He contrasted the stonewalling and, more recently disingenuous gestures, that United Students Against Sweatshops has faced from Old Main over the Designated Supplier Program with the openness of OPP toward Kleer-Cut.

We were expecting a frustrating meeting of passion on one side and corporate doublespeak on the other. Instead, what we saw was a genuine collaboration between two groups with slightly different missions, but similar ideals. We won’t get into specifics here– the conversation got pretty wonky, including one nice discussion about how best to test the different toilet paper options– but it was cool to see. Paul Ruskin, the Communications Coordinator for OPP, even brought tea for the group.

What is to be made of the difference in the response of the University to these two groups? Not much, both responses are consistent with the current dominant corporate culture.

When it comes to labor issues such as sweatshops or unions, Penn State stands with Wal-Mart and the US Chamber of Commerce.

When it comes to Going Green , Penn State stands with Wal-Mart, which

... has reduced annual shipping container use by 500 units, preventing the consumption of 1,000 barrels of oil and 3,800 trees while netting $2.4 million in cost savings,

and the US Chamber of Commerce, whose Web site is chock-full of positive stories about Going Green.

Penn State is to be commended for its commitment to Going Green, as are Wal-Mart and the US Chamber of Commerce, but this commitement should not be mistaken as an indication that the University is somehow becoming less corporate. In fact, it is an indication of just how corporate Penn State is.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Going Green, corporate university, anti-labor,

Friday, February 13, 2009

Stimulating Pennsylvania

Rendell's original budget proposal assumed Federal funding as allocated in the original House stimulus bill. The Senate bill slashed much of that funding which would have meant deep cuts in that budget. Today Rendell said the compromise bill will not require any major retooling of his proposal.

Technorati Tags: compromise stimulus bill, Rendell, Pennsylvania

In Case Your Last Reading Assignment Wasn't Stimulating Enough....

...here is the line item spending in the compromise stimulus bill.

Technorati Tags: compromise stimulus bill

A Stimulating Read

Inside Higher Ed has the rundown on the spending on higher education in the compromise stimulus bill. The compromise eliminates many of the draconian cuts made to the House bill by the Senate. Research funding, in particular, looks very good. We dodged a bullet.

Technorati Tags: compromise stimulus bill, higher education

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Milton's Paradise Lost

UC Berkeley economics professor, Brad DeLong, clearly explains the financial crisis and why monetary policy won't fix it. It is well worth a read.

Technorati Tags: Financial Crisis, monetary policy, Brad DeLong, Milton Friedman, Keynesian economics

Graham Places Russell Athletics on Double Super Secret Probation

Since I first noted that the University of Wisconsin responded to Russell Athletics' unfair labor practices by canceling their licensing contracts with the company, other universities have followed suit. Today the Collegian reports that Penn State will take a different approach to the problem. Old Main has placed Russell Athletics on Double Super Secret Probation.

"We made a decision several weeks ago to put Russell on probation. We informed them more recently of our deadline for addressing issues that have been identified and for answering questions we posed to them," Penn State President Graham Spanier wrote in an e-mail. "Their response will determine whether we renew our relationship with them."

How does this Double Super Secret Probation work, you ask? It's simple. Old Main demands that Russell comply with ten remedial steps in a Fair Labor Association report on Russell's practices in the Honduran plant in question or else the University will cancel its contract with the apparel maker.

Well OK, not exactly. Old Main wants the company to provide a written timeline for complying with the steps in the report. The University will then renew the contract. So it's basically allowing Russell to promise to fix things. Penn State will sign a new contract with the company based on this promise and by the next time the contract is up for renewal everyone will have forgotten about this little incident. Pretty neat uh? It's even more underhanded than Harvey.

This is what Graham's weaselly leadership looks like.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Spanier, Russell Athletics, Fair Labor Association, Workers Rights Consortium

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Hobgoblin: I'm Guessing That This Isn't What Emerson Had in Mind

Way back in January campus right wing loudmouth Tom Shakely was all for the Commonwealth going into debt to pay for his half-cooked idea of re-instituting Tuition Challenge Grants for Penn State students.

Despite the deficit, Shakely is confident the program could still work.

"The bottom line is that the government has proved it doesn't have a problem with deficit spending," Shakely said.

Of course, Tom was a bit confused about the difference between the Federal government, which can run a deficit, and Pennsylvania state government, which can't, but nonetheless he was fine with deficit spending.

Today the Federal government is on the verge of borrowing some money to, in part, fund higher education and Tom is all for the idea. No,No... I'm just kidding. Here he is this week. (H/T Onward State)

Congress very well may sentence our young people to a two-fold punishment with this bill: first, to suffer institutions of higher education less affordable, and second, to bear the responsibility of footing the bill for this borrowed, $1 trillion “stimulus.”

You have to admire that he can do this without his head exploding while he types.

Technorati Tags: Financial Crisis, Higher Education

"Slush Fund" Is Just Rightwing Rhetoric

Rendell has responded to the stimulus bill which passed the US Senate today.

[He]warned Tuesday that a $1 billion reduction in Pennsylvania's expected share of federal economic stimulus aid in a bill passed by the U.S. Senate would force deeper state spending cuts and result in the loss of hundreds of additional state jobs.

[...]

The federal money removed by the Senate would have been set aside for the Corrections Department, which plans to add 2,400 beds to state prisons and community correctional facilities. It would free up an equal amount of state dollars for other programs at a time the national recession has caused a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.

Failure to restore any of that money would likely require additional spending cuts for such services as education and health care. The governor said it also would result in the loss of 1,500 state workers along with the 2,600 jobs already scheduled to be eliminated under his budget.

"This is not a slush fund for governors," Rendell said of the federal aid for states. "This is all about state services, local services and jobs."

Republicans who control the state Senate are also closely monitoring the debate in Washington.

"If the federal stimulus bill passes in this form, we will be very interested in the details of the governor's additional proposed cuts," said Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware.

I'm keeping an eye on this, but I will withhold judgment until after the conference committee on the bill hammers out a compromise.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Read Krugman and Weep

Paul Krugman is justifiably pessimistic about the senate compromise stimulus bill. He is particularly bothered by the cut in the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. After you've read Krugman, go read dday at Digby's place. He has some suggestions about what can be done.

Technorati Tags: Financial Crisis, State Stabiliazation Fund, Paul Krugman,

IHEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

The latest on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund from Inside Higher Ed firms up the numbers I wrote about in my last post . The result is a bleak picture for higher education in Pennsylvania, Penn State included

The Senate version would also provide significantly less money to states that have been counting on the stimulus package to help them backfill budget gaps for education programs. The original Senate legislation, like the House version, would have created a $39 billion “stabilization” fund designed to be distributed to states to keep their higher education and K-12 budgets at their 2008 levels, as well as $25 billion in additional money for states to use to sustain crucial public services, including education.

Under the revised Senate version, the stabilization fund would be cut by a third, to $26.7 billion, and the additional $25 billion pool would shrink to $9.6 billion.

This is likely to be a major issue in states such as Missouri, where Gov. Jay Nixon’s agreement with university leaders to keep higher education whole in the 2010 budget, in exchange for freezing tuition, depends on the federal stimulus funds to make it work.

The IHE piece is well worth a read, as it contains a complete run down of the implications of the senate bill for higher education. Not all of the implications are bleak, for example, increased funding for Pell grants remains in the compromise bill.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Pennsylvania, State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, stimulus bill, higher education

Something About a Frying Pan and a Fire

When Governor Rendell released his budget proposal earlier this week, I wrote that the roughly $20 million cut in Penn State's appropriation was not as bad as it could have been. The reason it isn't as bad as it could have been given the state's dire financial straits is that the Governor's budget assumed that Pennsylvania would receive its share, $2.52 billion over two years, of the $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund originally included in the economic recovery plan currently being thrashed out in Congress. More than $38.8 billion of those funds were targeted to education. Pennsylvania share was to be $771 million per year over the next two years.

As of last night, things may have gotten worse. The Senate "centrists" compromise stimulus bill has stripped $40 billion out of the stabilization fund. It's not clear from the early reporting how the cut was distributed between the portion of the fund designated for education and the remainder of the fund. This means that the situation could be anywhere between the total elimination of the education fund and the preservation of the remainder and a preservation of the education funding and the elimination of the remainder. Neither would be good for the Commonwealth, but the latter would be a disaster for education in Pennsylvania, in general, and Penn State in particular. However, while the reporting isn't clear on the point, earlier reports were that the state education block grants were being stripped by these "centrists".

Keep in mind, this is an unfolding story and things can change at any moment. Even if the Senate passes a bill with the education funding stripped, it can be restored in the House-Senate Conference Committee. But if you care about these things, then it's time to get to the phones and start calling your senators and representatives. Senator Specter in particular should be a target. He was one of the "centrists who have helped to weaken the stimulus bill.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Pennsylvania, Rendell, economic crisis, stimulus bill

Friday, February 06, 2009

Here is What Moral Leadership Looks Like

The University of Wisconsin at Madison has decided to end its ties with Russell Athletic after the apparel maker chose to shutdown a Honduran plant rather than see it unionized. This is the second time that Wisconsin has ended a relationship with an apparel maker over the maker's questionable labor practices. Earlier it end it ties with the New Era Cap Company.

Graham refused to take any action in the New Era Cap Company case and he has not taken any action in the Russell Athletic case.

For Graham, morality is about looking out for the interests of the powerful.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Spanier, Russell Athletics, Sweatshops, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Thursday, February 05, 2009

You're Supposed to Hyperlink!

Earlier today in his blog, Centre Daily Times editor Bob Heisse approvingly quoted from one of my posts on the football team being put up overnight at Toftrees before home football games.

Have to say I laughed out loud when I read the post below by one of our anonymous bloggers (Veblen) in town.

I'll give credit where it's due: He's so right and I wish I would have come up with this line.

Here's what he wrote, after having been burned by posting a perceived "negative" comment about Penn State football on our Web site:

" ... just a warning, making any comment at the CDT that can be construed as the least bit negative to Penn State football is the cyberspace equivalent of walking in a Penn State frat in an Ohio State sweatshirt."

Bob should take note of what I did here. I linked to his blog post. He should have done the same with mine. [Update 2/6/09: I checked Bob's blog a few moments ago and found that he's put in a link to the post. Thanks, Bob.]

While I'm on the topic of links and the CDT, there's something I've been meaning to write about for awhile now:permalinks. If the CDT is serious about its online presence then they should, at the very least, give bloggers permalinks to their articles. Even the blogs at the CDT are full of dead links to CDT stories which diminish the value of those posts. It should be good economics. Giving bloggers permalinks should generate more traffic to the newspapers Web site which should help it sell more advertizing. Even better, the CDT should open up its archives on which it could then sell advertizing.

Com'on "Bob wha'da ya say?

Technorati Tags: Centre Daily Times, Bob Heisse, hyperlinks

No Matter What You Think of the CDT, This Isn't Good News.

McClatchy, the parent company of our very own Centre Daily Times, reports it lost 26 cents a share in the fourth quarter of last year and it

...also warned today that it planned cost cuts of $100 million to $110 million this year. It didn't say how much, if any, would come from layoffs.

Technorati Tags: McClatchy, Centre Daily Times

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

The Governor's 2009-2010 Budget Proposal

I'll have more to write about the budget proposal latter, but I wanted to note that Penn State did not take a big hit in the proposed budget. The legislature appropriated $338 million for the University last year, but a little more than $20 million was taken back in a mid-year rescission. The Governor is proposing $318 million for next year which is the end amount the University received this year. This is not as bad as it could have been.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, budget, Pennsylvania appropriations, financial crisis, economy, Rendell

After The Fact

I learned about Kenn Starr's talk at Penn State via the Dickinson School of Law newswire. The Penn State Propaganda Portal didn't put anything about the talk on its front page, that is until this morning, the day after the talk. Any ideas as to why they chose to keep this guy at arms length?

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Kenn Starr, Dickinson School of Law, propaganda

The Power That is Left of Centre

Witness the power that is Left of Centre.

When I learned last week that Kenn Starr would be speaking last night at Penn State, I suggested a protest would be in order over his work on California's anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8. Well, last night there was a protest over his support of that work.

OK, I have no idea if the protesters needed me to inspire them into action, but it's good to see that people were willing to brave the cold let Kenn know they disagree with him.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Dickinson School of Law, Kenn Starr, Proposition 8

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Fresh Air Fund Is Looking For a Few Good Counselors

The Fresh Air Fund, a 132 year-old independent, not-for-profit agency that provided free summer vacations to New York City children from low-income communities, is looking for college aged men and women to serve as camp counselors this summer. Click here to learn more.

Technorati Tags: The Fresh Air Fund

Monday, February 02, 2009

Glenn Thompson Fails to Surprise Me

I was pleasantly surprised last month when our new Republican congressman, Glenn Thompson, voted in favor of the SCHIPS bill. I thought that he'd be a lock step robo Republican. It now appears that the SCHIP vote was a misstep on GT's part. He voted against the stimulus package last week along with all other House Republicans. That's what I call some precision marching. But GT must think his constituents are stupid. He wants us to believe that he was surprised by the vote and that