It was supposed to be a joke. As an endless parade of corporate beggars marches to Washington in search of handouts for their beleaguered industries, some of us in the news business snarked that journalists would be next in line. I launched a Newspaper Bailout Countdown Clock on my blog after The New York Times Company's bonds plunged into junk territory in October. A few weeks later, columnist Jon Fine published a tongue-in-cheek memo in BusinessWeek outlining a federal newspaper rescue proposal. The jibes were meant to be facetious critiques of for-profit enterprises demanding massive taxpayer expenditures under the guise of preserving the "public interest." But now, in a rather unfunny turn, the newspaper bailout push has actually come to pass.  The Republican governor and the Democratic attorney general of Connecticut went on the record last week in support of government intervention for failing local newspapers. God save us from bipartisanship. Their joint statements pushing a salvage program came in response to news that The New Britain Herald, The Bristol Press and 11 weekly papers across the state face closure. About 100 jobs are at stake. This is bad news, no question. But cause for apocalyptic talk and expansive meddling by politicians? Please.   Read On

One of the factors that unites a nation is its shared values — a universal understanding about such things as what is right or wrong, legal or illegal, good or bad. These commonalities were referred to by Philip Rieff, an author of the 1960s, as “a system of moralizing demands.” According to Rieff, those leaders who live up to the moralizing demands of leadership, always a minority, are accorded the title of “statesman,” and that high honor is an accolade greatly desired. Such leaders keep the culture from disintegrating by embodying those qualities admired by the public and effectively articulating and restating those values necessary for society to be regenerated and renewed for contemporary times. In the absence of statesmanship, society crumbles as crucial values cease to be reflected in leaders’ behavior or in governmental and institutional processes; inevitably, then, those values are also absent from the public square and are not embodied in peoples’ everyday interactions. Sadly, statesmen are increasingly rare today, and the weakening of society’s fabric reflects the loss. Read On

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES An alarming half-million American jobs vanished virtually in a flash last month, the worst mass layoffs in over a third of a century, as economic carnage spread ever faster and the nation hurtled toward what could be the hardest hard times since the Great Depression.  Underscoring Friday's dismaying signs of a rapidly deteriorating economy, General Motors announced yet more job cuts, and a record number of homeowners were reported behind on mortgage payments or in foreclosure. Somehow Wall Street found a silver lining, betting that so much bad news would force fresh government action to revive the foundering economy. The Dow Jones industrial rose 259 points. Staring at 533,000 lost jobs, economists were anything but hopeful. Since the start of the recession last December, the economy has shed 1.9 million jobs, and the number of unemployed people has increased by 2.7 million -- to 10.3 million now out of work. Some analysts predict 3 million more jobs will be lost between now and the spring of 2010 -- and that the once-humming U.S. economy could stagger backward at a shocking 6 percent rate for the current three-month quarter.  "The economy is in a

free fall," said Richard Yamarone of Argus Research. "It is as if someone flicked off the switch on hiring."  "It's a mess," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Businesses, battening down the hatches, are concerned about their survival and are cutting workers." President-elect Barack Obama said the crisis "is likely to get worse before it gets better," and no one was going to argue that point. Economists predicted the unemployment rate, which rose to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent in November, could soar as high as 10 percent before skittish employers begin hiring again. Read On

Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears has served on the Georgia Supreme Court since 1992, when she became the first woman and youngest person — at age 36 — to serve on the court. In 2005, she became the nation's first African-American female chief justice. During her 16 years on the court, Sears has been a staunch advocate for children and families. To address family fragmentation in Georgia, she helped create the Commission on Children, Marriage and Family Law. The commission recently launched a pro-marriage billboard campaign. Sears has said, "Marriage is the most pro-child institution we have." Sears spoke with CitizenLink about her passion for families. 1. What is the biggest threat to families today? Fatherlessness. Whether caused by divorce, or couples who have children out of wedlock, then drift apart, or even deliberate single parenthood, more and more children are growing up without their fathers. This is a tragedy because growing up without a father can be a major disadvantage for a child. More children raised in single-mother households are poor, for example. And many suffer from poor academic achievement, low self-esteem, psychological distress, substance abuse, sexual precociousness, adult criminal offending and depression. We owe it to our children to do better by them. We urgently need to address the twin problems of fatherlessness and family breakdown. Read On

FAMILY CONCERNS

Tom Scott, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sky Angel U.S., LLC, a national provider of faith-based and family-friendly television and radio programming, announces the promotion of Darren Moorman to Vice President, On-Demand Programming.“I am pleased to announce Darren’s expanded role and promotion to Vice President, a move that reflects his proven leadership and outstanding performance in acquiring hundreds of new additions to our VOD content,” says Tom Scott. Read On

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