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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (177594)	8/28/2006 6:42:00 AM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793843

Prospective New House Chairman August 26, 2006 The NY Times looks at the roster of Democrats who would chair the various House committees if the Dems reclaim the House this November and follow their past practice of elevating members on the basis of seniority. After noting the Dems that scare Republicans, they eventually get to He Who Must Not be Named, the Dem that scares even the Dems (Spoiler - it is Alcee Hastings of Florida, who would chair, no kidding, Intelligence). Here is the second paragraph: In fund-raising appeals, on the Internet and in stump speeches, Republicans raise the specter of a Judiciary Committee headed by Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, a banking committee steered by Barney Frank of Massachusetts, a tax-writing committee led by Charles B. Rangel of New York, and an energy panel under the leadership of John D. Dingell of Michigan. Alcee finally appears in paragraph sixteen: Other positions are more problematic. At the Intelligence Committee, Representative Alcee L. Hastings of Florida, who was removed from the federal bench in the 1980’s, is in line to take over, although that decision would be the responsibility of Ms. Pelosi and could prove explosive. "Removed from the federal bench"? He was impeached by the House for corruption and perjury and "became only the sixth Judge in the history of impeachment in the United States to be removed from office by the United States Senate." However, the good people of the great state of Florida have sent him to Washington, so here we are. And what is happening to Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat who gained national prominence when the NSA warrantless wiretapping story broke? Per the operation of term limits within the Democratic Caucus, she is slated to be moved aside as ranking Dem in favor of Alcee (she is also in a primary tussle). Steve Clemons attributes this to internal Dem politicking by Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Black Caucus. Paragraph seventeen gives us a whiff of the Conyers problem: And some Democrats are nervous about the prospect of a Judiciary Committee led by Mr. Conyers, who has raised the prospect of impeaching President Bush, a notion that Ms. Pelosi has sought to bat down. Not only has Ms. Pelosi sought to bat it down, but someone has exhorted Mr. Conyers to clean up his campaign website - the "Before", currently available in Google-cache, highlights the prospect of a Bush impeachment on the main page; the "After" has been revised to soft-pedal that goal. At this point, Tradesports has the Reps with a 47% probability of retaining control of the House; the Iowa Electronic Markets seem to be at 54%. Anyone who can explain that apparent gap, feel free (and if I am reading on of these two sites backwards, well, it's a weekend in the summertime...) MORE: My favorite Conyers moment came when he and Rep. Louise Slaughter bit on a Daily Kos misdirection play and put out a press release alerting the world that "reporter" Jeff Gannon/James Guckert had special access to the CIA / Plame scoop. The Times believed the Kos Crowd as well, but eventually got to the truth - Guckert had simply been reading the Wall Street Journal (He eventually as much as said so in a Times interview I can't locate just now). justoneminute.typepad.com

To: LindyBill who wrote (177594)	8/28/2006 10:10:22 AM
From: Alan Smithee	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793843

The folks in in entertainment continue to demonstrate they are clueless about matters of taste and sensitivity. EMMYS: What Was NBC/Conan Thinking? The very idea that tonight's Emmy showcast on NBC was so scripted-in-stone that neither the network nor host Conan O'Brien could change a word of the broadcast opener, or decide not to show it altogether and substitute another skit crafted at the last minute, is absurd. After all, isn't that the reason Hollywood pays writers for these awards shows? C'mon, couldn't one executive or producer, much less Conan or the television academy that puts on the Emmys, pipe up and say, "Uh, maybe starting with a plane crash comedy skit on the same day there was an actual plane crash might be in poor taste? Let's rewrite." But, noooooooooo. Now the NBC affiliate at the Lexington, Kentucky, site of today's tragedy says he was "horrified" by NBC's callowness. “We wish somebody had thought this through. It’s somewhere between ignorance and incompetence.” So I ask: Will someone get fired for this? Host Conan riffed off the ABC's series Lost which was all-but-ignored by the Emmies by starting the ceremony with a filmed comedy bit in which O'Brien was seen sipping champagne aboard a jetliner. "What could possibly go wrong tonight?" he says — before the plane crashes onto an island resembling the one in ABC's drama. Today, in Lexington, Kentucky, commuter jet Delta Comair Flight 5191 mistakenly trying to take off on a runway that was too short crashed into a field Sunday and burst into flames, according to media reports, killing 49 people and leaving the lone survivor -- a co-pilot -- in critical condition. Really, is there even one person at NBC with a brain left in his head? Understandably, the NBC affiliate in Lexington, WLEX Channel 18, was shocked and dismayed by NBC's Emmy broadcast opener. According to news reports, the Lex 18 News was just ending a recap of the crash coverage when the station saw the Conan plane spoof skit come over the live feed. WLEX’s president and general manager, Tim Gilbert, was home watching the telecast with his family and would have pulled the plug on the Emmy broadcast if only NBC network execs had had the sense to warn him ahead of time. "It was a live telecast — we were completely helpless,” Gilbert told the local newspaper. “By the time we began to react, it was over. At the station, we were as horrified as they were at home.” Gilbert said he’ll complain to NBC, but he said an apology won’t make up for insensitivity. “They could have killed the opening and it wouldn't have hurt the show at all,” Gilbert said. Here's the video of the poor taste skit if you missed it.