Thursday News Stuff

I don’t have a problem with journalists donating to political candidates, discussed in this article; I generally adopt the philosophy of David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, which he states here…

"Our writers are citizens, and they're free to do what they want to do," said (Remnick), who has 10 political donors at his magazine. "If what they write is fair, and they respond to editing and counter-arguments with an open mind, that to me is the way we work."

The linked story notes that, of the reporters surveyed, 125 journalists donated to Democratic and so-called liberal causes, with 17 donating to Republicans and two donating to both parties.

I have to wonder, though, how much Liz Peek of the New York Sun is worth if she was able to fork over $90K to the Repugs. And I also wonder what the Philadelphia Inquirer’s policy is concerning donations to candidates (not being a smart aleck, just curious).

I read this story about Illinois governor Rod “Flyboy” Blagojevich and his frequent travels between the state capital of Springfield and his home in Chicago and wondered two things: 1) why he didn’t decide to set up a place near the state house, or short of that, 2) why he didn’t pursue a mass transit alternative.

Now I don’t know anything about Illinois politics (though it is surprising that, apparently, state government meets for only three days a week, something that would have me steamed if I was a taxpayer), but I reluctantly have to agree with Repug State Sen. Chris Lauzen when he says that Blagojevich’s travels, amounting to $76,000 thus far out off the “public dime,” are “an enormous waste.”

On the other hand, Patrick Murphy, for example, rented an apartment in the D.C. area because he knew it wouldn’t be feasible to commute everyday via Amtrak or some other means from his workplace to his home in PA. Why Blagojevich thinks he should be an exception is something I cannot comprehend.

Oh, and remember this photo of Dubya and Vlad Putin acting like pals during the recent G8 summit? Well, Russian General Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of his country’s general staff, says that Bushco has already made up its mind to turn down a Russian offer to share a radar station in Azerbaijan, according to this story.

I should point out, though, that Dubya and Putin are supposed to meet for a vacation in Kennebunkport at the beginning of next month, as noted here, so we can look forward to more smiling faces and “no-news news” before more crises arise between our two countries.

And by the way, here are more good ideas from John Edwards (and more predictable lowlife garbage from Repug bottom-feeder Dan Ronayne, who, apparently, is just as big a weaasel now as he was here in support of Little Ricky).

Finally, the document that Dubya mocks each day with his very existence in the Oval Office (namely, the United States Constitution) was ratified 219 years ago today.