#may revise this poll later if 'other' is too big

[alphabetcompletionist]

as a somewhat big blog i notice things

ABCDE GHI KLMNOP RSTU WXYZ

22/26

[antoine-roquentin]

In November, Gorsuch delivered the keynote address at the Federalist Society’s annual black-tie dinner, which took place in Washington’s Union Station. Among the conservative VIPs in attendance were Jeff Sessions and Scott Pruitt, Republican senators Ben Sasse and John Cornyn — who would later have Gorsuch to his home for dinner — and Justice Alito. Gorsuch warmed up the room, like a hype man for himself. “Tonight I can report: A person can be both a publicly committed originalist and textualist and be confirmed to the Supreme Court!” And: “Originalism has regained its place, and textualism has triumphed, and neither is going anywhere on my watch!”

Gorsuch was right to note the remarkable rise of these ideas since the Federalist Society’s founding in 1982. Robert Bork, a famously disastrous Supreme Court nominee, was laughed out of his confirmation hearing in 1987 for suggesting the Constitution should be read as it was in the 1780s. Thirty years later, there’s nothing more basic than a conservative judge who swears by the original intent of the Framers. According to one study, the incidence of the word originalism in law-review articles has risen from 15 between 1980 and 1984 to 2,351 between 2010 and 2014.

And yet, Gorsuch complained, his work was still being maligned by liberal elites. He began to call out his haters. “Some pundits have expressed bewilderment that I ask questions at oral argument about the text of our statutes,” he said. “I want to take a poll. I want to know what you think. Should I keep talking about the text and original meaning of the Constitution?” This was like asking Skynyrd fans if they wanted to hear “Free Bird.” A few minutes later, he brought up a critical article from the Harvard Law Review, referring obliquely to “some folks up in Cambridge,” as if he hadn’t once been one of them. “Does anyone else find it curious that daring to ask questions about the status quo is apparently illegitimate, while defending the status quo seems just fine?” Pause for claps. “Oh, well. I think we should just go ahead and ask the questions anyway. Whaddaya say?”

Tonally, the speech seemed a tad … aggressive. “It could have used a little bit of, I don’t know, self-deprecating humor,” says one Federalist Society member who attended. But if the evening felt at times like a campaign rally, that was by design. The point of the Federalist Society is to make room for conservative jurisprudence — and that means, in part, finding ways for right-wing judges to let their hair down. (No transcript of Gorsuch’s speech was made available, but I obtained a recording from someone who attended.) There is a concept known as judicial drift — or “the Greenhouse effect,” after the Times writer. “You get these good conservative justices, they move to D.C., they get on the Court, D.C. is a liberal area, the media is liberal, they want approval, start tempering their conservatism, and drift to the left,” explains Amanda Hollis-Brusky, a Pomona College political scientist. “What the Federalist Society has done has created a competing judicial audience, so these justices and judges don’t need to seek the applause of the liberal, Establishment media.” If they stay true to this constituency, they get celebrated, invited to more conferences. If they go off the reservation, they get roasted. Which helps explain why Roberts fled to Malta for two weeks — “It’s an impregnable fortress island,” he joked — after upholding Obamacare’s individual mandate in 2012.

In the same way that tea-party — and now Trumpian — politics have become indistinguishable from mainstream Republicanism, the Federalist Society has come to occupy the dead center of conservative judicial thought. The paradigm shift started in 2005, when George W. Bush nominated his friend Harriet Miers, the White House counsel, to the Supreme Court. Conservatives had already been burned when Bush’s father nominated the moderate liberal David Souter, who was friendly with the White House chief of staff. The Federalists revolted, Bush pulled the Miers nomination, and he nominated the far-right Alito instead. When it came time to choose Scalia’s successor, no revolt was necessary. “Because of the force of the Federalist Society,” Hollis-Brusky says, “Trump was just taking orders.”

The infrastructure built up by the Federalist Society — and the Heritage Foundation, and the Judicial Crisis Network — is designed not just to breed elite conservative lawyers but elite conservative lawyers in the flame-throwing mold of Scalia. “One of [Scalia’s] functions was to provide a line for the larger conservative community to latch on to both in oral arguments and in opinions,” says University of Baltimore Law School professor Garrett Epps. “He was always very sure to dominate the op-eds with something and go way over the edge.” While his caustic dissents alienated colleagues — and may have undermined his own influence on the Court — they became, over time, a canonical body of work around which the conservative legal movement would rally. Among the conservative justices, Roberts and Kennedy now occupy the ideological center of the Court; Thomas and Alito, while reliably right wing, aren’t rock stars. That leaves Gorsuch — and Gorsuch knows it.

A few weeks before his Federalist Society speech, Gorsuch heard a case with major political implications. The justices would rule on the electoral maps Wisconsin Republicans were accused of gerrymandering for partisan gain. Gorsuch’s seat is located on the far side of the Supreme Court bench, next to Sonia Sotomayor’s. It is not a young court, and Gorsuch’s fresh-scrubbed look stands out. Ginsburg is visible mainly from the scrunchie that peeks out over her seat. Thomas reclines at impossibly low angles and often appears unconscious. Gorsuch, eyes wide, hair gelled, has the bearing of a man who sleeps well at night.

Toward the end of the case, Gorsuch jumped in to grill Paul Smith, the lawyer arguing against Wisconsin’s maps, implying the Court had little business getting involved at all. “Maybe we can just for a second talk about the arcane matter of the Constitution,” he tut-tutted. “Where exactly do we get the authority to revise state legislative lines?” A moment later, Ginsburg piped up with a sharp rejoinder: “Where did ‘one person, one vote’ come from?” (Answer: the 14th Amendment.) Gorsuch then tried again. “Do you see any impediment to Congress acting in this area?” he asked Smith. “Other than the fact that politicians are never going to fix gerrymandering?” Smith replied. “They like gerrymandering.” The audience in the gallery cracked up, and Gorsuch stopped talking. “It was ‘Welcome to the NFL, rookie,’ ” says Epps. “My 1Ls could answer that.”

This mirrored an immigration case that took place the day before. “I look at the text of the Constitution — always a good place to start — and the Due Process Clause speaks of the loss of life, liberty, or property,” he intoned. “When the law runs out and the judges cannot say what the law is, they don’t make it up. Right?” And that in turn echoed a moment from his very first oral argument, when he asked a lawyer if they could explore “the plain words of the statute” together. When the lawyer replied that he wasn’t asking the Court to break new ground in interpreting the law in question, Gorsuch interjected, “No, just to continue to make it up.”

Delivering civics lessons from the bench has turned out to be Gorsuch’s signature move. “He showed up and started speaking a lot at arguments and, quite frankly, said a number of condescending and stupid things to his colleagues,” says a recent Supreme Court clerk. Compared to Scalia, who terrorized lawyers during oral arguments, Gorsuch is mild. But if Scalia’s defining trait was snark, Gorsuch’s might be smarm. Take his habit of asking lawyers to “help” him with some aspect of a case he evidently finds obvious. He’s done this in 15 different cases.

Behind the shtick, Gorsuch is performing a conservative virtue signal. In his 2016 paean to Scalia, Gorsuch called for judges “to apply the law as it is,” not to decide cases based on “moral convictions” or “policy consequences.” In theory, this gets to the heart of his predecessor’s narrow jurisprudence. In practice, it can be difficult to argue, credibly, that the answer to every single Court case is obvious from the words of a statute, or the Constitution, or the thesaurus, or whatever. Gorsuch doesn’t have Scalia’s dexterity. “It’s almost like a kid trying on his dad’s suit, and it’s just too big for him,” says David Lat, the founder of the legal website Above the Law. Or as Rick Hasen, a professor at UC Irvine’s law school, puts it, “He’s Scalia without the spontaneous wit and charm.”

The textualist monomania seems to grate especially on Ginsburg, who was famously close with Scalia. In January, after a Gorsuch dissent called out the “absurdities” of her reasoning in an otherwise deadly case about legal filing deadlines, she cheekily responded in a footnote, writing that Gorsuch’s tendentious reading of the case “conjures up absurdities” of its own. In April, she wrote a terse one-paragraph dissent critiquing Gorsuch’s “wooden” reading of a law, and in her blistering dissent in May’s big workers-rights case, she called his opinion “egregiously wrong,” invoking the infamous 1905 anti-labor decision Lochner v. New York.

The pro-Gorsuch crowd thinks the anti-Gorsuch crowd is being hysterical. “He seems to trigger a very intense reaction on the left,” says National Review legal writer Ed Whelan. “I don’t think it’s easily explicable by objective fact. Our president can disrupt and derange people in a lot of ways. I think a lot of people are deflecting their hostility toward Trump onto Gorsuch.”

Perhaps. But talk of intra-Court feuding doesn’t seem outlandish. Last fall, veteran CNN Court correspondent Joan Biskupic reported on an emerging rift between Roberts and Gorsuch. Later, NPR’s Totenberg said it was Justice Elena Kagan who was taking Gorsuch to task in the justices’ twice-weekly conferences. “With Elena Kagan and the chief justice, you have this sense that they’re playing the long game,” says Amy Howe, a Supreme Court beat reporter who publishes on Scotusblog. Both dissent less frequently than their colleagues and strive behind the scenes for consensus.

And yet the Court has published opinions this term at a historically sluggish pace. Some speculate that’s because Kennedy is flagging and will soon retire. But it might also be because an intransigent Gorsuch is gumming up the works. Like a gunner in a 1L lecture hall, Gorsuch strives to make himself heard. In his first 30 cases, Gorsuch dissented six times; Roberts, by comparison, dissented once. (“Media speculation suggesting Justice Gorsuch isn’t getting along with his colleagues is ridiculous,” says Jamil Jaffer, who clerked for Gorsuch last term. “Of course, the justices are going to disagree on the law, but it never gets personal.”)

[atopfourthwall]

State of the Wall: 3-28-17

Lots to talk about this time, so click through to see what’s in store for many of my projects in the coming couple of months!

Schedule of Upcoming Episodes 4/3 – Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #4 4/10 – PATREON: Iron Man: The Animated Series: The Wedding of Iron Man 4/17 – Athena #3 4/24 – PATREON: Batman: The Dark Knight #1-3 5/1 – Patreon Viewers’ Choice Event Comics Month 5/8 – Crisis on Infinite Earths 5/15 – Secret Wars (1984) 5/22 – The Infinity Gauntlet 5/29 – Flashpoint

You will notice that for May 1st, we will be having a Patreon Viewers’ Choice! Here’s how it works – for Event Comics Month, I held a poll for what event comics would be covered during that period. Since it was a pretty big success (and because May has five weeks in it), at the end of Athena #3, I will provide a link to a Patreon poll where patrons can vote between three comics that will be reviewed that week. Because it’s been a while since I spotlighted any, they will most likely be PSA Hell subjects. Anyone who contributes at any level to the Patreon can vote in them, but it will be limited only to those patrons. They’ll have a week to vote, then I’ll announce the winner. I’d love to do more like this and we’ll see how it goes with this.

Otherwise, as always, the schedule is subject to change at any time due to unforeseen circumstances, illnesses, or just the material not providing anything to work with for a humorous review.

Platform Changes? The recent scare concerning my youtube channel is, for the moment, resolved. If you haven’t heard about this, you can read up on it HERE. Needless to say, it is over. However, there are still other issues that need to be dealt with. I have recently been informed that Screenwave’s partnership with the JW Player is coming to an end due to the costs of maintaining it. They’ll still remain as you my youtube MCN, at the very least (certainly appreciated after they were instrumental in getting my channel back up).

So what does that mean for the site? Well, that’s uncertain. I’ve contacted the JW Player to see if I can remain and I’d certainly like to – replacing the embed codes around here for a THIRD time would not be fun, especially since we still have occasional hiccups in that department from either lost videos from others or just ones where the embed code has not been replaced. That being said, I do understand the problems people have had with the player. I have not experienced the ad that many have (the still image that seems to prevent the video from ever playing), but I know people DO want to support the site and my work, which is why the youtube versions are so invaluable.

They’ve been helpful in another way – simply put, I make more money on youtube than I do on the Screenwave player. Part of this is sheer volume – more people watch it on youtube, so of course I get revenue there. It’s also partially because people are watching them ON YOUTUBE ITSELF vs. having the videos embedded – ads played through embeds (assuming they play at all) simply don’t pay out the same as when they’re watched on youtube. I have the advantage that with the Screenwave player on this site, there are no competing ads to deal with, so I get a larger revenue share than I do from the embeds on, say, Channel Awesome.

However, if the player DOES have to change yet again, we’re in a bit of a dilemma. I had the previous Screenwave player up and running while Blip was still in operation for a few more months, but I don’t really have yet another player entirely lined up yet. Here’s the issue we have: what player to embed if I have to change over to another? –DailyMotion: Unfortunately, DailyMotion has similar issues to youtube – they have their own ContentID system. However, their support system for dealing with copyrighted material is even less functional than youtube’s, if you can believe that. What’s more, there is a limit on how many videos one is allowed to upload per day, meaning it would take quite a while to get my backlog onto DailyMotion. –Vid.Me: Because of its growing popularity, I HAVE set up a Vid.Me account and have begun uploading videos to it. However, those videos are currently unlisted for a very good reason – the same reason why I am reluctant to use it as a new player on the site – Vid.Me does not have ads. The system is entirely tip-based. If it is a superior player to the JW Player, then more people will be able to watch videos on my site directly… but that would also mean less revenue overall. It IS an option, possibly the best option especially since they pride themselves for the ability to actually speak to humans when dealing with copyright matters (plus no ContentID system, AFAIK). –Amazon: Amazon actually started pushing out their own video distribution system a year or two ago. Some of the other video producers on Channel Awesome gave it a shot at the time, buuuut were mostly unimpressed, especially since the videos required a hardcoded subtitle system for the hearing impaired. It’s not a bad thing to have that, but it’s time-consuming to create that, especially since Amazon used a proprietary format. It’s recent enough that I don’t really know how useful it’d really be, or if it’d be a paid service for people and I prefer my videos be free for anyone to watch. –Vimeo: Vimeo IS a possibility. It’s a fairly solid platform, although like with Vid.Me it doesn’t really have ad-based content. In fact, from what I understand, you have to pay THEM to put ads on the videos and I don’t actually know how profitable that is. It still has its own ContentID system, it’s just a bit more lenient and, like Vid.Me, you can actually resolve it by talking to human beings. –Just Embed the Youtube Videos: This option… has its problems. Like I said above, embedded youtube videos don’t earn as much money as one does by just watching on youtube’s site. And frankly, if they’re embedded already, there’s no reason to GO to youtube to watch them. In addition, as we saw with the suspension of my channel, it’s nice to have a backup video player on hand so that people CAN watch stuff (for the most part, since many still had problems watching them) if something happens. Still, I’m open to anything.

So there we go. I’m eager to hear people’s feedback, although hopefully there won’t be any need to change anything. We’ll see, though.

History of Power Ranger Rangers It sadly feels like, despite my continual attempts to highlight these update posts whenever possible, encouraging people to visit the site, people will often miss that, indeed, they exist and often have the information they’re looking for. That information usually being “When’s the next History of Power Rangers coming?” And, of course, thanks to Patreon you HAVE that answer again… and perhaps even more to come, but that’ll be discussed below in the Patreon section.

In any event, Dino Charge is coming, as I stated in the last State of the Wall post. No, I still have not watched any more than last time. I’ll be doing that in April. No, I have not watched any of Ninja Steel and it’s likely I won’t be until it comes time to do that one. If you wanted my opinions on the movie, I did a Midnight Screenings video for Brad Jones on it, which you can find on my site by searching for it or searching his own site or youtube page.

Otherwise, of course, the current schedule: DinoCharge: April 27th Ninja Steel: N/A

In case you missed it, I did put up revised versions of the Turbo videos on youtube, which you can find HERE and HERE. In Space is taking a back seat for a while until I can figure out how to keep in the “Under Pressure” montage. Best guess right now is to make a cover, but we’ll see how things go.

T-Shirts Sorry to say that the Comicron Crew shirt did not get enough sales to justify keeping it around on Shark Robot. As a reminder, shirts require 20 pre-orders in order to remain on their site permanently. That being said, this one was partially my fault – giving it three colors meant it was technically three different shirts, so it spread the potential preorder sales in too many directions. Still, combined they wouldn’t have added up to 20 anyway.

I’m going to continue with the shirt idea – patrons will be able to vote on the next shirt among five options every few months and hopefully next time around we’ll get a keeper. As a reminder, though, the I am a Man shirt is still available HERE and those who DID preorder the Comicron Crew shirts will get them.

Patreon The Patreon is getting a few revisions! For starters, I’m going to be ending the $30 “Video Promotion” pledge. In recent times, few have taken advantage of it (either because of squatters in the spot or simple noninterest). The pledge will disappear at the end of March. I am of course open to suggestions for other pledge perks that could be done.

The bigger news is this – the milestones have been reorganized! I had originally placed the tiers much higher due to the fact that when I originally began the Patreon, I grouped them all so closely together that they all got fulfilled quickly. SO quickly, in fact, that I am still struggling to fulfill them two years later (some, like the additional Longbox videos, were easier – the AT4W Episode Guide not so much). It was also hoped that it would encourage more people to contribute to it and hopefully reach some loftier goals.

Unfortunately, it has not proven so – possibly BECAUSE they’re so much higher. As such, here are the new milestone levels, and definitely more likely to be achieved than going as high as $6000.

$3500: A Let’s Play of Star Trek: Elite Force II will be made and on a schedule. $4000: Other “History of…” videos will be produced, in particular focusing on other American tokusatsu works like Beetleborgs, VR Troopers, Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, etc. $5000: Both a 90s Kid and a Harvey Finevoice show will be produced, though due to the workload of other projects, will NOT be on a schedule.

So yeah, hopefully with the rearrangement of those goals as being a lot closer to where we are now, it will encourage people to get there.

As a reminder, ONLY those who pledge at the $10 level are given a spot in the end credits. You can of course give more than $10, but you have to specifically select THAT perk to get it. Those in the $20 pledge slot for a DVD and badge are NOT given the name in the end credits.

Let’s Play Pokémon Omicron The next Pokémon Omicron stream is scheduled for Monday, May 8th at 7 PM Central time! The current plan is stop playing the game after the Elite 4 (or, at least, the conclusion of the main storyline of the game). I know many would like me to do the post-game quests, but frankly this Let’s Play has gone on for far too long already and the end is finally in sight, with the last stream managing to get us the seventh badge. I’d be happy to return to the game someday, but I have hopes for more gaming content on the site and having an unfinished Let’s Play hanging over things is kind of irritating.

As it happens, I’ve been working hard in getting more videos pumped out for it! I’m hoping we can continue at a good pace, releasing several per week so we can finally be caught up, especially since at the time of this posting the episodes next coming out are from a stream done last year. Obviously we still have some catching up to do with the amount of footage I have.

My Twitch channel is HERE!

The Deathmate Problem As I have mentioned in the PO Unboxing videos and at conventions, I have many copies of Deathmate and I’d like to finally get around to reviewing them. For those unaware, Deathmate is the infamous crossover between Image and Valiant that likely is responsible for the beginning of the end of Valiant Comics. It’s been heavily requested by viewers before, with some speculating I’m saving it for a major episode… but nah, that’s not the case. I can tell you it’s not going to be this year, because I had INTENDED to review them as the first thing in January 2018. However, I’ve run into a few problems with that.

Firstly, Deathmate has a total of six issues, including prologue and epilogue. However, each issue has multiple stories within it – meaning if I were to do two issues per week, I’d actually be reviewing quite a few stories at once… aaaand let’s face it, with how generic a lot of early Image books were, there’s a reason we’ve mostly focused on Youngblood-related stuff. That means we’d be covering a crossover between a lot of characters that neither I nor the viewers are necessarily familiar with. Basically it’d be three weeks in a row of “I don’t know who these people are.” So that brings us to the next question: would people prefer we wait for Deathmate until we’ve met some more Image or Valiant characters? And finally: would people prefer we have all of Deathmate in a big three-week period or, like some other miniseries I’ve done, be spread out over however long it takes?

Longbox of the Damned As I mentioned last time, the storyline for AT4W has taken FAR LONGER than it should have. There are still many segments left and I’m hoping to finally get those out of the way in the coming months. However, that runs right into the issue of all my other projects I’m working on. Pokémon Omicron is fine – it’s not on any set schedule, so it can be put on the backburner if it needs to. However, the summer Longbox videos have become their own thing, necessitating a lot of time in planning, filming, and editing – especially if I do intend to stick to the daily schedule. As we saw last year with the Twilight Zone comics, it’s proven very difficult to get those videos out as planned.

As such, I am open to the idea that this year, we may just have to skip the Midsummer’s Nightmare and use its theme for next year. An alternative idea I had was maybe less videos, but more content – covering multiple things in a single video and spread them out over a week, or weekly over the course of a month or so. I’ d love to hear some thoughts on this, since I certainly want to do the summer videos, but it’s very stressful on top of everything else going on.

Conventions Animinneapolis – Once again, for any of you Minnesota locals who want to meet me, I’ll be at Animinneapolis at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis in, well, Minneapolis on May 26-28!

EDIT: Sadly, Wausaubicon has been cancelled, so I will not be making an appearance there.

Anime Midwest – I’ll of course be at Anime Midwest again at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois on July 7-9!

I’ve gotten confirmation that I will NOT be attending Too Many Games this year. This doesn’t mean I won’t attend in future years, just that they want to rotate out some people to make sure the experience is fresh for attendees and not ALWAYS the same people every year. Expect some more con announcements for the rest of the year!

[johnmauldin]

What I Am Most Bullish on Right Now

It feels like sentiment about the coronavirus is starting to change. There’s a new sense of hope where there was little just a month ago.

New drug therapies are being announced and dozens of vaccines are in development. There is a high probability one or more will work by the end of the year. Deployment will be difficult, but doable.

This change in sentiment, combined with generous fiscal support and liquidity injections, is giving investor confidence a boost, too. So, we see stocks rising.

There is reason for hope, and we should celebrate that. But we still haven’t overcome all the reasons for caution.

Looking at it not as an investor, but as an entrepreneur and small business owner, I think some are greatly overestimating how fast the economy can recover. Entire industries, no longer viable in their current forms, must now figure out new ways to do business.

I am bullish on the American entrepreneur. Betting against not only the American entrepreneur, but entrepreneurs worldwide in relatively free-market societies, has always been a losing proposition.

They will figure it out; that’s what entrepreneurs do. But they won’t do it overnight, or even in a few months—nor will they take direct paths from here to there. The rules have changed.

As I wrote two weeks ago, we are in the process of repricing the world. Everything will get repriced; it’s a matter of when and how. Will landlords be forced (by the market) to take lower rents from restaurants? Will the cost of our restaurant food go up? Haircuts? A thousand other things we buy, like stocks?

We see this in the latest Barron’s Big Money Poll of 107 top money managers. Asked to forecast the stock market this year, 39% were bullish, 20% bearish, and 41% neutral.

So adding together the bullish and neutral, eight out of 10 money managers see at least some chance of positive equity returns between now and year-end. They are even more confident for 2021, with 82% bullish and only 4% bearish.

The Barron’s panel has tons of bullish quotes, arguing that things will go back to normal and now is the time to buy. Which is the same thing people said in 2007-’08.

My friend Ed Yardeni is similarly bullish, largely due to Federal Reserve actions. He also thinks analysts will probably overshoot their revenue and earnings estimates to the downside, then revise them upward later in a grandly bullish surprise.

As a natural optimist myself, I admire people who show confidence in tough situations. But I also think recovery will take more than a year or two.

I talk to small business owners and corporate leaders all the time, and they all say it will be a long, hard climb out of this hole.

To help you navigate this new world, this month I’m gathering some of the brightest minds to talk geopolitics, technology, specific investment ideas, and so much more. Watch these presentations LIVE during five full days between May 11–21, for four to five hours a day. Ask questions or watch at your leisure from your home or office. You’ll get written transcripts, too. Secure your spot at my virtual Strategic Investment Conference here.

[stantroy5444172-blog]

This Is Just what Using In Mercedes' Self.

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[dylan38sanders]

Branded Event Apps Are Changing: Are You Ready?

Apple just rerouted the future of branded event apps. The company that once announced “You have a niche need? There’s an app for that” has—now revised their Apple App Store guidelines. Apple has effectively pivoted to “You have a niche need? Depending on certain guidelines and regulations there may be an app for that.”

For event technology providers and those that use the technology offered by event technology providers (maybe you), this is a very big deal. Whether Apple decides to sticks to their guns or decides to make an exception for the event tech-dom, they have fired a shot that has been heard around the event tech world. And you should probably know about it.

The Rise of the Branded Event App

At the beginning of the 21st century, the mobile phone was a glorified pager.  Mobile phones are now a pocket-sized super computer. With the ascendancy of the mobile phone has come a rise in mobile apps,  and—of principle to importance to event professionals—mobile event apps.

Event apps can cover a range of functions. From maximizing attendee engagement (live polls, anyone?) to providing event attendee with valuable networking opportunities (event communities, anyone?) apps cover a lot of needs. As time has marched on, event apps have become an increasingly expected part of the attendee experience. They are an integral part of the ways that event organizers manage, market and measure live events (event data, anyone?).

Today, event apps are big. According to a study conducted by Event Manager Blog, over 40% of event planners use event apps. In a more recent study that we conducted, over 80% of the participants that we polled said that they use an event app. 

Not only is this number projected to increase, but so is the value of the event tech industry as a whole. Frost and Sullivan report that event technology is currently a $28 billion industry and is set to grow at a CAGR of 3.3%. The increased growth of event apps has resulted in a greater demand for apps that are branded and customized to the needs of clients.

While event apps (branded and otherwise) have been changing the game for both event organizers and attendees, they have done so because the power brokers that control the mobile space have allowed them too.

Meet the Power Brokers

The market for event apps is primarily controlled by two mobile app stores: Google’s Android Play Store and Apple’s App Store. Historically, Android has been more laissez-faire when it comes to reviewing and publishing apps. In fact, some view it as being one of their greatest strengths. Apple, on the other hand, has had a reputation for fierce regulation—a stance that has simultaneously attracted and alienated mobile users.

Regardless of how it might be perceived, Apple was the first mobile provider to fully get behind the idea of mobile apps—and get it right. By 2008, when Apple launched the App Store alongside their 3G iPhone, Microsoft had already created thousands of apps for their mobile Windows operating system and Palm (of Palm Pilot fame) had done the same. For the general consumer, both the Windows and Palm have faded to the recesses of mobile obscurity. However, Apple—through a combination of their innovative hardware, design and app store practices—remains at the top.

Apple’s tight regulation of their app store has served as a key differentiator. High-quality apps at premium prices have been the MO of the organization. Meanwhile, Google’s laissez-faire Play Store has ballooned with apps and developers, often at the cost of quality.

Roughly 50% of the smartphones in the US, UK and Australia are iPhones. That means that there’s a 50% chance that people who show up to your business events are likely to be iPhone users.

In practice, this percentage is likely to be higher as one of the main reasons that people choose Android phones is the lower price point. Those who can afford to attend business conferences are likely able to more easily afford iPhones. Consider the below data pulled from the Bizzabo event software platform:

According to Bizzabo data, iPhone dominates Android usage when it comes to events.

  Given this market split, any change to the Apple app store will have severe implications for both iPhones and Android phones. And Apple just changed something big.

Why You Are Reading This

At Apple’s 2017 World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in June, the tech giant released several updates to their App Store guidelines. You can see many of these changes being projected on a screen behind Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, at WWDC 2017:

An interesting list, right? We have:

Localized enrollment

Reviews API

Receipt enhancements

Auto-renewal with Apple Pay

Expanded free trials

Not really sure what those updates have to do with you? That’s OK. There’s only one that has the event tech industry reeling.

App Store cleanup.

Although this little line item might sound innocuous or even quaint, it’s anything but. Apple is changing how they regulate their App Store and it affects all of us.

As we mentioned before, Apple has pretty much always maintained strict guidelines. Take for instance the below item that has shaped how the App Store has functioned thus far:

Guideline 4.2 Your app should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website. If your app is not particularly useful, unique, or “app-like,” it doesn’t belong on the App Store. If your App doesn’t provide some sort of lasting entertainment value or is just plain creepy, it may not be accepted

The App Store clean up brought with it another addition to the rule:

NEW: Guideline 4.2.6 Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected.

If you don’t care about having your event app being branded then I suppose this is a good time to tell you that these changes won’t affect you much. Sorry for stringing you along. I hope you found this post pleasantly informative. Please feel free to keep reading.

However, if you side with the majority of event app clients, then you do care whether or not your event app is customized so that it features your company’s unique branding. Therefore, you do care about how Guideline 4.2.6 might cause branded apps to change.

The Branded Event App Ecosystem

Branded event apps can be broadly categorized into three categories: custom-made white label apps, templated white-label apps, and universal branded apps.

Custom-made White Label Apps Custom-made “white label” (client-branded) apps are created from the ground-up to the specifications of a client. They may use some templated code. Many developers use templates to expedite the construction of apps—however, the bulk of their structure and source code is tailor-made. In theory, the end result is a beautifully branded event app that is—from App store icon to agenda page—as unique as a snowflake. However, that uniqueness comes with a steep price tag, a longer development cycle and the need to have each app submitted, approved and published in the App Store. Another downside is that if the app is shipped with bugs (as will invariably happen in the development world) you will be liable for fixing those bugs yourself or through the extension of a contract with your app developer.

Templated White Label Apps Whereas custom-made apps may use some templates to expedite the development process, templated white label apps are predicated on, well, templates. With templated white label apps, clients get a great branded experience. They also get access to a variety of modules, but at the cost of uniqueness in both design and functionality. The greatest advantage of templated white label apps is their much more affordable price tag and quicker development cycle. Like custom-made apps, templated white label apps come with a uniquely branded App Store icon. Likewise, they must be submitted for review in order to be published. Templated white label apps are more likely to come with support for software bugs, and given their templated nature, are less likely to have bugs in the first place. However, per Apple’s recent App Store update, templated apps are the least likely to be approved.

Branded Universal Apps Container apps, global apps, omnibus apps—universal apps go by many names and likewise come in many forms. Just like a universal remote might be in charge of your home entertainment system, a universal app aims to be your one-stop-shop for your event. Attendees download the universal app which then contains a specific event or event series. Different apps offer different levels of a branded experience. Some universal apps might have limits in-place that guarantee that app users only see the events that they are signed up for. Others may be less streamlined. In either case, a branded universal event app should become virtually inseparable from a templated white label app once the app user gets to the event page. Compared to other branded event apps, branded universal apps have the quickest development cycle (virtually none as they are already published in the app store and need only be activated by the client). Branded universal apps are often the cheapest option as well. There are some other upsides too. More on that later.

So, here we have an intricate ecosystem of event apps. Both custom-made white label apps and templated white label apps use templates to varying degrees, while universal apps are a one-stop-shop. The question is, how will Apple’s new guidelines (4.2.6) affect all of the above?

Staring into the Face of Appagedon

Much like what happens after death or how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie pop, the jury is out on what exactly 4.2.6 port ends. In fact, much like the meaning of life or who is the greatest tennis player of all time, the subject of 4.2.6 is in some ways open to interpretation. We paneled the press, the events industry, and even Apple. Here’s what each is saying.

What the Press is saying Some in the press are welcoming these changes, some are outraged by them. However, the general trends is that these changes are imminent.

“It’s my understanding that this cleanup has resulted in hundreds of thousands (yes, multiple hundreds of thousands) of apps being removed from the store over the past year.” —TechCrunch

“Apple is looking to clamp down on template titles with its latest review guidelines revision, but the App Store cleanup doesn’t stop there…” —AppleInsider

“We’ve heard “x will kill y” many times before, but in this case, there is definitely real cause for concern…” —EventManagerBlog

What the Industry is saying Different vendors are saying different things. For the purposes of not directly singling out any brands, we’ve opted to keep these vendors anonymous. (We’re sure that if you really want to figure out who said what, you can do so.)

Vendor A: “Here is what we know based on several conversations with a worldwide developer relations leader from Apple…Apple is requiring event app vendors to move to a Universal App model, in which all accounts and events would exist within a single, vendor-branded, container app.”

Vendor B: “Apple isn’t going to care that your tailor-made app used a template… What Apple wants to do is thin out some of the copycat apps that flood the store after every app success story.”

Vendor C: “When we spoke to Apple for clarification, a senior executive at their Worldwide Developer Relations Team was quick to dismiss the self-serving announcements from our competitors as ‘pontificating b.s.’”

Vendor D: “So yes, Apple has removed literally hundreds of thousands of clone and spam apps from its App Store in the past year, but that culling has focused on apps that lack significantly unique content or functionality.”

Vendor E: “Regardless of Apple’s future decisions, our vision has been aligned with the universal app model augmented by in-app dynamic branding from day one. Our entire technology stack has been designed with these requirements in mind and are fully supported today in our production release.”

Some players are keeping their options open. Others are issuing statements that reflect the value propositions that they already have or suggest that they saw this change coming from a mile off. Several vendors have claimed to have spoken to Apple representatives. However, what each vendor is taking away from their interactions with Apple diverge on a Rashomon level of interpretation.

What Apple is saying As a vendor that views branded event apps as being integral to its event technology stack, we have just as much an interest in getting to the bottom of the 4.2.6 mystery as our fellow competitors do. Because of this we’ve been in frequent contact with our Apple Account Managers. Below is the pith of our last correspondence.

“[Event] apps are raked and processed at a code level, so if any of your apps are built from a template they will be rejected.” —Senior Account Manager, 8/7/17

According to Apple, if any of your apps are “built from a template” they may be in violation of the latest App Store update. Wondering what this means for you? We are too.

What This Means for You

Apple’s App Store guidelines are deliberately vague in a way that almost begs interpretation. However, after reviewing, speaking with Apple, and other vendors in the industry it does appear that the future of templated white label is uncertain, if not in jeopardy. Here’s what you need to know:

“When will these app store changes take full effect?” According to the TechCrunch article, thousands of templated apps have been deleted on the app store. However, as far as the industry can tell none of these have been event apps. When the App Store cleanup announcement came out in June, it seemed that a hard and fast date would not be set. Recently, a leading event tech provider has started telling its customers that after December 29, Apple will begin deleting templated white label apps that do not pass inspection.

On our end, we cannot say with any certainty when these changes will fully take effect, but all indications point to these changes will be taking effect at some point.

“Will my event app be deleted from the App Store?” It’s hard to say. Some event tech vendors have proposed that most branded event apps are safe from being deleted for the foreseeable future. These same vendors also believe that templated white label event apps that do not pass Apple’s muster will be cut-off from updates moving forward. As mentioned above, one event tech vendor believes that Apple will start deleting templated white label apps that do not pass inspection as soon as December 2017.

“Will I still be able to create white label apps?” We believe that there still is the possibility of creating white label apps provided that they are built using unique source code that adheres to Apple’s guidelines. Whether or not these apps are approved through Apple’s App Store is another question. The best thing you can do is to speak to your vendor about their approach to these changes. Be wary of any contract verbiage that allows a vendor to avoid liability in the event that the app is not approved by Apple.

The Age of “There’s an App for That” Is Over

Before Apple made the 4.2.6 announcement, we at Bizzabo had every intention of pursuing a wide variety of white label options. After hearing how the press, the industry and Apple themselves have responded to the announcement, it has become clear that the most reliable option is to pursue the universal app model. This is after all the course that many other industries have gone.

It is now common for e-commerce companies to manage Amazon pages in addition to their own website. The same can be said of hotels and Hotels.com, restaurants and Yelp, and medical professionals and ZocDoc. In exchange for a degree of “white label” branding, these companies are gaining increased exposure and adoption through universal platforms. The same can be said for how Slack and LinkedIn are being used by companies.

When it comes to event marketing, branded universal apps hold much promise, especially when they are combined with an all-in-one event success platform. Their benefits include but are not limited to:

1. Better Attendee Adoption: Paying for an event app means nothing if people do not actually download it. Imagine having to download a new app for every conference that you go to and then uninstalling it once the conference has run its course. In addition to being a waste of time, it’s a waste of data. All of the contacts that an attendee creates in an event app at one conference are deleted with the rest of the app once the conference is over. A universal event provides an alternative. It designates one “conference app” for attendees to use for all of their conference needs and increases the chance that they will digitally engage with your event.

2. Cross-event Analytics for the Event Organizers: Event apps provide organizers with an unparalleled method of gathering data on their attendees. However, the biggest obstacle to event organizers is not being able to easily reconcile data from different events. With a branded universal event app, organizers can easily compare all of their event data through one easy-to-read program. Everything from most popular sessions to most popular attendees can be tracked and compared across your year-long event line-up.

3. Faster App Updates: With custom-made white label apps, event organizers are liable for fixing bugs and updating their applications. With templated white label apps, vendors often include updates as part of the contract. However, if 4.2.6 does pan out as anticipated, that is a moot point. Leaving branded universal apps as the quickest way to consistently keep your event app updated and bug-resistant.

4. Seamless Content Management Experience: Having to update event info across multiple platforms is a huge time sink. Say one of your speakers drops out. You have to update that in your event app, your event website your event emails.  You also need to update any other websites where you have posted that information. A universal app integrated with an all-in-one event solution eliminates that pain point and saves you time allowing you to update all of your relevant information from one screen.

5. Cost-effective While Still Remaining Branded: Branded universal apps give you the greatest return on your investment. Universal apps can be designed to provide attendees a branded experience from the sign-in screen. Custom-made white label apps are not only expensive to create they are expensive to maintain. Vendors often charge for support. Plus, once the benefits of having a universal app integrated with an all in one event success platform are added in, an event organizer’s return on investment skyrockets to even greater heights.

The Future of Event Technology?

There’s a chance that Apple may make an exception in its App Store Guidelines for event apps. There’s a chance that Apple may update their guidelines. To be honest, we wouldn’t mind that. However, the majority of evidence is pointing to a new age for event apps. This era is more integrated, streamlined and cost-effective. Apple may change their mind, but until they do we look forward to making the event app world more unified.

For more information about the future of branded event apps, check out the Event App Primer.

from Endless Events http://helloendless.com/branded-event-apps/

[junker-town]

11 things to know about the Texas vs. USC 2006 Rose Bowl, the greatest college football championship ever

A 2017 reunion between these two teams has everyone (except maybe USC fans) reminiscing on one of the biggest games of all time.

USC and Texas are playing football in 2017 (Sept. 16, 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox) for the first time since the last time. Because the last time was the 2006 Rose Bowl — which doubled as the national title game and was maybe the best ever played — this is an especially big deal.

Hopefully, Saturday’s game will be good. For a quick refresher course, here are some things about the night whose shadow it will be played in.

Just wanna watch the whole game? You can do that, too:

1. Even the losing QB calls it the best game ever.

“Every time the game gets brought up, I just think, ‘Man, what if?’” Matt Leinart, now a Fox analyst tells SB Nation in an article also including stories from winning head coach Mack Brown. “We were so close. We had the game won, and obviously they made the plays in the end, but you just felt like we kind of let the game slip away from us. Credit Texas. But that’s really what I think about. And then, as I’ve gotten older, I just think more about being a part of that game, just the history of it, and really thinking back and just thinking, ‘Wow.’ I think it’s the greatest game ever played in college football.”

It was significant even by national championship standards. USC had been the country’s wire-to-wire No. 1, and Texas had been the wire-to-wire No. 2.

In an SB Nation poll of fans earlier this year, the ‘06 Rose Bowl came in as the No. 2 most beloved game of the millennium, behind the ‘07 Fiesta Bowl.

2. It was the night Vince Young became a college legend.

His winning touchdown on a fourth-and-5 in the last minute:

Young’s line: 30-of-40 passing for 267 yards passing, plus 19 runs for 200 yards and three scores. He brought Texas back from a 38-26 deficit with 6:42 to play.

Young’s 467 total yards were a Rose Bowl record until the 2016 season’s game, when USC quarterback Sam Darnold got 473 in a similarly wild game.

3. It was the last broadcast call for a legend.

Keith Jackson rode into the sunset with one of his best calls ever, an understated pronouncement of Young’s touchdown. SB Nation interviewed his ABC crew mates that night:

“That was the tough part about the assignment, because here is the greatest college football — the voice of college football,” Dan Fouts said. “This was gonna be his last game. The thing about it was, it may have been his best game ever, too. He was all over it. He was perfect that night.”

Right before Young’s Longhorns lined up on that fourth down, Jackson said with a chuckle and a nod to his Bible Belt roots: “I kinda feel like Job. I’m too old for this.” When it was over, Young’s game wasn’t just good; the QB had “stepped beyond the pale.”

As a USC player knelt in the corner of the end zone and confetti rained, Jackson pointed out the “agony of defeat,” just like former colleague Jim McKay did in the famous opening to ABC’s Wide World of Sports, where Jackson had served as a reporter and announcer. Jackson’s last telecast ended with a bridge to the beginning.

4. It featured one big wrong call and one iffy call against USC.

Texas’ first touchdown came on a Young option pitch to Selvin Young, but the QB clearly had a knee down.

“Obviously, Vince’s knee was down, a hundred percent,” Leinart says. “We all know it. They know it. It doesn’t matter. It was a missed call. I’m sure we had some calls go in our favor. It is what it is. You can’t dwell on those plays.”

Earlier, a Reggie Bush attempted lateral became a fumble recovery for Texas.

Was Bush’s fumble really on a lateral, or was it a forward pass? The latter would’ve meant a penalty on USC, but the Trojans would’ve kept the ball. Bush released the ball here:

And the ball contacted a teammate here, probably without hitting anyone on Texas:

5. USC would’ve won if any number of plays had gone differently.

The obvious one is the Young touchdown in the final minute. Preceding that was a fourth-down stop by Texas on USC running back LenDale White:

If you’re a USC fan, you could torture yourself for weeks by doing nothing but hashing out all the things that could’ve been different. The play that bugs Leinart most is a fourth-down failure in the first quarter.

“That was a possession that we got no points on, and people kind of forget about that, but that was some play that always sticks out in my mind, that I just felt like I should’ve called time out,” Leinart says. “Even when I didn’t get it, I remember coming off the field just thinking, ‘God, we should’ve called time out.’ The coaches could’ve called time out, but I really felt like that was my job to do.”

6. Right before this game, Reggie Bush won the Heisman over Young and Leinart.

Bush later lost it in an NCAA sanctioning, but anyway. As Bill Connelly argues:

The Trojans owned college football in the calendar year of 2005. Depending on how you define the terms, USC was either a dynasty in the making or was already a dynasty. Pete Carroll signed the best recruiting classes and put star athletes in position to make star plays.

And there’s a perfectly valid case that the Trojans were the better team than Texas for the season as a whole. One of the hazards of football’s short season is that we have only a best-of-one series to decide our champion. Texas won the one game that counted (and yes, it counted), and good for the Horns. They were incredible, too.

But let’s not pretend USC wasn’t amazing or that Bush only won because he played for a glamorous program. Texas is kind of a marquee name in its own right.

Let’s put this all another way: Bush won the Heisman by 933 points, despite his own quarterback finishing third and potentially siphoning off some votes. This was a runaway victory, and it was warranted.

Bush totaled 2,218 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns. As a public service, here is a highlight video, which you will enjoy:

7. LenDale White, USC’s best RB that night over Bush, has had a hard post-playing career.

Against Texas, White racked up 124 yards on 20 carries and scored three times. He had a brief NFL career. His night ended when Texas stopped him on that critical fourth down that set up Young’s game-winning drive. In the week before 2017’s game, the Los Angeles Times published a devastating profile of White that touched on his injury history:

White estimates he sustained 20 to 30 concussions, about one every other game. But he can’t be sure. Only one was diagnosed, he says.

“You lose consciousness and then all of a sudden it’s like shoooo-ooooof,” White says, making a slurping noise, his eyes growing wide as he described the sensation. “Like, that’s how it sounds, like shhhhhhloooof, and then all of a sudden you hear the play again.” He’d wander around in a haze, Young directing him to the right spot until he regained his senses.

His head throbbed. His body ached. When his career began to slide, he slipped into a funk. Pain pills, he found, dulled the misery.

8. The NCAA later vacated USC’s record from that season. The Trojans are 0-0 that year, in the NCAA’s warped view of things.

The Trojans list themselves as having not lost the game to Texas. That’s not usually a thing, since the NCAA typically only vacates wins, but it somehow is, this time.

ESPN reported:

According to USC sports information director Tim Tessalone, the program was instructed in 2010 by Jim Wright, then the NCAA director of statistics, not to include participation in any games that year as part of its official records. That edict included the Rose Bowl.

"I have documentation in a letter sent in July 2010 to Wright noting all the changes he instructed us to make, including that losses had to be vacated," Tessalone said in an email. "The letter also states that he had reviewed all our revisions and approved them."

When asked to clarify how the NCAA officially views USC's record from 2005, Jeff Williams, the associate director of media coordination and statistics for the NCAA, provided a link to the organization's list of USC's season-by-season records. It lists the Trojans as 0-0 in 2005.

9. All these years later, the QBs are good friends.

ESPN reports on their relationship:

"I have never been as focused as I was that night," says Young, who was 22 years old then. Now 34, he can still recall every detail of his second-ranked Longhorns facing the top-ranked Trojans in the Rose Bowl. "But before the game when I saw Matt, I couldn't help but smile. We were both so focused, but even in that moment I was like, 'Wassup, Matt? You ready to play some ball, man?'"

And Leinart’s still close with Young, he told SB Nation:

We were just a lot of places together post-college and really got to be friends, and we’ve remained friends for the last 10, 12 years. We see each other every once in a while. We sat down a couple weeks ago and did a little feature for this game coming up this weekend. But any time I see him, man, it’s just like old buddies talking shop.

10. Dozens of players from the game went on to NFL careers.

Sports Illustrated counted out the top-50 pro careers from the game. The highest-profile players (Bush, Leinart, and Young) were all high picks, but other players in the game lived out better careers.

USC had 10 picks in the April NFL draft that followed the Rose Bowl, and Texas six. The ‘06 Rose Bowl’s NFL alums include USC linebackers Brian Cushing, Ray Maulauga, and Keith Rivers, and receiver Dwayne Jarrett. Texas produced running back Jamaal Charles, safeties Michael Huff and Michael Griffin, and tight end Jermichael Finley.

11. Here are some other really good things you can read about that game:

This definitive Texas oral history, from 247Sports.

Another oral history that brings in USC, from CBS Sports.

“The Night is Young’s,” the Sports Illustrated cover story afterward.

Visit SB Nation’s USC blog at Conquest Chronicles.

Visit SB Nation’s Texas blogs at Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival.

[bngnews]

McCain's return sets stage for big Senate health bill vote

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (BNG)(AP) — President Donald Trump urged Republicans to "step up to the plate" for Tuesday's crucial Senate vote on their bill eviscerating much of the Obama health care law. The stage was set for high drama, with Sen. John McCain returning to the Capitol to cast his first vote since being diagnosed with brain cancer.

No stranger to heroic episodes, the Navy pilot who persevered through five years of captivity during the Vietnam War announced through his office that he would be back in Washington for the critical roll call on beginning debate on the legislation. The 80-year-old has been at home in Arizona since he revealed last week that he's undergoing treatment for brain cancer, but a statement said he "looks forward" to returning for work on health care and other legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., scheduled the initial vote on beginning debate for Tuesday, though it remained unclear exactly which version of the legislation would be in play. The Republican leadership expects McCain to support taking up the measure, and his mere presence could make it harder for wavering Republicans to cast a vote against even considering the bill.

In one sign of progress, conservative Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he would support commencing debate. He said McConnell told him the Senate would debate Paul's proposal to scuttle much of Obama's law and give Congress two years to enact a replacement — an amendment that seemed certain to lose.

Democrats uniformly oppose the effort to tear down President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement. Republicans control the chamber 52-48, meaning they can afford to lose just two Republicans with McCain around and only one in his absence. Vice President Mike Pence would cast a tie-breaking vote.

Trump kept up the pressure on GOP lawmakers, tweeting that "After 7 years of talking, we will soon see whether or not Republicans are willing to step up to the plate!" He added: "ObamaCare is torturing the American People. The Democrats have fooled the people long enough. Repeal or Repeal & Replace! I have pen in hand."

McConnell's bill would abolish much of Obama's law, eliminating its tax penalties on people not buying policies, cutting Medicaid, eliminating its tax boosts on medical companies and providing less generous health care subsidies for consumers. But at least a dozen GOP senators have openly said they oppose or criticized the measure, which McConnell has revised as he's hunted Republican support.

While it had long seemed headed toward defeat, Republicans have begun showing glimmers of optimism. Senators and aides said talks were continuing that might win over enough Republicans to commence debate.

Besides allowing an early vote on Paul's repeal plan, moderates were seeking additional money for states that would be hurt by cuts in Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, the disabled and nursing home patients. Conservatives wanted a vote on a proposal by Ted Cruz, R-Texas, letting insurers offer bare-bones policies with low premiums, which would be illegal under Obama's law.

With leaders still struggling to line up enough votes to approve a wide-ranging overhaul of Obama's law, there was talk of trying to pass a narrow bill — details still unclear — so House-Senate bargainers could craft a compromise. That, too, was encountering problems.

"This idea that we're going to vote on something just to get in conference and then figure it out later is nuts," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters.

Should Tuesday's vote fail, it would be an unalloyed embarrassment for a party that finally gained control of the White House, Senate and House in January but still fell flat on its promise to uproot Obamacare. Republicans could try returning to the bill later this year if they somehow round up more support.

Should the initial motion win, that would prompt 20 hours of debate and countless amendments in a battle likely to last all week. And even then, the measure's ultimate fate still seemed iffy because of GOP divisions.

Obama's law was enacted in 2010 over unanimous Republican opposition. Since then, its expansion of Medicaid and creation of federal insurance marketplaces has produced 20 million fewer uninsured people. It's also provided protections that require insurers to provide robust coverage to all, cap consumers' annual and lifetime expenditures and ensure that people with serious medical conditions pay the same premiums as the healthy.

The law has been unpopular with GOP voters and the party has launched numerous attempts to dismantle the statute. All until this year were mere aspirations because Obama vetoed every major one that reached him.

Ever since 2010, Republicans have been largely united on scuttling the statute but divided over how to replace it.

Those divides sharpened with Trump willing to sign legislation and estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that several GOP bills would cause more than 20 million people to become uninsured by 2026. Polls showing growing popularity for Obama's law and abysmal approval ratings for the GOP effort haven't helped.

The House approved its health care bill in May after several setbacks. With the House planning to begin summer recess this weekend, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the chamber would return to "finish the job" by considering whatever the Senate might approve.

Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has remained opposed to beginning debate on any option McConnell has revealed so far.

___

Associated Press writers Erica Werner and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

[rollinbrigittenv8]

Marriott and Hilton’s New Cancellation Policies Won’t Impact Corporate Travel as Much as You Think

Marriott International recently implemented a new cancellation policy for its hotels in the Americas. Marriott International

Skift Take: Forty-eight hours isn't too bad, but things might be tougher for everyone, corporate and leisure travelers alike, if the policy stretches to 72 hours down the line.

— Deanna Ting

Despite initial concerns from the corporate travel community regarding Marriott’s new 48-hour cancellation policy, one corporate travel services provider says these new booking policies won’t hurt corporate travelers and their companies much.

TripBAM, a platform that tracks hotel rates and rebooks them at a lower rate for its corporate clients, mostly mid- to large-size companies, said the financial impact of these new cancellation policies from Marriott and, soon, Hilton, to companies isn’t nearly as bad as you may think.

TripBAM examined its more than 10 million annual hotel reservations within the last year and found that of those bookings, only 4.9 percent of travelers, on average, canceled or changed their hotel reservations within 48 hours of check-in. If each of those changes were to result in a cancellation penalty, TripBAM estimated the cost would be $179 per occurrence.

“If you have 100 bookings, approximately five corporate travelers will cancel within that new booking window,” TripBAM CEO Steve Reynolds explained. “It’s not that big a deal. It’s not going to impact you that much. But it’ll really impact you [companies] if you have a preferred relationship with those hotels. Before, the hotel used to give you day of check-in to cancel, and now they give you 48 hours.”

Reynolds’ analysis is a direct contrast to a recent poll conducted by the Business Travel Coalition, which asked 216 travel manager and travel management company executives from 12 different countries to weigh in on Marriott’s new cancellation policy, which charges a one room-night penalty for cancellations made within 48 hours of check-in. That poll found 59 percent of respondents saying they would likely book away Marriott properties, and 30 percent saying they would consider a travel policy change that restricts travelers from booking a Marriott property.

Why Hotels Are Doing This

This shift in cancellation policy simply makes good business sense for hotels.

Said Reynolds, “It’s a revenue stream. What they are trying to do is reduce some of the volatility round their occupancy. If I have people cancel last minute, that’s a lot of rooms I have to sell last minute. It gets really painful, and they want less volatility three to five days out as much as they can.”

He added that these 48-hour rates have existed long before these new policies went into effect and that the party most likely to be impacted by them will be leisure travelers, not corporate travelers.

Marriott announced its new policy, which impacts hotels in the Americas across all brands with the exception of Design Hotels and Marriott Vacations Worldwide, on June 15. A Marriott spokesperson issued the following statement regarding the change in policy, saying this is not only better for the hotels but for other guests seeking accommodation, as well.

“The revised policy allows us to make rooms available to guests that would have otherwise gone unoccupied due to a last-minute cancellation. While cancellation policies vary by hotel, hotels whose policy is to allow guests to cancel their room reservations on the day before arrival without incurring a fee are faced with a significant number of unsold rooms due to last minute cancellations. Guests will now be required to cancel their room reservation by midnight 48 hours prior to arrival in order to avoid a fee. This will allow hotels a better chance to make the rooms available to guests seeking last-minute accommodations.”

Fifty-three percent of respondents from the Business Travel Coalition survey also said they anticipate other companies will follow suit, and they’re not wrong: Hilton will soon implement its own version of this cancellation policy by the end of this month for its hotels in the U.S. and Canada.

A Hilton spokesperson issued the following statement to Skift regarding the change in policy: “Right now, there are no changes for our guests, but we have proposed an update to our policy guidance for U.S. and Canada hotels that will begin on July 31st. We have proposed updating the default house cancellation policy to 48-hours (72-hours in select locations only) for our managed properties and have suggested the same for franchised hotels. The decision to participate will be made at the property level for all franchise hotels.”

“What are the reasons behind the update? Our goal is to provide exceptional experiences: every hotel, every guest, every time. We regularly review guest booking and cancellation patterns across our 5,000+ properties, and have seen cancellation rates rise the last few years. These insights have led to the proposed update, which will allow us to maximize the number of available rooms for guests seeking accommodation. Business travelers, leisure travelers, and hotel owners will all benefit from access to rooms that would previously have gone unused.”

Reynolds, for one, thinks the cancellation window will stretch to 72 hours within the next two-and-a-half-years. “It went to 24 hours five years ago,” he explained. “Five years later now it’s 48. In two and a half years, it’ll be 72 if they can. I don’t blame them. If I had to fill up a hotel, I’d need to fill it up as soon as possible, and I would do the same.”

What Companies Can Do

Reynolds had the following advice for companies concerned by this new cancellation policy at Marriott and Hilton.

“If you have a contract with a hotel where you promise so many room nights and they give you a discounted rate in return, you need to make sure you pay attention to the cancellation policy, especially if you think your travelers are likely to cancel within 48 hours of checking in,” he said.

Reynolds advised asking for more lenient cancellation policies in negotiated rates, encouraging corporate travelers to use preferred hotels, and contacting hotels to obtain waivers whenever possible.

[touristguidebuzz]

Marriott and Hilton’s New Cancellation Policies Won’t Impact Corporate Travel as Much as You Think

Marriott International recently implemented a new cancellation policy for its hotels in the Americas. Marriott International

Skift Take: Forty-eight hours isn't too bad, but things might be tougher for everyone, corporate and leisure travelers alike, if the policy stretches to 72 hours down the line.

— Deanna Ting

Despite initial concerns from the corporate travel community regarding Marriott’s new 48-hour cancellation policy, one corporate travel services provider says these new booking policies won’t hurt corporate travelers and their companies much.

TripBAM, a platform that tracks hotel rates and rebooks them at a lower rate for its corporate clients, mostly mid- to large-size companies, said the financial impact of these new cancellation policies from Marriott and, soon, Hilton, to companies isn’t nearly as bad as you may think.

TripBAM examined its more than 10 million annual hotel reservations within the last year and found that of those bookings, only 4.9 percent of travelers, on average, canceled or changed their hotel reservations within 48 hours of check-in. If each of those changes were to result in a cancellation penalty, TripBAM estimated the cost would be $179 per occurrence.

“If you have 100 bookings, approximately five corporate travelers will cancel within that new booking window,” TripBAM CEO Steve Reynolds explained. “It’s not that big a deal. It’s not going to impact you that much. But it’ll really impact you [companies] if you have a preferred relationship with those hotels. Before, the hotel used to give you day of check-in to cancel, and now they give you 48 hours.”

Reynolds’ analysis is a direct contrast to a recent poll conducted by the Business Travel Coalition, which asked 216 travel manager and travel management company executives from 12 different countries to weigh in on Marriott’s new cancellation policy, which charges a one room-night penalty for cancellations made within 48 hours of check-in. That poll found 59 percent of respondents saying they would likely book away Marriott properties, and 30 percent saying they would consider a travel policy change that restricts travelers from booking a Marriott property.

Why Hotels Are Doing This

This shift in cancellation policy simply makes good business sense for hotels.

Said Reynolds, “It’s a revenue stream. What they are trying to do is reduce some of the volatility round their occupancy. If I have people cancel last minute, that’s a lot of rooms I have to sell last minute. It gets really painful, and they want less volatility three to five days out as much as they can.”

He added that these 48-hour rates have existed long before these new policies went into effect and that the party most likely to be impacted by them will be leisure travelers, not corporate travelers.

Marriott announced its new policy, which impacts hotels in the Americas across all brands with the exception of Design Hotels and Marriott Vacations Worldwide, on June 15. A Marriott spokesperson issued the following statement regarding the change in policy, saying this is not only better for the hotels but for other guests seeking accommodation, as well.

“The revised policy allows us to make rooms available to guests that would have otherwise gone unoccupied due to a last-minute cancellation. While cancellation policies vary by hotel, hotels whose policy is to allow guests to cancel their room reservations on the day before arrival without incurring a fee are faced with a significant number of unsold rooms due to last minute cancellations. Guests will now be required to cancel their room reservation by midnight 48 hours prior to arrival in order to avoid a fee. This will allow hotels a better chance to make the rooms available to guests seeking last-minute accommodations.”

Fifty-three percent of respondents from the Business Travel Coalition survey also said they anticipate other companies will follow suit, and they’re not wrong: Hilton will soon implement its own version of this cancellation policy by the end of this month for its hotels in the U.S. and Canada.

A Hilton spokesperson issued the following statement to Skift regarding the change in policy: “Right now, there are no changes for our guests, but we have proposed an update to our policy guidance for U.S. and Canada hotels that will begin on July 31st. We have proposed updating the default house cancellation policy to 48-hours (72-hours in select locations only) for our managed properties and have suggested the same for franchised hotels. The decision to participate will be made at the property level for all franchise hotels.”

“What are the reasons behind the update? Our goal is to provide exceptional experiences: every hotel, every guest, every time. We regularly review guest booking and cancellation patterns across our 5,000+ properties, and have seen cancellation rates rise the last few years. These insights have led to the proposed update, which will allow us to maximize the number of available rooms for guests seeking accommodation. Business travelers, leisure travelers, and hotel owners will all benefit from access to rooms that would previously have gone unused.”

Reynolds, for one, thinks the cancellation window will stretch to 72 hours within the next two-and-a-half-years. “It went to 24 hours five years ago,” he explained. “Five years later now it’s 48. In two and a half years, it’ll be 72 if they can. I don’t blame them. If I had to fill up a hotel, I’d need to fill it up as soon as possible, and I would do the same.”

What Companies Can Do

Reynolds had the following advice for companies concerned by this new cancellation policy at Marriott and Hilton.

“If you have a contract with a hotel where you promise so many room nights and they give you a discounted rate in return, you need to make sure you pay attention to the cancellation policy, especially if you think your travelers are likely to cancel within 48 hours of checking in,” he said.

Reynolds advised asking for more lenient cancellation policies in negotiated rates, encouraging corporate travelers to use preferred hotels, and contacting hotels to obtain waivers whenever possible.