Friday, February 21, 2003

Fox and The Nation Some readers of The Nation have cancelled their subscriptions (a less effective form of protest is hard to imagine) in response to the fact that that venerably red publication has accepted advertisements from -- Fox News.  I compliment Fox for recognizing the benefit of targeting the opposition -- after all, Jesus ministered to Mary Magdalen because he knew that it is the sinner who needs redemption.  Preaching to the Pharisees may be a lot easier, but it doesn't get the job done.  The objecting readers should welcome an infusion of advertising dollars from the other side.  Advertising is, after all, pretty much a one-way street, one which benefits the publication as a source of revenue.  Rush Limbaugh's show includes ads from liberal groups, do-gooder organizations, and the like, and Rush is happy to accommodate them as paying clients.  But, then, readers of The Nation are not particularly economically literate, are they? Note that the New York Times, of all publications, suggests in its writeup of this story that readers of The Nation believe that the news media in general exhibit a conservative bias!  11:38:11 PM     Appointment and election of judges Brian Dickerson addresses judicial politics under the new Granholm regime in this morning's Free Press, including: the current vacancy on the Court of Appeals, 4th Judicial District, the question of whether to fill one Wayne Circuit seat which will otherwise disappear by April 1, and new proposed legislation which will provide for election of judges by slot rather than en masse. The last is of most interest.  Under the current system, if twelve Wayne Circuit judges (of the current roster of 64) are up for re-election in a given year, and if four challengers file to run, the 16 candidates will run en masse and the 12 receiving the highest number of votes will be elected.  The proposed change will allow a challenger to run against a specific judge in a one-on-one contest.  The sponsor, Rep. Jim Howell of St. Charles, notes that this would make it easier for the voters to remove an incompetent judge.  In our opinion, this proposal is deserving of strong support for that very reason. 7:29:31 AM

© Copyright 2003 Franco Castalone. Last update: 3/1/2003; 7:17:48 AM.