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News & ArtsThursday, February 26, 2009
Politics For Those of You Who Think Local Papers Don't Matter
Posted by Chicago Fan on Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 8:51 AM
All the recent revelations about corruption and insider dealing with Senator Burris have come from investigative reporters at the Chicago Sun-Times.
For the latest story of corruption, the lede says it all:
The son of embattled Sen. Roland Burris is a federal tax deadbeat who landed a $75,000-a-year state job under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich five months ago, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.Blagojevich's administration hired Roland W. Burris II as a senior counsel for the state's housing authority Sept. 10 — about six weeks after the Internal Revenue Service slapped a $34,163 tax lien on Burris II and three weeks after a mortgage company filed a foreclosure suit on his South Side house.
This of course has nothing to do with Seattle, since Burris's Senate vote, necessary along with Snow, Dukakis and Specter, to allow the Democratic Senate to enact Obama's policies, has no effect on Seattle whatsoever. I just like to clutter the internets.
2
There's no reason that kind of investigative journalism can't transfer to an online medium. The fact that good reporting is still associated with dead trees is arbitrary, a function of habit rather than necessity.
Newspapers are dying, and good riddance. The sooner the good reporters catch on to that fact the better off we'll be.
As for Burris, the fact that he's a corrupt egomaniac is almost as surprising as yesterday's "big news" about the fact that limiting calories, not shunning this or that macronutrient, is the key to weight loss. DUH.
Newspapers are dying, and good riddance. The sooner the good reporters catch on to that fact the better off we'll be.
As for Burris, the fact that he's a corrupt egomaniac is almost as surprising as yesterday's "big news" about the fact that limiting calories, not shunning this or that macronutrient, is the key to weight loss. DUH.
3
Takes too long.
The fault in all of this (apart from Blago duh) is the Ill. legislature taking about three months to act and leaving corrupt Blago in office. They had the tapes! They could have impeached Blago in about two days. But like many lawmakers and government in general, they are slow, creaky, hidebound, can't be bothered to remove a clear and present danger, and they just don't "work" well. Once those tapes came out they should have had a committee rec. in 1 day a house vote the same day and a senate impeachment the next day and get 'r done.
So. We have this dumb rule in the senate about 60 votes that the Democrats dumb-ly approve every two years. Then we have contests like MN and situations like Burris. Then we have DC with not even any plan to ensure those folks have senators. All this sucks. Lots of these things weren't caused by the Democrats. But they're not out there trying to change any of it and until they do there will ALWAYS be 1 or 2 senate seats in question depriving us of the magical 60 vote standard and empowering the tiny GOP minority with about half the legislative power.
Sucks, right?
Change.
The fault in all of this (apart from Blago duh) is the Ill. legislature taking about three months to act and leaving corrupt Blago in office. They had the tapes! They could have impeached Blago in about two days. But like many lawmakers and government in general, they are slow, creaky, hidebound, can't be bothered to remove a clear and present danger, and they just don't "work" well. Once those tapes came out they should have had a committee rec. in 1 day a house vote the same day and a senate impeachment the next day and get 'r done.
So. We have this dumb rule in the senate about 60 votes that the Democrats dumb-ly approve every two years. Then we have contests like MN and situations like Burris. Then we have DC with not even any plan to ensure those folks have senators. All this sucks. Lots of these things weren't caused by the Democrats. But they're not out there trying to change any of it and until they do there will ALWAYS be 1 or 2 senate seats in question depriving us of the magical 60 vote standard and empowering the tiny GOP minority with about half the legislative power.
Sucks, right?
Change.
4
Blogs cannot support investigative journalism. Blogs cannot support intenational beauraus. Blogs cannot, do not, and will not, be a watchdog of any sort.
If anything but a watchdog that waits and watches for its next link to post.
It is seriously so fucked up. The entire academic world knows it. The entire political world knows it.
The only people who champion the fall of newspapers are the butthurt, anti "establishment(?)" fools who, to champion the fall of a business, champion the fall of entities capable of keeping an eye on government.
You will all regret it one day. We will all regret it one day.
When the question is asked "How did this (whatever THIS will be) happen? How did they get away with this? How did nobody notice?"
we will all regret it.
If anything but a watchdog that waits and watches for its next link to post.
It is seriously so fucked up. The entire academic world knows it. The entire political world knows it.
The only people who champion the fall of newspapers are the butthurt, anti "establishment(?)" fools who, to champion the fall of a business, champion the fall of entities capable of keeping an eye on government.
You will all regret it one day. We will all regret it one day.
When the question is asked "How did this (whatever THIS will be) happen? How did they get away with this? How did nobody notice?"
we will all regret it.
5
@1: No, he can't be recalled. There is no such thing as "recall" in the U.S. Constitution. "Recall" was not really a concept when the constitution was written. It came later, and is part of many states' constitutions.
Apart from being voted out when his/her term is up, the only way a U.S. Senator can be removed is by being expelled by the Senate. There are various rules there that I don't know off-hand, but I'm pretty sure it would be quite hard to remove Burris that way.
I think we're stuck with him till 2011.
Apart from being voted out when his/her term is up, the only way a U.S. Senator can be removed is by being expelled by the Senate. There are various rules there that I don't know off-hand, but I'm pretty sure it would be quite hard to remove Burris that way.
I think we're stuck with him till 2011.
7
Why doesn't The Stranger buy the P.I.? You could call it an "Adult Newspaper for Adults" and not censor it's content or ads. I bet it would fly. And you could have added revenue by adding an internet section.
8
@3, that sounds ludicrous. Could the legislature have acted faster? Yes. I still think they moved pretty damn quickly to throw out a governor. I think overturning an election requires a more deliberative process.
If legislatures threw caution to the wind and proceeded at your wanted speed, Clinton would likely have been out on his ass in 1998. Impeachment is serious.
Fitzgerald still hasn't moved on this case and is collecting evidence so that he has enough to convict. In the lead-up to the impeachment, it seemed like he was trying to slow down the legislature so that his case wasn't compromised.
If you have a beef with the government in Springfield, it should be with them not calling a special election. The rest is bluster.
If legislatures threw caution to the wind and proceeded at your wanted speed, Clinton would likely have been out on his ass in 1998. Impeachment is serious.
Fitzgerald still hasn't moved on this case and is collecting evidence so that he has enough to convict. In the lead-up to the impeachment, it seemed like he was trying to slow down the legislature so that his case wasn't compromised.
If you have a beef with the government in Springfield, it should be with them not calling a special election. The rest is bluster.
9
Without out someone being paid a salary to do investigative reporting, it's not going to happen at the level that the newspapers were able to provide.
10
Concerned about the loss of local newspapers?
Go to this forum tonight at City Hall:
http://www.nonewsisbadnews.org/event1.ht…
Go to this forum tonight at City Hall:
http://www.nonewsisbadnews.org/event1.ht…
11
@4
Blogs are not the only online medium. On top of that, you don't actually offer any reasons why blogs couldn't support journalism, only angry assertions. I won't offer micropayments as a solution because that word was unfairly tarred by way of having been brought up before it was technically feasible, but there are an increasing number of online business models that are extremely successful. The only reason blogs haven't taken up journalism yet is because, so long as we prop up the ailing newspaper industry, they don't have to.
The future's here. Get used to it. It is not the fittest that survive, but the most responsive to change.
Blogs are not the only online medium. On top of that, you don't actually offer any reasons why blogs couldn't support journalism, only angry assertions. I won't offer micropayments as a solution because that word was unfairly tarred by way of having been brought up before it was technically feasible, but there are an increasing number of online business models that are extremely successful. The only reason blogs haven't taken up journalism yet is because, so long as we prop up the ailing newspaper industry, they don't have to.
The future's here. Get used to it. It is not the fittest that survive, but the most responsive to change.
13
i blind retard could uncover corruption in chichago. they pay them for that? can you disprove the thesis that the REASON chicago is the most corrupt city in the western hemisphere is their two bullshit "independent' papers? i call it misplaced trust
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