No man is a prophet in his own land.
Dear Occupy Wall St. Sympathizers,
Occupy's message is virtually identical to that which many (most?) of you have spent the last dozen years smearing Ralph Nader and his supporters for while you've voted for militaristic, anti-civil liberties, corporatist Democrats. Glad you've finally come around. I just hope you don't develop amnesia between now and November.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Obama finishing what Bush started: a 'historic assault on American liberty'
This New Year's, with conveniently little fanfare, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA would allow the president to indefinitely detain American citizens arrested on American soil. This act by our Democratic president was described by the UK Guardian as a 'historic assault on American liberty'.
This is not only a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment but an affront to the most basic value of a free society: the right to not be imprisoned without charge. The right to due process is one of the oldest recognized rights in western civilization, dating back to the 13th century Magna Carta.
It's a good thing we have a Democratic president and Democratic senate protecting Americans from the abominable assaults on civil liberties perpetrated by the much demonized Republicans. At least that's what the Democratic scaremongers would have you believe.
Thanks a lot you donkeys!
This is not only a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment but an affront to the most basic value of a free society: the right to not be imprisoned without charge. The right to due process is one of the oldest recognized rights in western civilization, dating back to the 13th century Magna Carta.
It's a good thing we have a Democratic president and Democratic senate protecting Americans from the abominable assaults on civil liberties perpetrated by the much demonized Republicans. At least that's what the Democratic scaremongers would have you believe.
Thanks a lot you donkeys!
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Bike friendly in the snow belt
The excellent Yes! magazine has a great piece entitled Lessons From a Surprise Bike Town. The #1 bicycle city in America is not Portland, OR, but snowy Minneapolis. That a city with weather colder that Moscow's can be so bike-friendly is a lesson to towns all across the country. No more excuses!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
AG targets 'economic development' slush fund corruption
A preliminary investigation by New York attorney general's office uncovered the potential for self-dealing, nepotism, improper loans and exorbitant expenses at some, reported The Associated Press.
These non-profit, taxpayer-supported rackets do government business but have little oversight and are exempt from being audited by the state comptroller's office.
Such findings echo an earlier assessment from this writer.
These non-profit, taxpayer-supported rackets do government business but have little oversight and are exempt from being audited by the state comptroller's office.
Such findings echo an earlier assessment from this writer.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Non-ethics in NYS: more of the same
New York state’s new ethics panel has already destroyed its own credibility after a mere two meetings. I reported here about its first introductory meeting, held behind closed doors.
Earlier this week, it had its first working meeting. The Associated Press reported that members of the panel receive $300 for each day they attend meetings, members will be asked to sign non-disclosure' agreements barring public comment, and that its secretive practices will continue.
Then, the board went behind closed doors. The reason? None was given.
This is how ethics oversight works in New York... even under a 'reform' minded governor. Secret meetings with no public announcements. Going behind closed doors without even contriving an excuse. The fact that all this is legal, that this body charged with regulating ethics and transparency is exempt from the Open Meetings Law in the first place, is a damning indictment of what passes for ethics in state government.
Bob over at Planet Albany doesn't appear to be impressed. He quotes someone named David Grandeau: the state ethics body "doesn’t have to abide by Open Meetings Law. Nor does it have to abide by the Freedom of Information Laws... Those laws apply to every other government body, but not the state ethics panel... Tell me again why that is? Tell me how that inspires confidence in government? Tell me how it sets a standard for others to live up to? Tell me how it represents good government?"
The answer is simple. It doesn't.
Earlier this week, it had its first working meeting. The Associated Press reported that members of the panel receive $300 for each day they attend meetings, members will be asked to sign non-disclosure' agreements barring public comment, and that its secretive practices will continue.
Then, the board went behind closed doors. The reason? None was given.
This is how ethics oversight works in New York... even under a 'reform' minded governor. Secret meetings with no public announcements. Going behind closed doors without even contriving an excuse. The fact that all this is legal, that this body charged with regulating ethics and transparency is exempt from the Open Meetings Law in the first place, is a damning indictment of what passes for ethics in state government.
Bob over at Planet Albany doesn't appear to be impressed. He quotes someone named David Grandeau: the state ethics body "doesn’t have to abide by Open Meetings Law. Nor does it have to abide by the Freedom of Information Laws... Those laws apply to every other government body, but not the state ethics panel... Tell me again why that is? Tell me how that inspires confidence in government? Tell me how it sets a standard for others to live up to? Tell me how it represents good government?"
The answer is simple. It doesn't.
Monday, December 19, 2011
How ethics and transparency work in NYS
The new panel charged with regulating ethics in state
government met late last week.
It met in secret.
It met with no public notice.
A spokesman for the Joint Commission on Public Ethics
defended the move, citing the board’s exemption from the state’s Open Meetings
Law.
That’s right: a committee set up to regulate public ethics
and transparency is legally allowed to meet in complete secrecy.
Is it any wonder why New York state government has
such an abysmal reputation for good governance?
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Down by the Levy: the Sinking of Lee
(a continuing series by contributor Mark Wilson on the troubles at Lee Enterprises, Inc. and the Post-Star)
On April 22nd of this year, the Mississippi River, nearing historic levels, jumped its banks and rose to within a city block of Lee Enterprises’ Davenport, Iowa headquarters.
Inside, financial and executive officers for Lee—the corporate owner of the Glens Falls Post-Star—were planning a junk bond issue large enough to pay off nearly a billion dollars in debt that was coming due within a year’s time. The subsequent failure of the junk bond issue ten days later set off a slide in the company’s stock price, as well as its fortunes, that came to a head last week when Lee sought Chapter 11 protection in a Delaware bankruptcy court. Court papers tabulated by Bloomberg News revealed that Lee and its subsidiary companies had—in the vernacular of real estate bank foreclosures—been under water all along.
Total assets: $1.2 billion
Total debts: $1.3 billion
Net worth: minus $100,000,000
In the initial stage of the bankruptcy case, Lee was granted permission to borrow $40 million more to pay bills, meet payroll and keep its presses rolling. The rest of the bankruptcy proceeding will determine whether or not Lee can extend the due dates on its outstanding debts from 2012 to 2015 and 2017, in exchange for double-digit interest rates. Most of Lee’s creditors have already signed on to the refinancing plan, and it is widely seen that the bankruptcy court will play along. The hope underlying the new debt timeline is that within three years the economy will recover enough to rescue the paper with real estate, automobile and jobs advertising revenue, and that by 2017 news publishers will have figured out how to better monetize their internet traffic and stem the collapse of their print audience.
While the courts sort out the longterm picture for Lee, it might be well to consider a more immediate threat in the company’s path. Back in July, the New York Stock Exchange issued a compliance warning to Lee when the price of its stock slipped below one dollar. The warning stated that if the share price did not regain the dollar mark within a six month “cure period,” the exchange would remove Lee from its trading list.
A useful primer on the significance of a stock delisting can be found online at Investopedia.com. The NYSE Listed Company Manual, Section 802.01 C addresses the delisting timeline for companies whose stock price drops below one dollar.
In short, Lee’s one remaining hope to avoid delisting would be if its stock were to close over one dollar per share on January 6th 2012, having sustained an average closing price of one dollar or more over the previous 30-trading-day period.
Fifteen of those thirty trading days have already elapsed with Lee’s daily closing share price averaging only 65 cents. So starting Monday, Lee’s share price must close at or above $1.35, and keep that price (on average) for three straight weeks. This at a time of year when many portfolio managers are tidying up client accounts by killing off their biggest turkeys. To put it bluntly, Lee’s thirty-three-and-a-half year association with the New York Stock Exchange is over.
Apart from the general stigma of joining the ranks of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Bros. and MF Global, perhaps the most troubling consequence of delisting is that it may well trigger the automatic sell-off of stock holdings by many of Lee’s institutional investors (many pension funds restrict their investments to listed stocks). This in turn could set off a chain reaction run of individual stockholders, driving the share price—and any chances of eventually paying off its debts—to historic, even unsalvageable depths.
On April 22nd of this year, the Mississippi River, nearing historic levels, jumped its banks and rose to within a city block of Lee Enterprises’ Davenport, Iowa headquarters.
Inside, financial and executive officers for Lee—the corporate owner of the Glens Falls Post-Star—were planning a junk bond issue large enough to pay off nearly a billion dollars in debt that was coming due within a year’s time. The subsequent failure of the junk bond issue ten days later set off a slide in the company’s stock price, as well as its fortunes, that came to a head last week when Lee sought Chapter 11 protection in a Delaware bankruptcy court. Court papers tabulated by Bloomberg News revealed that Lee and its subsidiary companies had—in the vernacular of real estate bank foreclosures—been under water all along.
Total assets: $1.2 billion
Total debts: $1.3 billion
Net worth: minus $100,000,000
In the initial stage of the bankruptcy case, Lee was granted permission to borrow $40 million more to pay bills, meet payroll and keep its presses rolling. The rest of the bankruptcy proceeding will determine whether or not Lee can extend the due dates on its outstanding debts from 2012 to 2015 and 2017, in exchange for double-digit interest rates. Most of Lee’s creditors have already signed on to the refinancing plan, and it is widely seen that the bankruptcy court will play along. The hope underlying the new debt timeline is that within three years the economy will recover enough to rescue the paper with real estate, automobile and jobs advertising revenue, and that by 2017 news publishers will have figured out how to better monetize their internet traffic and stem the collapse of their print audience.
While the courts sort out the longterm picture for Lee, it might be well to consider a more immediate threat in the company’s path. Back in July, the New York Stock Exchange issued a compliance warning to Lee when the price of its stock slipped below one dollar. The warning stated that if the share price did not regain the dollar mark within a six month “cure period,” the exchange would remove Lee from its trading list.
A useful primer on the significance of a stock delisting can be found online at Investopedia.com. The NYSE Listed Company Manual, Section 802.01 C addresses the delisting timeline for companies whose stock price drops below one dollar.
In short, Lee’s one remaining hope to avoid delisting would be if its stock were to close over one dollar per share on January 6th 2012, having sustained an average closing price of one dollar or more over the previous 30-trading-day period.
Fifteen of those thirty trading days have already elapsed with Lee’s daily closing share price averaging only 65 cents. So starting Monday, Lee’s share price must close at or above $1.35, and keep that price (on average) for three straight weeks. This at a time of year when many portfolio managers are tidying up client accounts by killing off their biggest turkeys. To put it bluntly, Lee’s thirty-three-and-a-half year association with the New York Stock Exchange is over.
Apart from the general stigma of joining the ranks of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Bros. and MF Global, perhaps the most troubling consequence of delisting is that it may well trigger the automatic sell-off of stock holdings by many of Lee’s institutional investors (many pension funds restrict their investments to listed stocks). This in turn could set off a chain reaction run of individual stockholders, driving the share price—and any chances of eventually paying off its debts—to historic, even unsalvageable depths.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)