Enterprising N.Y. Observer tech reporter Jessica Roy's latest post is about a sign of our sad times: Online ‘Sextortion’ Trend, the new blackmail, has targeted newest Miss Teen USA; California state Senator Anthony Cannella has bill to deal with this problem there, but what about Florida?

Miss Teen USA Is the Latest Victim in Online ‘Sextortion’ Trend http://t.co/r1EOgUlQkp
— Betabeat (@betabeat) August 16, 2013

New York Observer 

Betabeat blog

Miss Teen USA Is the Latest Victim in Online ‘Sextortion’ Trend 

Cassidy Wolf says she was contacted anonymously by a hacker who claimed to have nude photos of her.

By Jessica Roy, August 16, 2013 8:58 a.m.

The FBI is investigating a “sextortion” plot involving Cassidy Wolf, who was crowned Miss Teen USA last weekend, according to the L.A. Times. Though an official declined to elaborate on details of the case, including whether or not a suspect had been targeted, the plot is the latest incident in a series of sextortion scandals in which hackers gain access to personal information about a victim and use it to manipulate them into handing over nude photos.

Read the rest of the post at: http://betabeat.com/2013/08/cassidy-wolf-miss-teen-usa-hacked-sextortion/

The last time I mentioned Jessica K. Roy, the clever editor of the N.Y. Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tech writer for the Observer was my September 18, 2012 blog post titled, Teen girl's despicable revenge plot goes viral -and now comes the backlash to her cyberbullying! New York Observer's Jessica Roy has the scoop on the video from Putin's Russia: "Video of Russian Teens Brutally Bullying Peer Goes Viral. Bullying breeds more bullying"; @JessicaKRoy

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/teen-girls-despicable-revenge-plot-goes.html

Her numerous previous post on the revenge porn and blackmail phenomenon are at:
http://betabeat.com/index.php?s=revenge+porn

As it happens, there's an AP story about what's going on with a Senate bill in California,
SB255, to bring them into the 21st Century, though unfortunately, the penalty is only a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/15/3565120/bill-outlaws-growing-problem-of.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/15/3565120/bill-outlaws-growing-problem-of.html

Bill's text:
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB255
-----

@JessicaKRoy  https://twitter.com/JessicaKRoy

 http://observer.com/  @NewYorkObserver  https://twitter.com/NewYorkObserver

http://betabeat.com/   @betabeat  https://twitter.com/betabeat

http://jessicakroy.com/

http://muckrack.com/jessicakroy

Thursday is Gregory Peck Day on Turner Classic Movies' Summer Under the Sun, with 11 movies in 24-hours from the iconic American actor who personified dignity and equanimity under pressure, and the American character and moral conscience to millions of film-goers all over the world; #gregorypeck, #turnerclassicmovies

Oscars YouTube Channel video: Gregory Peck winning Academy Award for Best Actor of 1962 for "To Kill A Mockingbird," accepting Oscar from Sophia Loren, after intro by Frank Sinatra. Uploaded September 27, 2011. http://youtu.be/46rabPWIKyY

Thursday is Gregory Peck Day on Turner Classic Movies' Summer Under the Sun, with 11 movies in 24-hours from the iconic American actor who personified dignity and equanimity under pressure, and the American character and moral conscience to millions of film-goers all over the world 

11 films of 1 Icon: Eleven films starring Gregory Peck, one of America's most-respected and admired actors when American movies, more than anything else, shaped the world's opinion of the content of the American character, making him an unofficial Ambassador of America's Moral Conscience. 


In almost every one of his films, regardless of genre, regardless of what directing great was calling the shots on the set, while his sheer elegance may've been the first thing you noticed, it was always his ability to show an inner thoughtfulness, a certain kind of inner strength and purpose, moral clarity, and a willingness to fight for basic principles and concepts of fair play and equality that made audiences around the world root for him, regardless of the odds.

Complete list of all 11 Gregory Peck films being shown today over 24 hours on Turner Classic Movies, starting at 6 a.m. Eastern: http://summer.tcm.com/gregorypeck

Movie Premiere of "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956)

http://youtu.be/hLNY2Ub3Hnc

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) - A proto-Don Draper moment

http://youtu.be/rVEElg2Id-8

I'm heading a new tour! “@onlocationtours: The @TCM Classic Film Tour bus is wrapped & ready to go! Starts Aug22nd!! pic.twitter.com/EdtlARSp3j”
— Sarah Louise Lilley (@SarahLLilley) August 9, 2013

Heavenly! A month before her film 'Monica Z' opens in Sweden on September 13th, Edda Magnason sings "Sakta vi gå hem genom stan” (Slowly we walk through town) LIVE on SVT's Allsång på Skansen, Stockholm, August 13, 2013, on the last show of 2013. With lyrics! Now THAT'S how you promote a film featuring great music!; #monicaz, #eddamagnason, @manszelmerlow, @svtallsang, @PeterBirro

runforyourlife71 YouTubeChannel video: Edda Magnason - Sakta vi gå genom stan - Allsång på Skansen. Uploaded October 23, 2013. http://youtu.be/Tqmp6q7jGkg

Heavenly! A month before her film 'Monica Z' opens in Sweden on September 13th, Edda Magnason sings "Sakta vi gå hem genom stan” (Slowly we walk through town) LIVE on SVT's Allsång på Skansen, Stockholm, August 13, 2013, on the last show of 2013. With lyrics! Now THAT'S how you promote a film featuring great music!; #monicaz, #eddamagnason, @manszelmerlow, @svtallsang, @PeterBirro

Updated in 2014

My last blog post on Edda Magnason and the news regarding her role playing Swedish pop culture icon Monica Zetterlund, complete with both the official video of 'Sakta vi gå hem genom stan' and the official trailer for the biopic "Monica Z" was on July 26, 2013 titled, Trending at HBB with Sexy Swedish élan: Edda Magnason channels iconic Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund for her upcoming biopic "Monica Z"; Edda Magnason - Sakta vi gå genom stan (Official Video); Opens nationally in Sweden on September 13th, but premiering at 'Way Out West' film festival in Göteborg from August 8-10; #monicaz, @PeterBirro
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/trending-at-hbb-with-sexy-swedish-elan.html

"Monica Z" tävlar i Montreal: http://t.co/777OIhfSoM
— Kulturnytt i SR (@kulturnytt) August 8, 2013

Above, a tweet from Sveriges Radio on the news that Monica Z has been selected to compete at the upcoming Montreal Film Festival. 
In Swedish, though...


http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article17290129.ab

After I watched the Edda Magnason video a few times I went looking around to my usual smorgasbord of online Swedish media and pop culture sites to see what's what in Sverige in the middle of August.

Even a perfunctory reading of things makes perfectly clear that there are lots of fans of singer and Allsång host Måns Zelmerlöw who are not happy about the news that after three great years of entertainment, Måns will not be returning to host the popular show next summer, meaning that Tuesday night wasn't just the last show of the summer, but also the last one to be hosted by the energetic and multi-talented Måns.

But the thing is, it's his choice, not the choice of the management at SVT, who are very happy with the job that he has done and love the ratings he brings, since it's the number-one show on TV in the summer, last week drawing 1.7 million TV viewers in a country of about 9.5 million people, less than half the size of Florida..
http://hd.se/noje/2013/08/12/tv-toppen-zelmerlows-allsang-flest/

Quite simply, Måns wants to be able to do other things musically and artistically, and have the freedom in his schedule to tour during the summer if he chooses, or do some touring but also spend time with his friends during the glorious summers that the whole country thinks about most of the year.
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=478&artikel=5616356

Midsummer Day, a little past ten in the evening at Strandvägen in Stockholm pic.twitter.com/GDd2x46FRs
— Sweden.se (@swedense) June 19, 2013

As Måns put it plainly after the show to the Swedish news media after confirming he would not be returning:

Jag kommer jättegärna tillbaka nån gång i framtiden, men först måste jag få göra min grej, jag drömmer ju om att turnera nu och då ska det bli så.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article17290129.ab

Still, many of his supporters started a Twitter hashtag name for their fight to.... well, not sure what exactly, since it's his choice to leave after three years, but you have to admire the dedication if not the logic: #AllsångNeedsMåns
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Alls%C3%A5ngNeedsM%C3%A5ns&src=typd&mode=realtime

Tack för alla fina kommentarer. Jag har njutit av varje ögonblick på Solliden och kommer gärna tillbaka någon gång i framtiden.
— Måns Zelmerlöw (@manszelmerlow) August 13, 2013

But I'm excited to see what @manszelmerlow will do instead of #allsang. Can't wait for his new music. But #AllsångNeedsMåns anyway.
— Sabina Stjernberg ☆ (@ssabina_94) August 13, 2013

@ssabina_94 @manszelmerlow Ohh nooo :(((((( I loved the way how he made allsang..:((( And yes, I was watching it from HUNGARY! @svtallsang
— Bianca Silling❤ (@SillingBianca) August 13, 2013

#AllsångNeedsMåns @manszelmerlow @svtallsang pic.twitter.com/ZGi41ltY9y
— Elina Johansson (@ElinaElinajo) August 13, 2013

#AllsångNeedsMåns It would not be the same without Måns. I have really loved watching #allsang since his first season 2011.
— Sabina Stjernberg ☆ (@ssabina_94) August 13, 2013

I must admit that Måns and his engaging personality have really grown on me a lot the past three years since his first year in 2011, when he was not as well-known to me, obviously, as he was to the average Swedish music listener and pop culture follower.
I'd seen videos of him singing or on Swedish TV shows, of course, and had read about him in the newspapers, magazines and websites, to say nothing of the music blogs, but I had no strong opinions one way or the other, though there's no mistaking his talent.

After three years of watching him via SVT Play, http://www.svtplay.se/ now I actually know some of his go-to moves during the show and which songs are his go-to songs, as well as which ones I've come to like best, whether in Swedish or in English.

To end this post, I'm going with a happy video that includes him which I posted here on the blog back in July previewing my trip to Stockholm this past January, back when I still thought I'd be going to Iceland after visiting Sweden for about nine days and would be able to catch the Aurora Borealis while in Iceland for three days. 

It features the recurring opening montage of aerial scenes of beautiful Stockholm used on Allsång på Skansen in the summer of 2011, the first year Måns was at the helm, and featuring a multi-generational all-star squad of singers joining him in singing the show's theme song, Stockholm i mitt hjarta, the song that begins the sing-along every week.
The one song that everyone in attendance, regardless of age or musical tastes, pretty much knows by heart after watching the landmark summer TV show for years.

Måns Zelmerlöw, Björn Skifs, Loa Falkman and Peter Jöback sing "Stockholm i Mitt Hjärta" (Stockholm in My Heart) from the intro of a 2011 episode of SVT's "Allsång på Skansen" in Stockholm, Sweden. http://youtu.be/JEPvZBDOjdc

http://www.mzw.se/
http://www.svt.se/allsang/
http://www.facebook.com/svtallsang

Former Miami Herald Ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos -whose position at the Herald remains unfilled 27 months later by McClatchy execs- as NPR's Ombudsman, lays the wood into NPR's Laura Sullivan & Amy Walters for a 2011 investigation re foster care in South Dakota, which officials there took umbrage with, and for good reason it seems. “My finding is that the series was deeply flawed and should not have been aired as it was”

NPR stands by story its ombud criticized in lengthy report: http://t.co/dd3iOidQX3 " little to be gained from a point-by-point response"
— Poynter (@Poynter) August 12, 2013

Poynter.org

NPR stands by story its ombudsman criticized

by Andrew Beaujon

Published Aug. 12, 2013 5:29 pm

Updated Aug. 12, 2013 5:34 pm

There are six chapters of NPR Ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos’ epic examination of Laura Sullivan and Amy Walters’ October 2011 investigation about foster care in South Dakota.

The series won awards but was also criticized by the state’s governor and head of its Department of Social Services. “Many South Dakota residents also have written me in disapproval of it,” Schumacher-Matos writes. “My finding is that the series was deeply flawed and should not have been aired as it was.” 

Read the rest at:

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/220960/npr-ombudsmans-critique-of-foster-care-story-slightly-shorter-version/

It was optional to hate NPR in 1993. Now that you've scorched a DC neighborhood with your Taj Mahal HQ, it's mandatory.
— Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) July 11, 2013

http://t.co/0zMpcwog4B Swag, statues, and beehives. What you paid for in the new NPR offices. @austinwprice @fishbowldc
— Natl.Journalism Ctr. (@NJC_YAF) June 19, 2013

Edward Schumacher-Matos split his Ombudsman position at the Miami Herald in May of 2011 after he'd been WITHOUT either a blog or a weekly print or online column, but rather saddled with a peculiar once-in-a-while, sometimes every 3-4 months column thing, for NPR in Washington, D.C. 

Schumacher-Matos' position at the Herald remains unfilled 27 months later by McClatchy execs, who seem to place no value on readers and their questions of fairness or bias having a seat at the table.
There's nobody to represent readers' deep and justified concerns about examples of bias, misrepresentation and flackery in the paper on behalf of South Florida's powerful and privileged, who have high-powered attorneys and PR consultants to ensure they are seen only in the most positive light.
But then that's just one of many unresolved customer problems there these days that cause it to lose readers every week.

It's fair to say that a lot of people in South Florida took ESM and his position for granted, including lots of local bloggers and politicians, and the Herald certainly did him no favors by NOT giving him much of a perch to speak out from.

But something, even infrequent, is better than nada, and right now, with that reader level of confidence among serious readers of the Herald as low as it's ever been, it's worth a minute to consider what message they are sending when they refuse to name anyone to that position.

His infrequent columns at least tried to keep Herald reporters and editors on the level and be square with readers, but since he left, anything goes -and does.

While I've written about this troubling subject many times on this blog, and have written Herald management and editors about their failure to fill the position, even posting those emails to them here for you to see for yourselves, it's clear they have a different point-of-view.

It is what it is.

To see how indifferent they are to reader perceptions of bias or unfairness, take a poke at my blog post from May of 2012 titled, "What's going on at the Miami Herald? More than a year after the last one fled, the Herald still lacks an Ombudsman -and shows no sign of getting one- to represent readers deep concerns about bias, misrepresentation and flackery on behalf of South Florida's powerful & privileged at the Herald. And that's just one of many unresolved problems there..." 

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/whats-going-on-at-miami-herald-more.html 

Quantum observations on "That darn cat!" #schrödingerscat - The creator of the paradox-inducing cat in question, Erwin Schrödinger, would be 126 today, which earns him both a Google Doodle as well as a funny video clip from 'The Big Bang Theory' explaining his famous paradox; @BigBang_CBS, @KaleyCuoco

tagSeoBlog YouTube Channel video: Erwin Schrödinger Cat Content Paradox (Google Doodle). Uploaded August 11, 2013. http://youtu.be/7BGY_XZ9Y6o. 

Music: "Matt's Blues" by Kevin MacLeod

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger's_cat

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/12/erwin-schrodinger-google-doodle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_interpretation

I also suggest you do a search in Google Images for 'Schrödinger's cat'

A funnier description of the paradox is here...from the most-popular comedy show in America.



WikdGamer YouTube Channel video: Scene from CBS-TV's "The Big Bang Theory" in which Sheldon (Jim Parsons) tried to explain the paradox of 'Schrodinger's cat' to Penny (Kaley Cuoco) in order to scientifically relate her new dilemma in deciding whether or not to remain just friends with Sheldon's roommate, Leonard, or to actually date him but take the chance she'd lose him as a friend if things don't go well. The only way to know with certainty is to make a choice and proceed -and open the box (of possibilities) and see if the cat is dead or alive. Uploaded on October 6, 2011. http://youtu.be/pNTMYNj2Ulk

This is always great advice for procrastinators, esp. easily-bored, high-achieving kids who are used to getting good grades by pacing themselves and only applying themselves when they need to and often suffer from paralysis by analysis, or in my case, over-analysis..

And then there is also the variation of this paradox, a phenomenon Sheldon called "Schrodinger's Friendship."


The new season of The Big Bang Theory premieres Thursday September 26th at 8 p.m. Eastern

Today is also my middle niece's 21st birthday. Hooray!
She'll soon be back on campus in Charlottesville for her senior year at UVA - The University of Virginia.
She's not a paradox, but is very, very mathematical.

Would u mind playing chauffeur 4 her? Check out more @cbswatchmag photos here: http://t.co/SwKL9uJYFf #BIgBangTheory pic.twitter.com/JividEa9Qa
— The Big Bang Theory (@BigBang_CBS) July 10, 2013

The Big Bang Theory @BigBang_CBS  
https://twitter.com/bigbang_cbs  cbs.com/bigbang

http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_bang_theory/

Without a Shadow of a Doubt (or a Shadow of a Stadium) in MLB, it's Location, Location, Location and that's bad news for Tampa Rays. In my opinion, no stadium location in that area will ever suffice because the fundamental problem is there simply aren't ENOUGH middle-class baseball fans there to make it worthwhile. That area will always be the dog-chasing-its-tail when it comes to a new baseball stadium; @StadiumShadow, @fieldofschemes, @darrenrovell

All the geeky math on a Tampa #Rays stadium so far: http://t.co/7Cv8kqNRKB #StadiumSaga
— Shadow of Stadium (@StadiumShadow) August 10, 2013

ICYMI: What Bob Buchkorn & Ken Hagan said Friday…and what they didn’t on a #Rays stadium in Tampa: http://t.co/Dr682Kl9X9
— Shadow of Stadium (@StadiumShadow) August 10, 2013

@noahpransky That's honest, I guess. But hard to know what it's worth spending without estimating net revenues.
— Field of Schemes (@fieldofschemes) August 10, 2013

Mayor @BobBuckhorn: $200-$300M from #Rays would be necessary; city would need to kick in $100-$150M. (via @graysonkamm)
— Shadow of Stadium (@StadiumShadow) August 9, 2013

Tampa’s proposed $100m for Rays stadium is only worth half that http://t.co/D9ZnbWeKto
— Field of Schemes (@fieldofschemes) August 8, 2013

Tampa readies Rays stadium task force, now just needs any idea whatsoever for how to pay for stadium http://t.co/43krUgGt0v
— Field of Schemes (@fieldofschemes) August 7, 2013

@NickCubero @Rags2Rockets @JeffWMason @darrenrovell Tampa Bay Rays struggle to fill seats after winning. http://t.co/UAEY840vKF
— Troy Kirby (@SportsTao) August 9, 2013

Predicate reading for this subject is Noah Pransky's Shadow of the Stadium blog
http://shadowofthestadium.blogspot.com/ and Neil de Mause's Field of Schemes blog: http://www.fieldofschemes.com/

Tampa Bay Rays wearing retros tonight that they of course never wore pic.twitter.com/ry0J0u0KwF (H/T @sportslogosnet)
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) July 6, 2013

Much as I try to follow the Tampa Rays new stadium and attendance saga, in the end, it usually makes me think of the dog-chasing-its-tail, and the dog thinking that its making progress when actually it's doing nothing of the sort.

In following this story it's hard not to notice that of all the many criticisms of the Rays attendance problems over the years, many rather predictable, it's hard not to notice that many in the Tampa Bay area media are reluctant to say what I've always thought, perhaps because they really don't want to think about how truly insignificant the Tampa Bay area is in the whole national scheme

of things, baseball or otherwise. 

(And that's in NOT adding southern Orlando or certain Polk County residents to Tampa Bay's overall population to make it seem larger, as I have seen some places, as if to justify the current situation.)

The problem with the Rays isn't with the location of the stadium, it's the location of the team.

(Just like with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.)

I don't think it matters where the Rays stadium is, the team won't draw enough fans regardless of where you place the stadium.

This is completely unlike the situation with the Orioles and their shift from Memorial Stadium to Camden Yards, making it much more attractive and reasonable to Washington area fans to go during the week.

Along with two friends, we controlled four seats for an Oriole 17-game mini-season ticket plan for the first 8-9 years of them playing near the Inner Harbor, and I personally went to 20-25 home games a year (out of 81) despite living in Arlington County, though those long weeknight games and the drive home to Northern Virginia often made me useless at work the next

morning until I'd had enough coffee with hazelnut cream to mellow me out, i.e. around 10:45.

In my opinion, Charlotte, Nashville and San Antonio would all do a better job of consistently drawing baseball fans on a yearly basis simply because there are MORE middle-class income people living within 45 minutes of wherever they put the stadium, because there are more middle- management jobs there to begin with. Period.

Those cities have a more diversified economy than the St.Pete/Tampa area and greatly benefit from that.

Tampa Bay is what it is, but diversified it is not, just like South Florida over-dependence on tourism and real estate.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

ShadowOfTheStadium.blogspot.com  

@StadiumShadow https://twitter.com/StadiumShadow

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/

 @fieldofschemes  https://twitter.com/fieldofschemes  

The Washington Post's newsroom gets the Sixty Minutes treatment from Mike Wallace in 1974, as he tours the inner sanctum of Journalism's Mount Olympus and interviews Ben Bradlee and Katharine Graham. A time, a place, and the huge difference one well-run newspaper made, forever changing the face of American history and journalism. Four days after this aired, President Nixon resigned

From: Bezos bets on Wash Post -- what exactly did he buy?

By Ann Silvio

August 7, 2013 3:08 PM

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57597445-10391709/bezos-bets-on-wash-post-what-exactly-did-he-buy/

In 1974, CBS News' Sixty Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace went inside what would later be considered by some to be the the inner sanctum of Journalism's Mount Olympus, The Washington Post's newsroom.

That summer he spoke to some of the confident-but-demanding people running it -Ben Bradlee and Katharine Graham- and some of the reporters whose dogged determination had made it so -Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Wallace even interviewed competitors like the New York Times James "Scotty" Reston, who allows that Post editor Ben Bradlee might now just be good enough to work at the Times.

Four days after this segment aired on Sunday night August 4, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned from office.

This video is NOT the entire segment that aired.

Yes, a time, a place, and the difference one well-run newspaper made.
While everyone else in the press corps largely IGNORED the Watergate story, one newspaper's reporters were given the freedom to dig-in harder -but had to confirm it with two sources- and forever changed the face of the country and journalism at large

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2013/08/07/revisiting-the-washington-post-circa-1974/ 

Is Chicago becoming the next Detroit? Everyone's asking the same question and one of the main reasons why is unfunded pension costs, which the NY Times gave front page prominence to on Tuesday; Glenn Reynolds' spot-on take on this issue and Chicago as an early battleground in the fight pitting Democrat elected officials vs. Democratic-leaning govt. unions -govt. pensions vs. reducing municipal services and personnel. Pundits are paying VERY CLOSE attention to what Rahm Emanuel & The Democratic Machine will do, with William M. Daley running for governor next year talking tough about reforming pension plans

Fox News Channel video: Chicago the next Detroit? Pension problems raising alarm bells. America LIVE host Jamie Colby speaks to Fox Business Channel's Stuart Varney on the similarities and differences between Detroit and Chicago. Aired August 6, 2013. http://video.foxnews.com/v/2589585215001/chicago-the-next-detroit/

A-Rod, WaPo stories are intriguing...but this is the story we'll be grappling with across the country for years... http://t.co/X7sSaK3tMJ
— Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) August 6, 2013

Glenn Reynolds' spot-on take on Chicago as an early battleground in the unfunded govt. pension costs vs. taxpayers fight, and the prospect of Democrat elected officials fighting Democratic-leaning govt. employee unions. Pundits everywhere are paying VERY CLOSE attention to what Rahm Emanuel & The Daley Machine will do, with William M. Daley running for governor of Illinois next year

After having read the original predicate article in the New York Times a few times and even sent links of it to friends around the country, I decided I wanted to also share it and the spot-on comments of University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds on this important issue and the New York Times' decision to give the issue the front page treatment on Tuesday at his terrific and much-read InstaPundit blog, which I've been reading since I was living and working in Washington, D.C. over ten years ago.
It continues to inform, educate and amuse in just the right proportions.

As we've discussed here previously, the editors at the New York Times know that their decision to give their story a push and place it on the front page suddenly gives the story "legs" in other parts of the country in ways that it simply wouldn't have if it had run on page 17A.
Nothing is on the front page of the New York Times by mistake or without the logical consequences of doing so having already been thought about and discussed.

You can't say the same with South Florida's newspapers since there often seems to be no rhyme or reason other than sheer shallowness or brazen bias or a desire to be seen as hip to certain advertisers.

New York Times

Chicago Sees Pension Crisis Drawing Near

By Monica Davey and Mary Williams Walsh

August 5, 2013 

CHICAGO — Corporations are moving in, and housing prices are looking better across the region. There has been a slight uptick in population. But a crushing problem lurks beneath the signs of economic recovery in Chicago: one of the most poorly funded pension systems among the nation’s major cities. Its plight threatens to upend the finances of President Obama’s hometown, now run by his former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

The pension fund for retired Chicago teachers stands at risk of collapse. The city’s four funds for other retired city workers are short by $19.5 billion. At least one of the funds is in peril of running out of money in less than a decade. And starting in 2015, the city will be required by the state to make far larger contributions to the funds, which could leave it hundreds of millions of dollars in the red — as much as it would cost to pay 4,300 police officers to patrol the streets for a year.

Read the rest of the article at

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/us/chicago-sees-pension-crisis-drawing-near.html

#understatement: Unions remain angry at the mayor, who was at the helm during the teachers’ strike in 2012.


CHICAGO’S PENSION CRISIS IN BLACK AND WHITE
August 6, 2013
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/173724/

NYT: Chicago The Next Detroit
August 6, 2013
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2013/08/06/chicagos-pensions-crisis-in-black-and-white/

Former L.A. mayor @RichardJRiordan calls on POTUS to propose national public employee pension reform in today's NYT: http://t.co/UtOZzNhgET
— Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff) August 5, 2013

New York Times

OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS

A Plan to Avert the Pension Crisis

By Richard J. Riordan and Tim Rutten

Published August 4, 2013 

LOS ANGELES — It isn’t politically feasible for Washington to bail out Detroit, but President Obama and Congress must step in to avert the worst fiscal collapse in urban American history.

They must intervene, because symptoms of the municipal illness that made Detroit, with an estimated $18 billion in liabilities, the largest city in American history to declare bankruptcy are showing up in other cities.

Read the rest at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/opinion/a-plan-to-avert-the-pension-crisis.html

Benghazi -What really happened? "The Truth About Benghazi" - Videos from CNN's better-late-than-never Benghazi special examining the terrorist attacks on the U.S. Consulate that killed four Americans; U.S. Mainstream Media's suck-up of White House narrative and hands-off attitude towards Hillary Clinton looks even worse in retrospect as more facts emerge and cover-up falls apart

CNN video: Benghazi timeline: "We are under attack"

John King: Why Benghazi matters
By John King, CNN Chief National Correspondent
updated 1:23 PM EDT, Wed August 7, 2013
Additional information and videos at:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/06/politics/king-benghazi/index.html


CNN video: Political fallout from Benghazi attack

"The Truth about #Benghazi": Why didn't the U.S. military respond in time in Benghazi? @JohnKingCNN reports. http://t.co/B1l4ZfdSvu @CNN
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) August 7, 2013

CNN video: Why didn't the U.S. military respond in time in Benghazi


CNN video: Paying the political price for Benghazi

Recent Benghazi-related news

I'll take 'phony scandal' for a thousand, Alex: Jeopardy clue features Benghazi [photo] http://t.co/Jz0mXTP4Lk
— TwitchyTeam (@TwitchyTeam) August 5, 2013

For the record, @BarackObama - when you're forced to close a record amount of embassies, your enemy isn't "on the run," you are.
— Brad Thor (@BradThor) August 5, 2013

@JaeCreitch @USATODAY I try to be respectful of others' opinions, but the sheer Liberal disregard of #Benghazi sickens me in a visceral way.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 4, 2013

NEW COLUMN just went up. CNN Finds Benghazi Terrorist Suspect; FBI Doesn't Lv a comment. RT pls. http://t.co/nqHWOLfv9N
— Bernard Goldberg (@BernardGoldberg) August 5, 2013

The key to #BENGAZHI atrocity being solved may now lie with the press. Even running dogs like our Lib press may turn on Obama for Pulitzers.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 3, 2013

Threat closes US embassies in Muslim world on Sunday: http://t.co/Kpbbiyuxuu -CC
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 2, 2013

Now includes video story: Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack

http://t.co/EFU5TDVYtA

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) August 1, 2013

Now includes video story: Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack http://t.co/EFU5TDVYtA
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) August 1, 2013

CIA is polygraphing operatives regularly, in an "unprecedented" attempt to keep Benghazi secrets, sources tell CNN, @DrewGriffinCNN reports
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) August 1, 2013

Pitch-perfect from the very start! Mike Klingaman in the Baltimore Sun on one of Baltimore's most-beloved icons: "Art Donovan played pro football for 12 years. The rest of his life, he spent telling everyone about it."; For the people of Baltimore, he was a true Hall-of-Famer in every way that really counts in life; Excellent ‏@thomloverro piece on Donovan family tradition of service in U.S. military in The Telegraph!

We’re saddened by the loss of one of the true legends of the game and Class of 1968 enshrinee Art Donovan. http://t.co/43XzpVMbjQ
— Pro Football HOF (@ProFootballHOF) August 5, 2013

So very much I could say here.
Stories I could share that made me laugh over the years no matter how many times I'd heard them before. That is when you really know you like someone -you laugh at the jokes and anecdotes they tell just as hard as the first time you heard them, decades ago.

Here's the thing you need to know and appreciate: in a country of over 312 million people with different opinions and views on every subject under the sun, there's only a handful of living former athletes in this country who were or are as important, as closely-identified and as genuinely beloved in their cities or regions as Art Donovan was to the Baltimore area.

Baltimore Colts legend Art Donovan, who died Sunday at 89, played and talked a great game. http://t.co/iZ7FWLAFjV
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) August 5, 2013

Baltimore Sun

Art Donovan, vocal ex-Colts defensive tackle, dies at 89

By Mike Klingaman The Baltimore Sun

9:52 p.m. EDT, August 4, 2013

Art Donovan played pro football for 12 years. The rest of his life, he spent telling everyone about it.

Donovan, 89, who died Sunday of a respiratory ailment at Stella Maris Hospice, played and talked a great game. He was a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts and an engaging raconteur at banquets and on TV talk shows. His cherublike face, adenoidal voice and side-splitting tales of yore captivated generations of viewers who never saw Donovan collar a quarterback or take down a runner.

"Artie made a career out of telling people everything that he'd done right — and wrong — in football," said Ordell Braase, his teammate on the field and in the broadcast studio. "The diversity of his appeal was amazing. Everyone wanted to hug 'Fatso,' from young girls to little old ladies."

Read the rest of the article and see the great photo gallery at:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-donovan-advanceobit-20130804,0,2235243.story

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RT: The great American story of Art Donovan and family. My Guardian story http://t.co/QlsgzoKj0l
— thom loverro (@thomloverro) August 7, 2013

"The world is not as bright tonight because we lost someone who could make us all smile.” We'll miss you Art. http://t.co/3MDGStd0uv
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 5, 2013

Remembering Baltimore Colts legend Art Donovan. VIDEO | http://t.co/pK7g8zDHhq
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 5, 2013

Here is a tribute to the late Art Donovan, a truly unique professional athlete is there ever was one. http://t.co/60kLWVFTpe
— Elliot Harrison (@Harrison_NFL) August 5, 2013

Mike Webb YouTube Channel video: Art Donovan on NBC-TV's "Tonight Show" with host Johnny Carson, circa 1987. Uploaded August 15, 2010. http://youtu.be/7HDRLnoAY9E




WMAR-TV 2, Baltimore
Hall of Fame Colt Art Donovan a friend to all
By Jeff Hager
August 5, 2013

BALTIMORE -
He first met Art Donovan as a rookie safety out of the state of Alabama, and the towering tackle took Andy Nelson under his wing in what became a lifetime friendship that only came up short when it came to tasting his former teammate's barbecue.

"He likes Spam and he like hotdogs and pizza, but he wasn't a big pit beef man, pork man," recalled Nelson.

Over the years, Nelson says he did know enough about the gentle giant to keep a Schlitz beer on hand to help that pit beef go down.


Read the rest of the article at: http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/baltimore_city/hall-of-fame-colt-a-friend-to-all

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-artdonovan,0,280730.storygallery

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/08/looking-back-at-art-donovans-best-late-night-appearances/