Facts The Media Omits About The Health Care Reform Law

Here are just a couple of things you’ll see and hear very little about in the mainstream media about President Obama’s health care reform law:

On the ruling yesterday that PART of the health care reform bill is unconstitutional:

Henry E. Hudson, the federal judge in Virginia who just ruled health care reform unconstitutional, owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in a GOP political consulting firm that worked against health care reform.

Most of the reports I’ve read and heard on this are neglecting to mention Judge Henry E. Hudson’s ties to the GOP.

Then there’s this, which surprisingly many people are still unaware of:

Clients lobbying on H.R.3200

Just an FYI for those who actually believe that lawmakers have only the best interests of their constituents at heart.

As hard as it is to believe, there are those who actually do.

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News On The Street Illegal in St. Petersburg, FL?

Last week, the city of St. Petersburg, Florida sought to deal with the problem of increased panhandling on city streets, so the City Council unanimously approved banning all street solicitation. No more “begging” on street corners. That doesn’t sound so unusual, does it?

However, the City’s ban covers much more than just begging and “Will Work For Food” signs:

The ban prohibits any transaction between pedestrians and motorists on major city streets. That means it also would restrict activities such as fundraising by the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the selling of newspapers by street vendors.

That’s right. It will now be illegal for a vendor to sell a newspaper on the street. Because the ban covers such transactions on the street, the City Council cites it as “improving public safety.”

In other words, say you’re sitting in your car at a stop light, and a newspaper vendor is holding up a newspaper hoping you’ll buy one. That, they claim, is a matter of public safety.

Now, say you’re sitting in your car at a stop light, and a person holding up a sign that says “Vote _____ For Mayor!” is standing in the vacant spot previously occupied by that now banned newspaper vendor? Is that also a matter of public safety? According to the St. Petersburg City Council, not so much!

In St. Petersburg Florida, a campaign sign is one thing, but INFORMATION ABOUT A CANDIDATE IS DANGEROUS. BEWARE! Not to mention informed choices.

Word on the street is, (unless they’ve banned street corner opinion whispering too) not only is this a benefit to public safety, it’s also a benefit to St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, who not only supported the ban, but is discouraging the St. Petersburg Times in their federal lawsuit against the city.

Informed choices are things to be discouraged. I suppose that makes sense coming from Foster, who said this in 2008:

“Evolution gives our kids an excuse to believe in natural selection and survival of the fittest, which leads to a belief that they are superior over the weak,” Bill Foster wrote board members in a letter received this week. “This is a slippery slope.”

He continued: “One of the Columbine shooters wrote on his Web site, ‘You know what I love? Natural selection! It’s the best thing that ever happened to the Earth. Getting rid of all the stupid and weak organisms.’”

Foster’s letter comes in the midst of an increasingly emotional tug-of-war over the state’s proposed new science standards, which embrace Charles Darwin’s theory as the fundamental pillar of modern biology. The current standards, written in 1996, do not mention the word “evolution.”

That’s right. Darwin = Hitler. An opinion he shared with another foe of facts, former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Indicted). He too drew a line between Darwin and Columbine. That didn’t work so well for DeLay. He, of course was later ousted and was last seen  prancing around in a red and white sequined GOP leotard on “Dancing With The Stars.” Another ugly public ousting.

Yes, for politicians like Bill Foster and Tom DeLay, information and informed choices can be dangerous. What’s next? Re-writing school textbooks?

Oh, wait….

As Stephen Colbert might say, “You know who ELSE didn’t want newspapers sold by street vendors? Hitler!”

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Farewell Indeed….

This headline from a newspaper this morning speaks volumes, doesn’t it? Granted, it was a reference to Charlie Crist and his party tap-dance yesterday and probably not intended to apply to the entire Grand Obstructionist Party, but still….

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Another Sad Day For Journalism And Newspapers

Today Nielsen Business Media announced that it will fold Editor & Publisher. It will be missed.

Of course, it doesn’t exactly help the newspaper industry when you have a newspaper publish a Facebook note and call it an “Op-Ed.”

Just sayin.’

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Everyone’s A Critic*

*Or wants to be.

An alternative newspaper in Denver has something that very few newspapers have these days.

A job opening.

So it’s not exactly shocking to hear that there are plenty of applicants. The newspaper, Westword, has heard from well over 100 so far. What’s unusual is the position:

Marijuana critic.

The paper is seeking a writer for its weekly review of local medical marijuana dispensaries. The writer of Westword’s Mile Highs and Lows must have a medical reason allowing them to enter the clinics and use the drug, and any purchases made are on the reporter.

The job posting states:

“Compensation will be meager – and no, we can’t expense your purchases, although that would be pretty cool. After all, we can’t have our reviewer stoned all the time.”

I suppose that could interfere with a Pulitzer.

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“Today Show” Hires Bush Daughter?

The “Today Show” has hired Jenna Bush Hager as their newest correspondent. Really? I suppose this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. After all, the big networks have a history of giving high profile jobs based on nepotism to people with no experience. I don’t know about you, but I feel this is offensive on a number of levels. It’s bad enough that “anchors” and “reporters” on these so called “news” programs these days feel it’s their role to tell us, the audience, how we feel about the news. I remember when their job was to be objective and just tell us what the news was. Now how we feel about the news of the day seems to depend largely on the corporate interest or politics of the particular network we’re watching, or the personal opinion of the person reporting on the news at that moment. Of course, not every single news outlet or reporter does this; there are still a few left out there who have integrity. But this is pretty much how the television news media operates as a whole, in my opinion.

That being said, according to the Associated Press article posted on the Today Show website announcing Jenna’s new job: “Today has hired someone with “White House experience.” I suppose by that reasoning they could have hired Barney. After all, former White House dog Millie did dictate and publish a Memoir in 1990.

The article also states that Mrs. Hager hopes “…to focus on what I’m passionate about because I think I’d do the best job on them – education, urban education, women and children’s issues and literacy.” That’s admirable, but if she truly feels that she would do a better job focusing on those issues, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to her students and herself to stick to her job as a teacher, rather than splitting the job with one as a “Today Show” corespondent? If she is focusing on a career in television as well, I would imagine there are a lot of unemployed teachers out there who really need her job and would truly appreciate having it. Education isn’t the only industry that’s suffering in this economy. You may have heard that the news industry has taken a big hit as well. There are a lot of reporters out there who are looking for a job too. Some who have integrity and objectivity, who know how to report the news without any bias whatsoever. If only there were a network who was hiring……………

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