Mulled Marc

Didn’t NBC already get their hand slapped once for….helping along…news stories?

Here’s a story that NBC is hiring Muslim men, who actually “look Muslim”, to create a news story about discrimination. With a completely open mind I’m sure, NBC is targeting NASCAR races along with other sporting events. According to reports they plan send these actors to various events and record the inevitable racism that ensues. Again, I’m sure that NBC has made no judgements about the NASCAR fans, because the irony of that would just be too incredible.

From the AP story

The NBC crew was “apparently on site in Martinsville, Va., walked around and no one bothered them,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Wednesday.

According to a follow-up e-mail NBC will try again this weekend at the race in Texas. Some have theorized that NBC is hoping that the large, sometimes rowdy, infield area will be easier to instigate.
Michelle Malkin 1
Michelle Malkin 2
Michael Barone
AP Story on Yahoo

The US Senate today voted to raise the US Debt Ceiling so we’re free to continue borrowing like children. I realize that as a percent of GDP, and per capita, etc, etc, etc it’s not that bad, but shouldn’t we stop somewhere? At this rate we’re going to have to wrap text just to fit it on a page. Whether you’re a democrat or a republican, I think it’s time we force the government to control spending.

The best quote that I’ve heard lately was in regards to the “earmarking” reform that seems to have lost traction in Congress. While speaking to NPR an analyst commented that since President Bush doesn’t seem willing to veto spending bills to control Congress, that our government has no “adult supervision”.

It’s easy to blame the republicans or the democrats, or say that the President should do more, or Congress should control themselves but, in the end, isn’t it our job to supervise the government? While that bridge in your state may be a cool idea, or getting a butterfly garden for your town might help local tax revenue, maybe we should stop thinking of the federal government as our rich uncle who can fund anything.

• What happened to the time when a local town was responsible for funding the local school?
• Why must the government be involved in the new zoo you want to build?
• Why can’t we give our money to local churches and charities to help those down on their luck?

While it may be easier to just give our money to Uncle Sam and let him figure out who needs help, if we would take just a little responsibility for ourselves we could get much more for our money and maybe actually get something done.

Reuters.com
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Debt
brillig.com U.S. National Dept Clock

“Why are you such a bunch of big girls?” asked Birch. “Why don’t you tell the content owners to just get stuffed?” He continued unabated: “You’re too seduced by the content industry, Hollywood is not even a $10 billion industry. Hollywood is small compared to the telecom industry. Why don’t you take a stronger line? Consumers don’t want DRM at all. You can’t sell DRM.”

I think that speaks for itself.
via Ars Technica

The exchange quickly escalated after Mr. McClellan told Mr. Gregory, “The cameras aren’t on right now” and “you can do this later.” Mr. Gregory retorted, “Don’t be a jerk to me personally.” Mr. McClellan then said, “Calm down, David,” and Mr. Gregory shot back, “I’ll calm down when I feel like calming down.”

The New York Times has a story about the media coverage surrounding Vice President Cheney’s hunting accident that includes the quoted exchange. Currently in the world we have multiple wars, millions dying from disease, protests that the media is too scared to cover, concerns about nuclear proliferation, terrorism, etc. and the US media is obsessed with the fact that THEY didn’t get a call earlier about a hunting accident. I don’t care if you support the president or not, there’s got to be more important stories than the press getting their feelings hurt.

Maybe someone should tell the press to quit being jerks.

Update (2006/02/15 14:45):
CNN offers a defense of why this should be a story.
Tony Blankley offers his opinion of why it’s not and why the media thinks it is.

Replublican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma announced today that they plan to make the practice of earmarking more difficult, and more public. Earmarks, pet budget items designed to ingratiate voters to their representatives, were estimated by Citizens Against Government Waste to cost $27.3 billion last year.

McCain also plans to introduct a reform bill that would require disclosure of any gifts worth more than $20 and any travel provided to members of congress. Members would also be required to pay fair market value for flights on private planes.

Now here comes the rant part of this post. Can someone explain to me why the federal government ever gives money to states or local governments? The federal government is supposed to protect us, protect trade, etc. If they have the money to give send back down the chain, they probably are taking too much of our money.

Here’s my theory of taxation: Collect money at the state level and let them buy services from the federal government. The federal government should have a national sales tax set at a level that allows the running of the military, border control, federal court system, etc. Social Security could still exist, but states would have the option of buying into the system (passing up taxes that they collected), running their own system, or hiring a private company to run the program. The federal government can run just as many programs as it does today if it can convince states that it can do it better.

All of this is, of course, is a by-product of the Abramoff scandal. This scandal along with the rumored Barrett Report illustrate how we have given too much power to the federal government and the “statesmen” running it. If you’re not familiar with the Barret Report see this column from Robert Novak. No matter what your political viewpoint, the idea that YOUR government can investigate itself and then hide the result from you should send a shudder down your spine.

via CNN and The Washington Post

The Times Online is running a story that the Vatican is charging 3-5 per cent for any publication that wishes to quote the Pope. If publishers do not get permission and negotiate a fee up front they will have to pay 15 per cent.

“The Union of Italian Catholic Publishers and Booksellers said that it had not been consulted, and that the edict “flies in the face of what we do — spreading the Pope’s message to the world”.”

I was under the mistaken impression that they were supposed to spread the message of God. I suppose if the Pope never claims divine inspiration then I see nothing wrong with his charging for “his message”.
via Boing Boing