Wednesday’s Mini-Report

October 18, 2006

Today’s edition of quick hits.

* Keith Olbermann did a good piece on habeas corpus on Countdown last night; it’s worth watching. As long as we’re on the topic, I’d add that rumor has it that Olbermann will tackle the subject in more detail tonight. Get your Tivos ready.

* In Maryland, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, received sought-after endorsements yesterday from a convicted murderer and a convicted rapist on the same day. Steele thought this was a good thing.

* I really like it when reporters do solid fact-checking pieces like this one at mainstream news outlets. I wish they were far more common.

* If there’s a reasonable defense for denying former Rep. Gerry Studds’ (D) widow death benefits, I can’t think of it.

* Why did CNN devote 50 times as much coverage to Harry Reid’s land deal as Dennis Hastert’s?

* As if the existing controversy wasn’t enough, there are apparently rumors about a third page scandal, this one involving a 16-year-old girl.

* The New Democratic Network has a good idea about urging Condoleezza Rice to come clean about her July 2001 meeting about counter-terrorism warnings.

* It certainly sounded as if White House Press Secretary Tony Snow suggested that the CIA’s “secret prisons” could be back in business.

* Via TP, a University of Wisconsin study of TV coverage found that Midwest broadcasters “allocated an average of less than 30 seconds per 30-minute news broadcast to election coverage” compared to “two minutes for crime stories, seven minutes for sports and weather, and 10 minutes for advertising.”

* Poor Tony Blankley has been watching the election season unfold — and he’s starting to crack.

* And in Ohio, where Republicans are starting to feel a little desperate, the RNC has launched a new attack ad, accusing Sherrod Brown of not having paid his unemployment taxes for the last 13 years. Unfortunately for the RNC, the ad is completely wrong. There’s proof.

If none of these particular items are of interest, consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

“Why did CNN devote 50 times as much coverage to Harry Reid’s land deal as Dennis Hastert’s?”

Simple. Just find out who signs their paychecks. Like the movie said, “Follow the money!”

  • Don King said of M. Steele: “He cares about Jesus.”
    Don King thinks: The rest of you can get stuffed.

    Michael “Puppy Love” Steele could do with a whack on the noggin from one of King’s clients. Don King? You must be joking. The man is flashier and trashier than a truckload of Evangelical ministers. Is that what Mr. Steele wants Marylanders to think of when they go to the polls? Vote for me. This jive talking turkey who wouldn’t let you touch his Bentley supports me! Gaaaag. Of course, if there’s as much election day assery in Baltimore’s low-income areas this year as there was last election it may not matter.

    And Mike “Andy Kaufman” Tyson? Jesus Christ on a rubber crutch! My flesh crawls. If I were making a serious bid for elected office I’d shoot him for wearing one of my campaign t-shirts.

    On the other hand, if he’s trying to mobilize Maryland Democrats to crawl from their graves to the polls if they have to…we didn’t really need more incentives, Mr. Steele but thanks for the extra jolt!

  • Of course the prisons are in business. When did anyone in power suggest otherwise? When I checked, Dubya mentioned a specific number of transfers from the prisons to Guantanamo- and I read through the entire damn presentation at the time (courtesy of the NYT)- and not anywhere in his speech did he say that that accounted for all of the prisoners held by the CIA.

    The Republif*&ks will surely continue this program until the Nazis are no longer in power in America (whoops, sorry for insulting the Nazis there.)

  • “Why did CNN devote 50 times as much coverage to Harry Reid’s land deal as Dennis Hastert’s?”

    Very simple, and it can even be viewed as strictly a journalistic decision: Republican scandals aren’t news anymore. It’s like murders in NYC used to be — a little blurb on page 9 because it happens so often.

  • Did anyone notice that the WH is up to their old tricksissuing terror warnings this time for 7 NFL games this weekend. What will it be next a NASCAR race maybe the subway system. I hope that the american people can see through these tactics this time and not vote out of fear. I expect everyday there will be a new alert from now until election day.

  • Midwest broadcasters “allocated an average of less than 30 seconds per 30-minute news broadcast to election coverage”

    As Curmudgeon says “Follow the money” – why bother giving candidates and issues free air time if a TV station can make them BUY it instead??

  • “If there’s a reasonable defense for denying former Rep. Gerry Studds’ (D) widow death benefits, I can’t think of it.”

    Please, “widower”, not “widow”.

  • * If there’s a reasonable defense for denying former Rep. Gerry Studds’ (D) widow death benefits, I can’t think of it. — CB

    I think it’s something to do with the *federal* law against gay marriage. Something I read somewhere (sorry, my memory stinks) suggests that there’s a law in place very much like the VA (state) law: marriage between two people of the same sex will not be recognized, even if it is legal in another state.

    Having grown up in an –officially — non-religious country (communist Poland), I’ve always been bewildered by the fact that a church marriage — however whacky and marginal the church — seems to be accepted, accross the country, no matter what, but a civil ceremony needs to be vetted to hell and gone. With us, it was the other way ’round… you had to have a civil ceremony first and, if you wanted a church one, it came after. And you had to bring the paper from the magistrate with you, or your marriage would be invalid to all intents and purposes (divorce, child support, survivor benefits etc).

    Truth to tell, I’ve been maried for 33 yrs (in US, church only) and have always wandered about it even though, had we had only a civil ceremony, I’d have been perfectly fine with it. Go figure :^)

  • If it were not for the Internet, and a few brave sorts like Keith Olberman and Lou Dobbs, TV news would have us all believe we live in Disneyland, everything is wonderful. Winning the war on terror requires the destruction of our civil rights. Since we are all good citizens, we don’t have to worry, only the dissenters (all of us with an IQ over 99) will suffer.
    Fortunately, we do have the Internet, and I think people are getting angry enough to vote the bums out. If they use electronic voting machines, they may as well stay home.

    I am afraid the bastards will accelerate the war, expand it into North Korea and/or Iran. The Eisenhower carrier is on the way to the Persian Gulf and will meet the other war ships already assembling there. It is supposed to arrive around October 21-22. These people will do anything to keep power.
    I remember Ashcroft saying in July of 2004 the elections may have to be postponed in event of a terrorist attack. 63 congresspeople applied to the UN for election oversight, for the first time in US history. Ashcroft shut up, they rigged the machines instead.

    On the suspension of habeus corpus and the law over-riding the supreme court’s rule against military tribune, the media (except Keith Olberman and Lou Dobbs) is silent. It speaks instead of potential terror attacks at ballgames and the like.
    Napoleon said the old regeme of France could have kept the throne if they had the sense to buy the press. Seems the GOP has figured that out. Unless something happens to shift power November 7th, we are done as a country.

  • ”CNN – The most pathetic name in news.” Don’t remember who coined the phrase but, they were right.

  • A conservative would have to be just that stupid to stay home on Nov. 7. I have heard it put around that the Republicans need a couple of years in the wilderness to regain their conservative bearings.

    While turning over the Congress to the Pelosi/Kennedy mob for even two years would be recklessly irresponsible — particularly during a dangerous war– there is no assurance the wilderness years would last only 24 months. – Tony Blankley

    It’s so HoJoe-esque. We’re in power. We won’t like being out of power. Don’t turn into a complete s**teating assholes and ignore us or vote us out of power.

  • “If it were not for the Internet, and a few brave sorts like Keith Olberman and Lou Dobbs, TV news would have us all believe we live in Disneyland, everything is wonderful.”

    Well that’s just it… isn’t it?

    I’ve said it before, and it warrants saying again:
    Net Neutrality is EVERYTHING.

    The reason why CNN would spend 50X more time covering a fake Reid scandal rather than a genuine Hastert crime is because there are 50X more Republicans on CNN’s corporate board.

    No corporate board controls the net…
    That’s goddamn outrageous!
    In a world totally controlled by coporations… they don’t really control the net.

    Suggestion: do some research.
    Check out the current CEO of ATT who is all about subverting Net Neutrality…

    Wanna bet he is a repug?
    Wanna bet he wants to control what you click on?
    Wanna bet he wants to control what you read?
    Wanna bet he grew up blowing up frogs in Texas like your President?

    Next to putting a bullet in Olberman or Stewart the Republicans want nothing more than to put a corporate moat around the net.

    And that’s because:

    All the freedom that exists in this world now exists totally on the net. All the information that sets you free… exists solely on the net.

    Repugs hate that.
    They want to kill it.
    I guarantee it…

  • “two minutes for crime stories, seven minutes for sports and weather, and 10 minutes for advertising.”

    Actually, here in Nebraska it’s 10 minutes of Nebraska football, 2 minutes of fan reaction to Nebraska football, 6 minutes of weather (with, of course, weather for Saturday’s football game), 10 minutes of commercials (with all local commercials having a football theme), and finally 2 minutes for all the other news.

    Go Big Red

  • Let’s see, which decade are we in? Can you imagine a story like this coming out in the 70s?

    Students Allegedly Share Pot Brownie

    October 18,2006 | MANLIUS, N.Y. — Two Syracuse-area high school students face drug charges after one of them shared a marijuana-laced brownie with a teacher’s aide.

    A student brought the brownie to Fayetteville-Manlius High School Friday and shared some with the aide, who went to a hospital for treatment after she learned the brownie contained pot, Principal James Chupaila said.

    Corrine Prigle, 17, was charged with felony assault as well as misdemeanor drug charges, said Manlius Police Captain Jason Cassalia. Zebediah Gallagher, 16, also faces a felony count of criminal sale of marijuana for selling Prigl the brownies. Both are high school juniors.

    Who goes to a hospital because they’ve eaten a pot brownie? Felony assault? Felony sale for a couple brownies? If you’d have told me in the 70s that I’d be reading this sort of thing today, I’d have laughed in your face. I’m not laughing now.

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