Random Thoughts On
Things That Bug Me
Gary Gerard,
dumbhoosier.com
Following are some random thoughts on things that bug me.
*****
Amid the nonsense that was the Anthony Weiner “scandal,” I ran across
an interesting piece on politico.com
Here’s an excerpt:
The news that Rep. Anthony
Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, was pregnant, had been known and agonized
over in newsrooms, including this one, for more than 24 hours before it
was reported on Wednesday night. It presented one of the toughest
editorial dilemmas in recent memory. Abedin was an innocent victim in
the story of her husband’s inappropriate behavior, and reporting her
pregnancy – that of a 35-year-old woman in her first trimester – would
have added the insult of invasion of medical privacy to the already
considerable emotional injuries she’s sustained this week. Yet it was a
big part of the biggest story of the moment. What’s an editor to do?
The article then blathered on and on about all the hand-wringing and
how the decision was “discussed thoroughly by several editors.” The
article notes that journalists must “do their best to minimize harm”
and take “great care to balance two competing principles” of protecting
the innocent and getting the story out.
Really? Seriously?
Allow me to do a little re-write on that story for ya.
The news that Sarah Palin‘s
daughter, Bristol, was pregnant had been known and agonized over in
newsrooms, including this one, for more than 24 hours before it was
reported on Wednesday night. It presented one of the toughest editorial
dilemmas in recent memory. Bristol Palin was an innocent victim in the
story of her mother’s vice presidential candidacy, and reporting her
pregnancy – that of a 17-year-old girl in her first trimester – would
have added the insult of invasion of medical privacy to the already
considerable emotional injuries she’s sustained by being thrust into
the limelight of her mother’s candidacy. Yet it was a big part of the
biggest story of the moment. What’s an editor to do?
Would that article ever have been written? Was there any hand-wringing
at politico.com, the New York Times or the Washington Post over
reporting Bristol Palin’s pregnancy? Heck no. They were gleeful. They
couldn’t wait to blow that story up. And Sarah Palin didn’t do anything
wrong. All she did was run for office.
So let’s get the media logic straight:
The Distinguished Member of Congress, Mr. Weiner, is sexting x-rated
pics of himself to other women and editors agonize over whether they
should report the fact that his wife is pregnant while he’s doing it.
Sarah Palin gets named a vice presidential candidate and editors can’t
wait to report her teenage daughter is pregnant.
For the record, I am not in the least a fan of Sarah Palin. I am,
however, a fan of journalistic integrity.
****
And by the way, don’t feel too sorry for Rep. Weiner.
According to an analysis of his benefits by the National Taxpayers
Union, his congressional pension and savings plan could be worth $1.12
million to $1.28 million.
He can start drawing his pension at age 56 at a reduced rate of $32,357
a year. If he waits until age 62, his full pension would be $46,224 a
year.
And the New York Post reported Weiner and his wife were headed to the
Hamptons for the weekend to patch things up.
*****
I love it when politicians try to act like they’re “one of us.”
Like when Mitt Romney met with a group of unemployed workers in Florida
this past week. He listened to their concerns about the challenges they
face in the job market and then said, “I am also unemployed.”
I realize he was joking, but that was a really dopey thing to say. I
mean, technically the guy is “unemployed,” but I think his portfolio
will tide him over until he finishes up this little run for the White
House he’s got going on.
And then there’s Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She often goes on
populist rants about how she understands the plight of the little guy.
I’m pretty sure she doesn’t.
According to financial disclosure reports issued this weeks, Pelosi saw
her net worth rise 62 percent last year, cementing her status as one of
the wealthiest members of Congress.
Pelosi was worth at least $35.2 million in the 2010 calendar year, the
report noted. She reported a minimum of $43.4 million in assets and
$8.2 million in liabilities.
For 2009, she reported a net worth of $21.7 million. No wonder she
thinks everything’s going so swimmingly these days. It is for her.
And as much as she tries to tell us she understands the plight of the
common man, I think she’d understand it a lot better if she had to
drive a ’95 Ford Taurus, eat at McDonald’s and buy her clothes at
Walmart.
*****
CORRECTION: In last week’s column, in an attempt to illustrate the
futility of raising the effective tax rate by 2 percent on people who
make more than $200,000 a year, I made an error in my calculations.
I wrote the following:
... In the most recent data, from 2008, there were around 4.5 million
people in the U.S. who made $200,000 or more. They earned approximately
$2.8 trillion and paid $610 billion in taxes.
So another 2 percent bump in the effective tax rate on top of that $610
billion would net the U.S. treasury an additional $12 billion.
I mistakenly applied the 2 percent increase to the taxes raised, not
the income. That $12 billion should have been $94 billion.
Nonetheless, in the face of a $1.4 trillion deficit the message of the
column was not lost.
Thanks to Warsaw’s Dana Krull for e-mailing me to point out the error.
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