Forbes Removes "Whistleblowers on Fraud Facing Penalties"

Now, I know Web sites, particularly magazine and newspaper Web sites, are run for profit and are under no obligation to keep all their content online.

That said, I think it's a huge mistake that Forbes magazine seems to have removed the famous "Whistleblowers on Fraud Facing Penalties" article, written by Deborah Hastings and published on 8/24/07. It was about the US government prosecuting US citizens who were trying to fight fraud in Iraq.

So I wrote to Forbes to complain:


To: Forbes Magazine
Subject: What Happened to the "Whistleblowers on Fraud Facing Penalties" by Deborah Hastings Article (date: 08/24/07)?

Why isn't it online anymore?

I thought that was one of the most important articles Forbes ever published, not to mention one of the most unlikely, given the conservative tilt of Forbes. I blogged about the article, and linked to it from my Web site.

So, I did a periodic link check and found the article cannot be found at the Forbes site. I think that's very unfortunate. It's too important to not keep it online in its entirety as a constant reminder of how far our country has sunk over the last 7 years.

Luckily, I downloaded a copy of it. I am tempted to post a different 20% of it every day on my Web site, so that the content can be retained on the Web and without violating your copyright.



Disgusted, but not surprised,

Laurie D. T. Mann
McDonald, PA

Finally - Dim Sum in the Pittsburgh Area

2012 update - the dim sum place in Robinson Township died a few years back. I miss it. I'm not sure why this blog post gets so many visits. When we go to Washington, then we get decent dim sum! [[I can't recommend the York Buffet Sushi & Grill across from the Mall at Robinson. I've been there maybe three times, it has a few kinds of dim sum, everything there tends to taste stale.]]

I've had dim sum many times in Boston, New York and San Francisco since at least 1982. When I moved back to Pittsburgh in 1993, I kept waiting for a genuine dim sum restaurant with the carts to open up. I figured that since Pittsburgh was always at least ten years behind the times, maybe one would open up by 2000. I shouldn't have held my breath.

It's not that I haven't had good Chinese appetizers in Pittsburgh - I have. The China Palace in Shadyside has excellent appetizers. Ditto the New Dumpling House in Squirrel Hill, Spice Island Tea House in Oakland and Ya Fei in Robinson. We always meant to try the Hong Kong in Dormont, but as they only served dim sum one Sunday a month, it was easy to forget to go there. And while there seems to be a dim sum place in Allison Park, I've never been to Allison Park.

So I was delighted to stumble over the Golden Palace, 5920 Steubenville Pike (near Beaver Grade Rd. on the same side of the street) in Robinson Township (412-489-5398). It's in a former Chinese buffet restaurant that closed last year and has just reopened. While they don't serve buffet, it's no great loss. It has a pretty typical Chinese menu and it has dim sum every day. Not only dim sum, but dim sum from carts on the weekends! (The menu online is in Chinese, but they include photos of some items.)

It was pretty good. The menu isn't huge, but the steamed buns were excellent as were the shrimp dumplings and turnip cake. We didn't have any dessert, but the dessert cart had some good-looking custard tarts and sesame balls.

It's definitely worth the trip to Robinson Township to go to this restaurant. It's on the same side of the road as the Arby's and the Eat and Park. Maybe if they get more business, they'll add more kinds of dim sum!

The Facts Don't Matter for Bush

As I've often said, I find the lack of respect for facts and reason by the current administration a real embarrassment for our country.

Here is a good example of Bush's not caring about the facts. It's a little thing; it's not about the lies he's told about Iraq or about public policy or what the Constitution says or John Kerry or anything else like that. This lie is about a painting that's hanging in the White House, given to him by supporters.

The Abridged Version of the Story

A Myth to Keep - the Full Version of the Story

Thanks to NPR for reporting this story yesterday!

In Honor of "Blog for Choice 2008"

I cannot think of a time when I wasn't pro-choice. Even in the '60s, when I was first learning about sex and birth control and abortion was generally illegal, having the option of an abortion in a doctor's office made sense. I couldn't understand the fuss then.

While I understand the fuss now, I do not agree with it.

Abortion rights, like other rights for women (did you know women voted legally in some areas of America in the 18th century?) always seem more tenuous. We have to continue to fight for the right for legal abortion. We have to fight for the right to get birth control, given some people's opposition to that. We need to fight for the right to an accurate, science-based education on issues of biology, sexuality and birth control. We need to elect individuals to government who comprehend the difference between science and religious-based propaganda.

While I do not believe that abortion is murder, if it is murder, it is murder in self-defense. We generally don't condemn people who kill in self-defense; to preserve one's own life. If you do believe abortion is murder, the answer is simple - don't have one. But I do not believe I have the right to make that choice for you, any more than I believe a government should make such a choice for me.

Do You Want the Constitution Huckabeed?

On January 14, 2008, former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate said (and it's on tape even):


I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.


Well, great. I don't want an American Ayatollah in office. We finally got rid of Santorum; we don't need another person that out-of-touch in high office. I want people in office who have a clue about what the Establishment Clause means...and what it doesn't mean.

Jefferson and Madison would be rolling over in their graves to hear an American presidential candidate talking that way. They fought against such nonsense their entire lives.

Congressional Office of Technology Assessment Is Still Dead

Back in the '70s, when folks in the government still paid attention to scientists, the Office of Technology Assessment was founded, to help provide scientific data for governmental decision-making. The office was closed down after the "Republican Revolution" of 1994, when Gringich et. al. took over.

Now that the Democrats have control of the Congress, I'd hoped we'd see some changes. Granted, making any changes in Washington tends to be a very slow process. But one positive change the Congress could make is to re-establish the Office of Technology Assessment, and start paying attention to science in decision-making, rather than politics.

The Science Progress blog had a useful reminder about this situation.

I wrote to Speaker Pelosi and my own Representative Tim Murphy. Murphy would probably be opposed to including more science advising in decision-making since Republicans seem to be most opposed to this concept.

Hilary Clinton's Much-Needed Shot in the Arm

I thought people who wrote Hilary Clinton's presidential race obituary after her loss in Iowa were overreacting. Turns out that I was right.

While people in the media keep harping on Clinton's unelectability, she's been ahead or even in many national, head-to-head polls against likely Repulican candidates. Many of us would love to see a woman president for a change.

The sexist jerks are out in full color (as usual). I've always thought she's a good candidate and would make a very good president. On the one hand, like most politicians, she's sold out to a degree, and Obama is a more inspiring speaker. Still, she's done a surprising amount of bipartisan work in Washington, during a time of severe partisanship. She's tenacious, and she very smart. I don't count her out.

I do have a concern over the idea that it's not a good thing to have the presidency change hands between two families for many years. On the other hand, while George H. W. Bush was kind of a middling president, his son W. has been an unmitigated disaster. Hard to tell if Hilary Clinton would be better or worse than Bill. She might be better - she had much more national political experience than Bill had when he ran.

So while the idea of an Obama or an Edwards presidency doesn't horrify me, I'd prefer Clinton. As I live in Pennsylvania, I don't know if I'll get the chance to vote for he in my primary. But, I hope I do!

Jamie Lynn Spears: Poster Child for "Abstinence Only" Education

Remember a few years ago when famous teen pop star Britney Spears made a big deal that she was going to be a virgin until she got married?

Well, apparently she didn't, but at least she managed to delay a first pregnancy until she was married.

Her younger sister wasn't quite that "smart." I know, I know, putting the phrase "Britney Spears" and "smart" in the same essay seems a tad incongruous. But why are many teens so stupid when it comes to sex?

Currently, the stupidity is caused by a combination of strong hormones and the gutting of sex education programs at the federal level.

Granted, teens have been stupid about sex for a long time. Teen pregnancy isn't anything new. It was a little more common when I was a teenager. But, at least in the '70s, many school systems had at least something approaching sex education. And, between more factual sex education, more girls asserting their right to not have sex before they were ready, and more availability of contraception, teen pregnancy rates gradually started to decline.

However, during the reign of the Bushies, reality-based sex education been systematically removed in favor of the fantasy of abstinence-only education.

It doesn't work. The teen pregnancy rate is starting to increase again, partially due to the federal government's refusal to approach teen sexuality in anything approaching a realistic manner. The teen girls who are having sex without proper education or protection are only living out the fantasy of "waiting until marriage" that the federal government and many religious organizations like to push.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think most teens should have sex. Having a good sex life as an adult is very important. I can only imagine how many teen girl's feelings about her sexuality have been mangled by a teen boy's feelings about his. While I don't advocate waiting until marriage to have sex, I do advocate waiting until you have a potential lover with whom you can discuss sex and birth control before you engage in having sex. If you aren't adult enough to have the birth control talk, you aren't adult enough to have sex either.

Claiming that sex education leads to irresponsible sex is like claiming that driver education leads to car accidents.

A Call for a Presidential Debate on Science and Technology

(taken, verbatim, from sciencedebate2008.com)

Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy.


*******************************

Given that at least one Democratic presidential candidate, Hilary Clinton, has already made a strong statement that her administration would promote scientific inquiry and innovation, I hope the Democrats would agree to such a debate. Most of the Republican candidates are violently anti-science, particularly Huckabee and Romney. It would be something of a joke for the Republicans to engage in such a discussion.

First Anniversary of Bocktown Beer and Grill

Jim and I have been regulars out at Bocktown Beer and Grill in North Fayette since we realized there was a non-smoking beer bar in Allegheny county. Owner Chris Dilla threw a first anniversary party for the bar on November 29.





Chris Dilla with her husband John at the Bocktown first anniversary party.






Bocktown from the inside.



The band makes music.



BarSmart Poster for the Beer Poll.



The "bouncer."



Christmas beer selection.



Jim won a T-shirt from Stone Brewing! The T-shirt is completely appropriate.

Dick Cheney Has An Irregular Heart

This is news?

And Trent Lott is leaving early. Now, when most Senators leave the Senate early, it's either due to ill health or a scandal. Why is Lott leaving early? To become a high-paid lobbyist. The Senate changed to rules on lobbying this year to add a requirement that a member of Congress had to wait two years after leaving office to become a lobbyist. But the law does not go into effect until January.

Great, just great. This seems to be the meaning of public servant - make as much money as you possibly can.

The Decline and Fall of...Sesame Street??

I forget now who pointed me to this New York Times article, but if you ever watched Sesame Street in the '60s, '70s or '80s, it sounds like the show is going downhill rapidly.

I wrote the following letter to the article's author and to the current executive producer of Sesame Street:


To: Virginia Heffernan, New York Times
CC: Carol-Lynn Parente, Childrens Television Workshop



What?? TV from 1969 isn't suitable for today's children? Have people who create programming for children lost their minds?

Yes...but...it's happened before.

I was born in 1957, and remember vividly some of the early Warner Brothers cartoons, some with negative racial stereotypes, on frequent rotation on TV by the early '60s. I remember Captain Kangaroo reading "Little Black Sambo." I remember "The Little Rascals" with Buckwheat. These experiences, along with having been raised in a lily-white suburb, should have made me a racist.

But they didn't.

If anything, seeing racism on TV news (lynchings, the white police in the South turning water hoses on black protesters, hearing that black girls around my own age were murdered in a church bombing) made me understand, early on, how wrong racism was. Seeing racial stereotypes treated as "normal" on children's TV made me understand, early on, that these attitudes were ridiculous.

During the '60s, I loved Warner Brothers cartoons because they were always sharper than the other cartoons on TV, even if they sometimes used stereotypes. Early Warner Brothers cartoons were in no way politically correct. But most of them are still funny today, even to adults.

I have a younger brother, who was five the year Sesame Street started. Even though I was twelve, I enjoyed the early Sesame Street episodes. They were wonderfully anarchic. Did we think the fact that the baker carrying the baked goods and falling down the stairs while he was counting objects mean that we should fall downstairs carrying a tray of cakes? Did we think we should all live in trash cans and be grouchy to everyone around? Did we think we should only ever eat cookies? Of course not! I understood that. Even my five year old brother understood that.

The current Sesame Street doesn't sound like it's fun to watch. It sounds way too bland. Older Sesame Street shows had an engaging blend of innocent and more sophisticated characters. That was a little more interesting to the viewers, particularly to the adults who might be watching with their children. Changing with the times is one thing. Many kids shows have had an increase in female and minority characters over the last 20 years, and that's great. But bowdlerizing kids TV to dull any sharpness or originality is a very sad state of affairs.


Laurie D. T. Mann
Pittsburgh, PA

My Cousin, The Conservative Pundit

A few weeks ago, my mother mentioned that my cousin Debbie's son Justin was a published writer. I haven't seen Debbie in years and I've never met either of her kids. But Debbie and I are the same age and spent a number of Thanksgivings together at our grandparents' house in Vermont. So while we aren't connected in the present, we've had connections in the past.

Anyway, I glanced through the URL Mom told me about, and realized Justin was a self-published writer. Not that there's anything wrong with that; most of us who write for the Web are self-published.

He's also extremely conservative. While his iUnverse bio claims:


Justin Haskins, a political science student at the University of Kansas, is an award winning poet and an up and coming political commentator. Currently the author of two books, his unique opinions and passionate commentating force readers to think outside the box and into the realm of debate. Using strenuous researching tactics and uncommonly known facts, Haskins is quickly becoming a much needed voice for a new generation of voters.

I, frankly, didn't see anything in his essays beyond the Clinton-bashing we've been seeing for over 15 years. I tried giving November in New England a read, but it was mostly too extreme.

I don't know if Justin and I will ever meet. While he was raised in New Hampshire, he's currently in college in Kansas. I know that, aside from my Mom's cousin Alice and my sister-in-law Rachel, I'm the family liberal. Justin is from my Dad's side of the family. My Dad has always been pretty quiet about his political leanings, though he probably generally votes Republican. My Mom has always been much more forthcoming about her distaste for Democrats. But, it is at least a little funny that Justin and I are at all related.

Why Do My Favorite Sites Hate Nearsighted People?

There have always been Web sites that have been triumphs of form over function. The look of the site mattered more than the content.

My favorite sites have always been the ones where the content is the most important thing. I read IMDB, Yahoo and CNN regularly.

Unfortunately, the recent redesigns of IMDB and Yahoo are both hostile to nearsighted people. The basic type is way too small. Some Web sites let the user set preferences for type size and colors, but not IMDB or Yahoo. The user has no control over the display of the page. The only thing the user can do is up the size from the browser View option, but then you have to reset it whenever you leave the site where the text is too small.

I'd sent comments complaining about these problems to both sites when they were in beta. And I can't believe that I was the only one. However, the main font size is still too small.

It's frustrating that companies don't give a damn about Web site readability.

Meeting Up with Other Bloggers

I've missed the last few Pittsburgh Blogfests, but I was at the next one, which was Thursday, November 8 at Finnegans Wake on the North side. It's fun to meet up with the people you read online.

I mostly hung out with my friends Christina and Vanessa. WTAE was there too, and I'm in the background of some of the early shots. Blogfest diva Cindy Closkey was the primary interview.

Sadly, Christina and Vanessa were a bit on the camera-shy side so they left when the video camera started rolling. I talked to Rob from Unspace and Dayvoe from 2 Political Junkies. We were joined by Jennifer Angelo (GermCircus). Cindy Closkey (My Brilliant Mistakes) brought a cake, as we were celebrating the third anniversary of blogfest. I had to leave before they cut the cake, as I had plans to go to CMU to see Golden Boy.

NPR Gives Free Airtime to Bushie Yes Man

I sent the following letter to NPR this morning, regarding its "non-interview" with a former Bush administration employee:


NPR is sometimes chastised as being a mouthpiece of the left, for its slightly fair and occasionally balanced coverage of the shenanigans in Washington. But NPR reporters are sometimes incapable of asking hard questions of members of the Bush administration.

Take Michael Battle, interviewed on Morning Edition on November 2, 2007. He was the director of the Justice Department's Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, but he is now in private practice. Battle was the one whom Alberto Gonzales told to fire the US Attorneys last year. Battle made it very clear that it wasn't his idea to fire the US Attorneys. Battle did not want to do it as he considered many of the attorneys his friends. But he did it anyway.

The second he realized he was being told to fire people over their politics, he should have quit. But, as his the case with most politicos these days, Battle simply did what he was told without further question. Another willing "executioner."

America was not founded by "yes men," it was founded by people trying to create a better government with checks and balances. Too many people in the government think loyalty to the party in power is more important than loyalty to the Constitution or to the public. It's an appalling thing to see happening in America, especially since the Bushies came to power.

So what I fail to understand is why didn't the NPR reporter have the courage to ask this former government employee, "When you realized you were being asked to do something that was illegal (or at least very unethical), why didn't you quit or take the story public?" It's important for the media to shine a light on yes men, and not just gloss them over.

Reporters are supposed to try to get at the truth of a story. It was disappointing that NPR failed to delve any deeper on this story.

Bach Choir of Pittsburgh Concerts, 10/27/07 & 10/30/07

I've recently rejoined the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh. We're putting on our fall concerts next week. The music is wonderful. If you like classical vocal music (or want to exposure your kids to one of the great local choirs), I hope you'll consider buying tickets and attending. Here's a complete description of the concerts:


Voices on the Wind
Featuring the Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble
Saturday, October 27 at 8:00 p.m., Trinity Cathedral, Downtown
Tuesday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland

The 24-player CMU Wind Ensemble joins the Bach Choir in a program featuring glorious pieces for wind instruments – including the ultimate wind instrument – the human voice. Come soar with us on the wings of song.


Ave Maria
The Franz Biebl Ave Maria, a beautiful a capella setting of the standard text, is like Bruckner with its thick and expansive harmonies. It has become a gem of the standard choral literature, brought into prominence by Chanticleer.

Equus
Meaning "horse" in Latin, this piece was composed from discarded themes and ideas covering four years of the composer Eric Whitacre's life. This rhythmic and exciting piece is a great example of program music, featuring the women of the Bach Choir.

Celebrations
Vincent Persichetti's meaningful setting of the incredible poetry of Walt Whitman features pieces primarily from Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." These settings are thoughtful, spirited and dazzling in their use of colorful orchestration and choral voicing.

Rainland
Rainland explores the inner landscape of a young woman experiencing deep hurt for the first time. The music is both haunting and mysterious, featuring soloists from the Bach Choir. Rainland is the "place where tears come from" and is the U.S. premiere of the UK composer, Joseph Phibbs.

Tickets are available through ProArts 412-394-3353 or proartstickets.org


http://www.bachchoirpittsburgh.org/

WDUQ (public radio in Pittsburgh) Has Lost My Money, too

WDUQ has shown that it has more loyalty to Duquesne University (which does provide its office space) than to the listening public. WDUQ has been ordered by Duquesne University (a Catholic university) to return a donation from Planned Parenthood.

Well, I figure if WDUQ has to return a donation from Planned Parenthood, it doesn't need my money either. After all, I'm a feminist, I believe in free access to birth control and that abortion in the first three months is purely a medical issue and no one's business.

If Duquesne can dictate to WDUQ which donations to take and reject, what's next? Editing the news? No more stories about priestly pedophiles and the huge amounts of money the Catholic Church has had to pay in damages?

I think it's time for WDUQ to find a truly independent home. Duquesne is not an appropriate venue for public, independent radio.

Great News for Al Gore and Doris Lessing!

I'm very happy that Al Gore co-won the Nobel Peace Prize (with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and that Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Al Gore has had quite a year.

Comprehending that Very Different People May Have the Same Name

I'd like to think people who are online are reasonably able to read and think things through. This isn't always the case.

No, I'm not just commenting on Bush-supporters here.

I have a friend with a slightly unusual name. She got harassing messages in her LiveJournal because she shares the same name as a woman in another state who was involved with a murder.

So the lesson is that harassing people on the Internet is stupid. But it's beyond stupid to not realize that multiple people online could have the same name.