After spending an inordinate amount of time trying to provide a little extra perspective on the Richland County Council runoff (stuff you couldn’t possibly get elsewhere, for whatever it’s worth), I decided I’d better check and see if there was anything urgent in my e-mail the last couple of days before dragging myself home late as usual. At that point I ran across this:
We can solve the financial problems of the city,
the transit problem, the big dig on Main St., etc. Just hire relatives of Rep.
Clyburn. Where is the indignation from the paper on the editorial pages?
Between naming things for his legacy and money for "relatives of Jim" – seems
rather hypocritical. Oh wait – he’s a democrat and black – must be
untouchable! Larry
What do you say to someone that clueless? Basically, I say nothing. I just thought I’d share it with y’all as part of my usual campaign to let y’all know what goes on behind the scenes around here — and "fan mail" such as this is part of the gig.
Of course, if I did answer, it would be along the lines of:
- You’re kidding, right? You’re writing this ONE DAY after the news report (less than a day after I read it, since this was sent at 7:39 a.m.), and already all worked up about not seeing an editorial yet?
- What newspaper did you read it in? The paper reports it, and YOU think this is evidence that the paper is looking out for Jim Clyburn? It was, in fact, the lead story in Monday’s paper. Bet ol’ Jim appreciated that, huh?
- You want to see criticism of black Democrats (and obviously, this is what matters to you)? I don’t suppose the thing I just frickin’ finished typing (with video) counts, huh?
But just so you know, that missive from ol’ Larry wasn’t one of our more hostile or least-well-reasoned bits of fan mail. Here’s one of the bad ones. NOTE: Don’t read this if you’re easily offended — or even moderately sensitive, for that matter:
Sir:
Generic news reader/bureau chief/flesh-colored dildo Tim Russert is dead at 58.
Of all you awful people, he was possibly the most oleaginous — as unctuous to the
likes of Bush, Cheney and Madeline Albright as any human dildo could possibly be
. . . a real Uriah Heep, brought to life and plopped down like a steaming pile of
shit onto our television screens each Sunday to "interview" the powerful.
Good riddance, fathead.
You mediocrities at The State can lower your ass-licking tongues to half-mast.Ray Bickley
That was sent to me, by the way, at 6:44 p.m. on Friday, the very day Tim Russert died.
You can see why I just love e-mail.
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Tim Russert actually looked like a pretty reasonable guy in front of the “Star Wars” bar scene that is the modern day liberal MSM. In other words, compared to people like Olberman, Lauer, Matthews, Gibson, Rather, Brokaw (and these are just a few of the uber-liberal MSM males – I won’t even try to list the reporterettes like Couric and the rest), Russert appeared to be a stand up guy.
So what?
In front of that shameless mob, he looked OK. But taken objectively, he was a pretty much just another liberal who attempted to make it look good by occasionally being nearly as tough on liberals as he was on conservatives.
Now he’s dead. NBC will find another liberal to host MTP. And NBC will still suck as a network. And once the MSM gets finished with the wake (which really has very little to do with Russert and is all about them), it will be back to business as usual…in the tank for liberalism.
This IS an election year, ya know? Can’t let a dead guy get in the way of getting Obama elected. David
Actually, the Clyburn-earmarks-for-his-relatives story was mid-page in my Monday edition of The State with about a 30-point head, and the story was written not by someone from The State, but The Associated Press.
Why no follow-up Tuesday from The State’s legendary investigative crew?
The House whip, South Carolina’s highest-ranking politician, is feeding his family with taxpayer pork, and The State is playing follow the leader to the AP about it.
John Monk should be on Clyburn like white on rice, if he gets time to lay off Clemson, Ben Tillman and his other Gamecock interests.
A crook is a crook, no matter what color he is.
Is The State standing on the Bridge to Nowhere wondering which way to turn?
Brad: It could be worse. You could have checked you e-mail and found nothing there. Ususally one can tell whether or not one is doing the right thing by how many of the wrong people respond after the work is done. Imagine if you had found all of those “people” in agreement!
I’m a rather conservative leaning fellow who seldom agrees with your left leaning opinions. However I read and respect them because they are reasoned and well thought out. Were it that you had something critical to say about peanut butter however, we would be in attack mode. Most of us on the left and one the right like peanut butter so there is always hope.
For those that did not read the article about Clyburn, here it goes.
Subject: Emailing: The State 06-16-2008 Clyburn earmarks could benefit family, friends.htm
Clyburn earmarks could benefit family, friends
Report says S.C. congressional leader has set aside at least $6.2 million
for projects
The Associated Press
MYRTLE BEACH – South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn has earmarked millions of
taxpayer dollars this decade for projects that could directly benefit his
friends and family members, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News found that Clyburn has set aside at least $6.2
million for such projects. That includes money for two projects his nephew
was to help design, a community center that runs a program employing his
sister-in-law and a Columbia wellness center that employs his daughter.
Clyburn is the House majority whip. He was the sole sponsor for 32 earmarks
totaling $38.8 million in the current budget. In contrast, all of South
Carolina’s other lawmakers combined to sole-sponsor $45.5 million in
earmarks in the same budget.
Clyburn’s office did not return calls seeking comment, although he has
repeatedly defended the earmark process, telling reporters last year that
the special provisions help provide for community needs.
“I don’t see that as wasteful government spending,” he told reporters in
February 2007. “I see that as responding to the needs these people said they
had.”
Ummm, slugger… that’s what the link was there for.
I even provided a link to a full PDF of the page it was on. Although I must say I’m not sure whether it will work for y’all. Somebody try it and let me know. If it doesn’t work I’ll try something else next time. The link is on the words “the lead story in Monday’s paper.”
And p.m. — that was the lead story. If you know anything about newspapers, you know that was the lead story.
And just eyeballing it, that looked like between a 60 pt and 72 pt. hed.
But why guess? I just looked at the Quark file on the network. It was a 66 pt. hed. Can I call ’em or what?
Right you are, Mr. Warthen. I misremembered it, apparently.
But the lead item on the page is a banner picture of Tiger Woods that covers a full third of the front, envelops The State’s mast and dwarfs the Clyburn piece, which is an AP creation, not The State’s.
And I’m still waiting on The State to do a follow.
Or does Clyburn have relatives well-placed at The State, too?
Yeah, I’m his first cousin. Just out of curiosity (not my department; this is a news issue), what is it that you want to know about that the story didn’t tell you?
I brought the subject up in our morning editorial meeting. One of my colleagues has put it on the list of things to write about — behind the primary runoff and Legislature-coming-back stuff that has to be done before next week — but both Warren and Cindi asked some questions about stuff the story didn’t say. I’m just curious whether they’re the same questions you have.
One of their questions was, how much of this is new? What did Myrtle Beach come up with (and this was a Myrtle Beach story, not the AP’s; AP just passed it on) that hasn’t appeared in The State in the past?
My colleagues said they thought they remembered something from this past month, but maybe they were thinking of the piece about Clyburn employing the felon. And maybe they were confusing it with the thing from several years back about Clyburn’s daughter being on the PSC. Or maybe it’s something that isn’t turning up immediately on a search.
But I know what they meant; there’s something familiar about the story. We’ll have to run that down…
Things I’d like to know:
1) Whether Clyburn targeted his relatives with the earmarks.
2) Whether other local applications for federal money similar to those which employed Clyburn’s relatives went wanting.
3) What the projects are that Clyburn benefited, specifically.
4) Who the projects benefit other than Clyburn’s family.
5) An explanation from Clyburn a little more current than February 2007.
6) How our other representatives and senators have porked up in comparison.
7) In other words, to sum up, an examination of Clyburn’s pork diet in depth.
p.m.
I am still waiting for an answer to your above questions. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.