Press releases: Mistrust

Published in the Portland Phoenix

The Gallup polling company last week released a report saying Americans' trust in the mass media hit a new low this year. The survey results, which have a four-percent margin of error, show that 40 percent of Americans have either a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of trust in "newspapers, TV, and radio," while the remaining 60 percent have "not very much" or "none at all." That's lower than any time since Gallup began polling on the question in 1972.

What's most alarming — for those of us in the media business, at least — is that a mere 8 percent of Americans have a "great deal" of trust in the media. So 23 out of 25 Americans have somewhere between a little and zero trust in the people, companies, and organizations that claim to be expending great effort and sums of money in attempts to be honest and trustworthy.

How's that for a bad job-performance score?

The Gallup report goes on to say that "Media sources must clearly do more to earn the trust of Americans" — which must strike mainstream newsrooms as a serious blow, since most American journalism outfits have been striving for many years to improve transparency and increase consumer confidence, including hiring ombudsmen and having top editors write columns about the news process.

Gallup says "This is particularly consequential at a time when Americans need to rely on the media to learn about the platforms and perspectives of the two candidates vying to lead the country for the next four years."

But Gallup's own analysis gives us a view into exactly how dire are the consequences of media misinformation. For one thing, there are more than two viable presidential candidates: Green Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson are on enough state ballots that either could potentially achieve the winning tally of 270 electoral-college votes.

And second, Gallup presumes that Americans are getting, should get, and need to get a significant amount of information about the presidential campaign through the news media. That's no longer a safe assumption at all.

A Google report on political decision-making (released in July) said that for half of voters, comparing candidates online helped make their voting decisions. (The report didn't specify on what sites, but then a part of the impetus for Google's study was to promote the company's Internet-wide campaign-advertising services.)

Further, one-third of voters hadn't watched TV in the previous week — and even those who were watching TV weren't giving it their undivided attention: 80 percent of smartphone owners used their phones while watching TV. The Google report also said people spend more time on their mobile devices than with newspapers and magazines combined.

Of course, at least some of what people are looking at online and on their mobiles may in fact be electronic versions of traditional news media. (Google's report said 90 percent of tablet users get news on their tablet that they used to access "in other ways.")

But there's much, much more online, including material people find and share themselves. A report earlier this month from the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed the strong influence of social-network sites on people's efforts to keep up with political news: 36 percent of social-networkers say the sites help them that way, and 25 percent say they debate and discuss political issues online (plus or minus 2 percent).

And the Internet will only get more influential. Minorities — blacks and Hispanics (who are poised, together, to become a majority in the US) — say they find social-networking sites even more useful for keeping up on political news than whites; younger people (who will get older and find their views more prevalent as those who disagree expire) say so at a higher rate than all social-network users.

All of which is to say that if people mistrust the mainstream media now, and are increasingly seeking out alternative sources of information and finding it influential, those reporters and editors and managers whose jobs it is to make themselves truthful and useful to the public really have their work cut out for them.

In my rights mind: Using the Constitution’s protections — all at once

Published in the Portland Phoenix

On the occasion of this week's 225th birthday of the US Constitution, I wanted to embrace our culture's all-or-nothing ethos, by not just exercising all of my Constitutional rights, but using as many as possible all at once. I got to do that, but I also met a person who was using those rights in a much more important way than for the sake of a news story.

It's become commonplace today to hear people — especially those in public office — talking a good game about the Constitution. But let's be honest: Almost nobody in elected office has used many important rights in the document they take an oath to uphold. How come? Easy: If you hold an elected office, it's a near certainty that you've never been arrested for anything — and a whole swath of Constitutional rights only really get a workout when the government's trying to exercise its power to take away your freedom.

I wanted to figure out what's there — and what's not; the Ninth Amendment reminds us that people have rights that aren't listed in the Constitution, that still need to be respected. But shelves and shelves of books have been written interpreting flowery formal 18th-century language and centuries of ensuring court rulings; I wanted to stick as closely as possible to the actual exercise of the rights, though theoretical what-ifs are never far away.

Determining specific protections is not necessarily a political or philosophical controversy. People who believe in reading the Constitution literally will agree that what qualifies as "speech" involves lots more than the sounds made by passing air through human vocal cords — it includes writing, advertising, product packaging, and all forms of art. It even includes other forms of expression, as we saw last year in several Occupy-related lawsuits (including in Maine), where judges found that the act of living in a tent on public land was a legitimate message that should be protected from undue government interference. (But as those rulings also spelled out, there are no rights that are completely absolute and utterly free from government intervention. In the Occupy cases, usually it was the government's duty to enforce sanitation and fire-safety rules that ended up trumping the protesters' rights to express themselves through tent villages.)

Armed with my research, and a checklist of my rights, I set out to Monument Square to give them some exercise.

FREE SPEECH

Kathleen Johnson, a Portland mother of five, was sitting on the Congress Street side of the curbing around the monument of "Portland to her sons who died for the Union," holding a sign reading "Stop Maine's DHHS from stealing our kids! They lie to take them and they create more lies to keep them!" Her view, critical of a government agency (the state Department of Health and Human Services), is protected under the First Amendment.

In North Africa on the same day as I spoke with Johnson, riots flashed around US and other Western embassies and diplomatic missions, clashes that had already cost the lives of four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya. Relatively inexperienced with speech not authorized by a government (after decades under dictatorship), protesters objected to a film insulting the Prophet Muhammad — by targeting the government of the country from which that film had originated. Here, by contrast, we assume that if something is published, it hasn't gone through a government censor (unless it's actually issued by the government, whose censors are often — and often laughably — called "public information officers").

Free speech seems simple: Have a thought, an opinion, a piece of information, a concept, or any other tidbit — and say it. Or write it, or sing it, or paint about it, or camp in a park about it. Or do nothing: Your right to remain silent is here, too. Free speech doesn't mean free of consequences, though. There are legal limits, such as criminal and civil penalties after the speech has occurred for incitement to riot, threats, slander, and libel; private jurisdiction — which is how malls can ban pamphleteers; and hate-crime limits, which in Maine mean an assault can become more serious if there are racial, gender, or sexual-orientation epithets hurled along with punches. But the most important free-speech restrictions to the people I spoke with (and to me personally, as I reflected) were social, not legal: the risk of alienating friends or relatives, of being seen to have bad manners or poor taste. In extreme cases of national security or other serious danger, the government can seek to prevent you from speaking.

This shouldn't silence people with legitimate points of view that simply differ from government perspectives — and indeed, Johnson says she has met several supporters as a result of her sign, which she displays in Monument Square a few days a week for a couple hours at a time, in between other obligations.

FREE PRESS

What she's doing would have, in colonial days, also qualified for protection under the First Amendment's provision of a free press ("speech" still meant the vocal kind then): She had created a sign and was displaying it in public. Today that extends to online expression as well as many forms of news media (though notably not TV or radio stations that use the public airwaves; the government regulates the users of that public resource to ensure it is, at least broadly, used for the public good). It can also be limited, in extreme circumstances, by interests of national security, though usually government officials use persuasive power, rather than coercive effort, to forestall publication of sensitive information.

FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION

As I sat speaking with Johnson, I noticed that while holding the sign, she had been reading a copy of the Koran. Her fiancé is Muslim, and she says she finds "a lot of peace" in the Koran, as well as many familiar stories of Biblical figures, such as Abraham (Ibrahim), Noah (Nuh), Moses (Musa), and Jesus (Isa). Her freedom to do this, despite the fact that some leading politicians of the day express hostility toward Islam, is protected by the First Amendment, too. The government can neither tell you what religion to practice, nor prevent you from practicing whatever religion you choose. This includes not only mainstream religions with billions of followers, but also Zoroastrians, Baha'is, and even members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It also protects atheists from being forced to practice any religion at all. The increasingly desperate anti-abortion movement has recently tried to use this as an excuse to avoid doing things they'd prefer not to (such as operate companies that must offer workers health-care coverage that includes contraception). Of course, there's a balancing test here: the workers' right to personal privacy is a strong counterweight.

PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY

As Johnson and I conversed, we were exercising our right of peaceable assembly. From 1715 to 1967, it was law in England that any gathering of 12 or more people could be forcibly broken up if the authorities did two things: 1) claim (truthfully or otherwise) that it was an unlawful or unruly group, and 2) read the group the Riot Act (this is the origin of the idiom), specifically the following text: "Our Sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons, being assembled, immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God Save the King!" In hopes of heading off this sort of thing from continuing in the colonies, the Founding Fathers specified this right.

PETITION FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES

Johnson is also engaged in a legal process of seeking the return of her children from foster care. She has done this through letters and phone calls to various officials in DHHS; her right to do this, as well as her protection from reprisals or retribution for making those complaints, is also protected by the First Amendment.

EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW

What Johnson was complaining about being denied, and what she was seeking with her communications with DHHS officials, was equal protection under the law, first introduced in Article IV, Section 2, but further codified in the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. This right requires government to treat all people fairly in official proceedings, with reference to evidence and proper procedure.

SECURITY 'IN PERSONS, HOUSES, PAPERS, AND EFFECTS'

This Fourth Amendment right also plays into Johnson's situation: She objects that government agents were prying into her family's business unnecessarily. This right is often construed as the "right to privacy" (though that word never appears in the Constitution), or, as future Supreme Court Associate Justice Louis Brandeis put it in an 1890 Harvard Law Review paper, "the right to be let alone." As a state-approved caregiver for an elderly person, she accepts home visits from that person's state caseworker with no problem. But when a child-protective caseworker visited her home as a result of complaints from a neighbor, Johnson objected. There are, of course, limits to this individual right — such as when the well-being of a vulnerable person is in question, or when police officers swear out search warrants, seeking a judge's permission to enter private premises in the process of enforcing the law.

REFUSAL TO QUARTER SOLDIERS

Neither Johnson nor I consented to allowing soldiers to live in our homes. Little used today, this Third Amendment right was included specifically in response to the British colonial government's imposition of troops on civilian populations, which were at times punished for disloyalty by being forced to house and feed imperial soldiers.

KEEP AND BEAR ARMS

I was exercising one right Johnson wasn't, one provided for in the Second Amendment. I had secured a weapon — it was actually a pellet gun powered by compressed air, but it was a replica of a Walther P99 semi-automatic handgun and definitely looked real, to co-workers as well as people I encountered.

With the help of a very friendly firearms salesman named John, I went through almost the entire process of purchasing a handgun, including completing a very thorough (and very sternly worded) electronic questionnaire about my identity, any history of commitment to a mental institution, and several aspects of criminal history. (I wondered whether alarm bells would start ringing if I answered "Yes" to the question "Are you a fugitive from justice?" but didn't indulge my curiosity that far.) Also required to buy a firearm is a call to the FBI, which conducts an "instant" background check (it can take several minutes, and if they encounter an anomaly, they can delay answering for a while). If things check out, you get to go to the cash register and complete the purchase. (I skipped that part, and went to the checkout with the pellet gun instead.) I bought a holster, too — to carry a firearm openly in public, it must be secured in a holster that is plainly visible.

The right to bear arms is one of the most politicized rights, and one of the most vaguely worded: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Until 2008, whether this specifically gave individuals the right to bear arms — or whether it simply allowed states to maintain militias — had never been ruled upon by the Supreme Court. In a case about a Washington DC handgun ban, though, the court ruled that it is an individual right that cannot be outlawed completely. Nevertheless, there are plenty of limits on their ownership, including minimum ages (18 for rifles and shotguns, 21 for handguns), government-issued photo ID, background checks (to prevent felons, people with domestic-violence convictions, and people who have been committed to mental institutions from buying guns), and strict regulations about when, where, and how a firearm can be carried. Concealed weapons may not be carried without a government-issued permit, and even weapons carried openly must be secured in a holster except in the case of urgent life threats.

In part because of the exceptional nature of firearms — they can indeed be used to kill humans, in addition to hunting and sport shooting — an unwritten code of manners has emerged in society. Jeff Weinstein, president of the Maine Gun Owners Association, told me he rarely cares to carry a gun openly, because he views it as an unnecessary act of aggression. Just as we don't exercise free speech by walking around insulting everyone we meet, or spewing profanities just because we can, in some circles — including public spaces in New England — Weinstein urges people to use what might be called good Second Amendment manners. Wearing a gun openly is legal and Constitutionally protected, but still shifts the power dynamic around interpersonal interactions. Sure enough, some people abruptly changed their path through Monument Square to avoid walking near me; others walked by as usual, but kept a weather eye on my hip.

Also because of their unique power-shifting nature, law enforcement are more attuned to the presence of guns than, say, posters or protest signs. We have written about Portland police stopping people legally carrying firearms in public (see sidebar, and "Open-Carry Activist Takes to the Streets," by Deirdre Fulton, June 22). I had no such problems, though several police officers saw my weapon.

One conducted a traffic stop in the middle of Monument Square, questioning the driver of a commercial truck that was parked just feet from me. While he pulled his patrol car up a very short distance away from me, on the side I was wearing the holster, and walked past me twice, the first officer I was certain saw it didn't bat an eye, and didn't approach me. A bicycle cop rode through the square, passing directly behind me and to the side. Several officers drove past in cars at various times when I was near the Congress Street edge of the square. One officer — perhaps summoned by a call from a concerned citizen — walked through the square, up to the monument, and looked around as if searching for something. When he spotted me a few feet away, he turned and walked past me, clearly eyeballing the gun. But even so, he didn't approach me to ask for any identification or information about the weapon.

DUE PROCESS

Had an officer approached me, I was ready. Many rights only come into play when the fearsome muscles of government power get flexed. The government, after all, can take away your freedom (by jailing you), your property (by confiscating it or fining you), and even in extreme cases your life (by executing you). Under this Fifth Amendment protection from the federal government, expanded by the Fourteenth Amendment to include protection from state and local authorities, there are rules about how government authority can be used, and officials' failure to follow them is a Constitutional violation.

Importantly, these rights apply not only to American citizens, but to any person brought before a court in the US — which affects treatment of people who are undocumented immigrants or alleged terrorists captured overseas.

There is an aspect of the equal protection right as well, to ensure that people facing accusations of similar crimes also face similar processes and similar punishments.

HABEAS CORPUS

The first aspect of my plan in case of a police encounter was to invoke this right, noted in Article I, Section 9, with origins in England in the 1200s or 1300s. It allows a person to challenge the legality of detention or imprisonment. At this stage of events, I would need no formal process, but would simply ask, "Am I free to leave?" (Later stages would involve requesting a judge hold a hearing in which the government agency that had ordered my detention to explain why I was being held. Fortunately, those stages were not necessary.)

A police officer may detain you under certain circumstances (such as if you are a suspect in a crime or a possible witness), but requires actual legal authority to do so; asking if I was free to leave would have required the officer to either tell me I was (in which case I'd walk away) or articulate why I wasn't. (If the officer refuses to answer the question, it's better to ask again — even several times — than assume the answer is "Yes" and just walk away. Cops carry weapons, remember, and are allowed to use them if they believe they are in danger, even from a person walking away.)

RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL

Had I not been free to leave — and, in fact, been detained, summoned to court at a future date, or outright arrested — the government would have to protect my right to a fair trial, with parts provided in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

It's a blanket phrase for what really are a wide swath of rights intended to level the playing field between a lowly individual and the mighty government, by ensuring (alongside the right of due process) that anyone hauled to court has certain basic protections.

Had I been charged and tried, I would have afforded myself of the presumption of innocence (unless and until proven guilty) — I would have argued that I was doing nothing wrong, and the government would have had to prove that I was. Though I could choose to represent myself, I likely would have availed myself of the help of an attorney (depending on income level, taxpayers may foot the bill as part of a societal duty to protect this right in criminal cases). I would have sought a jury trial, held in public, at which I could hear my accusers' charges and testimony, and offer my own evidence.

I could have remained silent in my own defense throughout the entire process — including during the initial encounter with police, where the officer would have had to provide a legal reason for demanding my name and ID, or I would have refused to give it. If I chose not to remain silent on some issues, I could nevertheless refuse to answer some questions or reveal some information for fear I might incriminate myself.

Johnson was also using this right in her civil case (as opposed to my hypothetical criminal proceeding). She is seeking a pro-bono attorney for her October hearing before a judge in family court, at which she will present evidence in support of her argument, and ask a judge to order DHHS to return her children to her from their foster families.

NO CRUEL OR UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT

Specifically created by the Founders to outlaw the gruesome practices of English criminal law (look up a description for hanging, drawing, and quartering while you consider having your corpse chopped), this Eighth Amendment protection would have kept me (if convicted) from some of the more horrible practices of incarceration that have been practiced throughout history around the world. It has been the basis for prison reform ever since, including extending medical care to sick inmates, and in some jurisdictions limiting the practice of solitary confinement.

VOTING RIGHTS

Though it's the last right I'm covering here, voting is the first right conferred on individuals in the Constitution. But it is obliquely referenced, appearing as more of an implication than anything explicit. Here's the language from Article I, Section 2: "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States."

The means by which that choosing would occur is left to Section 4: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof."

This left open — and outside the realm of the Constitution itself — the extremely important question of who should be allowed to vote. The states were free to determine each for itself who constituted "the People." No doubt some of the Founding Fathers never expected minorities, women, or even free men who did not own property to vote. If other Founding Fathers imagined, or even hoped, that the franchise would be extended, they would have remained quiet, letting the vagueness provide the opening for the future. Indeed, though not explicitly excluded from the Constitution, enough states barred African Americans, women, people who could not afford poll taxes, and 18-year-olds that each of those groups needed its own Constitutional amendment before casting a ballot (the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth, respectively).

People do have to register to vote, including proving residency in the district where they intend to cast a ballot. And, obviously, each person can vote only once per election. Kathleen Johnson plans to vote in November. I do too.

DIY Education: Save some dough and take our classes!

Published in the Portland Phoenix; these are my contributions to a piece co-written with Deirdre Fulton and Nicholas Schroeder

In light of recent budget cuts in average Americans' bank accounts, and the increasingly skyrocketing cost of higher education, Phoenix University (we regret the acronym, but University of Phoenix was taken) has opened its (paper) doors. We will be offering the following classes for the fall semester. Enrollment is free, homework is optional, tests may involve life-threatening danger, and credit is not redeemable for actual university degrees. Nevertheless, what you learn here at PU will help prepare you for the rest of your life.

Here's our list of syllabi. (You didn't think you'd ever see that word outside "real" academia, did you?)

Underwater Basket Weaving

After years of use and abuse as a joke gut course on campuses throughout the English-speaking world, Phoenix University is offering this as a real class.

• First you'll need to learn the basics of weaving baskets.

Basic Basket Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started edited by Linda Franz, Stackpole Books, 2008.

Weaving Country Baskets by Maryanne Gillooley, Storey Publishing, 1996.

• Then you'll need to get familiar with spending time underwater.

Scuba Diving by Dennis Graver, Human Kinetics, 2009.

The Certified Diver's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Your Own Underwater Adventures by Clay Coleman, International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2004.

• For more advanced reading, or if you plan to spend extended periods of time at this activity:

Ocean Outpost: The Future of Humans Living Underwater by Erik Seedhouse, Springer, 2010.

Diver Down: Real-World SCUBA Accidents and How to Avoid Them by Michael Ange, International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2005.

• Getting to know the underwater materials that may be available:

Illustrated Key to the Seaweeds of New England by Martine Bohnsack-Villalard, Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 1995.

Seaweeds by David N. Thomas, Smithsonian Books, 2002.

Seaweed Biology: Novel Insights into Ecophysiology, Ecology and Utilization edited by Christian Wiencke and Kai Bischof, Springer, 2012. (Particularly Part V, which relates to economic and industrial uses of seaweed.)

• Should you wish to take your efforts beyond the introductory level, consider choosing your work location from this book.

Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die: Diving Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations by Chris Santella, Stewart Tabori and Chang, 2008.

Advanced Burger-Flipping

A lab course, this involves not only lecture on the physics of momentum, friction (those burgers are slippery!), and thermodynamics (you have to cook with something), but also extensive on-grill work to ensure those who complete the course are proficient at keeping themselves safe, hygienic, and healthy while serving simulated food to paying members of the public.

• We start with the basics:

Hamburger: A Global History by Andrew F. Smith, Reaktion Books, 2008.

The Hamburger: A History by Josh Ozersky, Yale University Press, 2009.

Hamburger Heaven: The Illustrated History of the Hamburger by Jeffrey Tennyson, Hyperion, 1995.

• We also survey the hamburger landscape:

Hamburger America: Completely Revised and Updated Edition: A State-by-State Guide to 150 Great Burger Joints by George Motz, Running Press, 2011.

• We explore the economic and nutritional issues at hand:

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser, Harper Perennial, 2005.

Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food by Charles Wilson and Eric Schlosser, Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer — And What You Can Do About It edited by Karl Weber, Public Affairs, 2009.

• Then we delve into direct workplace preparation:

Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life by Robin Leidner, University of California Press, 1993. Still the classic study of McDonald's Hamburger University. (No, credits don't transfer!)

In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules by Stacy Perman, HarperBusiness, 2010.

• And finally we discuss recipe innovation:

Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers by Hubert Keller and Penelope Wisner, Wiley, 2009.

Architecture 201: Illuminating Basement and Garage Dwellings

Architects are known for spending lots of effort placing and sizing windows. But many spaces have limited daylight available. We explore the theory and practice behind providing ample illumination in otherwise dark spaces.

• From the foundations:

Lighting Design Basics by Mark Karlen, James Benya, and Christina Spangler, Wiley, 2012.

The Architecture Of Light: A textbook of procedures and practices for the Architect, Interior Designer and Lighting Designer by Sage Russell, ConceptNine, 2008.

• We build to specifics of residential areas:

The Home Lighting Effects Bible: Ideas and Know-How for Better Lighting in Every Part of Your Home by Lucy Martin, Firefly Books, 2010.

Studio Lighting Anywhere: The Digital Photographer's Guide to Lighting on Location and in Small Spaces by Joe Farace, Amherst Media, 2011.

• And then narrow to basements and garages:

Basement Ideas That Work: Creative Design Solutions for Your Home by Peter Jeswald, Taunton Press, 2007.

Ultimate Guide to Basements, Attics & Garages: Plan, Design, Remodel by the editors ofHomeowner magazine, Creative Homeowner, 2007.

• With an ending on the topic of how to light the ultimate dark room, a theater:

Stage Lighting Design: The Art, the Craft, the Life by Richard Pilbrow, By Design Press, 2000.

New Techniques in IPO Promotion: Standards and Practices of Cardboard Sign Usage

If you're going to stand on the side of the road asking passing drivers to invest in your latest lifestyle opportunity, you need to know how best to present that opportunity. Most people are discerning about which initiatives they back. We explore the successes — and failures — of seeking public investment via cardboard sign.

• Get a glimpse of the life you could achieve:

The Man Behind the Cardboard Sign by Viola Daugherty, FriesenPress, 2012

• Hone your strategy and campaign message:

Getting Results From Crowds: The definitive guide to using crowdsourcing to grow your business by Ross Dawson and Steve Bynghall, Advanced Human Technologies, 2011.

CrowdFund Your StartUp!: Raising Venture Capital using New CrowdFunding Techniquesby Rupert Hart, CordaNobelo, 2012.

Unlocking Kickstarter Secrets: Crowdfunding Tips and Tricks by Mario Lurig, Amazon Digital Services, 2012.

How I Raised Over $35k in 30-Days To Write My Book by Jim Kukral, Digital Page Launch, 2012.

The Crowdfunding Revolution: How to Raise Venture Capital Using Social Media by Kevin Lawton and Dan Marom, McGraw-Hill, 2012.

• Get technical, and go beyond the basics:

Initial Public Offerings: A Practical Guide to Going Public by David Westenberg, Practicing Law Insititute, 2011.

The Entrepreneur's Guide to Raising Capital by David Nour, Praeger, 2009.

Progress on a Shoestring: Introductory Non-Profit Management

In the event your existence feels like a non-profit for some time after graduation, we delve into the important issues relating to making a difference even when you're not making a living.

• We learn to make the best with what you have right now:

Living on Angel Hair Pasta: How You CAN Live on a Thinner-Than-A-Shoestring Budget by Joy Eclaine, Discover, 2007.

Life on a Shoestring: Living Within Your Meansby Julia Reece, CreateSpace, 2012.

• We look at ways to further your education and live even better, and more cheaply:

How to Go to College on a Shoe String: The Insider's Guide to Grants, Scholarships, Cheap Books, Fellowships, and Other Financial Aid Secrets by Anne Marie O'Phelan, Atlantic Publishing, 2008.

Living Homes: Stone Masonry, Log, and Strawbale Construction by Thomas Elpel, Hops Press, 2010.

• And then we delve into building your resources for the future:

Nonprofit Kit For Dummies by Stan Hutton and Frances Phillips, For Dummies, 2009.

Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity by Mario Morino, Venture Philanthropy Partners, 2011.

Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals by Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Jossey-Bass, 2011.

The Nimble Nonprofit: An Unconventional Guide to Sustaining and Growing Your Nonprofit by Trey Beck and Jacob Smith, Trey+3 Media, 2012.

Starting & Building a Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri Pakroo, Nolo, 2011.

Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masoaka, and Steve Zimmerman, Jossey-Bass, 2010.

• We close the semester by studying how others move from shoestrings to shoe leather.

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas Stanley and William Danko, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2010.

Deal Dyamics: Sociological Implications of Groupon, Coupons, and Bargain Hunting

The core course in economics required of all students, this class will teach you how to get the most for your dollar.

• Introduction to extreme couponing and economizing:

Coupon Quick Start Guide - The Easiest, Fastest Way to Serious Savings and Free Groceries by Angela Newsom and William Chad Newsom, Family Lore Publishing, 2011.

Coupon Millionaire: How to Save Money and Make Money with the Art of Couponing by Nadine Brown, Amazon Digital Publishing, 2011.

Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Learn Coupon Strategies to Save $1000s at the Grocery Store (2nd edition) by Joanie Demer and Heather Wheeler, Krazy Koupon Lady, 2012.

The Lazy Couponer: How to Save $25,000 Per Year in Just 45 Minutes Per Week with No Stockpiling, No Item Tracking, and No Sales Chasing by Jamie Chase, Running Press, 2011.

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family: Includes So Many Innovative Strategies You Won't Have to Cut Coupons by Steve Economides and Annette Economides, Thomas Nelson, 2010.

• Learning about Groupon and social marketing:

The Trend For Using Coupons, Groupons And Incentive Cards To Save Money And Stimulate Business In This Unstable Economy by Lee DeAngelo, Webster's Digital Services, 2011.

Groupon's Biggest Deal Ever: The Inside Story of How One Insane Gamble, Tons of Unbelievable Hype, and Millions of Wild Deals Made Billions for One Ballsy Joker by Frank Sennett, St. Martin's Press, 2012.

To Group Coupon Or Not: Small Business Guide to Groupon, Google Offers, LivingSocial and Others by Rags Srinivasan, Amazon Digital Services, 2011.

Groupon: You Can't Afford It — Why Deep Discounts are Bad for Business and What to do Instead by Bob Phibbs, Beyond the Page Publishing, 2011.

Inside Groupon: The Truth About The World's Most Controversial Company by Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider, 2011.

• Turning your bargain-seeking mindset into cash:

Barcode Booty: How I found and sold $2 million of 'junk' on eBay and Amazon, And you can, too, using your phone by Steve Weber, Weber Books, 2011.

• Extra credit: If you wish to explore the five-finger discount savings methodology, please first read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Then explain it in one sentence, of between 14 and 30 days.

Driving Expenses: Not all toll hikes are created equal

Published at thePhoenix.com

The Maine Turnpike Authority has decided to increase tolls, starting November 1, to raise $21 million in additional revenue for highway maintenance and debt repayment. The steepest hikes will be for commercial trucks, but most drivers will take a hit. That said, depending on what routes you drive, you might see no increase at all. And if you switch from paying cash to getting an E-ZPass, in some cases you can even lower your toll rate from what you pay now.

You probably guessed a toll hike was coming, what with the reports on Maine Turnpike Authority fiscal excesses dating back many years (see "E-ZPass on Ethics," by Lance Tapley, August 4, 2006) and the more recent jailing of 23-year MTA head Paul Violette for stealing between $150,000 and $230,000 in MTA funds to subsidize an extravagant lifestyle. Present MTA executive director Peter Mills swears the latest rate hike has nothing to do with those misdeeds, but many of his board of directors, and many of his employees, are holdovers from that era (see "Many Maine Turnpike Enablers Still in Power," by Lance Tapley, August 5, 2011).

So what's changing? Right now, the major barriers on the Turnpike charge $1.25 at West Gardiner, $1.75 at Gray/New Gloucester, and $2 at York. They'll go up to $1.75, $2.25, and $3, respectively. E-ZPass users pay on a more varied scale partly based on the distance they actually travel on the highway, but apart from the free trips between Lewiston, Auburn, and Sabbatus, everybody pays at least 50 cents per trip. (E-ZPass users are guaranteed at least the same toll rates as cash payers, so you'll never pay more, but often pay less.)

We broke down the numbers to find some interesting tidbits.

• Of the 314 total variations on trips on the pike (from every exit to every other available exit, northbound and southbound), 92 — just shy of one-third — won't see any toll increase at all. Most of these are trips in the greater Portland area, such as driving to Gray from Rand Road on the Portland-Westbrook line, though some no-increase trips cover a lot of ground, like going from the "Portland North" exit 53 to exit 19 in Wells.

• And 94 trips, including 46 of those seeing no increase at all, will cost the same whether you use cash or an E-ZPass. So if, for example, you drive from Gray to Kennebunk, you'll pay $1.50 no matter what. And driving from Kennebunk to Gray will cost you the same $1, cash or E-ZPass, before and after the rate change.

• For 76 trips, nearly a quarter of the possibilities, converting to E-ZPass as the new rates take effect will actually save you money over the cash payments at the current rates. (A driver entering the Turnpike by driving south on I-295, heading to New Hampshire or Massachusetts, at present pays $3 cash — $1 at the 295-Pike interchange, and $2 in York — or $2.50 E-ZPass. The new rate will be $4 cash or $2.85 E-ZPass. So you can drop that $3 to $2.85 by switching.)

• For an additional 11 trips, switching to E-ZPass will let you avoid an increase and keep the same toll rate you had when paying cash. For example, driving to Portland North from Lewiston, Auburn, or Sabbatus will cost $2.25 cash or $1.75 with E-ZPass; the old rates were $1.75 cash and $1.50 with a pass.

• On long trips, E-ZPass savings increase. Driving the full length of the Turnpike, for example, from Augusta to York (or vice-versa) at the moment costs $5 in cash, or $4.80 with an E-ZPass. Starting in November, it will run you $7 cash or $6.45 E-ZPass. Rather than saving just 20 cents, you'll save 55 cents per trip.

• Very short trips can have wide cost variations depending on how you pay. At present, if you go from Wells to York, you pay $2 in cash but just 80 cents with an E-ZPass. That difference will only grow with the new rates: $3 cash, or 90 cents E-ZPass.

• Some trips that previously saw no savings will see modest breaks for E-ZPass users under the new rates. Drivers who used to enter at the Gray tolls heading to the Portland area didn't see any benefit to using E-ZPass, because they paid the same amount either way. Now, they'll save at least 10 cents each time.

If you're considering switching from cash to an E-ZPass, you should know a few more things:

• If you get an E-ZPass, it costs $10 plus 5 percent tax for the device. New Hampshire charges $8.90; Massachusetts gives them out for free.

• As in other states, you have to pre-load the device with at least $20 in credit, with tolls deducted from your balance as you drive, rather than shelling out cash. (There's a certain irony about paying up front to an organization so it can pay down its debts.)

• By the time the toll change takes effect, you'll be able to order an E-ZPass online in Maine — a new initiative, though New Hampshire and Massachusetts have had it for years. MTA spokesman Dan Morin says states with online ordering have significantly higher E-ZPass participation.

• If you want to sail through a toll area at highway speeds, you'll still need to go to New Hampshire for that modern convenience. In Maine, E-ZPassers have to sit in the traffic jams just like everyone else.

Press Releases: It's an online world now

Published in the Portland Phoenix

The Portland Press Herald editorial crew needs some lessons on online communication and Internet copyright law. This is clear in the wake of a recent dustup the paper had with a woman who took a photo in October 2010, posted it on Flickr way back then, and was very surprised to find at the top of the PPH's front page, and prominently online, on August 7.

The picture was the crux of a Press Herald story covering part of the ongoing revelations about Reverend Bob Carlson, who killed himself in November 2011 when allegations began surfacing that he sexually abused minors. In this development of the matter, which is being covered exhaustively in other media, former Husson University president William Beardsley (now the state's conservation commissioner) confronted Carlson in 2006 about an allegation of some sort of sexual misconduct. The reverend resigned from his post as campus chaplain; Beardsley claims he told Carlson not to return to campus. The photo is evidence that Carlson did visit campus for official events after that conversation.

Having learned of the photo's existence on Flickr, the paper downloaded the photo from the online site to run in print and online, describing the photo as taken by "the former administrative assistant to Rodney Larson, dean of the School of Pharmacy."

It appears, then, the PPH knew the identity of the person behind the camera. And the photo was clearly marked on Flickr as "© All Rights Reserved" But the paper never contacted that person, despite the contact-the-photographer button Flickr provides on every page.

The post-publication exchange with the shooter in question, Audrey Slade, raises questions about the paper's understanding of good online conduct.

She wrote twice to PPH brass, asking them to take the photo down. On August 9, managing editor Steve Greenlee wrote back, claiming the paper "could not, by deadline, determine who the photo belonged to" and saying the paper determined it could use the photo in part because it was "on a public site (Flickr), available for anyone to view, with no obvious indication of ownership." Greenlee also claimed "there was no contact information for the account holder on the Flickr page."

In a blog post about the situation, Slade wondered about the ethics of basing an entire article on her photos, and all but identifying her, without contacting her, either for comment or for permission. She noted Flickr's message button, and added, "perhaps since they were able to see my name attached to my flickr page, they could have googled me, thus finding . . . my email address." She also noted that her job title was nowhere to be found on Flickr, so the paper clearly had additional information about her identity.

The paper answered with a post of its own, admitting the reporter "neglected to click the message button on Flickr." (That button is how I reached Slade to speak to her about this situation.)

After admitting sin by omission, the paper then gave three reasons it published the photo without contacting her and without credit: "The photo was viewable by the public with no privacy settings. The image was central to a story of great public interest. Naming the photographer without her permission would have pulled her into a controversy unnecessarily."

The second one is true, and the only excuse of the three that's even reasonable. The third reason might hold water if the article hadn't all but named her. As for the first, the Press Herald's own photos are "viewable by the public with no privacy settings" — but we can be sure the PPH would send its lawyers after anyone who used them without permission or credit.

The paper later took the photo down and told Slade it would pay her $300. She wrote back, saying it had been four days, and therefore $400 was in order — as well as a public apology. She's gotten a check for the full amount, but she's still waiting on the apology.