Thursday Open Thread
Welcome to Thursday and welcome to your open thread. As usual, I’ll provide a couple of links for you to talk about if you wish but there is nothing that is off-topic in an open thread.
A story spread all over the rightwing news media about a ban on fishing by the Obama administration. The source appears to be an unsourced ESPN article (from Media Matters):
ESPN column: Federal strategy “could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.” On March 9, Robert Montgomery wrote for EPSNOutdoors.com: “The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters. This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is ‘fluid’ and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn’t issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.” Montgomery’s post, which was also featured on The Daily Caller, has since been updated to state that the strategy “could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing some of the nation’s oceans coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.”
Of course, this is nothing close to the truth but it certainly feeds into the rightwing paranoia:
Task force plan seeks to “better manage,” not ban recreational fishing alongside other uses of ocean, coasts, lakes. In its September 10, 2009, interim report, the Interagency Ocean Policy task force recommended that the administration implement “coastal and marine spatial planning,” which has been described as ocean “zoning.” The interim report states that such a system “will allow for the reduction of cumulative impacts from human uses on marine ecosystems, provide greater certainty for the public and private sector in planning new investments, and reduce conflicts among uses and, between using and preserving the environment to sustain critical ecological, economic, and cultural services for this and future generations.” A December 9, 2009, task force report discussing coastal and marine spatial planning in more detail states that “CMSP provides an effective process to better manage a range of social, economic, and cultural uses, including” commerce and transportation, commercial fishing, conservation, mining, oil and gas exploration and development and recreational fishing, among many others. Nowhere in the September 10 or December 9 reports does the task force propose a ban on recreational fishing.
A lot of media attention has been turned to gropy-handed predator Congressman Eric Massa but Senator John Ensign may be in more hot water. His story about not being involved in trying to find a job for his mistress’s husband is not holding up to scrutiny:
Mr. Ensign, Republican of Nevada, suggested that a Las Vegas development firm hire the husband, Douglas Hampton, after it had sought the senator’s help on several energy projects in 2008, according to e-mail messages and interviews with company executives.
The messages are the first written records from Mr. Ensign documenting his efforts to find clients for Mr. Hampton, a top aide and close friend, after the senator had an affair with his wife, Cynthia Hampton. They appear to undercut the senator’s assertion that he did not know the work might involve Congressional lobbying, which could violate a federal ban on such activities by staff members for a year after leaving government.
The e-mail messages also hint at what Mr. Ensign’s office now says was an effort by the Las Vegas firm, a small energy investment business called P2SA Equity, to improperly link Mr. Ensign’s possible assistance to a promised donation.
So infidelity, corruption and bribery. Will this story get the attention it deserves?
Tags: Open Thread
Apparently, it takes an accused murder to speak the truth to the News Journal:
“In court before Wednesday’s hearing, the bespectacled DiGirolamo wore a gray suit and sat alone in a spectator’s section. Approached by a News Journal reporter, he said, “No, I’m sorry,” when asked if he had anything to say, but then added, “You need to check your sources. You’ve had a lot of inaccuracies.”
From the mouths of murderers…
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100311/NEWS01/3110353
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Israel gives Vice President Biden the one-digit salute. Joe must be steaming. To read what our friends in England have to say check out the Guardian item here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/11/joe-biden-middle-east-talks
Rachel Corries parents courtcase against Israel starts today. They have 4 eyewitnesses. The Palestinan doctor who treated Rachel is forbidden to travel from Palestine to Israel, and Israel refuses to allow him to teleconference his testimony.
The Israelie government gave Biden the finger while he stated “we are 100% behind Israel”. On or about the same time the announcement was made by Biden a minister brazenly reports Israel’s plan to continue building 1600 units on even more stolen land.
My problem with the US backing EVERYTHING Israel does and publicly making that statement, does not bode well for non biased attempts to fine tune a real peace agreement. Does the Obama administration stand behind Israels attack on Gaza last year? Do they refuse to review the Jewish UN Goldstone report? Does this administration support the continuation of bulldozing more homes on West Bank and in Gaza!
This double standard is fueling the 2 billion muslims around the world. There has to be another way to deal with them that brings about a two state solution. If they wait much longer there wont be enough acreage to create a housing project.
I’ve been meaning to bring this up–opposition to the 911 trial in NYC? Seems like both sides are getting into it.
ESPN is part of the VRWC… who knew?
Ex-Clinton Aide Looks to Death Row to Aid Her Defense
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 03-10-10 | ANN ZIMMERMAN And STEPHANIE SIMON
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—A former top aide to Bill Clinton, charged with trying to smuggle contraband to a death-row inmate, will ask a state court to allow a videotaped deposition of the man before he is executed.
The request, to be made Wednesday in Pine Bluff, is the latest twist in the case of Betsey Wright, an outspoken death-penalty opponent accused of trying to take tattoo needles tucked inside a bag of Doritos chips, as well as a pocketknife and a box cutter, into a high-security prison.
The videotaped deposition is necessary because her trial is set for May 25, several weeks after inmate Don William Davis is scheduled to be executed for a 1990 murder, said her lawyer, Jeff Rosenzweig. The defense said it believes Mr. Davis would testify that he didn’t expect Ms. Wright to bring him anything during the visit.
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From managing bimbo erruptions for clinton to smugling weapons to murderers… heck of a career path.
just kiddin,
Israel did not recognize Rachel Corrie’s right to exist, but Israel expects everyone else to recognize Israel’s.
Center for Constitutional Right: Federal Judge orders Congress and several governement agencies to rescind orders cutting off funds to Acorn and its affiliates. By singling out Acorn, Congress acted as Judge, Jury and Executioner without a trial or judicial hearing. “No organization should be unconstitutionally targeted by Congress”! Take that Congress.
For those who care….
Wednesday , House Rejects Call for Withdrawal From Afghanistan, 360-65
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/10-10
8 1/2 years, 930 dead GI’s, tens of thousands of dead Afghans and $200 billions later…..
Great Recession or no Great Recession, …..
Congress still can’t get enough of that good ole “War-on-Terror”.
Delaware’s Moderate One was not among the 65 voting for it. (But you knew that)
Thanks for bringing up the ACORN funding, JK. A judge ruled that the ACORN defunding bill was an unConstitutional bill of attainder and put an immediate freeze on it. However, I’m not sure how much good it will do because ACORN also lost funding from other private funding organizations and is now mostly just regional organizations.
This is a bit of a head-scratcher: Tiger Wood has hired Ari Fleischer to help him with PR. He does know that Fleischer worked for very unpopular president Bush, right?
You know, if Ari Fleischer is what it takes for Tiger Woods to die in the media, I think it is worth it. I’m sick of hearing about the guy.
It’ll be more fun when he gets to Dana Perino.
Nothing says ‘lipstick on a pig’ quite like Ari Fleischer.
And here I thought that ‘lipstick on a pig’ was Tiger’s problem.
Harry Reid’s wife and daughter were seriously injured in a car crash today:
That is just horrible. Wishing for the best for the Reid family tonight.