Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Riding Therapy Raising Funds for New Home and more from Sarasota Patch

Riding Therapy Raising Funds for New Home and more from Sarasota Patch



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December 31, 2011

Your News

December 31, 2011

Riding Therapy Raising Funds for New Home

Charles Schelle | Dec 31, 2011 | 0 Comments

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Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy is trying to pay off mortgage on 23-acre property it will soon call home.

Cat of the Week: Cinnamon

Charles Schelle | Dec 31, 2011 | 0 Comments

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Our last adoptable cat of 2011 is a calico looking for a new start to the New Year.
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Opinion

December 31, 2011

Sarasota's Top Stories of 2011

Charles Schelle | Dec 31, 2011 | 0 Comments

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Politics, Violence, Beaches and Lego Man among 2011's most popular Sarasota stories.
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Community Bulletin

December 31, 2011

Promotions

Longboat Key arts center hosts Hermitage Artist Fellows

Dec 30, 2011

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Longboat Key Center for the Arts will host a special evening on Jan. 6 of music and art performed by Hermitage Artist Retreat …

Things to Do

December 31, 2011

12:00 am

The Perlman Music Program Winter Residency

The Perlman Music Program Sarasota Winter Residency is presented by The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast. The Sarasota Winter …

12:00 am

That's Life, Again at Florida Studio Theatre

A follow-up to 2009's "That's Life," this swingin' show is a celebration of when crooners ruled the airwaves. When the teeny-boppers…
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*****

Maryland Senator Joe Getty: Upcoming Town Hall Meeting - Jan. 4 – Hampstead



Marylanders for Joe Getty

December 29, 2011


Sen. Joe Getty will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 4, to discuss with constituents the status of federal, state and local redistricting that is occurring this year. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. at J&P Pizza, 903 S. Main St., in Hampstead.

Major changes were proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley for Carroll County and northern Baltimore County in the alignment of both congressional districts and state legislative districts. Getty will begin the meeting with an update of these maps illustrated through a power-point presentation.

Getty will also discuss recent developments including the decision released last Friday by the three-judge panel considering the challenge in federal court over the state's congressional redistricting plan that was adopted by the Maryland General Assembly in October. The judges upheld the plan of Gov. O'Malley which moved Carroll County out of the 6thCong. District.

Carroll County will now be split between Cong. District 1 and 8. Hampstead and Manchester will be part of a northern and eastern portion of Carroll County that will share a district with the entire Eastern Shore. The remainder of Carroll County and a large portion of Frederick County is moved into Cong. District 8 which is primarily in Montgomery County.

In upholding the congressional redistricting plan, the federal court determined that the changes to Maryland's districts were done for the purpose of gaining a Demcratic partisan advantage. For example, the removal of 100% of Carroll County from the 6thCong. Dist. was clearly part of a design to dilute conservative voters of the existing district and create an opportunity for a Democratic candidate to win in the newly-configured district.

However, the court held that the Supreme Court has not provided a basis for lower courts to overturn state plans based upon "partisan gerrymandering." In a concurring opinion, Judge Roger Titus of the federal three-judge panel wrote: "it is clear that the plan adopted by the General Assembly of Maryland is, by any reasonable standard, a blatant political gerrymander. If the claim had been pressed by the Plaintiffs and an acceptable standard existed for judging it, I would not have hesitated to strike down the Maryland plan."

Getty will also outline how Gov. O'Malley's redistricting plan that provides for realignment of Maryland's 47 Senate districts and 141 member of the House of Delegates will affect local residents. A hearing was held in Annapolis last Thursday on the state map recommended by the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee.

The final plan will be introduced by Gov. O'Malley on the opening day of the General Assembly session on January 11, 2012. The plan becomes law 45 days later unless the Senate and House adopt a different redistricting plan.

Finally, Getty will also discuss the recommendations by the committee that has prepared a report on the 5 districts for Carroll County Commissioners.





[20111229 Getty Upcoming Town Hall Meeting Jan 4 Hampstead]

*****

Friday, December 30, 2011

News from The Hill: White House delays $1.2T debt hike to allow votes in Congress




News from The Hill:

White House delays $1.2T debt hike to allow votes in Congress 
By Peter Schroeder 
The White House has agreed to hold off on formally requesting a $1.2 trillion increase in the debt limit to give Congress time to vote on it. The Obama administration had said that the the Treasury Department could formally request the debt increase as soon as Friday. Officials say the federal debt is nearing the maximum permitted under the law.

Read the story here.


For all the latest news:
Visit TheHill.com 
Follow @TheHill on Twitter
Like The Hill on Facebook

*****

Tn Woman Faces 3 1/2 Years In Prison For Bringing Her LICENSED Gun To The 9/11 Memorial


A tourist from Tennessee was standing in line to visit the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan when she noticed a sign saying "no guns allowed."

The woman is licensed to carry a gun in her home state and she had it with her. Trying to follow the posted signs, she asked security guards where she could check the firearm in her purse. Find out what happened next HERE.


Verizon Preps New $2 Convenience Fee

Verizon Preps New $2 Convenience Fee:

Verizon Faces Backlash Over Fees, Outages

Company blames network glitches on "growing pains," says more are possible.


"UPDATE: The last week of the year has not been a good one for Verizon.


Not only is it dealing with an Internet backlash over its new convenience fees, but it vaunted 4G data network suffered its third outage of the month. In an interview with the tech blog GigaOm, a top company official blamed the spotty service on "growing pains."" http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/12/29/verizon_preps_new_2_convenience_fee.html?from=rss/&wpisrc=newsletter_slatest


'via Blog this'

More Update:

Verizon Drops Plan for $2 Fee on Some Bill Payments

| December 30, 2011


In a remarkably swift reversal, Verizon Wireless has canceled plans to impose a $2 “convenience fee” on some bill payments, just a day after announcing thenew policy.
The company said in a statement that it was dropping the plan in light of customer feedback.
“Verizon Wireless has decided it will not institute the fee for online or telephone single payments that was announced earlier this week,” it said. “The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions. The company continues to encourage customers to take advantage of the numerous simple and convenient payment methods it provides.”
*****

The best tech writing of 2011 | The Verge

The best tech writing of 2011 | The Verge:


"2011 brought ever more things to skim, sort, filter, and read, so it's no surprise that our collective Instapaper queues are overflowing.

Before you mark everything as read — you're not really going to get to those 3,219 unread articles no matter how hard you attack your New Year's resolutions — we've got a couple stories that you shouldn't miss. Here's a selection of writing about technology that stayed with us, whether it offered a particular insight into a startup, added a fresh take on endless social media pandering, or simply nailed some classic pound-the-pavement, behind-the-scenes reporting." http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/30/2667920/best-tech-writing-2011

'via Blog this'

*****

Verizon Wireless to charge customers $2 when they pay bills online or by phone - The Washington Post

Verizon Wireless to charge customers $2 when they pay bills online or by phone - The Washington Post: "By Paul Miller | The Verge, Published: December 29


http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/verizon-to-charge-customers-2-when-they-pay-bills-online-or-by-phone/2011/12/29/gIQAUaBqOP_story.html?wpisrc=nl_tech


Well, it's true. Verizon has confirmed to us that it's adding the $2 convenience fee for paying your bill online or over the phone, and has posted a blurb in its News Center detailing the options available to someone who wants to avoid it.

Obviously many customers use AutoPay, which avoids this hassle entirely, but we're sure there will be plenty of customers frustrated by the fee when it goes live on January 15th.

What's unclear right now is if this constitutes a change in contract terms, which could potentially allow unsatisfied customers to hop off Verizon without a spendy ETF penalty.

We've asked Verizon to clarify, and we also asked for some more details on exactly why online and robo-phone payments are more expensive to process than the "free" options they list — you know, the ones where you pay Verizon money, but don't pay for the privilege." http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/verizon-to-charge-customers-2-when-they-pay-bills-online-or-by-phone/2011/12/29/gIQAUaBqOP_story.html?wpisrc=nl_tech


'via Blog this'


http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2011/12/verizon-wireless-to-charge-customers-2.html


++++++++++++++

Verizon Faces Backlash Over Fees, Outages

Company blames network glitches on "growing pains," says more are possible.

 

"UPDATE: The last week of the year has not been a good one for Verizon.

Not only is it dealing with an Internet backlash over its new convenience fees, but it vaunted 4G data network suffered its third outage of the month. In an interview with the tech blog GigaOm, a top company official blamed the spotty service on "growing pains.""  http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/12/29/verizon_preps_new_2_convenience_fee.html?from=rss/&wpisrc=newsletter_slatest

'via Blog this'

More Update: 

Verizon Drops Plan for $2 Fee on Some Bill Payments

 | December 30, 2011 

In a remarkably swift reversal, Verizon Wireless has canceled plans to impose a $2 “convenience fee” on some bill payments, just a day after announcing thenew policy.
The company said in a statement that it was dropping the plan in light of customer feedback.
“Verizon Wireless has decided it will not institute the fee for online or telephone single payments that was announced earlier this week,” it said. “The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions. The company continues to encourage customers to take advantage of the numerous simple and convenient payment methods it provides.”

*****

CyberAlert MRC Alert: 3rd Runners-Up Quotes in MRC's Best of NQ Annual Awards for Year's Worst Reporting; NBC Takes on Santorum


Media Research Center
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday December 30, 2011 @ 11:48 AM ET

CyberAlert is free to you, but it takes a research and monitoring operation to produce.
Support the Media Research Center: donate
1. Third Runners-Up Quotes in the MRC's Best of NQ Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting
The third runners-up quotes in the MRC's “Best Notable Quotables of 2011: The Twenty-Fourth Annual Awards for the Year’s Worst Reporting.” To determine this year’s winners, a panel of 48 radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, columnists, editorial writers, and expert media observers each selected their choices for the first, second and third best quote from a slate of five to eight quotes in each category. Some categories: "Hopeless Dopes Award for Discrediting Obama’s Opponents," "Damn Those Conservatives Award," "The Grim Reaper Award for Saying Conservatives Want You to Die," "The Ku Klux Con Job Award for Smearing Conservatives with Phony Racism Charges," "Refusing to Acknowledge the Obvious Award for Denying Liberal Media Bias" and "The Barbra Streisand Political IQ Award for Celebrity Vapidity."

2. NBC Presses Santorum on Abortion, Contraception, and Electability
As GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum appeared as a guest on Thursday's Today show on NBC, substitute co-host Savannah Guthrie focused on the former Pennsylvania Senator's views on abortion and contraception, and whether he would be able acceptable to "middle of the road voters."

3. NBC Reflexively Refers to Gingrich Wife as His 'Third Wife'
It's no secret that the media have spent significant attention focusing on GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's history of marital problems and whether this facet of his past will undercut him with socially conservative Republican voters, but on Friday's Today show on NBC, correspondent Peter Alexander went so far as to refer to Gingrich's wife as his "third wife" in a story that otherwise had nothing to do with his marital history.

4. CNN Honors Same-Sex Couple, Suggests Obama Could Benefit From Supporting Same-Sex Marriage
In lieu of President Obama's Hawaiian vacation, CNN highlighted the plight of a Hawaiian same-sex couple that will legally celebrate a civil union come January 1st, but desires federal marriage benefits that do not apply to same-sex couples. In a one-sided and sympathetic report, White House correspondent Brianna Keilar painted the picture of a President who could make a gain at the voting booth if he legalizes same-sex marriage. CNN analyst and National Journal's Ron Brownstein strongly hinted that Obama could be alienating some of his liberal base by sitting on the fence over the gay marriage issue. He made the case that Obama may be losing socially-conservative Democrats anyway, and could "mobilize" voters by supporting same-sex marriage.


>>> Last chance for a 2011 tax deduction. Just a day until the end of the year. Step up now and make a donation to the Media Research Center to support CyberAlert and all we do to counter-act liberal media bias. Contribute now: http://mrc.org/donate <<<


Third Runners-Up Quotes in the MRC's Best of NQ Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting

The third runners-up quotes in the MRC's “ Best Notable Quotables of 2011: The Twenty-Fourth Annual Awards for the Year’s Worst Reporting.” As announced in a CyberAlert Special, the awards issue was posted, with videos, on Monday, December 19, but following tradition, the last weekdays of the year MRC.org’s BiasAlert and corresponding CyberAlert e-mail newsletter will run the winning quotes followed on succeeding days by the runners-up. Tuesday’sBiasAlert/CyberAlert featured the winners, Wednesday’s ran the first runners-up and Thursday’shighlighted the second runners-up.

The page linked above also has links for the text of the entire issue in MS Word, OpenOffice Writer or WordPerfect formats. You can also download a colorful and easily read-able PDF version.

(Tip: There’s an extra quote in most categories in the online version over the PDF one.)

To determine this year’s winners, a panel of 48 radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, columnists, editorial writers, and expert media observers each selected their choices for the first, second and third best quote from a slate of five to eight quotes in each category. First place selections were awarded three points, second place choices two points, with one point for the third place selections. Point totals are listed alongside each quote. Each judge was also asked to choose a “Quote of the Year” denoting the most outrageous quote of 2011.

The MRC’s Michelle Humphrey distributed the ballots and was assisted in their tabulation by Melissa Lopez. Alex Fitzsimmons helped produce the numerous audio and video clips included in the Web-posted version. Rich Noyes and Brent Baker assembled this issue and Brad Ash posted the entire package to the MRC’s Web site.

The list of the judges, who were generous with their time, is posted online and was also listed in Tuesday’s BiasAlert/CyberAlert.

Now, the third runners-up quotes in the 17 award categories, plus Quote of the Year (see the “ Best Notable Quotables of 2011” pages for video and audio clips -- 57 have them -- for the quotes):


The Tea Party Terrorists Award [third runner-up]

“There’s a nihilist caucus which is, ‘Listen, we want to burn the place down.’ I mean, they’re not, they’ve strapped explosives to the Capitol and they think they are immune from it. The Tea Party caucus wants this crisis, and do we want to do this again six months from now?”
— Bloomberg columnist and former Time reporter Margaret Carlson on Inside Washington, July 29. [26 points]


Tying Granny to the Train Tracks Award for Condemning Budget Cuts [third runner-up]

“Budgets are moral documents. You can say what you say, but you are what you are. And when you put your budget on the table, that’s when we learn who you really are. And I’m not so sure that this is not anything more than an immoral document where the poor are concerned....We avoided a shutdown of government, but we effectively locked out the American people, namely, the poor. And I don’t understand why it is in this town that every debate about money always begins and ends with how we can further reward the rich and more punish the poor.”
— PBS’s Tavis Smiley talking about the budget deal that prevented a government shutdown, NBC’s Meet the Press, April 17. [43]


The Obamagasm Award [third runner-up]

“Is President Obama a baby whisperer? The leader of the free world worked his magic on this munchkin a few days ago at the White House. Now, watch as the First Lady tries to quiet down the fussy little friend....She then hands the bawling baby to the big man and, presto, the tot is simply transfixed.”
— “Lifestyle anchor” Lara Spencer on ABC’s Good Morning America, June 22. [29]


Hopeless Dopes Award for Discrediting Obama’s Opponents [third runner-up]

“Critics say these debates promote extremism within the Republican Party, and show that the mean season is upon us. They fault the candidates themselves for not stamping out the behavior when it happens. And they should. Also, some suggested the booing or cheering could turn off moderate and swing voters in the general election. And it should. Here’s the question: Are Republican debate crowds bloodthirsty?”
— CNN’s Jack Cafferty on The Situation Room, September 27. [47]


Damn Those Conservatives Award [third runner-up]

“The House began debating a spending bill today that cuts $833 million from the WIC nutrition program, which provides healthy food to low-income women and their children....Now what was it that Jesus said? ‘Give me your poor and needy, and I’ll go tell them to pound sand.’ That’s at least the Republican vision of Jesus.”
— Anchor Cenk Uygur during the 6pm ET hour of MSNBC News Live, June 14. [33]


The Media Millionaires for Higher Taxes Award [third runner-up]

“Finding a way to raise taxes may well be the central political problem facing the United States.”
— New York Times chief economics writer David Leonhardt, April 13. [31]


The Grim Reaper Award for Saying Conservatives Want You to Die [third runner-up]

“John Boehner and his Republican majority decided to gut the FDA’s food safety and inspection service. First, slashing $87 million from its budget and then another $35 million from the USDA for good measure. Cut, cut, cut. And now the results are in. Sixteen people have lost their lives. Close to 100 are sick. Republicans in Congress talk proudly of their commitment to laissez-faire economics, where government gets out of the way and everything works perfectly. You try telling that to those who ate melon with a side of listeria.”
— Host Martin Bashir on MSNBC’s Martin Bashir, September 30. [31]


Occupy My Heart and Soul Award for Left-Wing Protest Promotion [third runner-up]

“The images from Wisconsin — with its protests, shutdown of some public services and missing Democratic senators, who fled the state to block a vote — evoked the Middle East more than the Midwest. The parallels raise the inevitable question: Is Wisconsin the Tunisia of collective bargaining rights?”
— New York Times reporters Michael Cooper and Katharine Seelye, February 19. [40]


The Media Hero Award [third runner-up]

“We talked to Cory Booker, the Mayor of Newark. This is a tweet he sent out last night, yes, on Saturday: ‘Heading on a pizza run. I’m going to deliver 10 pizzas to those staying in our shelter at JFK.’ So, I mean, you have the contrast, Michael Eric Dyson, between President Bush regretting the fact he had a flyover of the storm zone [after Hurricane Katrina] and Mayor Booker personally delivering pizzas.”
— David Gregory talking about Hurricane Irene on NBC’s Meet the Press, August 28. [31]


Flunk the Founding Fathers Award [third runner-up]

“The reality is that the Framers — posed in paintings as though frozen on an American Olympus — they were not gods, they were guys: guys who didn’t give women the vote, and who let slavery stand for the time being, and who, by the way, were trying to create at the time a stronger central government (of course, not too strong), leaving to us a Constitution that we could fix as needed (sorry, make that amend), which we’ve now done 27 times.”
— ABC’s John Donvan in a report for This Week, July 3. [29]


The Poison Tea Pot Award for Smearing the Anti-Obama Rabble [third runner-up]

“Some people say that the Republican Party has been held hostage by the Tea Party. One of our Facebook followers sent in an interesting analogy and said, ‘Why are Republicans allowing freshman congressmen to control this debate?’ and this person said, ‘It’s like letting the teenager in the family run the family budget.’ I mean, there’s some truth in that.”
— Moderator Bob Schieffer to GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell on CBS’s Face the Nation, July 31. [36]


MSNBC = Mean-Spirited, Nasty, Belligerent Chris Award [third runner-up]

“Is the Republican Party willing to risk economic Armageddon in the name of religion, that is the religion of no taxes? Well, the GOP has become the Wahhabis of American government, willing to risk bringing down the whole country in the service of their anti-tax ideology....The Party’s being driven by fanatics and they’re determined to bounce America’s savings bonds and have the United States begin to become like Greece.”
— MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Hardball, July 5. [29]


The Ku Klux Con Job Award for Smearing Conservatives with Phony Racism Charges [third runner-up]

“I’ve had a lot of guests on recently getting very hot under the collar about the Tea Party....black Americans, leading black Americans who say the Tea Party is racist. And I know that your fairly humorous response is to say, ‘I looked in the mirror and I appear to be a black man, and I’m in the Tea Party,’ which I get and you’re perfectly entitled to say that. But you all know there are elements of the Tea Party who are racist. It’s a trade secret. How do you deal with that as a black man who is now leading the Tea Party charge?”
— Host Piers Morgan to GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, October 19. [40]


America Is the Real Evil Empire Award [third runner-up]

“At the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, thousands of people — most of them college-aged and in requisite flip-floppy collegiate gear — whipped up a raucous celebration right outside the White House gates that was one part Mardi Gras and two parts Bon Jovi concert....It felt a little crazy, a bit much. Almost vulgar....When I saw that folks were celebrating in the streets at the news of bin Laden’s death, my first reaction was a cringe. Remember how we all felt watching videos of those al-Qaeda guys dancing on Sept. 11?”
— Washington Post “Metro” section columnist Petula Dvorak, May 3. [36]


Refusing to Acknowledge the Obvious Award for Denying Liberal Media Bias [third runner-up]

NPR’s Nina Totenberg: “There is a reason that we are the only news organization, other than Fox, with a growing audience. It is because of our product which is straight-shooting, factual, and spends an enormous amount of money gathering news from all over the country and the world. Judge us by our product. The people in the newsroom were probably more mortified than Charles or anybody in the Tea Party, or any, any anybody else. I mean, we were just horrified, and not by the political incorrectness of what he [fired NPR executive Ron Schiller] said, but by the fact that he even thought this way.”
Moderator Gordon Peterson: “Well, this plays right into the belief that you’re a bunch of lefties.”
Totenberg: “I know it does, but it’s not true.”
— Exchange on Inside Washington, March 11. [38]


The Audacity of Dopes Award for the Wackiest Analysis of the Year [third runner-up]

“Your colleague in New York, Gary Ackerman, said the Republicans invited the President, quote, ‘to negotiate at a strip poker table, and he showed up half naked.’ And then liberal columnist Paul Krugman calls the deal an ‘abject surrender.’ Would the President be better off running as a conservative in 2012?”
— Fill-in anchor Don Lemon to Democratic Representative Raul Grijalva, CNN’s In the Arena, August 1. [31]


The Barbra Streisand Political IQ Award for Celebrity Vapidity [third runner-up]

“The scale of Right Wing sociopolitical sabotage necessitates a Nuremberg-scale trial for all the corporate agents and treasonous capitalisto-fascist architects of our democracy’s current and most pressing misery. From the blatant Republican policy doublespeak emanating from think-tank sponsored word doctors to the outright obstruction and lies expectorated by Republican congressional representatives and senators, the very concept of governance can only be considered once the culprits are removed. Driven to real madness by unadulterated greed they have embraced an ideology, the success of which hinges upon the very ruin of this nation.”
— Actor Steven Weber (from the 1990s NBC sitcom Wings) writing at the Huffington Post, October 24. [36]
On Tuesday: The fourth runners-up.

-- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Brent Baker on Twitter.




NBC Presses Santorum on Abortion, Contraception, and Electability

As GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum appeared as a guest on Thursday's Today show on NBC, substitute co-host Savannah Guthrie focused on the former Pennsylvania Senator's views on abortion and contraception, and whether he would be acceptable to "middle of the road voters."

After her first question dealt with whether Santorum would just be the latest candidate to surge and then fade, the remaining three questions she asked focused on whether his social conservatism would appeal to mainstream voters.

Below are all of the questions asked by Guthrie from the Thursday, December 29, Today show on NBC:

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well, we've seen this surge in the latest poll. You are now in third place. There is really just one person who predicted this all along - you. I guess the question now, though, is there have been so many frontrunners.

RICK SANTORUM: My wife, hold on, hold on, my wife, too. My wife predicted this, too. Not just me.

GUTHRIE: Fair enough. Outside of the Santorums, how can you be sure you're not just the latest frontrunner du jour. I mean, there have been five or six of them. [SANTORUM]

At the same time, you have campaigned in Iowa tirelessly really tailoring your message to social conservatives in Iowa, but does that message, does your campaign have viability outside of Iowa, in New Hampshire, with mainstream voters? [SANTORUM]

Yeah, but, Senator, you yourself have said you will not make these social issues backburner issues. You want them to be front and center. Your views on abortion are well known. You make no exception for abortion in the case of rape or incest. Other Republican candidates have now adopted that view. But somewhat lesser known are your views on contraception. You have said it is not okay, that it's dangerous, and you've said you're the only presidential candidate willing to talk about your views against contraception. For voters not familiar with you, what are they? [SANTORUM]

You know as well as anybody else, having run in Pennsylvania - won a couple of times, but also lost - that the general election will come down to those  middle of the road voters - moderate, persuadable, independent voters. Many of them are women. Should Republicans sizing up your candidate today be concerned about this issue of electability should you be the nominee against Barack Obama? [SANTORUM]
-- Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center




NBC Reflexively Refers to Gingrich Wife as His 'Third Wife'

It's no secret that the media have spent significant attention focusing on GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's history of marital problems and whether this facet of his past will undercut him with socially conservative Republican voters, but on Friday's Today show on NBC, correspondent Peter Alexander went so far as to refer to Gingrich's wife as his "third wife" in a story that otherwise had nothing to do with his marital history.

Below is the relevant portion of Alexander's report from the Friday, December 30, Today show on NBC:

PETER ALEXANDER: Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich, whose support has recently plummeted in Iowa, is struggling to keep his campaign alive, symbolized by this blunt exchange with a voter Thursday.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN IN AUDIENCE: Do you really want to be President?

NEWT GINGRICH: I think it's my duty as a citizen and as a grandfather to try to help serve my country at a time when I think we're in real trouble.

ALEXANDER: Gingrich is increasingly promoting his third wife, Callista, as a key campaign asset. Mrs. Gingrich appears in this new campaign video promoting music education in schools, drawing on her own experience as a musician.
-- Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center




CNN Honors Same-Sex Couple, Suggests Obama Could Benefit From Supporting Same-Sex Marriage

In lieu of President Obama's Hawaiian vacation, CNN highlighted the plight of a Hawaiian same-sex couple that will legally celebrate a civil union come January 1st, but desires federal marriage benefits that do not apply to same-sex couples. In a one-sided and sympathetic report, White House correspondent Brianna Keilar painted the picture of a President who could make a gain at the voting booth if he legalizes same-sex marriage.

CNN analyst and National Journal's Ron Brownstein strongly hinted that Obama could be alienating some of his liberal base by sitting on the fence over the gay marriage issue. He made the case that Obama may be losing socially-conservative Democrats anyway, and could "mobilize" voters by supporting same-sex marriage.

"Monica and Donna are part of that coalition," Keilar said referring to the coalition Brownstein said Obama "could mobilize" in the coming election. "They voted for President Obama in 2008, and while they think he now privately supports their desire for a federally-recognized marriage, they say that's not enough," Keilar added.

At the center of the story was a Hawaiian same-sex couple that desires the legal rights of married couples, and is waiting on President Obama to support same-sex marriage. CNN interviewed no one from the other side of the debate opposing gay marriage.

[Video below.]





"We don't want to keep waiting and waiting," one of the subjects told CNN at the end of the sympathetic report. "What good does it do if you support it personally, but you don't put it out there for everybody to know that this is your stand?"

Keilar herself sounded almost hopeful as she analyzed Obama's "evolving" stance on gay marriage. "As a candidate, Obama supported civil unions, though he said the issue of marriage is best left up to the states. But this year, he's signaled he may change his mind," she reported.

A transcript of the segment, which aired on December 29 at 4:44 p.m. EST, is as follows:


BRIANNA KEILAR: (voice-over) When President Obama and his family ring in the new year here on Oahu, many same-sex couples in Hawaii will celebrate for a different reason. Civil unions become legal here on January 1st.

MONICA MONTGOMERY, planning civil union ceremony: Now our state has finally said we support you, and that leaves us a really good feeling.

KEILAR: Monica Montgomery is from Kailua, the town where the Obamas are vacationing. Her partner of 33 years, Donna Gedge, went to the same high school as President Obama. Shortly after midnight on New Year's Day, Gedge and Montgomery plan to seal their civil union with a ceremony.

(on camera) Why is it so important to do it at that very moment?

MONTGOMERY: Because we've waited so long.

Normally I wouldn't be functioning at 12:30 in the morning. That's not a time I would choose, but we want to do it, and do it right away.

KEILAR: (voice-over) They call it a step in the right direction. Because there's a big difference between states allowing civil unions or marriages, and the federal government condoning marriage. Same-sex couples do not qualify for federal rights afforded to heterosexual married couples – like social security benefits, immigration rights, or the ability to file federal taxes jointly. Even in Hawaii, marriage is defined by law as between a man and a woman – a position shared by Hawaii's most famous native son.

RICK WARREN, pastor, Saddleback Church: Define marriage.

President BARACK OBAMA: I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now for me as a Christian –

(Applause)

KEILAR: As a candidate, Obama supported civil unions, though he said the issue of marriage is best left up to the states. But this year, he's signaled he may change his mind.

President BARACK OBAMA: As I've said, my feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this.

KEILAR: The majority of Democrats and even independent voters support same-sex marriage. Observers like political analyst Ron Brownstein say the President appears to be playing to socially conservative Democrats who tend to be rural, older white voters without a college education.

RON BROWNSTEIN, senior political analyst: But the paradox is that he's already losing those voters in big numbers. He lost about three-fifths, for example, of both non-college whites and white seniors in 2008. They voted even more heavily for Republicans in 2010, and by avoiding these issues, he may be disappointing the actual coalition that he could mobilize in 2012.

KEILAR: Monica and Donna are part of that coalition. They voted for President Obama in 2008, and while they think he now privately supports their desire for a federally-recognized marriage, they say that's not enough.

DONNA GEDGE, planning civil union ceremony: What good does it do if you support it personally, but you don't put it out there for everybody to know that this is your stand?

We don't want to keep waiting and waiting.

(End Video Clip)
KEILAR: Now the White House is very sensitive to the suggestion that President Obama has not fully delivered for gay and lesbian Americans – pardon me, Wolf – you'll frequently hear White House officials touting what he has delivered on, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and of course the Justice Department has stopped defending that federal ban on same-sex marriage, questioning the constitutionality of it. But ultimately, Wolf, it seems like this will be a decision for the courts. There's a number of legal challenges winding their way through the system right now, but it's very possible, advocates think, that they won't see a resolution to this until after the election.

-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center

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