Sunday, February 28, 2010
"All Politics are Local"
There are a number of Dummocrats who have thrown their hats into the race for St. Joseph Cty., IN, Sheriff, including:
and
John Botich .
St. Joseph County and the cities of South Bend and Mishawaka have ordinances limiting political signage. They may go up at the most 45 days before an election, and must come down within a week after the election. Both of these guys have had ubiquitous signs of varying size (some 4'x8' or larger) up in the county for anywhere from a few weeks to several months, well in advance of the May primaries. The county has apparently issued a statement that, due to 1st Amendment concerns, they will not enforce the laws (try to bend them if you're a Republican). Yet, the laws are still in place; with no indication of forthcoming repeal by the County Council.
So, here are two guys who wish to be at the top of the law enforcement heap in this county, violating existing law. The irony of their lack of ethics seems to be lost on them.
A related issue is Jack Jordan, running for the (R) slot in the U.S. Congressional race. He is apparently pouring vast sums of personal cash into a primary race against Jackie Walorski, who is the very embodiment of what a Citizen-Legislator should be (my old friend Tony Zirkle is also in the race). To that end, Jacko has put up actual billboards throughout the 2nd District, some I know to be in violation of local ordinance. Way to go, Jack. Thanks for helping out the cause.
Jack, BTW, came out of the box attacking Ms. Walorski as a "politician" and touting himself as a "citizen candidate"; somehow missing the blindingly obvious fact that once you enter a political race, you are a politician, baby.
Jack's ads continue to be at a saturation level, annoyingly negative about someone I personally know to be a fine citizen and an exemplary Representative, and utterly devoid of issues and platform. Yee-hah.
Cross-posted here: http://www.grouchyconservativepundits.com/index.php?topic=11712.msg96139#msg96139
Mike Miller for Sheriff: A Change Can Make A Difference. (no web site I can find)
John Botich .
St. Joseph County and the cities of South Bend and Mishawaka have ordinances limiting political signage. They may go up at the most 45 days before an election, and must come down within a week after the election. Both of these guys have had ubiquitous signs of varying size (some 4'x8' or larger) up in the county for anywhere from a few weeks to several months, well in advance of the May primaries. The county has apparently issued a statement that, due to 1st Amendment concerns, they will not enforce the laws (try to bend them if you're a Republican). Yet, the laws are still in place; with no indication of forthcoming repeal by the County Council.
So, here are two guys who wish to be at the top of the law enforcement heap in this county, violating existing law. The irony of their lack of ethics seems to be lost on them.
A related issue is Jack Jordan, running for the (R) slot in the U.S. Congressional race. He is apparently pouring vast sums of personal cash into a primary race against Jackie Walorski, who is the very embodiment of what a Citizen-Legislator should be (my old friend Tony Zirkle is also in the race). To that end, Jacko has put up actual billboards throughout the 2nd District, some I know to be in violation of local ordinance. Way to go, Jack. Thanks for helping out the cause.
Jack, BTW, came out of the box attacking Ms. Walorski as a "politician" and touting himself as a "citizen candidate"; somehow missing the blindingly obvious fact that once you enter a political race, you are a politician, baby.
Jack's ads continue to be at a saturation level, annoyingly negative about someone I personally know to be a fine citizen and an exemplary Representative, and utterly devoid of issues and platform. Yee-hah.
Cross-posted here: http://www.grouchyconservativepundits.com/index.php?topic=11712.msg96139#msg96139
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Bias of "Un-biased" Reporting.
This morning, CBS' Sunday Morning show had a feature about "Everyone in the World Has a Story". A U.S. astronaut aboard the ISS spun an inflatable globe, stuck his finger on it at a random point, and the CBS reporter went there. Once at the city or town nearest the point, the reporter then selected someone at random from a phone directory, visited them, and reported a brief synopsis of their life. India, Latvia, and Oman. The reporter's conclusion: people around the world are very much alike, and very much like us (Americans).
That basic premise may have a little bit of substance. The CBS report, however, had a few glaring glitches:
All three interviewees lived in built-up areas. No countrified peasants that are hard to find.
All three interviewees had telephones. I daresay there are a great many people who don't.
All three interviewees were successful by the standards of their lands (goes back to having a phone).
The Indian man lived in a single home with his multi-generational extended family; with all the workers in the family pooling their earnings in one pot. I believe you'd be hard-pressed to find many American families living like that in the past 30 years.
In the Omani home, the only female seen on camera was child under the age of 5. Try that in an American home, or a European one, for that matter.
In sum: reportage is somewhat like statistics- pretty easy to skew toward your pre-conceived notions.
That basic premise may have a little bit of substance. The CBS report, however, had a few glaring glitches:
All three interviewees lived in built-up areas. No countrified peasants that are hard to find.
All three interviewees had telephones. I daresay there are a great many people who don't.
All three interviewees were successful by the standards of their lands (goes back to having a phone).
The Indian man lived in a single home with his multi-generational extended family; with all the workers in the family pooling their earnings in one pot. I believe you'd be hard-pressed to find many American families living like that in the past 30 years.
In the Omani home, the only female seen on camera was child under the age of 5. Try that in an American home, or a European one, for that matter.
In sum: reportage is somewhat like statistics- pretty easy to skew toward your pre-conceived notions.
