Good morning . .
Yesterday was an interesting day for radio and tv stations across the country. Taking a page from PBS, radio and tv stations participated in an on-air (and off air) fundraising scheme for the tsunami victims. In Chicago, and especially on Channel 5, you could really not tell the difference between this "pledge" drive and the PBS begathons.
Stations in Chicago raised a reported $1.5 million. The money will be given to the American Red Cross. Well, after the cut for the telemarketing company and the Red Cross there will only be about a third of the money actually reaching victims.
Personally, I will not be giving any money to this relief effort. Since the US government will eventually give $1 billion dollars in aid, I have given plenty through my tax dollars. That's enough.
ABS Good Morning America is no fan of the Bush Administration and takes every opportunity to criticize the President and members of his administration. Tuesday's program was no exception.
Left wing poster girl and Democratic shill, Diane Sawyer, attempted to criticize the US response to the tsunami. She ranted about slow response and a small amount of aid money going to help victims. She was, thankfully, stopped dead in her tracks by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Here is part of the exchange . . .
Sawyer's first two questions to Powell: "As you know, there's all kinds of second guessing going on that America missed a great opportunity, particularly in an intensely Muslim area to show good faith in the beginning."
Powell: "Hang on, hang on. A little while ago the Thai foreign minister and I gave a press conference and what he said was the first person to call him, the first person to call the Thai government was me, last Sunday night. And I said to him, 'What do you need?'"
Sawyer: "But other countries were giving more."
Powell: "No, Diane, that's not right. We have to get this right because everybody keeps lingering on this story. The Japanese initially gave a fairly modest amount. It was only at the end of the week when they realized the scale of the disaster that they go up to $500 million. And so, the United States has been in the lead. Our ships were launched, our disaster teams were launched, task forces were set up, money started to flow immediately."
ABC: Missed Chance to Show "Good Faith"; NBC: Bush "Fumbled" --1/5/2005-- Media Research Center
While far left liberals like Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. John "where are the turkeys" Conyers (D-MI) will openly protest the electoral votes from Ohio, Sen. John Kerry will not support their efforts.
Instead, Kerry will introduce legislation to create a "national standard" to solve the problems in several states. In a letter to supporters Kerry said that there might have been some irregularities in Ohio and other states, but these would not have changed the outcome of the election.
Sounds like the junior Senator from Massachusetts is smarter than many of his liberal friends.
Kerry Says He'll Introduce Voting Reform Legislation -- 01/06/2005
There could be a war in the air. At least a price war among many of the US's major and minor airlines.
Last week Delta announced that it would be cutting fares, lowering the fee for an itinerary change, and other cost reductions that will benefit passengers. The Delta move is thought to be a response to low fare airlines like Southwest and JetBlue.
Now it appears that American Airlines will join the trend. Wednesday, AMR, parent company of American, announced that it will restructure its fares, eliminate Saturday night stays, and lower the penalty for last minute flights. Unlike Delta, American has not, so far, announced a price cap for its fares.
Mrs. Check This Out flies for business. I wonder if her company will insist on American or Delta for her upcoming flights.
News
The hearings on the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General are underway. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is leading the attack against the former White House Counsel and Texas Supreme Court Justice.
Leahy asked where the "buck" stops for interrogation abuse by military investigators. Clearly, Senator, if it is a military investigation and the detainees are considered prisoners of war, the buck stops at the Defense Department not the Justice Department.
In a related issue, the White House has refused to release documents about Gonzales' role in the formulation of administration policy on torture of POWs.
Gonzales Hearings
The Drudge Report is reporting only in a headline that the CBS Investigation into Rathergate is set for release. I'll believe it when I see it.
More in the Afternoon Update.
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