October 11, 2017
Oct 11 01:14 Enrollment spin, SCSU edition Oct 11 01:59 Goodell caves, Trump wins fight Oct 11 05:56 The NAACP vs. Jerry Jones Oct 11 07:22 Blackburn's positive first impression Oct 11 11:35 McConnell's choice trumps Franken
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Enrollment spin, SCSU edition
If I didn't know better, I'd think that this SCTimes article was written by the PR department at SCSU. Some of the statements found in the article defy logic. Before we get to some of the statements, the article reports that headcount enrollment has dropped 10% since 2013, dropping from 16,245 to 14,615. That doesn't tell the public the important enrollment information.
Earlier in the article, Dan Gregory, the interim provost and vice president of academic affairs, said that St. Cloud State gained almost 5 percent more students of color over this time last year. The opening paragraph of the article said "Student headcount is down this fall at St. Cloud State University, but the number of non-white students is up."
Those are nice statistics but they don't tell us a thing about the financial health of the University. In fact, St. Cloud State's CFO, Tammy McGee, isn't mentioned in the article. That's likely because she's announced her resignation , effective at the end of the academic year. When talking about the University's financial situation, the person speaking was Dr. Gregory:
St. Cloud State expected a greater drop in enrollment this year, so the school's finances are healthy despite the 3 percent decrease, Gregory said.
I'm skeptical of that statement because several programs have had their faculty cut significantly. That, by itself, lowers labor costs. Unfortunately, it shrinks tuition revenue even more. (Think of how many students each professor teaches each semester.)
The article doesn't mention anything about staffing levels, capacity levels in the dormitories or how many students buy student lunch programs, each of which produces significant amounts of revenue for the University. The article didn't talk about the amount of money that the University sent to the Wedum Foundation. It isn't a stretch to think that the University lost more than $1,000,000 on that this past fiscal year. Then there's this:
St. Cloud State will roll out a new marketing strategy in coming months, Gregory said. The school will tout the quality of its programs and its focus on student success, he said. "I think there's some positive momentum on campus over how we think about our students and student success."
That's outright spin. A loyal reader of LFR took pictures of the SCSU campus Tuesday afternoon. This is a picture of Atwood Center:
It's understatement to that that doesn't look like a picture of a thriving, healthy university. This picture is of the sidewalk heading into the Herberger School of Business:
Another thing that sets off red flags with me is the total reliance on headcount enrollment. That doesn't tell me anything about how much revenue is being brought in. The best way to measure a university's health is by finding out what the FYE (Full-Year Equivalent) enrollment is. That's the enrollment that's used to figure out the school's budget.
Finally, isn't it odd that the interim president at SCSU isn't quoted in the article? Without information from SCSU's president and CFO, this article isn't much more than a University press release. Without knowing how much the FYE enrollment dropped, it's impossible to determine SCSU's financial health.
UPDATE: A loyal reader of LFR contacted me to tell me that SCSU was on break Monday and Tuesday.
Posted Wednesday, October 11, 2017 11:48 AM
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Goodell caves, Trump wins fight
Two weekends ago, players, coaches and owners locked arms in their fight against President Trump, certain that they'd show President Trump who the king of the proverbial jungle was. According to this article , stadiums "across the US and even further afield became the focus of an unprecedented show of defiance against US President Donald Trump Sunday, as some NFL players locked arms or refused to stand for the national anthem, saying that they are protesting racial and social injustice. Players from all 28 teams in the league that played Sunday participated in some form of protest. Some teams declined to take the field at all for the pre-game ceremonies."
This afternoon, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell essentially cried uncle , admitting that President Trump was right. In the article, ESPN's Kevin Seifert wrote that the "NFL has developed a plan to "move past" its ongoing debate about player protests during the national anthem and could enact it next week, commissioner Roger Goodell wrote Tuesday in a letter to all 32 teams. Goodell made it clear in the letter, obtained by ESPN's Adam Schefter, that he wants players to stand during the anthem. He did not provide specifics on how he intends to ensure it, but he wrote that it would 'include such elements as an in-season platform to promote the work of our players on these core issues.'"
Here's a copy o Commissioner Goodell's letter to the owners:
It was inevitable that Trump would win. It was just a matter of time.
Posted Wednesday, October 11, 2017 1:59 AM
Comment 1 by Lady Logician at 11-Oct-17 09:31 AM
He only caved because ratings were down and advertisers were spooked. He'll revert back to his true self once he feels things have died down. Well that won't happen in this house.
LL
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 11-Oct-17 09:38 AM
Check out the opening of this video. You'll agree totally with it.
The NAACP vs. Jerry Jones
This article is filled with misinformation. That isn't surprising considering the fact that it quotes Tony Covington, the NAACP's Senior Director of Corporate Affairs. In the article, Covington is quoted as saying "Jerry Jones' comments are more than tone-deaf, more than misinformed and misguided - they are a public commitment by an NFL owner to violate his players' Constitutional right to free speech , one of the principles on which our nation was founded. They are proof that athletes like Colin Kaepernick who have quietly and peacefully used their platform to protest violence against communities of color do so at their own peril."
Actually, that's one of the myths that keeps popping up in articles. (I wish these reporters did their homework.) This article sets things straight, quoting Daniel Schwartz, employment law partner at Shipman & Goodwin, as saying "As a general rule, the First Amendment doesn't apply to the private workplace." Later, he adds that "the First Amendment prevents government, but not companies or individuals, from limiting free speech."
It's indisputable that the players' sideline protests have hurt NFL attendance and TV ratings. Team owners, like Jerry Jones, have the right to protect their investment. When their employees' actions hurt their profitability, the owner has the right to install a code of conduct for his employees with the stipulation that it's applied equally to each employee.
This article outlines what's permitted and what isn't:
Here's what Baruch had to say (his comments have been edited and condensed for clarity):
1. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Sunday that any player who disrespects the flag won't play in Cowboys games. What are the legal ramifications to a statement like that?
Probably none. He's a private employer so he's free to make any rules he wants that infringe on free speech. He's totally unconstrained legally.
That definitely isn't the answer the NAACP wanted to hear, though it's the answer they probably already knew.
Posted Wednesday, October 11, 2017 5:56 AM
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Blackburn's positive first impression
There's little doubt that Marsha Blackburn is making a positive first impression on conservatives, though she apparently can't count Twitter as one of her earliest admirers. Rep. Blackburn is demanding that Twitter apologize for blocking her opening campaign video. In the now-famous, Ms. Blackburn said "I'm 100% pro-life. I fought Planned Parenthood, and we stopped the sale of baby body parts -thank God." According to the article, "Twitter told Blackburn's campaign in an email obtained by Fox News that the line was 'deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction.'"
Ms. Blackburn replied, saying "I am appalled by Twitter's attempt to censor my pro-life record, and I believe that the entire pro-life community deserves an apology and explanation for their actions. I have spent my entire career fighting to protect and honor life, and I refuse to allow an organization whose stated mission is to 'provide information instantly, without barriers' the ability to silence our efforts to protect the unborn.'"
Twitter isn't winning this fight because Ms. Blackburn isn't running from the fight. She's running towards the fight. She's portraying Twitter as the online thought police. That's smart politics. This is the video that's been banned:
Banning that video is counterproductive to Twitter's political goals. It's helping Ms. Blackburn, not hurting her, because it's gained her tons of free media right at the start of the campaign. If Twitter's goal was to hurt Ms. Blackburn's campaign, they failed. She's capitalized on the publicity by becoming a southern firebrand who wants to take on the Swamp.
It's difficult not picturing Ms. Blackburn as Tennessee's next US Senator. The last Democrat elected to the US Senate was Jim Sasser. He lost his re-election bid in 1994. Since then, Fred Thompson, Bill Frist, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have represented Tennessee in the US Senate. Tennessee would've been a difficult seat to flip during a good year for Democrats. This isn't a good year.
Posted Wednesday, October 11, 2017 7:22 AM
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McConnell's choice trumps Franken
Al Franken tried playing hardball with President Trump's judicial nominations. This morning, he found out what it's like to be part of the minority party . That's because Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, said that "Republicans will scrap the chamber's 'blue slip' tradition, eliminating a tool of the minority to block the executive's judicial nominees."
Fred Barnes' article highlights the steps that Sen. McConnell will implement to get President Trump's judicial nominees confirmed. They include confirming "judicial nominees has been elevated to a top priority in the Senate. 'I decide the priority,' McConnell said in an interview." Further, Sen. McConnell said that "Republicans will treat a blue slip 'as simply notification of how you're going to vote, not as an opportunity to blackball.'"
This won't sit well with Democrats. It's likely that Sen. Franken will be particularly upset because he spent lots of political capital fighting "David Stras' nomination to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals last month." Now all he's got to show for his efforts is a reputation as a partisan hack and a bruised ego.
This isn't just about losing this fight. It's about the fact that retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page joined with other justices in writing this glowing op-ed . It opens by saying this:
To U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken, Chuck Grassley, Dianne Feinstein, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer:
We write to urge that the Senate Judiciary Committee and the U.S. Senate act expeditiously to confirm the nomination of Minnesota Associate Supreme Court Justice David R. Stras to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Stras has all the attributes and qualifications necessary to make an excellent circuit court judge. We have firsthand knowledge that this is true given that we served with him as justices on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Stras' resume sets out the most obvious of his outstanding qualifications that led to his nomination for a seat on the circuit court. He has an excellent academic record, both as a student and professor; experience as a judicial law clerk at the highest levels; experience with a firm engaged in the private practice of law, and excellent research and writing skills as demonstrated by his frequent lectures, scholarly articles and judicial opinions.
Alan Page isn't just a retired justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He's easily the most liberal justice on the bench in the last 25+ years. When Franken is up for re-election in 2020, I'd recommend that the GOP candidate use this episode to illustrate just how hyperpartisan Sen. Franken is. Thanks to Sen. Franken's intransigence, the Senate had to change their methods to get this qualified justice confirmed to the federal bench:
Posted Wednesday, October 11, 2017 11:35 AM
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