Setting Priorities

Well, they came for a celebration, and they certainly got one...

After all, how often do you see a sweet moment with Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, here with her grandson, and Rep. Joyce Spiliotis and her grandson, Nick....


Of course, knowing that the Senators weren't there to keep an eye on them led to the Senate staff grabbing some box seats on the balcony, led by the Senate Clerk on the right....

But indeed, all of the Usual Suspects at State House ceremonies were down below, from Sal DiMasi on the left, to Therese Murray, to Deval Patrick, to John Henry, to Tim cahill on the right, with tiny Martha Coakley playing peek-a-boo behind John Henry's shoulder....

And Gov. Patrick got to speak flanked by not one, but two, World Series trophies....
Yes, the State House was indeed the Epicenter today of Red Sox Nation....

NOW can we talk about the most amazing sports rivalry in NFL history as the 7-0 Patriots meet the 8-0 colts THIS SUNDAY????

What's-His-Name, that Guy Running for President....

Porcupine has learned why so many of the twenty-odd candidates haven't been able to get their ideas across. Nobody has heard them.


From an excellent piece in Journalism.org, "The Invisible Primary", comes the following statistics -

While Hillary Clinton led in the derby for press exposure (she was the primary subject in 17% of all campaign stories), the largely antagonistic attention of conservative talk radio accounted for most of that edge. Clinton was the focus of nearly a third of all the campaign segments among the conservative talkers studied (the three most popular conservative radio voices, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Michael Savage). Clinton is not nearly as a popular subject among liberal radio talk show hosts.

The second-most covered candidate, Democratic rival Barack Obama (14% of stories), got a boost in that coverage from being the No. 1 focus of all the candidates from network evening news.

Two Republicans were next in media exposure. Giuliani led among Republicans with 9% of the stories, followed by McCain at 7% and Romney at 5%.

They were followed by former Senators John Edwards (4%) and Fred Thompson (3%), whose level of coverage relative to their party rivals probably puts them in what is best considered a second tier. Interestingly, Thompson, the lobbyist, actor and former Tennessee Senator, enjoyed this level of coverage (and name recognition in polling) even though he did not actually enter the race until
September.

The rest of the candidates would have to be considered not second-tier but third, at least in media attention. None received more than 2% of the coverage.

Put another way, of the more than 1,700 campaign stories examined from January to May, Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee each were the focus of fewer than a dozen stories. The second tier Democrats fared only slightly better. There were five stories about Chris Dodd, 28 about Bill Richardson, one about Dennis Kucinich, and 41 about Joe Biden. For most, their coverage peaked the day of their announcement and went downhill from there.

How dominant were Clinton and Obama as newsmakers? Together, these two candidates commanded essentially the same amount of coverage as all the of the GOP hopefuls combined.

So, in a sense, we have nobody but ourselves to blame. Conservative pundits talk about the Democrats and Liberal reporters talk about...the Democrats.

The entire piece is worth reading, and is a good objective display of how conservative ideas and principles have tough sledding in getting exposure - even if at least half of the country agrees with them.

Deval Canute - or, GamblePort Lives!

“Then, thou shalt count to three. No more, no less. Three is the number of the counting, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four, shall thou not count, neither count though two, excepting that though then procedeth to three. Five is right out!”
From the 'Book of Armaments', Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Porcupine has enjoyed the many pronouncements of Governor Deval Patrick about how casino gambling will operate in Massachusetts.

Long ago, Porcupine predicted that the Governor would create an independent authority like the Mass. Turnpike or Massport - because those have worked out so well, haven't they? Besides, when the Governor's plan to merge the Turnpike and MassHighway is completed, all those politically connected toll takers will need new jobs - and they DO have experience handling quarters....

Three resort casinos will magically flourish in economicaly depressed areas as exclusive resorts. The financial success will continue on its magical basis, as they are staffed with Unionized waitresses, and linens are procured from SOMBWA approved services - hang the expense!

OF course, usually when a new Board or Commission is created, the Creator ascertains that those being named are willing to serve on it, avoiding the political disavowal of Tim Cahill, the State Treasurer who flatly refuses to serve.

Now, with $125 million short in the Lottery and a demand being laid down for $1 billion for stem cell research, Deval Canute is once again commanding the seas to recede as the Legislature watches with dersion.

But none of this matters, as casinos will be the Alpha and Omega of fiscal health for the Commonwealth. For truly, like King Canute, this is a matter of faith - GamblePort lives!

His LAST Debate

Porcupine usually likes a party. The guest of honor revealed his flagrant bias at this one. From Examiner News -

The event was a 'birthday Party' for the MSNBC political show 'Hardball'. Included among the guests were such NBC/MSNBC brass as NBC Senior Vice President Phil Griffin (the former "Hardball" executive producer called "Hardball" the "best show on cable television"), "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert, "Today" show executive producer Jim Bell, NBC News Specials Executive Producer Phil Alongi, "Meet the Press" Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, NBC chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC Vice President Tammy Haddad, "Hardball" correspondent David Shuster and Vice President for MSNBC Prime-Time Programming Bill Wolff.

In fact, the only person Porcupine noticed missing is Helen Thomas, the Wicked Witch of the West Wing. Reading the list of luminaries present, it is fair to say that they represent the 'unbiased' mainstream media that is 'objectively' covering the Presidential race, and more specifically, the Republican candidates. To continue:

Chris Matthews had barely finished praising his colleagues at the 10th anniversary party for his “Hardball” show Thursday night in Washington, D.C. when his remarks turned political and pointed, even suggesting that the Bush administration had "finally been caught in their criminality."

In front of an audience that included such notables as Alan Greenspan, Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy, Matthews began his remarks by declaring that he wanted to "make some news" and he certainly didn't disappoint. After praising the drafters of the First Amendment for allowing him to make a living, he outlined what he said was the fundamental difference between the Bush and Clinton administrations. The Clinton camp, he said, never put pressure on his bosses to silence him.

“Not so this crowd,” he added, explaining that Bush White House officials -- especially those from Vice President Cheney's office -- called MSNBC brass to complain about the content of his show and attempted to influence its editorial content. "They will not silence me!" Matthews declared. "They've finally been caught in their criminality," Matthews continued, although he did not specify the exact criminal behavior to which he referred.

He then drew an obvious Bush-Nixon parallel by saying, “Spiro Agnew was not an American hero."

Matthews left the throng of Washington A-listers with a parting shot at Cheney: “God help us if we had Cheney during the Cuban missile crisis. We’d all be under a parking lot.”

Following his remarks, a few network insiders and party goers wondered what kind of effect Matthews' sharp criticism of the White House would have on Tuesday's Republican debate in Dearborn, Michigan, which Matthews co-moderates alongside CNBC's Maria Bartiromo.

"I find it hard to believe that Republican candidates will feel as if they're being given a fair shot at Tuesday's debate given the partisan pot-shots lobbed by Matthews this evening," said one attendee.

Indeed. And of course, they were not.

Matthew's behavior and questioning has been widely commented on. This was to have been a debate on economic issues, and about halfway through - apparently bored with actual policy points which might give voters an insight into how the next President will handle the economy, jobs, social Security, the Federal deficit, and so on - he decided to ask Rudy about the Yankees management. Of course, Chris never WAS any good at math. He also allowed a spin-out into the Iraq war, and was downright rude to Fred Thompson.

This man is unfit to host a League of Women Voters School Committee debate, much less a national debate on economics. He should not be allowed to moderate at any more GOP debates - ever - until Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin have had a crack at Hillary and Obama.