WANTED: OBAMA'S COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS

President Obama's detractors have tried to smear him as a Kenya-born interloper. Failing that, they've now turned their sights on what they think is another weak front: Obama's college transcripts.

According to The Los Angeles Times:

Last week, a website that already had offered a $10,000 reward for Obama's transcripts from Occidental College, Columbia University and Harvard Law School, increased the bounty to $20,000.

About a year ago, Donald Trump, among the highest-profile "birthers," helped get the mini-movement started. After the president released his long-form birth certificate, Trump abruptly changed subjects: 

"The word is, according to what I’ve read," said Trump, "that he was a terrible student when he went to Occidental. He then gets into Columbia; he then gets to Harvard. ... How do you get into Harvard if you’re not a good student? Now maybe that's right or maybe it’s wrong, but I don't know why he doesn’t release his records."

Of course, he was editor of the Harvard Law Review. Not bad for a guy who allegedly faked his way through school.

WHEN HAMSTERS GO BAD

Bravo to the anchor for keeping it together.

INK-STAINED WRETCHES, MOURNED

We may live long enough to see the extinction of the daily newspaper. The thought evokes emotion but it doesn't bring joy.

Revenues fall. Publishers and those who should know better react to reduced revenue by cutting staff and shrinking newshole. Smaller product interests fewer readers. Smaller circulation means less interest from advertisers. And so it keeps going.

Newspaper revs dropped by 18.1% in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2007, according to the Newspaper Association of America. Media Post tells it this way:

On the print side, the news was bad across the board, with a 31% decline in classified revenue, an 11.7% decline in retail, and an 18.4% decline in national advertising. Within classified advertising, the automotive category was down 29.2%, real estate was down 38.6%, and employment was down 43.6%.

Thus, the employment category has almost pulled even with real estate in terms of actual dollar amounts lost year-over-year, with a decline of $385 million versus $395 million for real estate. The accelerating losses in both categories reflect the unfolding of the economic downturn, which began in the housing market before spreading to other sectors of the economy.

Online newspaper ad sales were down, too. Migrating to the Internet has not stopped the bleeding. This is black and white and red all over.

PAPER PREPARES PRICE INCREASE

Is the local newspaper worth 75 cents a pop?

We all get to find out Monday, when the News-Leader increases its single-copy price. If letters like this one are any indication, the paper's making a grab for the sliver of the wingnut audience that can read. Hope it works out for the typists on Boonville Avenue.

ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN, 89

Death announced late Sunday by his son. He was a Nobel Prize winner.

According to The Associated Press:

Through unflinching accounts of the years he spent in the Soviet gulag, Solzhenitsyn's novels and non-fiction works exposed the secret history of the vast prison system that enslaved millions. The accounts riveted his countrymen and earned him years of bitter exile, but international renown.

And they inspired millions, perhaps, with the knowledge that one person's courage and integrity could, in the end, defeat the totalitarian machinery of an empire.

Ivan Denisovich lives on.

JESSE HELMS, 86

The former U.S. Senator died early Friday, proving his patriotism by expiring on the Fourth of July.

CHRISTINE DAUES EXPECTING

The weekday anchor of KSPR is expecting her second child with co-anchor and husband Joe Daues.

Local news from the local newspeople. We're trying to convince Christine to name the new baby "Ronald." Alas, resistance to the idea. Probably for the best. Selah.

SOME DEATHS ARE WORTH MORE

At least 35,000, or maybe four times that number, dead in Myanmar. Another 30,000-plus killed in China. It's news, even big news, but it's not the Mother of All News. The MOAN designation is attached only to the events we see for ourselves, when it's our shoes on the ground, our nose filled with the pungence of mayhem.

Unfair but true; subjective but real. It's the Law. McClurke's Law.

Reportedly named after a jaded BBC editor, McClurke's Law holds that some deaths are worth more. NBC journalist Martin Fletcher's Breaking News -- a helluva read, even if you don't work in a paragraph factory -- includes McClurke's Law:

One hundred thousand Bangladeshis killed in a flood equals 10,000 Africans killed by famine equals 500 Egyptians eaten by crocodiles on the Nile equals five British soldiers killed in Northern Ireland equals two of the queen's corgi dogs run over by a bus.

Rue the day when the U.S. has to endure a death toll equivalent to a dozen Sept. 11ths. The ensuing coverage may kill us all.

CHARLTON HESTON, 84

Moses. Thorn. Neville. And George Taylor. Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!

The actor died Saturday. According to a statement from the family:

"To his loving friends, colleagues and fans, we appreciate your heartfelt prayers and support. Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played. Indeed, he committed himself to every role with passion, and pursued every cause with unmatched enthusiasm and integrity.

We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather, with an infectious sense of humor. He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity. He loved deeply, and he was deeply loved.

No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country. In his own words, "I have lived such a wonderful life! I've lived enough for two people."

A mad house, but his place in it was memorable.

DITH PRAN, 65

Coined the memorable phrase "killing fields" to describe the horrors he saw in Cambodia. Three months ago he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Sunday, he died.

From The Associated Press:

Dith spoke of his illness in a March interview with The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., saying he was determined to fight against the odds and urging others to get tested for cancer.

"I want to save lives, including my own, but Cambodians believe we just rent this body," he said. "It is just a house for the spirit, and if the house is full of termites, it is time to leave."

WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY, 82

One of the great thinkers of the last century. From The New York Times obit:

Buckley, with his winningly capricious personality, his use of ten-dollar words and a darting tongue writers loved to compare to an anteater’s, was the popular host of one of television’s longest-running programs, “Firing Line,” and founded and shepherded the influential conservative magazine “National Review.”

He also found time to write more than 50 books, ranging from sailing odysseys to spy novels to dissertations on harpsichord fingering to celebrations of his own dashing daily life. He edited at least five more.

Bus Plunge gets the point.

AUDIT: SLOPPY, NOT ILLEGAL

The results of a state audit on the City of Springfield are now public. It's not great news for the city.

State Auditor Susan Montee says the city was sloppy in keeping records, and should have planned more for the future.

It's a definite black eye for former City Manager Tom Finnie, who led Springfield during the time in question. His legacy is tarnished. Then again, Springfield once fired a city manager, Don Busch, and then named a building after him.

Downsides for the city:

•The police department couldn't account for more than $12,000 in seized money. The PD also let a major take an automatic weapon from seized property.

•The city's lobbyist was nicked for not providing proper documentation of the work he did -- work for which he billed the city more than $400,000 over two years.

•The city spent $300,000 for furniture for a police and fire training building -- but at present, they don't have a place to unpack the furniture; it's still sitting in its original packing boxes.

•Mayor Tom Carlson was a no-show for the audit release. Regardless of the reason, his absence looks bad.

The audit does not show any rampant corruption -- a disappointment to the windbags who claim the city is evil. Then again, those are the same people who believe dark spirits inhabit secret tunnels under Springfield.

SHE LIED

Sunday, a woman told Springfield police that she was kidnapped and assaulted near Battlefield Mall.

Monday, police issued this statement:

On November 25, 2007 a female reported that she was abducted from Meador Park located at 1504 E. Sunset. Further investigation has shown that this abduction did not take place.

It's unknown if the woman will be charged with filing a false report, or if she'll be forced to repay cops for the cost of their investigation.

One thing's clear. It's that time of year.

NEW KSPR DEBUT

The new look for KSPR starts at 10 p.m. Sunday, when Joe and Christine Daues anchor their first newscast for the ABC affiliate.

We hope you'll watch. And be sure to click over to KSPR.com, the all-new (and much improved) website for the station.

Kyle Bosch and Natalie Nunn take over the two-hour morning news show on Monday. Michelle Sherwood starts her weekend anchor gig in the next few days.

Hope you watch, hope you enjoy, hope you approve. Let us know what you think.

BROOKE ASTOR, 105

The New York Times called her the aristocrat of the people, with this killer line:

[B]y night (she) reigned over New York society with a decided disdain for pretension and by day devoted her time and considerable resources to New York’s unfortunate.

Philanthrophy was her devotion for more than 40 years, according to The Times:

[H]er third husband, Vincent Astor, heir to the fur and real estate fortune of John Jacob Astor, died and left about $60 million to her personally and an equal amount for a foundation “for the alleviation of human suffering.” Her husband had told her, “You’ll have fun, Pookie.”

We'll never think of Chris Rock in the same way now.

Brother Richard gets the point.

GANNETT FOR SALE?

Hope not. Or hope so, depending on the day. The Wall Street Journal's blog reports:

The possibility of a sale of Gannett isn’t too far-fetched in light of all the consolidation lately in the ailing newspaper industry (with Knight-Ridder, Tribune, and now Dow Jones all being acquired). In fact, in a posting we did examining the possibility of more deals in the industry, we fingered Gannett as the most likely to be snapped up next.

Papa G's stock is down 23 percent this year, and now trades at a 10-year low.

BREAK IN JACKIE JOHNS SLAYING

A news conference is planned for 6 p.m. Thursday in Ozark to announce the news.

Jackie Johns lived in Nixa and was a former beauty queen for her city's Sucker Days festival. She vanished after leaving work at a livestock auction barn cafe. Her car was found south of Springfield on U.S. 160.

Her body was found five days later in Lake Springfield. She had been beaten to death.

No one was ever charged in her slaying, though one suspect was dogged by police for years. That man, Gerald Carnahan, was later convicted of attempted kidnapping in an unrelated case.

Christian and Greene County cops are holding the news conference. More news in this space, and across the media spectrum, when it happens.

Edited @ 8 p.m. Carnahan is charged with first-degree murder and rape. The probable cause statement is damning; it says Carnahan's DNA was taken on August 8, and it's a match to evidence saved from Johns' death.

Before this is all over, Gerry Carnahan will have much to say.

CRIME IN SPRINGFIELD STILL UP

Crime stats for the first six months of the year are out. Springfield is more crime-ridden than it was in 2006.

The police chief likes to blame the increase on "thugs and drugs." Is that too simplistic an answer?

Consider:

•Crimes against persons up 16.3 percent.

•Robberies jumped 55 percent (from 106 to 164).

•Crimes against property up almost 12 percent.

•Total crimes up 12.6 percent.

Auto thefts remain on the increase -- up 37.3 percent for the first six months of this year, as compared to the same period in 2006. Meanwhile, the solve rate for auto thefts is down; fewer than one in five vehicle thefts is cleared by cops.

TOM SNYDER, 71

Longtime newsman and television personality. Once interviewed Charlie Manson and may have been crazier than the killer. Knew how to use the medium. MIT rushes in to grab the point.

SUPREME SPILL

John Roberts, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has apparently taken quite a spill today. CNN is moving file footage of the CJ; so far, no story has crossed the wires.

Added 4:30 p.m.: AP now reports that Roberts has been taken by ambulance to a hospital in Maine. The justice fell at his summer home on an island.