BAH ! The Home Team loses... Away from Home

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There is a certain swagger when a team realizes it will defeat another... that it will ultimately win ! It's an attitude that never seems to leave unless an unexpected loss occurs on the home court.  So it is with  NBA Champions... so it is with great leaders ... and definitely that's the way it is with great countries. 

Often however swagger meets grit ... and a shockingly surprise defeat...  tears through an otherwise confident organization.  Sometimes the underdog simply rises to the occasion.  We go into battle as Heroes and leave as Sidekicks in the actual winner's war.

Shock ensues with the insouciant sense that the playing field is NEVER level. How many better teams in sports and political history have lost?  How many great talents have never won a championship?  How many lesser beings have wandered into the lottery of luck.

For minorities ... the cult of meritocracy... is just as irrelevant.   It is the home field advantage of family and friends that is HUGE !  Because the Playing Field is NEVER level for minorities ... and Victory is... stunning as it is... in the Loss. 

BAH ! Don't let what you Can't do stop what you Can do

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Long ago...the estimable NBA analyst Steve Jones watched the 5'3" Muggsy Bogues dominate a game offensively AND defensively and made the remarks quoted in the headline above.  This is so true in minority life.  A certain local candidate for judge, against all odds, finally wins after six attempts. A certain high school coach loses a job...then finds another in time to put food on the family table.  Oddless victories Black Americans know well as Our unemployment rate sours into a Depression.

We watch our favorite teams fight for survival and absorb the battles lost... but celebrate  wars won when devastating losses turn a team into a champion.  That is the story line some Black-American live.  The ones that give the Race hope ! But it is still hard to forget the tragedies.

We have no choice...we have  to do what we can do... often over what we are allowed to do. 

"Don't let what you can't do...stop what you can do !".  Amen Brother Jones.

BAH ! Disturbing Insider Tip--Why Feds deny claims

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In certain departments in a certain influential federal agency...the rules are rigged so that employees are rewarded if they DENY claims of  American Citizens? Get my drift?

An insider "federal claims adjuster" tells BAH! that employees have to meet and exceed quotas on the number of cases they process.  The more they process the more secure their employment.  It takes 15 minutes to deny a case...45 minutes to an hour to approve a case.   Do the mental Math!

This insider says this "system" inadvertently rewards Denials.  This "system" also leads to an adversarial relationship in client service for untold thousands of American Citizens.  Get my drift?  If you have noticed this kind of situation in your own dealings with federal agencies ....give BAH! a shoutout.   

  

Black Radio a Key Asset; Is It Worth the Price?

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Let me see, if I understand this correctly. The Performance Rights Act would have radio stations pay performers to play their songs; currently they do not. It sounds pretty simple but apparently it’s not. There is generally another side involved.

I agree with the previous entry concerning the intellectual property of performers. The performers have been “raped by record companies, radio stations, television stations, ………..you name it….to turn a buck.”

“Some think this is the American way.”

Who got the money? The record companies? The radio stations? The performers? ……etc. , it appears they all got a share, but in what percentage?

This has been a capitalist system…….although now with few rules……who knows to what extent people will go too for money?

Right or Wrong! This is why we are a BAILOUT NATION now!

Some say “Pay first, then we talk.”

The radio stations promoted the performers and helped them get more exposure to sell their craft. Should they begin charging the performers a fee to do this or charge them an advertising charge??

The record companies were contracted to produce, distribute, and sell the performers craft in mass. They appear to get a good return for this....do they pay the performers well?... apparently not.

The performers get paid when they sign their contracts, when they sell their music, etc.....It's not enough!

Some say “Everything has a price..”

It appears that the squeaky wheel gets the oil and changes are being considered ……..as mentioned in the Detroit News…..

“Chairmen John Conyers said he shares the concern about the potential impact of new fees on small broadcasters. As a result, he proposed changes that were agreed to that create a sliding fee scale for small broadcasters and delays the start date of payments:

Stations with annual gross revenues of less than $100,000 would pay $500 each year. Those with gross revenues between $100,000 and $500,000 would pay $2,500. Those between $500,000 and $1.25 million would pay a royalty fee of $5,000 per year.
The fees wouldn't start for three years if a station's revenues are less than $5 million annually, and for 1 year for others.

In the original bill, stations with gross revenues of less than $1.25 million would pay a flat fee of $5,000. “

Why is there so much concern in helping the performers get paid now, when they have been raped for so long? .............This doesn't seem like much money, right?.........This would be the beginning, who knows where it would go. This would create a huge income stream for somebody, but I'm not so sure that would be the performers.

Some say “We are a land of Laws” ...............yet….....they are continually broken ……. Some Attorneys are working for you others are part of the problem.

Performers, you have a gift, we love it, I agree. Put a price on it, get your price or negotiate. Your gift is one part of the business……then there's the business of the industry and there's always the money!

We know there are people who make millions of dollars in the music industry and can’t sing, can’t read music, or play an instrument.

Capitalism …..Fees,…..you think…...it’s about the MONEY???

WAMO--Included in possible sell of 3 Black radio stations in Pittsburgh to St. Joseph's Missions
resulting in more job loss ..........Do you think they will be interested in your programming??

The bottom line is we need Black Radio for our Performers, our Politicians, and for our Voice.

Mass Communication is a Key Asset! We don't want to loose it! We need to gain more control and expand it! ...........We Can't Afford to Loose It!!!!! Stand Up! Put your resources together and buy controlling interests and "Rock-n-Roll."

BAH ! Cheney battles Obama

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Jazz Currents: Performance Rights Act

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Like jazz vocalist, pianist Mose Allison sings...... "Everybody is cryin' mercy, but they don't know the meaning of the word."  

In the recent cry by radio stations who think they've been dealt a lethal blow by a decision to up the revenue cost in favor of musicians here's a thought.

Musicians have literally been raped with no lubricant by record companies, radio stations, television stations, the internet, club owners, and just about anyone else who uses a musician's intellectual property to turn a buck. Musicians create the hits that we love and everyone else profits from. They are the geese who lays the golden eggs.

"The Geese" have been so micro-focused on music that they've for the most part relinquished the "business" part of the music business. For them, music business is an oxymoron.  

Interestingly enough, the much maligned Michael Jackson is an example of a musician who has paid attention and did very well, including buying up the entire Beatle's catalog. I'm sure Sir Paul McCartney wishes every morning he had paid more attention when he's drinking his tea and eating his crumpets.

The Kings and Queens of radio have no clothes on this one.....

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BAH ! Notre Dame, Supreme Court and a New Lawn Mower

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Soon the President of the United States will pick a new Supreme Court Justice to replace David Souter....needless to say the litmus test may again be Roe v. Wade.  Sunday Mr. Obama braved hecklers at Notre Dame... proposed Common Ground between two "irreconcilable camps" on the issue of Abortion.  How will all of this will help Blacks decide whether or not to buy a new Lawn Mower?   

My Catholic Neighbor to the Right of me has a brand new 80-inch Gas-Guzzling Mower with a gigantic grass catcher and an elegant ignition system. This neighbor also has a Scorched Earth power train and a Your-Ass-is-Grass and I-am-the-Lawnmower attitude.  Needless to say...his daily cuttings makes a yard look more like Plowed Ground than Common Ground.    

The Local Liberal to the Left has a recycled reel mower with  a refurbished grass catcher and a composte-ignition system.  This neighbor has an Irritate Authority power train and a Your-Assets is-Grass and I-am the-Lawnmower attitude.   Needless to say her random cuttings make a yard look more like Coffee Grounds than Common Ground. 

"There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbour's." --Clyde Moore.

So, the guy in the middle, the Minority Man, looks amused at the snow job in his neighborhood.

Seeking Common Ground he buys a refurbished but full-warranty Lawn Mower with very few bells and whistles but one important feature.  The ability to cut the grass just right !  It's power train is based on Practicality and it's grass catcher is goal-oriented and balanced.  He cuts the front every week and the back yard every other week.  

The moral of the story.  Focus on what everyone agrees is achievable.....preventative education, reductions in abortions, more efficient adoptions...are just a start.  That plus an attitude to pursue the practical is the best policy of all.  That's a Kick-ass Lawnpower with Assets !

BAH! Radio Fees for Performers

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Today the House Judiciary Committee will markup the Performance Rights Act...a bill that would force radio stations to pay royalties for their work.  Rallies and on-air protests are planned. Minority station owners claim it will put them out of business...that they simply can't afford it in this economic environment.  Bill supporters claim it is long past due that musicians receive compensation for their creative efforts.  

The Chair of the Judiciary Committee....John Conyers... the dean of African-American congressfolk...is a jazz aficianado and it's clear where his sympathies lie. Critics say he is backed by foreign-based record execs who stand to reap a windfall.  These critics include prominent African-American and Hispanic-Ameroican stations who rightfully claim they are at least owed a congressional hearing on their views. 

As usual the truth is somewhere in the middle.  Musicians who have their works aired for free clearly deserve something just as most other media require.  But it is just as clear that radio stations provide a unique promotional platform that can drive sales of the performer's product.  That needs to be recognized financially ...perhaps as a tax deductible in-kind asset.  

The public deserves a fair, open and transparent congressional hearing on House Bill 484 in order to judge both sides of the controversy.  Musicians deserve the right to negotiate royalties and radio station owners deserve the right to include their promotional capabilities as discounts on royalties. 

BAH! Manny like Madoff

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Manny Ramiriz is like Bernie Madoff.  Both allegedly took advantage of a weak regulatory environment and both got caught when the systems changed...exposing both.  Both played by the unwritten nod and wink  rules of both "sports".  

The slugger and the seller...both symptoms of the no-holds barred economic policy party that disdained a vigilant regulator.  Greed and Fear are the rules... And a level playing field be damned!  

It's something Seniors and Minorities know well in the Jobless Game.

 

BAH ! Obama Tax on Overseas Hidden Profits

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U-S based Multi-National Companies continue to shirk their responsibilities in supporting the recovery of the American Economy.  Now they pledge to fight the President's effort to hire 800 IRS people... to go after the 80 Billion Dollars parked overseas by these same corporations... in their morally-bankrupt effort to escape paying their fair share.  

The multi-national companies have had no trouble demanding Taxpayer Bailouts or throwing people out of work while protecting their stockpile.  Their Media and Congressional  apologists have already begun a campaign to disparage the Administration's new effort. 

Multi-National Corporations should pay the same proportion of their income in taxes as minority Americans ...and you can bet that scares them half to death. 

BAH ! Rush Limbaugh LOL

Back in the Roaring Nineties the biggest Loudmouth was Limbaugh.  My white friends in a certain midwestern state said he was great !  I listened ...mystified...for years. I wanted to know what his audience thought...an audience that controlled the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court.  

Rush sounded a lot like what I remembered of Senator Eugene McCarthy. Arrogant, dismissive, and crude. It was His version of Conservatism or the highway...and did that school of thought a Huge disservice.  He had no reporter staff to search out the truth...he merely trolled the "drive-by media" and spun it beyond reality.

Now mainstream America has seen what minority America has long known...that the Rush philosophy is as bankrupt as AIG, Chrysler, and Lehman Brothers.  That the Rush philosophy is as morally blind as the Iraq War, Katrina, and Dick Cheney. Now I can safely switch off the Limbaugh Loudmouth and know that I am not missing a thing !

BAH ! Wage Deflation

The Boston Globe and Chrysler are trying to force huge wage cuts on its workers to try to survive.  Sign of the Times.  General Motors, the financial sector, and companies across America are trying to do the same.  But that's better than losing your job right?  Sure it is...better to have income than to not have income. 

But there is a Catch 22 here.  According to ________ prize winning economist and editorialist Paul Krugman, such wage deflation is very bad for the recovery.  Those left with jobs simply don't have enough money to buy stuff at the store and fuel a consumer resurgence.  

But that analysis is for the broader market.  Certain sectors are mired in a Depression not a Recession.  African American men, Baby Boomers, Auto Workers, etc. are more afraid of not finding a job then they are of losing one they have already lost.  For them wage deflation is 100 %!!!