Jason's DeBlog

I jumped into something on Twitter which spawned a discussion and Twitter isn't really great for that.  It's confusing to follow.  But I think a Good Question emerged, so I thought I'd post it here.

Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton is the CEO of Baja Sol, a chain of quick-Mexican restaurants.  (Disclosure: I ate at the City Center Baja Sol yesterday.)   Aaron tweeted: "Few of my coworkers changed their lunch plans after I told them the CEO of @bajasol is also the chair of the Republican Party of MN."

I responded: "The logic escapes me...it hurts the employees, regardless of their political affiliation. DFLers only eat at DFL places? Weird."

Art wrote: "it's a good way to make an otherwise hard choice. But to not ever eat delicious food because you disagree on abortion?"

And David added: "I don't boycott Baja (don't eat there much) but did boycott Domino's Pizza over Tom Monaghan's anti-abortion efforts."

Molly raises a good issue: "It also helps to reveal their stance on environmental issues, union issues, etc. Important issues to lots of people. The CEO's politics says a lot about where $ will be going, though. Like Target's big donations to Repubs."

I work for a huge corporation with political interests, but I hope people decide to watch WCCO because they like the quality of our newscast.  I choose to eat at a restaurant because I like the food.

But I also prefer to shop locally.  I bought my appliances recently from Warners-Stellian partially because they are a local company, rather than getting them at Home Depot, Lowe's or Sears. 

It's hard not to mention Wal-Mart in a discussion like this.  But I think it's one thing to choose to not shop somewhere because you don't like how the business is run or how the employees are treated.  It's different to say I'm not going to Baja Sol because Tony Sutton is the chair of the GOP in Minnesota and I don't like his politics.

Would you punish a company by taking your business elsewhere, because you dislike the politics of the CEO?  (also at Heavy Table)

I love it when I get mail.  The excitement of never knowing what I'll find... the thrill that someone cared enough to send me something.  So today when I saw two large packages on my desk, I was pumped.

I opened the first package from AmeriMark, in Cleveland, Ohio, and found 50 sponges and a set of 12 combs.  Retail value, $5.69, according to the label.  Odd. 

The seceond package had 22 Whoopie Cushions.  Pardon me.  That was one of them.

Perhaps someone wanted me to give them away to visitors to my live videochat room, Jasoncam.  We chat live at 4 p.m. daily.  I have a history of giving things away.  Like Don Shelby's stapler.  Or samples of my own deodorant, Power Stick.

DJ from CBPBNews.com won these in a trivia contest, and he took that picture to prove he got them.

So what should I do with the whoopie cushions?  Put them on Don and Amelia's seats at the news desk?

In light of the esteemed Governor of South Carolina, we started talking about marriages and infidelity this morning, and thought this might be an interesting topic to explore for our Good Question tonight at ten.  How do marriages survive affairs?  Can they?  Should they?

I'm looking for some data, but I bet more people stay together than split up after someone cheats.  Obviously, kids are a factor.  But it's more than that.  I talked to my wife today, and she told me her answer is: Our marriage would not survive an affair.  But I imagine this isn't something you can really know until you go through it.

Anyway, I'd love your feedback.  What are the ingredients to moving forward?

This is an easy question to answer for a guy who only has a 4-year-old.  I don't have to look at my 13 or 14-year-old and think - should I let him go on Facebook or MySpace?

Julie Garten sent in this question yesterday: "How young is too young for FaceBook? My 14 year old daughter asks me almost DAILY if she can have an account."  So we went to her house and talked to Julie and Tara (who seemed quite mature and put together), along with Christine Greenhow from the University of Minnesota.

Each parent has to make his or her own decision, and different kids are at different maturity levels.  My belief is that at some point, they will go online.  So why not set ground rules, supervise it, and use the technology for good? 

If you're on Facebook, here's the page where I asked this question, and more than 30 fascinating comments (plus 4 dumb ones.  Kidding!)

Facebook has a page of safety tips including: "Remind [kids] to: Never share their password with anyone, Understand their privacy settings, Report people that violate our Terms of Use , Block anyone that might be sending unwanted content"

MySpace has tips for parents too.  Tons of great tips including video tutorials on how to lock down social networking privacy settings at GetNetWise.org.

Paul sent in this question awhile ago, and sent me this video today, saying that letting his daughter use Facebook has turned out just fine.





He monitors her site, has her password, and keeps the privacy settings locked down.

Questions: Would you add your kid as a friend?  (Do you want your 13-year-old seeing all of your stuff on your facebook page?  Do you really want to see all their conversations?)  Is 13 too young?  What on earth will I be struggling with when my 4-year-old is old enough for one of these sites?

A very cool honor for me and a couple coworkers last night from the American Women in Radio & Television.  4 of us from WCCO won Diamond Awards.  Ann Heuer, Jodi Oelfke, and Michelle LaChapelle were all honored for being the best in the market at what they do.  I received the award for TV Personality of the Year.

Ann is our Traffic Manager (not the kind of traffic that tells you I-35 is clogged).  She coordinates the scheduling and airing of all the commericals.  That's important.  Jodi Oelfke is the promotions/marketing person of the year.  And Michelle LaChapelle has the coolest name of the year.  She's also the salesperson of the year. 

Tonight's another night where there's a chance for severe weather.  When storms come, I think people are divided into two camps: The hiders and the watchers.

I'm a watcher.  When a storm comes, you'll see me peering out the windows, wandering onto my front porch, trying to get a good look at it.  My wife is a hider.  She heads to the basement.  She's always been the smart one.

But what draws us to these storms?  Why do chasers chase, and non-chasers can't help but look?  That's our Good Question tonight at ten.  Let me know what kind of person you are! 

Wednesday night we're going to do a Good Question first: a live report!  One of our viewers sent in a question about the Circle Me, Bert phenomenon... wondering how Bert Blyleven decides who to circle.

So Wednesday we're going to talk to Bert, and the Fox Sports North producers, to tell us how it all happens.  I'm also interested in the history of the circle, and how it got started.

But I thought it'd be cool if some viewers e-mailed pictures of themselves... trying to be circled.  So if you made signs, or got circled... send me a picture so I can use it in my story Wednesday night!

So tonight's Good Question on health care, and why many doctors have been against having more government involvement missed the mark a bit.   We started the day with this question: Why do doctors (as represented by the AMA) seem so against a government-run system?

The answer was pretty clear: it's a philosophical issue and a financial issue.  The question of whether government should have that kind of power in the health care arena is a good one.  The issue for doctors about reimbursement rates is critical.  Doctors complain that Medicare and Medicaid pay less than their cost to provide the service.  If reimbursement rates are low, doctors make up for that over-serving patients.

UPDATE: Dr. Jay points out via e-mail the cost of medical school, residency, etc. is part of why doctors need to make some money.  "We are in our 30s by the time we actually start practicing as a physician," he writes.  He also notes the reimbursement issue asking, " In what other profession do individuals get paid less for the same work than the year before? I can't think of any."  I can think of a few, like in my profession, but his point is well taken.  Most people are not arguing that doctor greed is why medical costs are out of control.

But, as Jenny McBride pointed out in an e-mail: "On Good Question tomorrow, why not cover the other side of the issue of why there are so many doctors who would like to see nationalized health care (or don't you watch Bill Moyers)?"  I don't watch Bill Moyers, but clearly trying to say that doctors feel one way or the other is like trying to say reporters feel one way or the other.  There's a spectrum of beliefs out there, and I didn't do a very good job of making that clear.

Also - the question we asked may have implied that the President was proposing a government-run system.  That's not what he's saying he's doing.  (Some will question what the practical result of his plan is... but this is not nationalized care being proposed.)

Some Options for Health Care:

Status Quo: multi-payer with private insurance plus a massive government involvement through Medicaid and Medicare. 50 million uninsured Americans.

Obama's concept: multi-payer with private insurance (If you like your health care, you keep it) along with Medicaid and Medicare PLUS a new government-sponsored "health insurance exchange."  If you don't like your health care, you can opt into the government plan.

Single-payer health care: One private insurance company for the entire country.  UnitedHealth could run the whole deal from Minnetonka.  And it's the law that everyone gets insurance.

So: tonight's story was a start into a very complex subject.  It should have been better.

OTHER RESOURCES:
Physicians for a National Health Program (pro single-payer)
MinnPost: Debunking Myths About The Health Care System
American Medical Association's position on reform
ABC News Analysis of Obama's Speech [via Bob Collins' MPR NewsCut]

Today is a huge day for television.  We're turning off our analog signal and going all digital, baby.  If you're hooked up to cable TV, you've been watching our digital signal even on channel position #4.  The cable companies have switched and are feeding our digital signal down their analog channel.

Anyway, we put a key piece of equipment into place for the transition this morning, and in my video e-mail, I show you the magic of digital.

Tuesday we had some fun at the Jasoncam.  Don Shelby disrobed, live during our 4 p.m. webchat.   It started with us trying to give away a T-shirt (which brought more than 50 people to the webcam to try to win something).

It ended with Shelby showing us his back tattoo.  I'll post the pictures in the morning.

The fine folks at WCCO.com have put together a slideshow, of Don and his tattoo, among other Jasoncam shenanigans.  Enjoy.