State Fair Race Riots

I find it awkward watching and listening to accounts of the state fair race riots from outlets clearly practicing revisionism. Some absorb and report watered-down police propaganda without challenge. They refer to the incidents as "Fair Fights". I'd like to know in which universe an assault is referred to as a fight.

Don't forget more than a week passed between the events and the news reports.

We know the assaults were done by one racial group and the victims were of another. When a group of similar racial makeup that bands together and travels to another neighborhood for the common goal of deliberately assaulting people of another racial makeup, that's racial violence. In fact it's a riot by any definition. Numerous witness accounts, backed by at least one police report, articulated scenes with knives, fists and chants of "beat white night", a racially-flavored nod to "east side night". Fact or fiction? I think the evidence is compelling enough for the media to report it in that way.

I've spend hours listening to, reading and watching the evidence and I'm convinced that we have an issue that is hate-based and morally deprived -- and not one to which adding five squad cars is the appropriate police response.

Hate is primal and no "conversation" will quel the anger. What fuels this violence is not as important as the resolve with which it is met. We must put a brick wall between the attackers and the innocent population. We must smack down the agressors swiftly and painfully.

Police Chief Judy Bradshaw says the violence was random and unplanned, adding (after prompting from one reporter) that things just "got out of hand". These members of the community would be well advised to remember whose interests they're indentured to serve.

People want to spend too much time analyzing the root causes. I don't care who hates who enough to cause the violence. You can have conversations and discuss all you like, but when someone's rights are violated, we, the members of this community, must compel an end to it quickly and effectively, by whatever means or force necessary.

To the leaders: end the crime now and worry about feeling good about yourselves later.

Des Moines Police investigating one of its own

Reginald White was arrested for his involvement in the Aug 14 state fair riots. "Reggie" White is a Hoover basketball player, along with Dwight Sistrunk, whose mother is Lillie Miller-Sistrunk, Des Moines' first African-American female police sergeant, who asked White's arresting officer to reduce his felony charges (assault with injury) to a misdemeanor and be released. When the arresting officer declined that request, Miller stated she'd bond White out herself, which we've
now learned she subsequently did.

Are cops cost-effective?

I was shocked to discover several fallacies regarding North American law enforcement in reports, studies and court cases. One of the more notable ones is the general belief that a police department is thought to be a good investment.

A well foot-noted document by Roger Roots studied the constitutionality of cops generally, and along the way made some significant discoveries about costs, titling the section, "COPS NOT COST-EFFECTIVE DETERRENT".

Now that's a pretty blatant statement and one I'm sure most citizens would take issue with. So rather than simply trust the data at wholesale, I looked at Des Moines' police department budget for 2009 in search of some guidance on the issue.

The average cop's annual salary exceeds $100,000, not including side jobs where they act as security guards at convenience stores and bars.

What's an arrest worth?
I found, for instance, if you judge police effectiveness on arrests alone, they come at a cost of nearly $4,000 each. Pretty startling.

Cost of protection
If you'd rather look at the economic impact of police on residents of our city, cops' fees in relationship to the average family of 5 are $1,400 per year.

It's unnerving to realize that the police need more than $100 a month from every family. $150,000 per square mile every month? No wonder the government no longer wants citizens to police their own neighborhoods. And it makes me curious; can I look at alternative service providers? Will they guarantee that me and my stuff are safe? It's odd that we hold the cable company to higher standards than we do the police who have sworn to protect us.

Another well-promoted and self-perpetuated fallacy is that police work is extremely dangerous -- except that the numbers don't support the perception. A recent news story marking the 75th anniversary of the Iowa State Patrol had the number of killed state troopers since 1935 in the single digits. Construction is a far more dangerous job, but you never hear that on the evening news.

These things make you wonder how charities - that function solely for raising money for families of killed police officers -- manage to hoodwink their donors into coughing up cash.

Realty Market: Local broadcaster paints positive picture of Midwest real estate market, citing "new report"

If you watched the news on Channel 13 last night, you saw Erin Kiernan give the glowing housing numbers. She said Midwest sales figures "jumped 10%" compared to an 8% increase nationally. Kiernan also reported that prices increased by a percentage point and that the National Association of Realtors attributed the "spike in sales" to the $8,000 federal tax credit.

The story never mentioned the author of the real estate report, but it's fair to assume the figures were carefully crafted by the N.A.R., a national group that represents real estate professionals, and then regurgitated on the late news.

Localize!

Journalists are often encouraged to put a local angle to national stories to make them more relevant to audiences. In this case, however, no such work was done. In fact, had 10 minutes been invested in some basic research, we'd have learned that things aren't so bright in the metro, where average February sales are off 15.5% from last year and the total sales are down nearly 19%, fueled by 59% fewer transactions.

And in the last 30 days, sales were down by 39.4% over the same period last year and the number of sales represented only 41% of last year's figures.

The housing story doesn't appear on the broadcaster's website.

Polk County Residential Deed Sales - by the numbers

02/23/2010 - 03/22/2010
Qty: 283
Average Sale Price: 141,504
Total sales: 40,045,690

02/23/2009 - 03/22/2009
Qty: 479
Average Sale Price: 138,083
Total sales: 66,141,700
-------------------------------
02/01/2010 - 02/28/2010
Qty: 374
Average: 126,291
Total: 47,232,820

02/01/2009 - 02/28/2009
Qty: 394
Average: 147,673
Total: 58,183,220

Saylorville: A ticking time bomb?

I'm not a hydrologist or meteorologist -- or even and engineer, but I can read a chart and I see an unusual and scary trend.

The river basins that feed Midwest rivers received up to 400% of normal precipitation throughout the fall and winter months. Couple that with below average temperatures, particularly in February, the stored water potential remained stagnate until the spring melt, and that contributed to record water levels in the Rock Island District. Water at the Saylorville Reservoir has elevated to levels far above those recorded in 2008 for the same period, and heading into the spring shower season.

In 2008, Saylorville had reached 840 ft by mid-March and had begun to fall. This year, we see reservoir levels 25-30 feet higher at mid-month and continue rising throughout the month, with an expected volume to reach capacity -- leaving no room for additional precipitation in the watershed without overwhelming flood control systems.

In both 2008 and 1993, Sayorville was a lot lower than it is today, yet we still saw record flooding in those years. In fact, the lake hasn't been anywhere near this high in the 33 years of historical data on the corps' website. Most years right where they like it, at about 836 ft.

That has to have local officials at least a little nervous. But I haven't heard anyone ask the question that begs asking: what will Saylorville look like in June if it reaches capacity by the end of March?

Socially speaking

I just read part of an article from yet another social media expert.

That's right, part. Why? Because I could spend all my time reading peoples' expert advice, so filter by disregarding those that come with an invitation for a free seminar. That may seem arbitrary, but I tend not to trust advice from people who are pretending to give it free while actively tossing me a sales pitch.

So as soon as I spotted the pitch, I quit reading and started to write a few thoughts of my own.

The article actually touched on a sensitivity of mine. Social media in the corporate world. I am turned off by blatant advertising disguised as conversation in social media. I tell people to either engage in open, honest discussions about issues you're passionate about or, if you have something to sell, just buy a targeted ad on facebook or promote a video on YouTube or get some adsense.

Lately I'm seeing a lot of local companies -- or principles of same -- following or friending media accounts or fan pages only as a way to publicize paid events or to sell products. For a small business whose reputation is critical, that's a bad idea. You end up alienating the very base you need to impress most.

I imagine these people are accepting free advice from veiled snake oil salesmen. The advice? Follow, link with and friend as many high profile entities as possible and get your message out there often -- and damn the consequences. To me, those people give off the same aroma as the pyramid schemers of the seventies.

My best advice is to get out there and socialize like you would normally, in a way that suits your own personality. Be authentic because your prospects can smell phonies. And when it comes time to make a pitch, don't disguise it as a "conversation"; buy the ad unit.

If you value your wares, then respect people enough to be able to judge them on merit in the light of day.

Slicing up billboard audiences

We've been seeing new digital billboards popping up along the city's busy thoroughfares and they're getting lots of attention from local and industry media.

The safety concerns are obvious: as electronic billboards become more attractive, they become more distractive to commuters. That's common sense. The very idea of targeting the commuting public flies in the face of all traffic safety initiatives. And although some state laws are prohibiting animated, moving or flashing campaigns, the wholesale concept of taking drivers' attention from the task at hand is a dangerous one.

On the other hand, the outdoor advertising market has been hit hard by the economic slowdown, so the outdoor industry is struggling to innovate. And in the digiboard, they've found some new life.

But in claiming "more advertising opportunities", they're making a very thin slice of the audience even thinner. Now instead of knowing your image will appear on a busy highway 24/7, you now only get a few seconds.

The advertising market is clearly heading for a state that's so fragmented that the only survivors will be large corporations who are in a position to use duplication and automation technologies to multiply thin local profit margins into usable revenue on regional and global scales. In that vein, there's no economic benefit to small businesses, nor the local community at large.

The fact is that what's bad about billboards is even worse when you digitize them.

VIDEO: Snow Plows vs Cars

I always find myself quite irritable by January, I think because the cold, snow and ice are wearing on me. One of my biggest annoyances this time of year has to be cars left on curbs during and after snowfall. Perhaps a few more of these plow vs parked car instances will get people motivated to move their cars.




click here to download

Mediacom vs. Sinclair - the public fight continues

Mediacom, the cable company, and Sinclair, the TV conglomerate, are fighting in public again, just as they did three years ago. Mediacom is claiming on their website that Sinclair is trying to gouge its cable TV customers by overcharging the provider for the right to include its affiliate stations in its cable line-up.

A 3-year agreement between Mediacom and Sinclair ends December 31st and negotiations for a new agreement appear to have stalled over transmission consent fees.

HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING HERE?

For a little perspective, on its website, Mediacom puts the demand amount at "millions", but neither party will provide a specific amount. AP reports puts the number of affected cable subscribers at 700,000 -- 400,000 of whom are in Iowa.

Let's do some rough guesswork. If Sinclair is demanding Mediacom fork over $5 Million a year, that's about 60 cents per month per cable customer. $5 M divided by 700,000 divided by 12 months. If 100 non-premium channels each charged 60 cents a month for every subscriber, that's about $60 in consent fees per cable viewer every month.

Consider also that Sinclair as more than $1 Billion in debt, nearly half of which is coming due in the next year and a half.

What strikes me in this battle is the utter lack of transparency on each party. What was the old rate? What's the new rate being demanded? What percentage of an increase would that represent? Neither are willing to have an honest debate out in the open.

Viewers who will be affected by losing a channel can complain to the cities' cable franchise liaisons and the bickering parties.

Santorum in Iowa

In political circles, being seen in Iowa is synonymous with a Presidential bid. Arriving at the Clear Channel Radio studios in Des Moines cements that notion.

When Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) sat down with Jan Mickelson (WHO Radio), the question had to be asked. [Watch Windows Media]

Santorum also told a story of when he introduced the "Life Amendment" to No Child Left Behind and how he gained unwitting support from democrat Sen. Ted Kennedy. [Watch Windows Media]

Few Presidential contenders escape the Mickelson program escape without being asked to defend their stance on abortion and whether Roe v Wade is settled law. [Watch Windows Media]

Minimum wage increase generates anti-Obama buzz

Minimum wage is one of those touchy-feely Democratic issues that is supposed to take care of those who are mistreated by their thrifty employers, the same issue that is detested by Republicans, claiming it stifles small businesses and increases unemployment.

But in discussions about minimum wage, you hear few pundits compare minimum wage to a nominal 3% inflation rate (see chart right, showing 29 years of minimum wage vs. the 3% inflation curve).

In 2007, congress created the most recent amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act that resulted in this month's wage boost, however some are blaming the current administration for hurting small businesses through an increase put in place before the election.

If you look at minimum wage since 1980 -- when conservative Republican Ronald Reagan was elected President -- and plot where it should have tracked (through conservative economic incentives designed to produce growth in American industry), it always seems to trail inflation and economic growth by a significantly margin; the US Congress has to make substantial corrections to boost it toward, but never up to, a nominal inflation rate.

Health care workers and agricultural producers are barely getting by, if at all, and corporate CEOs are making tremendous gains.

Why is it that top-end wages have skyrocketed while those of the real laborers have declined or stagnated? In the land of opportunity, this is symbolic of the way opportunity tends to shift toward the wealthy and away from the actual producers and this is yet another example.

In 20 of the past 29 years, you hoped that Republicans would have used their power for the good of main street America, but instead have lined the pockets of their most important constituents; big business lobbyists and their crony political action organizations.