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Adam Johnson at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting analyzes how When ‘Both Sides’ Are Covered in Verizon Strike, Bosses’ Side Is Heard More:

Last Wednesday, approximately 36,000 Verizon workers went on strike, ranging from FiOS installers to network technicians. They demanded a new contract with, among other things, more robust worker protection and the right to not relocate at the company’s whim.

Corporate media coverage of this strike illustrated the fundamental asymmetry of power that still exists between multi-billion-dollar corporations and comparatively small unions. (A union like Communications Workers of America has an annual budget roughly 1/500th of Verizon‘s annual revenues of $131 billion.) An analysis of coverage in two major “old media” outlets (New York Times and Washington Post) and two “new media” outlets (Buzzfeed and Vox) exposes a consistent pattern of prioritizing management’s voice over that of the workers or their representatives, to the tune of roughly 2-to-1. [...]

In three New York Times stories, management was quoted eight times to workers’ four. In the Washington Post‘s two reports, the ratio was 6:2 in management’s favor. Buzzfeed‘s three articles favored the company 13 to 7, while Vox‘s lone post had four quotes from management and none from labor. In all four outlets together, there were 31 quotes from Verizon representatives, 13 quotes from workers and their representatives.

The reasons for this discrepancy are many, but one likely culprit is that Verizon, as a corporation with a market value of $212 billion, has a highly sophisticated public relations machine, whereas unions and workers generally do not. Journalists, even when trying their best to convey “both sides,” are likely to fall short in the face of this asymmetry. After all, these reports need quotes, and one side is happy to provide endless high-quality content to dozens of outlets at once, whereas the other side can manage an occasional press release with limited sex appeal. [...]

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TWEET OF THE DAY

BLAST OF THE PAST

At Daily Kos on this date in 2003—Still no WMDs, and chances fading:

On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, Newtown resident Greg Dworkin rounds up Dem primary news, including Jane Sanders’ indelicate comments on CT gun politics. Rs continue to flounder and splinter. PoliSci case study in the costs and benefits of remaining outside the circle: Donna Edwards. 

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When the Washington Post headlines a story "How Loretta Lynch has investigated the police and not made them all hate her,” it should automatically raise at least one simple question: Why would investigating the police cause hatred?

Police within the United States enjoy the type of support that no other profession does: near universal belief that they are acting in good conscience and that they deserve the benefit of the doubt. The problem arises when documented examples of misconduct occur. Instead of protecting that rare commodity of near universal support by ridding themselves of bad seeds, we see contempt, anger and yes, hatred as  the most common response. Police, especially their union representatives, pull out their “victim cards” which are the size of ship flags, strap them onto poles, and then wave them furiously.

They appear to be appalled at being challenged, instead of being thankful for having some help identifying their shortcomings.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s way around this has been embarking on a Community Policing Tour in various cities. What’s that, you wonder?

Andrew Jackson hated the idea of paper money, was an opponent of a national economic system, had a habit of shooting anyone who got under his thin skin, and schemed to fatten his own wallet by first buying up Indian lands then making sure there were no Indians. No matter what else the man accomplished, I won’t miss him on my twenty.

On the other hand, Harriet Tubman  rescued herself from slavery, despite having suffered abuse that left her prone to seizures, and then returned first to rescue her own family along with many others. Undercover operative. Scout. And an activist who went on to play a role in securing women’s rights. It’s not hard to pick the person who is more deserving of admiration. That is, unless you’re Donald Trump.

"Maybe we do the $2 bill or we do another bill," he said… "I don't like seeing it. Yes, I think it's pure political correctness. Been on the bill for many, many years and really represented—somebody that was really very important to this country. I would love to see another denomination, and that could take place. I think it would be more appropriate."

Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider is out with her first ad of the race for California's open 24th Congressional District, and she earns points for creativity, as you can see below the fold.

Schneider, narrating the spot herself, says "I started my campaign for Congress in the garage, because I believe in going to the people to get things done." In the background, we see several campaign workers at tables, before Schneider jets off in her car, with a table strapped to the roof. She then visits other locations, setting up her office-on-the-go at each stop, saying she "stopped the sale of public parking lots to big corporations" (in front of a parking structure) and fought for safer highways (on the roadside).

Then, in the funniest segment, Schneider's staff literally sets up her table in the ocean, as she recounts how she fought to "restart the desalination plant" and will fight against tax breaks for oil companies cleaning up oil spills—as Schneider and her whole team get clobbered by a wave. We laughed for real at the sight, so we were unsurprised to learn that the spot was created by Mark Putnam, one of our favorite ad-makers and one of the most inventive in the business. While we usually don't think highly of ads that try to cram in too many issues, here Schneider has focused heavily on local topics (rather then just generic liberal messages), and delivered it all in a memorable way.

Schneider’s chief rival is fellow Democrat Salud Carbajal, a Santa Barbara County supervisor, who has led the way in both money and endorsements. A trio of notable Republicans are running, but it’s likely that we’ll see a traditional D-vs.-R matchup general election matchup in this light blue district once we get past June’s top-two primary.

Although Earth Day 1970 focused desperately needed attention on the world's environmental troubles, it was also a distraction from the war in Southeast Asia. Many people on the left argued that environmentalism was a snare and a delusion. Despite the environmental horrors visited on third world people by the extractive industries of the imperialist powers, they viewed the whole movement as a low to nonexistent priority. They were reinforced in their views when the slaughter abroad came home. Just a week after Earth Day, on April 29, the U.S. sent troops into Cambodia and, within three weeks, six students had been killed during protests at Kent State and Jackson State universities. Despite the demurrers from some on the left, however, millions joined in Earth Day activities. The events were peppered with corporate sponsors, many of whom were more interested in making a public relations coup than doing anything environmentally substantively. Mere marketing. 

Nonetheless, for a time—in part because Richard Nixon needed something positive to balance his administration's disastrous continuation of the war and because he was pressured by Democrats like Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson and eco-advocates of his own party—quite a number of successful environmental initiatives were undertaken, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and legislation on clean water and clean air.

The Wall Street Journal is very, very concerned about 2016, and the increasing likelihood that it will not remain under Republican control. What's more, they are gently trying to let Mitch McConnell know that his blockade of President Obama's Supreme Court nominee is maybe not such a popular thing with the voters.

In a complicated political season, nobody has more complications to worry about than the half-dozen Republican senators seeking re-election in tight, swing-state contests.

Those senators—hailing from Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina—are being buffeted by big forces largely out of their control as they try to hang onto their seats. Their fate will determine whether Republicans keep control of the Senate, where they currently have a 54-46 advantage.

Their big challenges, says the WSJ, are: Donald Trump—"in the new WSJ/NBC News poll, 65 percent of voters said they had negative feelings toward Mr. Trump […] 26 percent of those surveyed said Mr. Trump atop the ballot would make them less likely to vote for Republicans elsewhere on the ballot"; the GOP's "brand" problem—"51 percent of those surveyed reported holding negative views of the GOP, compared with 41 percent for the Democrats"; and, critically, Merrick Garland.

But beyond the GOP base, the decision not to grant Mr. Garland a hearing or a vote this year is proving hard to sell to other voters. In the WSJ/NBC News poll, 52% said the Senate should vote on a nominee this year, up from 43% in February.

The Garland question is a particularly awkward for senators in tough re-election races because, as members of the Senate, they can’t avoid the question of how their own chamber should handle the nomination; for them, it isn’t a hypothetical. And unfortunately for them, the decision to shun Mr. Garland isn’t proving popular across the nation.

No, it's neither a hypothetical problem nor a popular thing with voters. Apparently the WSJ is having a growing problem with it, too.

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…

Earth Day 2016

I have still never seen…

A bison throw a cigarette butt out a car window

A flock of geese blow the top off a mountain

A seal cause an oil spill

A hippo drive a Hummer

A raccoon go out for the evening and leave all the house lights on

A bobcat fight legislation to lower carbon emissions

A songbird sing "Drill Baby, Drill"

A panda declare bankruptcy to wriggle out of lawsuits after polluting a river

A pride of lions wage war over oil

A slug (the real kind, not the George Will kind) claim that our biggest worry is global cooling

A gorilla laugh at people who keep their tires properly inflated

A salmon pollute a stream with mercury

An elephant claim that God says it's okay to pillage the world's natural resources willy-nilly because pachyderms are the "chosen ones"

A mockingbird mock public transportation

A polar bear claim that the melting ice caps are no big deal

A mountain goat shrug off earthquakes related to fracking

A monarch butterfly buy enough Congress members to retain billions in oil subsidies.

Today is Earth Day, an event we celebrate every year to remind ourselves that we do not, in fact, have to be the biggest parasites on the third rock from the sun, we choose to be. Unlike the other parasites, we know what we're doing to this planet…and how…and why…and the kinds of things we must do to stop turning it into a ball of uninhabitable human-made garbage.

As an inhabitant of this spectacular planet, I'll continue to try and treat it with the respect it deserves, mostly by following the Four Rs: "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Re-elect Democrats."

Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

In a chilling case out of Louisiana, a former district attorney has pleaded guilty to offering women more lenient sentences in exchange for sexual favors. According to federal authorities, former St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel used his position of power to "solicit sex from at least 20 women during his 33-year tenure in office," reports Talking Points Memo. "In return, he offered them help with their cases or relative cases."

For years his behavior went unaddressed, until he engaged in "inappropriate behavior" with 27-year-old Danelle Keim at her home, after she was arrested for drunk driving in 2010:

The [court] filing, which refers to Keim only as "Individual A," doesn't elaborate on the nature of Morel's behavior but says he discussed the possibility of dropping the charge against her.

Keim called 911 after Morel left her home, the document adds. St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said Keim, in a trembling voice, accused Morel of sexually assaulting her after he showed up unexpectedly at her apartment to "talk about her case."

Keim ultimately agreed to record conversations with Morel for the FBI after he agreed to assist her with new theft and drunken driving charges, according to the court filing.

The FBI also videotaped a July 2012 meeting between Morel and Keim at her home. Morel brought two bottles of wine and again attempted to engage in "inappropriate behavior," the filing said.

Keim died of a drug overdose in 2013.

Morel allegedly asked for sex from a number of defendants and relatives between 2007 and 2009, promising them better treatment in exchange. (The court filing, however, does not include details on these interactions.)

Five of the eight largest banks are still too big to fail. Regulators said their plans to wind down weren’t credible and would require bailouts in the event of another collapse. These banks are even bigger than they were in 2008, so the Great Recession Redux will certainly be interesting.

While the news on the climate itself is rarely good there’s good news when it comes to changing directions on how we deal with climate issues.

Heads of state and high level diplomats from more than 170 countries signed the Paris Agreement at the United Nations Friday, a key step toward implementing the world’s most significant agreement to address global warming.

This isn’t just a big number of small nations signing on, the signatory nations represent 93% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. One of those signers would be the United States. And not only are we signing on, the agreement was intentionally structured so that it could be ratified in the US without needing votes in the Senate. 

The language in the agreement is particularly helpful for the United States, where a Senate battle could have stalled implementation for years. Kerry said Friday the U.S. would ratify the document by the end of this year, suggesting that the White House would not submit the document for Senate approval. China also committed on Friday to ratifying the agreement before a G-20 summit in September. The U.S. and China together account for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

This isn’t a “mission accomplished,” and it’s certainly no time for a victory lap. But considering that no other treaty netted more than 119 signatories and that those often lacked the nations most associated with greenhouse gases, it’s certainly a move in the right direction. The next step is getting 55 percent of those nations that have signed to ratify the agreement.

Happy Earth Day! Oh, and that blast of warm air you feel? That’s Republican senators bloviating over their inability to stop this agreement from actually doing some good.

Abortion remains legal nationwide despite being ever more hampered by forced-birther machinations. It therefore seems impossible that the bill just passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives to pull the license of any doctor who performs an abortion will pass constitutional muster.

Indeed, a few representatives—all of them Democrats—made that very argument during debate. The bill nevertheless passed the House overwhelmingly late Thursday, just as it passed by a lopsided vote in the heavily Republican state Senate last month. It now heads to Republican Gov. Mary Fallin for her signature. She has not indicated whether or not she will sign it.

Under the bill, any doctor who performs an abortion—except to save the life of the woman or to preserve her health—would have his or her license taken away. The Oklahoma State Medical Association has opposed the bill, viewing it as an attempt to intimidate physicians and inject politics into the physician-patient relationship. 

Amanda Allen, the senior state legislative counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, an advocacy group, said, "Oklahoma politicians have made it their mission year after year to restrict women’s access vital health care services, yet this total ban on abortion is a new low." 

During the Senate debate last month, Minority Leader John Sparks, a Democrat from Norman, called the bill unconstitutional on a number of grounds. “This bill will be reversed,” he said.

But supporters said it’s all about protecting the “sanctity of life.” 

As representatives deliberated the bill Thursday night, Republican Rep. Dave Brumbaugh, the majority caucus chairman, responded to objections that the bill would mean expensive litigation in a losing case for the cash-strapped state government. He said: "If we take care of morality. God will take care of the economy."