GOP Attracting Minorities?

What with everything going on these days, it wouldn?t surprise me to learn that Reince Priebus hasn?t been foremost in your mind lately. Well, this is your opportunity to correct that error, because I deliver tidings that the Republican National Committee is holding its winter meeting right now, starting yesterday, in Charlotte. A-Number-One on Chairman Priebus?s list, say advance reports, is figuring ways the GOP can attract more support among minorities. Well, they could. But they?d have to do things that would make them not the Republican Party anymore, and their base would never permit it.

Let?s start with African-Americans. Republicans, whatever they might say publicly, won?t actually try to win more black votes. Why? Because the positions the party would have to embrace to win black votes are abhorrent to the GOP base. Which, you may have noticed, is kind of racist. Now, people like me?pundits of the respectable class?aren?t supposed to talk that way. We?re supposed to cooperate in the fiction that the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln and underneath it all yearns to reawaken the great Jack Kemp tradition.

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All that is a bunch of rot, I?m afraid, and the rank and file?s racism is just a plain fact. Ever read some of those Fox News website comment threads on race stories, like this rather fascinating thread when Whitney Houston died, or certain Obama articles? It?s like reading Bull Connor?s diary. No, this doesn?t mean every conservative is a racist. But it does mean that if you find yourself at a table with five conservatives and try to break the ice with a watermelon joke, you?re very likely to get somewhere between two and three laughs.

A party with that kind of base is not going to be changing positions on affirmative action anytime in the next, oh, millennium. No?I really can?t predict a meeting of the minds here in any remotely foreseeable future. Remember, the conservative, Republican-appointed Supreme Court is (presumably) about to undo affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act. It?ll be another decade fighting to win those back at least.

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The GOP base doesn?t appear to boil with the same depth of contempt for Latinos. To Republicans, Latinos are the people who at least, you know, mow people?s lawns and such. But I think conservatives misunderstand Latinos. It?s true that they are a quite heterogeneous admixture of people from a broad range of cultures and historical traditions. But to the extent that they can be lumped together, as we do for electoral-demographic purposes, we find that they are alas a pretty liberal outfit.

Conservatives always say, ?Latinos are conservative; they are our natural allies!? It?s not really true. Exit polls last year found Latinos supporting abortion rights in quite large numbers, and ditto same-sex marriage (to a lesser degree, but still a healthy majority). The conservative misunderstanding, of course, is in assuming that personal conservatism equates with political conservatism. Sometimes it does, but a lot of the time it does not.

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And here?s another thing about Latinos, especially working-class and working-poor Latinos. Because of language and cultural barriers, they have tended to take advantage of fewer state benefits than others. They don?t use the earned-income tax credit as much, for example. There seems to me reason to think that over time, as language barriers lessen, that will change. And of course we have health care coming down the pike, and all its subsidies to families up to 188 percent of the poverty line. In other words, conservatives, millions more Latinos are poised to become card-carrying members of the good old moocher class! You think the party that wanted to repeal health-care expansion is going to get the bulk of those votes?

The main mistake Republicans make is that they actually think symbolic moves will accomplish the job here. More black speakers at the convention, three Latinos in office instead of one. Most people are actually smart enough to figure out that symbolism with no substance behind it is kind of insulting.

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The bottom line is about the base. The GOP base consists of white people who are terrified of losing their skin privilege in Barack Obama?s America. Even if Priebus and a few other Republicans are sincere in their efforts, the minute they start to take steps that are anything but symbolic and that are aimed specifically at trying to win over blacks or Latinos, the base will howl to the moon. I suppose it?s possible that two or three generations from now, which means 30 to 50 years, white Republicans who grew up in our multicultural era will have different attitudes. But even that is a fairly big question mark?there are always going to be vast sections of the country where the population will be 90 or more percent white.

Changing all this can?t be done with some buzzwords and slogans. It is going to be a deeply painful and contentious process for the GOP. I?d say it will be amusing for the rest of us, but it will inject enough poison into the body politic to make it not much fun for anyone.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-attracting-minorities-094500628--politics.html

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How Dell could help finance its own buyout - The Term Sheet ...

FORTUNE -- Dell Inc. has its major asset?about $11 billion of cash?located primarily outside the United States. That means that it would face a multi-billion-dollar tax bill if it repatriated the money or borrowed against it.?Therefore, most people have assumed that Dell's cash is essentially useless when it comes to funding a possible buyout, or helping Dell (DELL) pay its post-buyout bills.

However, there may be a way for Dell to borrow ultra-cheaply against its foreign cash without a tax bill. And, by doing so, it effectively would be using the cash to fund its buyout.

The idea, suggested by tax expert Robert Willens of Robert Willens, LLC (with a bit of kibitzing from me) involves borrowing not against the cash itself, but borrowing against the stock of the foreign subsidiary that holds the cash.

Willens says that a U.S. company can borrow in the U.S. against its overseas assets without tax consequences by pledging the stock of its foreign subsidiaries, provided that no more than two-thirds of the subsidiaries' voting power is posted as collateral.

MORE:?Michael Dell's grand plans?

So how would that let Dell borrow against all its cash? Watch:

Dell could use a high-vote, low-vote structure to set up the subsidiary. One class of stock, presumably the high-voting class, would have two-thirds of the subsidiary's voting power, but would hold all the subsidiary's cash. Dell then could borrow against that stock, effectively pledging its offshore cash without triggering a U.S. tax bill.

If Dell defaults on its loan, the lenders could seize the pledged stock, and thus get their hands on the cash. Having the stock seized by lenders would trigger U.S. tax consequences?but the consequences would be for Dell, not for the foreclosing lenders.

More:?Can private equity solve Dell's dilemma?

So the lenders would get the cash and Dell would incur a U.S. tax liability. However, in that case Dell would already be in financial difficulty, perhaps even in Chapter 11. Therefore, that liability wouldn't matter to its lenders -- who already would have been repaid -- and would make the U.S. government one of Dell's many creditors.

Please note that Willens, with a little help from me, has roughed this out on the back of an envelope, so to speak. He's not saying that this would work. What he and I are saying is that this strategy or something similar might be the hidden factor explaining why so many lenders are apparently eager to provide cheap financing to a high-risk-seeming Dell buyout.

There are many potential legal pitfalls for such a strategy, but what the Dell? Maybe someone has figured out how the Dells of the world can effectively bring their offshore, untaxed U.S. cash into the country without forking over 35% to the IRS. If that's the case, that's going to be a lot bigger story than Michael Dell's latest shenanigans. Stay tuned.

Source: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/01/22/dell-buyout/

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Library Patrons Want More E-books, But They Want to Keep Print ...

While residents of Bexar County, Texas, may be embracing a proposal for the nation's first local library free of printed books, not all Americans are crazy about the notion, a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center indicates.

The survey reveals just how important libraries are to their communities, and ranks the popularity of the services they offer. According to Pew, six in 10 Americans above the age of 15 either visited a library or bookmobile, or accessed a library website, in the past year. Uses varied: Most (around 73%) visited a library to borrow print books, and nearly as many (66%) used the Internet. More than half stopped by to do research or solicit the help of a reference librarian. Others simply passed the time reading and or studying (49%), checked out DVDs (40%) or CDs (16%), or met with a group (23%).

Although more e-books are now sold each year than hardcover books, e-books are not yet very popular at libraries. As mentioned previously, nearly three-fourths of library visitors go to check out print books. Far fewer turn to their libraries for e-books: Of the 25% of survey participants who visited a library website in the past year, only 22% said they borrowed or downloaded an e-book. That may be partly because many libraries don't yet offer e-books for checkout. In a focus group conducted by few, several said e-book borrowing would "rekindle their interest in the library."

"While many patrons appreciate bring able to access new digital resources at libraries, they also say they value having print books and other traditional resources at libraries and still want a personal connection with library staff," Kathryn Zickuhr, research analyst at Pew, observed in a press statement. "Many libraries are torn between expanding their digital offerings on the latest platforms and still providing quality resources for patrons who may lack experience with technology or the means to own the latest devices."

In addition to use habits, Pew compiled a laundry list of items patrons want from their libraries:

• The ability to borrow books (80%).

• More e-books (83%).

• IPS navigation for locating books (62%).

• Access to reference librarians (80%).

• Redbox-style kiosks for renting books in public spaces outside the library (63%).

• Free access to Internet-connected computers (77%).

• An online "ask a librarian" service (73%).

• Access to library materials via apps (63%).

• An area to try out new devices (69%).

• Amazon-style recommendation engines based on past checkout history (64%).

• Free literacy programs for young children (82%).

Yet when asked whether they would be willing to give up existing resources to make room for these things ? to move some books to off-site storage centers to make sense for a device-testing center, for instance ? only 20% of survey participants said they were in favor. Thirty-six percent said libraries should "definitely" not move books off-site.

Which sums up the whole problem, really.

Image courtesy of Flickr, AZ Adam

Source: http://mashable.com/2013/01/22/library-use-study-pew/

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Stocks Turn Positive; 3D Systems Hits New High ... - Investors.com

Stocks turned moderately positive at midafternoon Tuesday, as each main index traded near its best level for the session.

The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 both gained 0.3%. The Nasdaq edged up a fraction, after spending most of the day in the red. Volume remained down from Friday's levels, which were boosted by options expirations.

3D Systems (DDD) climbed 4% in strong volume, hitting a fresh all-time high. The maker of 3D printers could be getting a lift from a couple of banks raising their price targets for shares. 3D Systems, No. 1 in the latest IBD 50 lineup, is extended from its last proper buying range. Rival Stratasys also has touched a new peak,

SodaStream International (SODA) was up less than 1% in big turnover, but it had popped as much as 6% intraday. The move had taken SodaStream past a 50.08 buy point from a three-weeks-tight pattern. It's now back below that trigger. The Israeli maker of in-home soda machines has been earning spots in the IBD 50 lineup and IBD's Stock Spotlight screen. It was featured in a Stock Spotlight column in Monday's IBD.

In M&A news, Dell (DELL) rose 3% as published reports said Microsoft (MSFT) might invest $1 billion to $3 billion as part of a leveraged buyout of the ailing PC maker. Dell regained its 200-day moving average last week amid buyout chatter, but it still remains nearly 30% off its February peak. Microsoft fell a fraction. It's also consolidating below its 200-day line.

On the earnings front, Google (GOOG) pulled back a fraction in strong volume ahead of its quarterly report after the market's close. Analysts see EPS up 11% to $10.52, as sales rise 52% to $12.36 billion. Google, which has been consolidating since October, has lifted off support at its 50-day moving average.

In economic news, existing-home sales slowed to an annualized rate of 4.94 million in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was below forecasts for 5.1 million and down from November's 5.04 million pace.

Source: http://news.investors.com/investing-markets-update/012213-641440-stock-market-higher-lower-volume-ddd-soda.htm

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How Everybody Will Use Facebook Graph Search (Hint: Inappropriately)

Nick Douglas of Slacktory shows everybody how Facebook Graph Search, as awesome as it can be, will quickly devolve into a completely inappropriate search engine for finding MILFs, GILFs, pictures taken at the beach and anything of that nature. Basically, it's going to start innocently with people trying to find others with the same music tastes but eventually become creepers filtering and stalking people they wish they could have sex with. Facebook. Adult Friend Finder. What's the difference. [YouTube via Slacktory] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QGyUrev-5Mg/how-everybody-will-use-facebook-graph-search-hint-inappropriately

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Nearly 20,000 new BlackBerry 10 apps submitted this past weekend

App World

Research in Motion (RIMM) held a ?Port-A-Thon? earlier this month to boost developer interest in BlackBerry 10. The event ended up being a huge success for the company with more than 15,000 apps submitted to BlackBerry World in less than two days. In a last chance effort to increase its app count before the launch of its new operating system, RIM held a second event this past weekend and it was even bigger than the first one. Developers submitted 19,071 apps in 36 hours, bringing RIM closer to its goal of offering more than 70,000 apps at launch. RIM is scheduled to unveil BlackBerry 10 at a press event on?January?30th.

[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 OS walkthrough, BlackBerry Z10 pricing]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nearly-20-000-blackberry-10-apps-submitted-past-232356870.html

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Intel Bets on Fabs, Again - Technology Review

Intel, the world?s largest chipmaker, is at a crossroads. It commands 83 percent of the market for the processor chips that run PCs and laptops.

But that market has peaked, and the company has only a tiny role in the fast-growing business of providing processors for tablets and smartphones, which in 2011 accounted for about two-thirds of all computing devices sold. The company?s answer is to rely on a strategy that makes it an anomaly in the computing industry: investing heavily in cutting-edge manufacturing centered in the United States. Today, 75 percent of Intel?s output is U.S.-made.

A $5 billion dollar factory, or fab, being built in Chandler, Arizona, will make chips, slated to appear in 2014, with features as small as 14 nanometers. It?s the latest jump downward in size, a trend that?s making chips more efficient and powerful. The new chips will make use of Intel?s unrivaled 3-D transistor design, introduced with the current 22-nanometer generation, to solve efficiency problems limiting previous designs from being shrunk further (see ?TR10: 3-D Transistors?). Its closest competitor?s best chips are made with 28-nanometer features. The Chandler fab?s technology and operations?and even the temperature and composition of the air inside?will be carbon copies of those at Intel?s development fabs in Oregon, in line with Intel?s ?copy exactly? philosophy of making sure techniques make a smooth jump from R&D to production.

Intel?s strategy couldn?t be more different from that of the competitors it is chasing in the market for mobile processors. They typically license processor designs from U.K. company ARM?traditionally more power-efficient than Intel?s desktop chips, which is why they dominate the mobile market, where battery life is important?and produce them using what is known as the foundry model, or outsourcing production to Asian contractors such as Taiwan Semiconductor, known as TSMC. Intel has long relied on manufacturing to beat competitors. Investing heavily in advanced fab technology allowed the company to secure the contracts to provide the first PC chips in the mid-1980s, and helped push out competitors such as AMD in the 1990s and the past decade.

The make-or-break product for Intel will be its first mobile chips based on its 22-nanometer, 3-D transistor technology, due to appear in late 2013 (mobile chips from the 14 nanometer Chandler fab will be a couple of years behind). The first PC chips based on that technology appeared in April 2012, and delivered 37 percent more performance at the same power draw as those that came before, or a 50 percent cut in power use for the same performance. When the 22-nanometer mobile device chips arrive, the company needs them to lure device makers looking to build faster phones and tablets that can still last all day on a charge.

Foundries like TSMC can?t advance technology as fast as Intel, because they focus on offering low prices and many designs to hundreds of customers. On a trip to Taiwan last summer, Harvard Business School professor Willy Shih heard that TSMC likely won?t match Intel?s 22-nanometer 3-D transistors for two to four years, a gap he characterized as ?enormous.?

But for manufacturing to save Intel, the technology gap has to matter to mobile-device manufacturers. It?s not yet clear that it will. Shih says Intel is now ?getting their clock cleaned? in the mobile market. The reason isn?t only that companies like Samsung have opted for slower chips that use less power. Others, like Apple, have now begun designing their own processors, a step that makes them harder to copy?a strategic development that favors the flexible, adaptive manufacturing of foundries such as TSMC.

Intel is confident that its advanced manufacturing will eventually make the difference. Intel says it can build its newest chips with different types of transistors to enable some functions to prioritize efficiency, and others performance. It?s a flexibility others don?t offer, and could enable devices capable of both, say, powerful 3-D graphics and long battery life.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/509316/intel-bets-on-fabs-again/

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