Archive for 2013

LOOKING FOR WORK IN JOURNALISM/PUNDITRY? A reader with a cool publication emails:

I am looking for two editors, both of whom must be conservative/libertarian, top-flight journalists/advocates, savvy digital operators and politically and historically knowledgeable.

The first is an Opinion Editor. Here’s the basic position description of what I am looking for in a hire that is extremely important:

DC-based position for an experienced conservative journalist/advocate. Duties include managing a six-person daily editorial and blogging team, working with in-house and featured outside columnists and contributors, planning and editing blog posts and features, and representing the organization on radio/TV. Salary commensurate with print/digital journalism experience. Must have in-depth knowledge of national politics, public policy issues, and appreciate difference between news and opinion journalism. Email resume and clips to: .

This is a job for a seasoned, energetic and smart, early middle aged veteran (i.e. 10-15 years of experience) who can write well and edit fast, manage and motivate younger, talented conservative writers, think creatively about how a conservative news and opinion web site can effectively cover Congress, the presidency and national campaign scene, and work well primarily with me and secondarily with other senior editors and executives here in DC. It’s one of the most important positions and needs to be a solid hire.

The second hire is for an editorial writer who will draft editorials, write posts and assist the Opinion Editor with the daily logistics involved in managing a thriving conservative opinion section. This is for a younger person (likely mid to late 20s) moving up from a junior-level job to a bigger title that puts them in position to demonstrate their readiness for a major editor slot with a national conservative operation. Email resume and clips to: .

Sorry, I can’t tell you who it’s for, but it’s a quality publication.

IF THE HOUSE GOP VOTE IS SO BAD FOR THE REPUBLICANS, why is Obama so angry?

CHICKS DIG JERKS: Joining The Sex Jihad: “Scores of young Tunisian women have been traveling to Syria to wage ‘sex jihad’ and boost the morale of love-starved Islamists.” Though maybe this story is just being spread by the Tunisian government as a ploy to lure local jihadi-wannabes off to Syria, where they will likely die.

TEST-DRIVING THE 2014 Audi R8 Super Spyder. I wish the Audi folks had sent me one of these to test.

VIA PETER INGEMI, I see that Zilla Stevenson needs help. I dropped a few bucks in her tipjar. If you enjoy her blogging, or just want to help a blogger in trouble, you may want to do the same.

By the way, if you make a donation to me — using the “donation” button on the right — odds are it’ll be recycled into a donation to a blogger in trouble. Sometimes people tell me to use the money to buy my wife dinner or something, in which case I do, but otherwise I tend to keep my PayPal balance for helping out bloggers who need it.

CHICAGO: Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Lakeshore Drive. “Pedersen. who said he had been flying for five years, had decided the drive was his best landing spot. If timed correctly, he figured, he could bring down the plane while traffic was stopped at a red light.”

IN GERMANY, a big win for Angela Merkel. “With unemployment near a two-decade low and the budget deficit virtually eliminated, voters backed Merkel’s handling of the domestic economy, Europe’s largest, and her push for austerity in the euro zone in exchange for aid. They punished her Free Democratic coalition partner after four years of bickering and failure to deliver on its tax-cutting pledges.” Can she run for President here?

CHANGE: “Pent-up Demand” for Sex-Selective Abortions Could Soon Be Unleashed. “Sex-selective abortion is a nearly intractable problem for American liberalism, because it brings two of its key values into conflict: the right to unrestricted abortion and female liberation and advancement. If sex-selective abortions are set to rise even more, throwing this conflict into sharper relief, liberalism may have an intellectual crisis on its hands.” It wouldn’t be a problem if people were selectively aborting boys.

SORRY GUYS, BUT SANDUSKY U. ISN’T THE FIRST PLACE I’D TRUST WITH MY PERSONAL INFORMATION: Health Plan Penalty Ends at Penn State.

After weeks of vociferous objections by faculty members, Pennsylvania State University said on Wednesday it was suspending part of a new employee wellness program that some professors had criticized as coercive and financially punitive.

In particular, the university said it was suspending a $100 monthly noncompliance fee that was to be levied on employees who declined to fill out an online questionnaire. The form, administered by WebMD Health Services, a health management company, asked employees for intimate details about their jobs, marital situation and finances. It also asked female employees whether they planned to become pregnant over the next year.

Last week, in an emotionally charged faculty senate meeting held on the main campus, several female professors told administrators that requiring women to answer such questions — or pay a fine — amounted to an invasion of their privacy.

In a statement on Wednesday, Rodney A. Erickson, the president of Penn State, said that the university had heeded faculty concerns about the perceived invasiveness of the questionnaire and the punitive nature of the fine. “We have decided to suspend the $100-per-month surcharge so that people who are uncomfortable with any aspect of the survey will not feel as if they are being penalized,” Mr. Erickson said in the statement.

Many employers use financial incentives to encourage employees to participate in workplace wellness programs, a trend that is likely to widen with the new health care law.

Prediction: These “wellness programs” will turn out to be complete wastes, and not save any money.