DailyFinance.com

How I'm Celebrating the Ruling on Proposition 8

Jeanmarie Todd — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:22:00 EST

Filed under: People

I could almost hear the celebrations 170 miles away in San Francisco after the news broke that a federal judge had found California's infamous Proposition 8 -- which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, thereby taking away homosexuals' existing right to marry -- unconstitutional.

My colleague, DailyFinance columnist Abigail Field, did an admirable job explaining the legal technicalities of the ruling, and it's gratifying to see how thoroughly Judge Vaughn Walker demolished the "logic" of the proponents of Prop 8 and showed that same-sex unions are as legitimate as heterosexual marriages.

True, the case will doubtless be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, conveniently right there in San Francisco, and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. But today, it's a victory for marriage equality and simple human decency: recognizing that people don't choose their gender, that gender doesn't determine marital worthiness or success, and that California has no legitimate interest in stigmatizing lesbians and gays or denying them and their children whatever benefits there may be from legal marriage.

Why Such Fear of Same-Sex Marriage?

I've never understood why so many straight people fear homosexuals so deeply. A line from the trailer of the film 8: The Mormon Proposition quotes an opponent of same-sex marriage as saying, "They're probably the greatest threat to America that I know of." How does one even begin to react to that? What could possibly be the reasoning behind that? None, just superstition and stereotypes.

I once asked my stepfather, in an argument about gay marriage, "When did you choose to be heterosexual?" Or for that matter, when did he choose to be a male? Because if the contention is that homosexuals stubbornly and naughtily choose to be gay, logically the rest of us must have chosen to be straight. And picked out our skin and eye color as well. Who would choose to be a class of person likeliest to suffer discrimination, social disapproval, threats of eternal damnation and, depending on where you live, the death penalty?

One of my married colleagues at Bloomberg News, back in the day, used to put in her email signature: "My marriage is not threatened by gay marriage." What scary thing would happen if gays all over America could marry? Aside from resuscitating the wedding industry, that is? A study by a UCLA think tank found gay marriage in Massachusetts has resulted in $100 million in economic gains for the state. Stop me before I pull out all the studies finding gays and straights equally capable of good parenting and long-term relationships.

Let's face it, if marriage is under assault, it's not by gays. Marriage rates are dropping, and the only groups clamoring for it are gays and lesbians.

A Deeply Emotional Issue

Given my conservative Christian upbringing, I understand, of course, that same-sex unions are a deeply felt, emotional issue for many people, who just will not be persuaded, no matter what logic or evidence is presented, because their opposition to it is based on religious dogma -- and perhaps discomfort with the idea of same-sex attraction. But really, isn't it a bit unseemly to get so hung up about what other consenting adults do in their own bedrooms, away from your prying eyes?

And as Judge Vaughn Walker said in his 138-page ruling, "Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians ... the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples ... the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional."

I like comedian Wanda Sykes's take on the issue: "If you don't believe in same-sex marriage, then don't marry somebody of the same sex." It really should be that simple. People are people. Most of us, at some point, long to form a lasting union with a partner with whom to share the ups and downs of life. Is it so terrible for gays to have that, too?

So, how did I celebrate the overturning of Prop 8? I finally wrote that letter that I've long been meaning to write, the one where I resign my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The church's role in encouraging members to contribute time and money to get Prop 8 passed in California in 2008 deeply upset me.

The most lasting lesson I learned as a Mormon was to follow my conscience, no matter what. So, I had no choice but to renounce my membership as a tiny symbolic act of solidarity with gays and lesbians, and to protest the blatant interference in politics by a tax-exempt religious institution.

The rest of my celebration will be watching 8: The Mormon Proposition. I've moved it to the top of my Netflix (NFLX) queue.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Google's Got Game, Buys Slide for $228 Million

Jeanmarie Todd — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:23:00 EST

Filed under: Company News, Google, Facebook

Internet search giant Google (GOOG) acquired Slide for $228 million Wednesday, Business Insider reported. San Francisco-based Slide started out making photo-sharing software for social networking sites like MySpace, and it has become the top third-party developer for Facebook, providing picture slideshows and photo albums. TechCrunch had reported earlier Wednesday that founder Max Levchin was getting just $128 million for the sale of his company, but the actual price is still a drop from the $550 million valuation its investors gave it in 2008.

The deal follows closely on the heels of Google's investment of at least $100 million -- Business Insider says it's double that figure -- in Zynga, creator of such wildly popular Facebook games as FarmVille and Mafia Wars. Google's strategy of purchasing or investing in game developers is seen as part of an expected assault on the burgeoning social-networking world centered around Facebook and its 500 million members. Conveniently, Zynga appears to have had a falling-out with Facebook, leaving an opening for Google. Some 60 million Facebook members play Zynga's games and they spend real-world cash to do so -- the company projects $1 billion in revenue next year.

TechCrunch recently said that Zynga "will be the cornerstone of a new Google Games to launch later this year." The Wall Street Journal also recently reported that Google is cultivating relationships with online game developers such as Zynga, Playdom, Electronic Arts (ERTS) and others to incorporate their games into its forthcoming game service, part of a broader effort to compete with Facebook. Playdom itself was snapped up by Walt Disney (DIS) for for $563.2 million last week, raising the hopes of game developers everywhere.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WSJ: Google Is Developing a Potential Facebook Rival

Jeanmarie Todd — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:15:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Google, Facebook, Computer Industry

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google (GOOG), the Internet search giant that's recently lost share in the search business, is developing a potential competitor to Facebook, the social-networking behemoth with half a billion members. Google is in talks with several makers of online games to help develop the Facebook competitor, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter whom it didn't name.

According to the Journal report, among the companies that Google is talking to about helping it with a new gaming offering, as part of a broader social networking strategy, are Electronic Arts's (ERTS) Playfish; Playdom, which Walt Disney (DIS) just bought for $563.2 million; and Zynga Game Network, which Google recently invested in.

The online social-networking world is dominated by Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. Facebook recently overtook Google's number of page views to become the most visited website.

Here's the rest of the Journal story. For a broader picture of the growing rivalry between Google and Facebook, see Game On: Google Woos Zynga, Others as War with Facebook Looms.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Biz Brief: More Than 1 Million Barrels Likely Spewing from BP Leak

Jeanmarie Todd — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Energy, Green, Oil & Gas Industry

New estimates say that between 53.6 million and 64.3 million gallons of oil -- about a million barrels -- have spewed from the BP (BP) pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico since its April 20 blowout, assuming a consistent flow rate, according to a report obtained by the Washington Post.

That's five or six times the volume of oil spilled off the shores of Alaska by the Exxon Valdez tanker in 1989. The complete report will soon be announced by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Post said.

Several teams at work on the assessment have come up with widely differing estimates, and "the numbers are all over the place," USGS Director Marcia McNutt was cited as saying. Estimates ranged from 12,600 barrels reported by one scientific team, to 50,000 or more, reported by two teams. The most likely figure is about 30,000 to 40,000 barrels a day, the Post reported.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mothers of the 'Real Food' Blogosphere

Jeanmarie Todd — Sun, 09 May 2010 06:00:00 EST

Motherhood -- "the toughest job in the world if you're doing it right," says Oprah -- isn't getting easier, but it is diversifying. Somewhere between Fascinating Womanhood and The Feminine Mystique is a flourishing species of moms who blog and tweet about topics like food and parenting and create products for other parents in home businesses that highlight, not obscure, their motherliness.

Among those carving out a niche in this new style of entrepreneurial motherhood are the Real Food Media Network bloggers, who write about the full-fat, nutrient-dense, freshly prepared and unprocessed eatables they call "real food." Kelly Moeggenborg, Ann Marie Michaels, Jenny McGruther and their fellow mom bloggers dish out traditional culinary and nutritional wisdom electronically -- and actually make money at it.

The Real Food Media Network places adds on 19 blogs by real food advocates, some of whom also sell e-books, recipe cards or menu services and teach cooking classes. The network has such a following that it's turning a profit and able to pay the bloggers, thanks to advertisers who see the blogs as a great way to reach the true financial decision makers in the house -- moms. Besides compatible food philosophies, the bloggers share sponsors and advertisers, co-promote each others' sites and cooperate on promotions such as giveaways and carnivals, where readers are asked to contribute recipes on a particular theme.

A Food Revolution Takes Shape

Michaels, 41, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 26. When she changed her diet to real foods including pastured meat and eggs, raw milk and lots of healthy fat, the arthritis and other health issues resolved -- and she stopped getting cavities.

"I regularly see toddlers drinking Diet Coke," says Michaels. "When it dawned on me how much fake food there is out there, and how many people are feeding it to their children -- and how I would have done this, too, if I hadn't learned what I have now learned -- I became a woman on a mission."

Starting at a Silicon Valley-based digital ad agency, Michaels worked as a new media consultant with corporate clients, moved to Los Angeles, started her Cheeseslave blog in November 2007, and in December 2008 set up the Real Food Media Network on a shoestring budget, a laptop and a phone.

A Food Conversion

Moeggenborg, 42, says she had a "food conversion" after a friend steered her to the Weston A. Price Foundation web site. (Price, who was a dentist and nutritional researcher, is something of a patron saint for Real Food bloggers.) "The next morning, I woke up early and sat reading on that site for a couple hours straight. What I read changed something inside me, there's no other way to describe it," she says.

Moeggenborg trained as a nurse and provided childcare for 20 years in her home near Grand Rapids, Michigan. She started blogging upon a friend's suggestion. "I thought it might be a good way to answer all the questions I was getting about Real Food in one place," she says. "My friends all knew I was researching issues like crazy and would ask me what to eat."

Michaels and Moeggenborg found each other by googling to locate other food bloggers who followed the Weston Price principles. They finally met at a Real Food festival in September 2008, where the idea of the blog network was born. Now known as Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Moeggenborg was the first to join the Real Food Media Network after Michaels. Other bloggers joined, then McGruther, the author of Nourished Kitchen, signed on in July 2009.

Thriving Network With a Sense of Community

These days, the Real Food bloggers claim a thriving community with an estimated 100,000 to 225,000 readers. (Hard numbers are difficult to come by, since each blog is independent and their readership overlaps, but Michaels says they do know they have close to half a million monthly visits.) They elicit enthusiastic reader responses on everything from making nourishing yet frugal meals, a Mothers Day menu, brewing low-sugar sodas and making lacto-fermented pickles. Some research for blog posts is repurposed as e-books.

That network and sense of community draws loyal readers -- a boon to advertisers. Michaels says she doesn't mind that the network has grown slowly, as she carefully screens potential sponsors and only uses those she can unreservedly recommend. "We're building trust with our readers," she says, so the advertising has credibility. She told me of an advertiser who doubled her weekly sales based on a very modest ad budget with Real Food Media.

The Dual Life of a Blogging Mom

The blogging life for Moeggenborg, McGruther and Michaels means balancing long hours at the computer, while at the same time addressing their children's needs and cooking meals from scratch.

"I'm a mom with too many jobs!" says McGruther, a 30-year-old mother of a four-year-old from Crested Butte, Colorado. She started blogging to occupy herself while her son nursed. In addition to a full-time job, she spends 30 to 40 hours a week on Nourished Kitchen (featured on CNN.com in March), sells recipe cards and books, teaches food preservation classes and is developing an online cooking class. She also devotes two Saturdays a month to recipe development, testing and photography. (Full disclosure: I subscribe to McGruther's cards and have guest-posted on Moeggenborg's blog.)

Moeggenborg spends 50 or 60 hours a week writing and promoting her blog, and while it's not yet making enough money to allow her husband to retire, it's bringing in a steadily growing income from advertising, sales of e-books and consulting on kitchen rehabilitation (what to toss, what to stock). Now with thousands of readers and more than 15,000 Twitter followers, she's also developing an online class.

"My goal in blogging at first had nothing to do with money, and it's still not my main motivation," says Moeggenborg. "But when I saw all the hours it took to do this right, I realized that I've got to at least earn a little income from it."

Selective About Advertising

Because she's part of the blog network and no longer chasing her own advertisers, Moeggenborg can be selective about who she allows to promote products on her site. She recently got rid of Google ads, over which she had no control, in favor of Real Food Media advertisers. "It's wonderful having sponsors who are right in my niche and who don't sell crap foods," she says. "It's a great feeling to know the person who grows your food, raises your meat."

Prior to joining Real Food Media Network, McGruther sold banner ads directly to sponsors -- profitable, but very time-consuming -- and got additional ad income from participating in the Food Buzz blog network. "Now when someone contacts me about advertising on my site, I simply direct them to Real Food Media," she says, having dropped Food Buzz. "A lot fewer headaches for me, and I can focus on doing what I do best -- producing high-quality content."

Paid in Profits and Self-Fulfillment

Real Food Media is profitable -- an impressive feat considering the thousands of food-related blogs out there. All of the earnings, Michaels says, go back into the company. "I'm thrilled, however, that I am able to pay other bloggers and that they are earning income from their blogs."

Michaels -- who is better known as Cheeseslave to her 21,000-plus followers on Twitter and 3,300-plus friends and fans on Facebook -- hasn't yet replaced her salary from corporate consulting, "but in time, this will pay off. The first few years of any business are always tough," she says. "Most people don't stick it out long enough. It takes many many many hours of hard work to build something."

Beyond the income, Michaels feels like she's finally getting to use her skills and education to do something she believes in. "Many of my former clients were companies selling things that I could not, in my heart, support," she says. "Now I get to choose the clients I work with and help them spread the 'real food' love."

The Best Rewards

The business also acts as a social support network for Michaels and the other bloggers. Michaels says it helped her connect with other moms who fed their families "traditional food" when she couldn't find anyone else nearby eating the way she did.

But, according to these mom bloggers, the best reward for the long hours and hard work is when they see how they're helping people. "Even if I never make much money with my blog, it won't be for naught," says Moeggenborg. "You can't put a price tag on helping someone, at least in a small way, to avoid whatever diagnosis might have been right around the corner, or to turn back from a lifestyle that would have led to another heart attack, or to be able to conceive, or to walk up steps without pain. It's a big thing for me. Real food is so powerful!"

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WSJ: Federal Criminal Probe Looks Into Goldman Trading

Jeanmarie Todd — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Company News, Media, Goldman Sachs

Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into whether Goldman Sachs Group (GS) or its employees committed securities fraud in connection with the trading of mortgage-backed securities, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office is heading the preliminary investigation, which stems from a referral from the Securities and Exchange Commission, The Journal reports. To date, the only charges against the Wall Street investment bank have been civil securities-fraud charges filed by the SEC against Goldman and one trader in its mortgage trading group.

The firm and the trader have both denied any wrongdoing and are fighting the civil charges by the SEC.

The Journal notes that "Many criminal investigations are launched without the government filing charges," and prosecutors haven't determined yet whether they'll bring criminal charges in this instance.

For the full story, see Criminal Probe Looks Into Goldman Trading.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Earth Day 2010: Five Steps You Can Take to Save the Environment

Jeanmarie Todd — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Green

Save the world? Who, me? While big-name corporations and start-ups alike are working toward creating environmental technologies that can greatly reduce harmful emissions, there are plenty of steps individuals can take to shrink their carbon footprint.

And that doesn't mean swapping your car for a bamboo bicycle -- though, that's not such a bad idea. Adopting any, or all, of the following practices could add up to very positive change. Here are five steps to save the environment.

Rethink your commute

Transportation accounts for about 27% of greenhouse gas emmissions in the U.S., according to EPA estimates. Fossil fuel-powered transportation, such as cars and airplanes, account for more than 13% of global emissions.

No one option is right for everybody, but until you can build a solar-powered electric car (and charge it at a solar charging station), there are plenty of low-tech ways to cut your commute's carbon footprint, including carpooling, public transportation, cycling, telecommuting and walking.

Living in the San Francisco area a few years ago, I loved using the "casual car pool" system that sprang up. I would walk three blocks from my apartment to a gas station and wait in line, briefly, to get a free trip across the Bay Bridge. In doing so, I met my neighbors, the driver got to use the toll-free car pool lanes and we zipped by all the many single-occupant cars stalled in traffic. Later, I moved further away and took BART trains, which also zipped past all the single-occupant vehicles clogging the freeways (and the air with their tailpipe emissions).

What you get: Almost any mode of transport is cheaper than driving your car solo to work. And parking charges? Forget it!

What we get: Potentially huge reductions in smog and greenhouse gas emissions -- and less road rage.

Repurpose food waste.

Why throw away food when it can be turned into compost, a great addition to any garden? Vegetable trimmings and leftovers, peels, fruit cores, used paper napkins, egg shells -- practically everything but fat and bones (which in our case go to the dogs and the stock pot, respectively) can be composted to return fertility to the soil.

If you live in an apartment, talk to your landlord about setting up a compost system for the building; the landscaper can spread the rich results around for healthier shrubs and flowers. Save your scraps to give to someone with a garden nearby. San Francisco has had great success with requiring residential composting. Now if they would just pick up and compost all that dog poop.

What you get: Less trash that your taxes are paying to haul away and free fertilizer for your garden.

What we get: Less food rotting in landfills, reduced carbon and methane emissions, waste turned into marketable products and a replacement for petroleum-based fertilizer.

Recycle and buy recycled

Why make stuff from new materials when we have tons of old materials around that would otherwise go to the landfill? This was common sense for earlier generations, until artificially cheap oil and various policy decisions after World War II fueled a mindset among consumers that acquiring things was good.

According to ecocycle.org, about 80% of what we throw away is recyclable, yet just 28% actually gets recycled. Participate in your city's recycling program and dispose of bottles, cans, paper and trash responsibly. It's easy to do, you just have to make it a habit -- like carrying your re-usable shopping bags to the store.

To make recycling really work, however, you need to buy recycled. I've found good quality toilet paper, for example -- cushy, soft, two-ply stuff -- from the Natural Value brand. Increasingly, national chains such as CVS drugstores and Safeway have their own lines of recycled paper products at good prices. Preserve makes a line of stylish kitchen goods and other products from 100% recycled plastic and 100% recycled paper.

What you get: Lower trash bills, energy savings and the chance to buy recycled goods.

What we get: More trees (recycling newspapers alone saves 26 million trees a year), water, barrels of oil, landfill space; less air and water pollution. Plus, recycling creates more jobs than land-filling does.

Choose pastured beef and chicken

You may have heard eating meat causes climate change. That's not exactly right. It has more to do with industrial agriculture and production methods than cows themselves. Consider this: Ruminants (cows, buffaloes, etc.) evolved to eat primarily grasses, and while they love grain, it's not good for them in large quantities. It upsets the pH of their stomachs, making them prone to illness, which feedlot operators combat with plenty of antibiotics. Pastured cattle, on the other hand, typically emit less methane gas than their grain-fed counterparts. Their manure (and carbon) is absorbed into the soil instead of outgassing, and the resulting healthy soil microbes destroy methane.

Demand for pastured animals makes carbon farming viable. Carbon farming sequesters carbon in the soil using such methods as no-till agriculture and planting more trees. Grazing animals are fed on grasslands -- rather than feedlots -- which cover more of the earth's surface than forests and grow faster as well. Lots of land that isn't really suitable for crops is good for pastures, and they can support several different species at once.

"There is more carbon stored in the soil than in the atmosphere," Chuck Rice, a Soil Science Professor of Kansas State University and member of the IPCC panel, told the folks at WorldChanging.com. "If we can make a small change in managing that carbon in the soil, it would make a big difference in the atmosphere."

Peter Bane, the publisher of Permaculture Activist magazine, says that if the more than 100 million agricultural acres in the U.S. that are planted with corn and soybeans were returned to permanent grass-based prairies, it would sequester 2.2 billion tons of carbon a year, according to Bane's calculations.

Done badly (overstocking pastures), cattle ranching can be disastrous. Done right (intensively managed rotational grazing), grass farming is incredibly productive while actually improving the soil. And with sufficient demand for meat that hasn't been run through the feedlot system, we could start converting the Midwest's monoculture deserts back into rich and productive prairie and pastures.

What you get: more healthful meat (higher in CLA and Omega 3 fatty acids than feedlot beef with less exposure to antibiotics).

What we get: Carbon sequestration in the soil without costly heroic measures. Plus, a reduction in the tremendous fuel costs (and carbon output) of industrial agriculture and preservation of wildlife habitats.

Know where your food is coming from

Real Food advocates say to "know your farmer" for quality assurance. Even better, be your own farmer: Grow an edible garden or keep a goat or chickens. Growing even a little bit of your food saves transportation costs and emissions and gives you greater appreciation for good food and the work of farmers. Replacing your lawn with a garden will probably save water as well as food costs.

We recently adopted pet goats to help keep brush under control (no diesel engines!). We're contemplating raising meat goats for, you know, meat. We're getting a small flock of chickens that, in exchange for some chicken chow, a safe perch at night and all the bugs they can eat, will provide us with fresh, incredibly nourishing eggs that you just can't buy at the supermarket.

No room or aptitude for animal husbandry? Check out cow or goat shares for getting fresh milk, beef shares for meat (a half or quarter of a steer costs less per pound), find a local CSA or buying co-op so you can get quality meats (and produce) direct from the farm.

What you get: Better food for less money, possible savings on medical care from improved diet, self-sufficiency.

What we get: Stronger local economies, family farms that can stay in business, lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The vast bulk of energy use, water use, land use and pollution emissions are in the hands of corporations. If the market is truly responsive to consumers, we must give it the right message. We don't have the moral authority to demand change unless we ourselves change. Vote with your dollars and lifestyle choices to let corporations know what you want -- and don't want -- in our world.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Microsoft to Unveil Phones Monday: MarketWatch

Jeanmarie Todd — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:15:00 EST

Filed under: Google, Microsoft, Apple

Software giant Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to show off a new line of mobile phones Monday that will be loaded with its software, MarketWatch.com reported. The phones will feature touch screens and run on the Verizon Wireless network, according to the report.

Technology watchers have long expected Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft to challenge phones by Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) with its own smartphone tailored to work with its software, according to the report.

Microsoft has for years made software to run mobile phones but has relied on partners to design, deliver and market the hardware, MarketWatch says. Sharp is expected to manufacture the new Windows phones, the report says.

For the full story, see Microsoft seen unveiling mobile phones.

Permalink | Email this | Comments