Clinton Backer Offers Bribe?

Did mega-rich man and long-time Clinton supporter Haim Saban offer $1 million to the Young Democrats of America as a bribe for the votes of their two superdelegates or not?

Here's what is known:

Saban talked with YDA President David Hardt before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. They talked about a million dollars and they talked about the two superdelegates.

Were the two topics related?

Saban claims no. He would never do that.

But four independent sources say otherwise.

Like the old saying goes, "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it is a bribe, er, duck."

Losing Historic Stories From a Prime Piece of Real Estate

Of all the real estate stories we have read over the years, none are sadder than the razing of historic properties to make room for modern, ugly, and, let's face it, tacky office buildings.

The latest is the pending fate of an historic home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which has the misfortune of sitting on a prime real estate corner near the city's downtown area. A $12 million office complex of five to three stories is planned for the site.

From looking at a photo of the property, it doesn't seem like much.

Here's what the news account had to say about the house:

Meanwhile, the Hansen Family Partnership hopes to find a new owner for the historic three-story, 12-bedroom house so it can be moved off site and spared being bulldozed, Hagen said. The Hansen group is offering the house for free plus a $10,000 moving allowance.

Hagen said he has had more than 150 inquiries about the house, which was built and originally owned by the Van Eps family, as well as a couple of showings. "I've asked people to submit their proposals (to take the house) by May 1," he said.

Twelve bedrooms? That's not a house, it's a mini-hotel! What stories its wall could tell us. But I don't think anyone is asking.

What a tragedy to lose a bit of history in the interest of developing that real estate for cold-hearted business.

Look for the free trial in requirements management software

If you are like 99 percent of the world's population you have no idea what is meant by requirements management, even after reading about it on Wikipedia like we just did.

Here's how we understand it:

People working in product development, whether it's for a widget or software, are told what the product needs to do. These are called requirements, as in the product is required to do something in particular.

Often, the requirements will change as the development progresses, or the client decides to add something new. Keeping track of all the requirements can at times become problematic, especially if the changes are coming at the manager from a variety of sources, such as meeting minutes, emails, phone calls, or even little sticky notes left on the office door.

Fortunately for today's product development manager software is available to make this job much easier. But how does the manager decide which software is best for their needs?

How about a free trial of the Requirements Management Software - a real try-it-before-you-buy-it offer.

But what are the features a manager should look for when making an evaluation?

First, the manager should consider if the software is available on demand, which makes it accessible from any computer with Internet access. This is important so the developers can post their progress and the manager can keep track of the changes.

Another important feature is the ability to quickly add fields to the software as the development progresses and additions are added. This is especially important to track what are called dependencies. For example, if Requirement #1 is dependent on Requirement #2, then the manager can make sure everything is in place.

Now, you know just about as much as we do about Requirements Management Software, but if you know more, please feel free to share your knowledge with us.

As the man said, knowledge is power, and don't we all want to be powerful?

Tucker Carlson's Obsession with Hillary's Tax Return

Tucker Carlson, who did not have his contract with CNN renewed, seems a bit obsessed with the tax returns of Hillary Clinton.

This from Jamison Foser at Media Matters for America:

Carlson, the soon-to-be-former host of the eponymous (and, as of tomorrow morning, defunct) show Tucker, has not only been baffled, he has been positively obsessed:

• CARLSON, MARCH 6: "Senator Clinton claims she's too busy to release her tax returns. ... The reality is she wants to keep this information hidden from the voters of Wyoming, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. And they ought to wonder why."
• CARLSON, FEBRUARY 25: "Frank Rich makes the point, if we are that biased against Hillary Clinton, we'd be asking to see her tax returns."
• CARLSON, FEBRUARY 22: "It has never made sense to me why Mrs. Clinton doesn't release her tax returns."
• CARLSON, FEBRUARY 13: "I want to see her tax returns. I want specific tax returns. ... I want to see specific tax returns. ... And we always see them. Why can't we see her[s]? ... I want to see her tax return. ... Is there a reason she's not -- we're not seeing it? ... [I]n order to know where the money is coming from, I think it's fair to see her tax return. That's why Obama has released his. That's why every candidate has and she hasn't."

Tucker's assertion that "every candidate" other than Clinton has released his tax returns isn't quite right. John McCain hasn't released his tax returns, either.

Not that you would know that from watching MSNBC. According to Nexis, there hasn't been a single mention on MSNBC this year of the fact that McCain hasn't released his tax returns. No indication that McCain might even pay taxes, much less that he hasn't released his returns.

If you want more of Carlson's wit and wisdom, it is rumored the he will be back on the air at PBS on Friday nights. Let's hope PBS executives sober up and change their minds.

Are We Drugging Our Own Water Supply

An Associated Press investigation has found the presence of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water used by 41 million Americans. We are drugging ourselves.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.

How do the drugs get into the water?

People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.

And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies — which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public — have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.

"We recognize it is a growing concern and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Bishop McGuinness Three-Peats in State Basketball

Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Oklahoma City won its third consecutive state basketball title in Class 4A Saturday, March 8. The the three-peat is the seventh championship title in 11 years for the boys basketball team.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Top-ranked Bishop McGuinness defeated eighth-ranked Southeast 80-63 in the class 4A state championship game Saturday afternoon at Jim Norick State Fair Arena.

This is the third consecutive title for the Irish (26-4). In addition, McGuinness has now won basketball and football championships in back to back seasons.

All five starters for the Irish finished in double figures. Ryan Randolph finished with a team high 19 points.

Daniel Orton and Jeffrey Merritt both scored 14 points for McGuinness.

Orton, a 6-10 junior center, also had 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots before fouling out with 4:16 left.

“It is very satisfying,” said McGuinness head coach Tondrell Durham. “We did a nice job and had great balance tonight.”

Ben Smith had a game-high 23 points for the Spartans (18-9). Teammate Darrell Traylor added 17.

Orton's presence forced Southeast to take a lot of perimeter shots. The Spartans managed to hit just 5-of-30 from three point country.

The Irish led 22-13 after the first period thanks to making 9-of-12 shots in the frame.

McGuiness extended to a 38-26 advantage at the half. Gabe Ikard, who finished with 10 points, gave the Irish that lead with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Citizen Journalism and Grammar Software

The proliferation of so-called citizen journalism is generally seen as a boon to democracy in the Information Age.

A paper produced by We Media refers to this as participatory journalism. In their introduction they have this to say:

We are at the beginning of a Golden Age of journalism — but it is not journalism as we have known it. Media futurists have predicted that by 2021, "citizens will produce 50 percent of the news peer-to-peer." However, mainstream news media have yet to meaningfully adopt or experiment with these new forms.

It may be the "Golden Age of journalism," but so far it hasn't yet become the age of golden journalists.

Sure, anyone with access to the Internet can become a "citizen journalist" but so far most of them are lacking in fundamental writing skills, such as proper grammar.

Most of these "participatory journalist" would do well to take advantage of an online grammar checker. Educators did society a great disservice when they started cutting back on the teaching of basic grammar.

Some will argue that the available grammar checkers in popular programs such as Microsoft Word are adequate for the average reader, but why not take advantage of advanced contextual grammar checker software?

The best software scans the entire text and "operates a complex set of procedures based on the context of your very own newly created English text."

As an old-school journalist and editor, I welcome the new journalism. It is just what this country needs to combat corporate-own media to ensure the "real" news is presented.

But would it hurt the citizen journalist to make sure his copy is grammatically correct and his message is not being misinterpreted?