Friday, February 27, 2009

Times-News beer editorial shows contempt for fairness

In an editorial today entitled "Wegman beer approval good move," the Erie Times-News, itself an examplar of non-competitive operations, signalled its contempt for a competitive retail environmnent.

Its editorial endorsement of beer sales exclusively at Wegman's ignores the lack of fairness in giving one retail or commercial entity a distinct advantage over others of its kind, namely the many other food markets throughout the Erie area. They will inevitably find some of their clientele shifting to the entity with the unfair competitive advantage.

It's naive to suppose that making beer sales available at a single outlet is a desireable first step in the direction of eventual commercialization of all alcoholic beverages at multiple venues, which seems to be the thrust of the Times-News editorial.

On the contrary, all it does is take some of the pressure off that goal, making it less accessible than ever.

While most of us realize that Wegman's is a choice source of newspaper advertising, Times-News editorialists should think these issues through more carefully before rushing into rash and irretrievable judgments.

In a one newspaper town, other food marketeers have no other effective advertising choices for their wares and can't realistically withhold their advertising from the Times-News in retribution.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Gwen Ifill's 'prostitutional journalism'

In his Times-News syndicated column today, David Broder raved about
psuedo-journalist Gwen Ifill's book, "The Break-Through: Politics
and Race in the Age of Obama," just released last month.

For those of us without Broder's ingrained bias, Gwen Ifill lost all
credibility as a journalist when she agreed to moderate the vice
presidential debate last Fall between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin without
revealing that she had already written this wildly pro-Obama book
scheduled to be released on presidential inauguration day in January
of this year, then refusing to step down once her blatant conflict of
interest was revealed.

Despite Ifill's pronounced pro-Obama/Biden bias as moderator, betrayed
by her obvious choice of questions designed to play to Biden's strengths
and Palin's weaknesses, Palin clearly "won" the vice presidential "debate,"
riddled with Biden's glaring factual errors.

Formerly with the left-wing New York Times, now with the ultra liberal
PBS News Hour, Ifill brazenly allowed Biden to rebut Palin time after time,
while cutting off Palin's attempts to rebut Biden.

Because of the obvious conflict of interest inherent in the belated disclosure
of her book, and her failure to step down as moderator once it was belatedly revealed, Ifill should have been yanked as moderator.

Had Obama/Biden lost the election, Ifill's book would have tanked. But with
their election, and the slavish praise by fellow ideologues like Broder,it's on track to sell tens of thousands of copies, enabling Ifill to profit from her prostitutional journalism.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Kevin, where's the rest of the story?

Kevin Cuneo wrote in his latest column the following:

"Former U.S. Rep. Phil English will keep busy with his work on the National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. English was recently appointed to a three-year term on the commission. He'll serve on the task force on cultural issues."

Where's the rest of the story? By whom was he appointed? Is this yet another example of Congress feathering its own nest and looking after its own defeated members? Is this a salaried position, with travel, per diem and expenses perks? Does it extend and enhance the former congressman's lavish retirement, per diem, health and pension benefits?