Washington Post invites the powerful to write their own news - with no editors to check their planted stories

Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander has failed to connect two serious reader complaints of uncorrected "Pay to Play" journalism.

One scandal occurs where Post owner Katharine Weymouth invites politicians and power brokers to an off-the-record party at her home (she called them "Salons" as if it were a bona fide Algonquin Rountable). The Ombudsman finally reveals on Sunday that for weeks before the event, reporters and editors objected to the plan that, "for a fee of up to $25,000, underwriters were guaranteed a seat at the table with lawmakers, administration officials, think tank experts, business leaders and the heads of associations."

• There is no explanation of why the salons would be off-the-record, a special type of meeting where the speakers are not responsible for what they say and the reporters agree not to use what it said. It is much more restrictive than merely agreeing to be an anonymous source.
• There was no explanation of why it was going to be paid for by the industry that was covered by the event.
• Although the editor apologized for the way it was portrayed by Marketing, there is no explanation of why Marketing would be involved in the event if it were truly an informational meeting.

The second scandal is that the information at the Salons, as well as other pay-to-play and favored politicians, can further influence the content of the Post because there are so few editors and fact-checkers that errors are now at unacceptable levels. What is the Post's plan to address this, you might ask: Telling readers to Get Used to It.

"Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli did not disagree that more errors have appeared lately.... Post managers have few choices but to cut staff while restructuring for the future.... Small errors will continue. Loyal Post readers should continue to note them when they're small and complain loudly when they're large. But I hope they also show some patience and understanding. "

The cuts are big and small, and rightly have a devastating effect on the Post's credibility. As another example, June 8th's Travel section had photos from Bigstockphoto.com and the Florida Department of Tourism. No Post photographers took any of the pictures on the front page of the section.

New Legislators - Manno is excellent, Elrich not a "people person"

In Montgomery County our district is represented by legislators in their first terms, including a state legislator and an at-large councilman. Roger Manno has a 100% pro-environmental rating by the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and Environment Maryland. He received a perfect environmental score for the 2008 Legislative Session. This is Manno's second straight year scoring 100%, making him one of only five sitting Delegates in Maryland with a perfect 100% lifetime environmental rating. I was even more impressed when I called his office during the July 4th Holiday weekend and my call was answered by ... Delegate Manno! We spent 20 minutes talking about how to Save the Chesapeake Bay. His attention and passion were evident throughout the conversation, and his staff contact called me back within a few minutes to follow up. As soon as I got home, I broke out my credit cards and donated to him. Call him and talk to him, and I'm sure you will, too.

On the other hand, I met Marc Elrich at one of his fundraisers when he was running for the seat he won, an at-large Council member in Montgomery County. I paid the entrance fee to the fundraiser, and went to shake his hand and introduce myself. He said he didn't have time to meet me - his sister was visiting. "What?" I said to his retreating back as he hustled away. "Don't you have her vote?" After the election, I saw him at a Women's conference at the U MD campus in Shady Grove. Hundreds of women were there. He leaned on the back wall and then turned his back on the attendees. I snapped a shot, and that's him, circled, the shoulder in the blue shirt, ignoring dozens of constituents in line and having a tete-a-tete with someone he already knows.

It's not just annoying that he avoids voters even when requesting donations. His signature proposal so far has been to work to combine the activities of the County Recreation Department with other programs. The plan might save money, but the biggest cost is the confusion and unrest now created by the proposal for change without a plan for making the change happen.

"OPPONENTS ARE LESS concerned with the territorial dispute between the departments than with the fear that the potential assumption of responsibility for the county’s parks by the Department of Recreation would threaten the integrity and preservation of parkland.

A joint letter signed by representatives of the Audubon Naturalist Society, the West Montgomery County Citizens Association and the Neighbors of Northwest Branch and distributed to media outlets on Friday, March 6 warned that "[r]ecreation [department] contractors are not obliged to include a conservation or stewardship message. The Department itself does not have any track record for environmental stewardship." The letter urged that no action be taken by the Council or the PHED committee before a public hearing on the matter could be scheduled to obtain input from county residents."

The book drops today - Maryland Football history by John McNamara

John McNamara's second book on the Maryland Terrapins drops today.

His first book is Cole Classics!, which sold out.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND HISTORY DETAILED IN FOOTBALL VAULT®

The legends and magic moments of Maryland football down through the years has been uniquely captured in words, historic photographs and replica memorabilia over the 144 pages of the University of Maryland® Football Vault®: The History Of The Terrapins®,” produced by Whitman Publishing of Atlanta.

The building of the Terrapins program from the very first game in 1892 through the 1953 national title team to the present-day success behind current coach Ralph Friedgen is chronicled by longtime Maryland sportswriter John McNamara.

This “scrapbook” of Maryland football history combines stories about the legendary names — Harry C. “Curley” Byrd, Jack Scarbath, Dick Modzelewski, Jim Tatum, Jerry Claiborne, Boomer Esiason, E.J. Henderson, Randy White and many others — and famous games with never-before-published photos, artwork and colorful replica memorabilia drawn from Maryland’s athletic department and campus archives.

Highlights of the rare replica memorabilia enclosed in the University of Maryland® Football Vault® include: A 1911 team photo, a 1920 fundraising brochure for the first Byrd Stadium, a 1940 schedule card, a set of 1950s Maryland decals, a 1960 poster featuring Gary Collins, a 1992 Maryland football centennial sticker, a 1980s-style felt replica Maryland pennant, several famous game program covers made into postcards and full-sized tickets from important games dating back to 1919.

The book’s foreword is provided by legendary Terps radio play-by-play announcer Johnny Holliday, who wrote, “This coming season will be my 31st behind the microphone as ‘Voice of the Terrapins.’ The past 30 seasons hold so many magical moments of Maryland football that many of you may have stored them away in your memory bank. Well, those memories will be rekindled by this incredible book.”

Friedgen, a former player who became head coach, wrote the book’s afterword. “The University of Maryland® Football Vault® chronicles those accomplishments in a way that is both descriptive and eye catching,” he said. “Whether you want to relive the past or learn about it, the University of Maryland® Football Vault® has it all.”

The University of Maryland® Football Vault®: The History of the Terrapins® is part of the College Vault Books series from Whitman Publishing. The hardcover 12” by 10” book with slipcase is available for $49.95 in bookstores. The book can also be ordered online at http://www.collegevaultbooks.com/.

Frontline: Tyson's kills the Chesapeake Bay

Frontline: Tyson's corner and Tyson's chicken are killing the Chesapeake Bay.

So is Purdue Chicken. Standard Purdue contracts say the company owns the chicken, their feed, and their feeding regimen. They won't take ownership of the chickensh*t that is creating "dead zones" killing fish and crabs and other Bay life.

Tyson's corner - as large as Boston or Phoenix, "a case study in harmful impact of unchecked growth." "The car built Tyson's; it also built the gridlock that is strangling Tyson's."









TYSON'S BEFORE AND AFTER

"There is now today ... 46 million sq ft of development... and 40 million sq ft of parking." Tyson's is a glaring example of poor land use:, impervious surfaces that cause drainage and runoff, no accommodation for biking or walking, and poor public transportation.

"The danger signs are everywhere. 'Dead zones.' Dying young whales. Inter-sex in male fish. The growing risk of serious health problems in humans."

"The key is public engagement."

More than three decades after the Clean Water Act, iconic American waterways like the Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound are in perilous condition and facing new sources of contamination.With polluted runoff still flowing in from industry, agriculture and massive suburban development, scientists note that many new pollutants and toxins from modern everyday life are already being found in the drinking water of millions of people across the country and pose a threat to fish, wildlife and, potentially, human health.
In Poisoned Waters, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hedrick Smith examines the growing hazards to human health and the ecosystem.
"The '70s were a lot about, 'We're the good guys; we're the environmentalists; we're going to go after the polluters,' and it's not really about that anymore," Jay Manning, director of ecology for Washington state, tells FRONTLINE. "It's about the way we all live. And unfortunately, we are all polluters. I am; you are; all of us are."
Through interviews with scientists, environmental activists, corporate executives and average citizens impacted by the burgeoning pollution problem, Smith reveals startling new evidence that today's growing environmental threat comes not from the giant industrial polluters of old, but from chemicals in consumers' face creams,
deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners that find their way into sewers, storm drains and eventually into America's waterways and drinking
water.
"The environment has slipped off our radar screen because it's not a hot crisis like the financial meltdown, war or terrorism," Smith says. "But pollution is a ticking time bomb. It's a chronic cancer that is slowly eating away the natural resources that are vital to our very lives."
In Poisoned Waters, Smith speaks with researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), who report finding genetically mutated marine life in the Potomac River. In
addition to finding frogs with six legs and other mutations, the researchers have found male amphibians with ovaries and female frogs with male genitalia.
Scientists tell FRONTLINE that the mutations are likely caused by exposure to
"endocrine disruptors," chemical compounds that mimic the body's natural
hormones.
The USGS research on the Potomac River poses some troubling questions for the 2 million people who rely on the Washington Aqueduct for their drinking water.
"The endocrine system of fish is very similar to the endocrine system of humans," USGS fish pathologist Vicki Blazer says. "They pretty much have all the same hormone systems as humans, which is why we use them as sort of indicator species. ... We can't help but make that jump to ask the question, 'How are these things influencing people?'"
"The long-term, slow-motion risk is already being spelled out in epidemiologic data, studies -- large population studies," says Dr. Robert Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. "There are 5 million people being exposed to endocrine
disruptors just in the Mid-Atlantic region, and yet we don't know precisely how many of them are going to develop premature breast cancer, going to have problems with reproduction, going to have all kinds of congenital anomalies of the male genitalia, things that are happening at a broad low level so that they don't raise the alarm in the general public."

April is the Cruelest Month

Today marks the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre (32 dead).




























Slate explains why teddy bears and candles is not a healthy gun policy, and exposes the NRA's fundraising ploy to lie about the existence of President Obama's "10 Point Plan To 'Change' the Second Amendment" in a plan that boosts the number of donations and the number of the dead.