GraniteGrok

I hate political correctness - as I said in my recent Letter to the Editor in one of the local papers:

Political Correctness is the last vestige of the insufferable who cannot win on merit.

As Doug pointed out (Negro 101 Part 1 and Negro 101 Part 2), the PC Po-lice were out in full force this past week - all over the use of the word "negro" by a senior citizen's in a Letter to the Editor.  Never mind that he, after voting for Obama, called Obama's ideas all but nutzy - that was left totally alone (imagine that, no defending of the indefensible by the committed!).  No, the "we want everyone to be tolerant NOW" crowd certainly had a certain, shall we say, lack of tolerance themselves and went after the use of a single word.

Thus, when I saw this by Glen Reynolds of Instapundit (hey, he's linked to us in the past - we're just returning the favor!), I had to put it up - a great summary:

JAMES KIRCHICK: Jonathan Crutchley discovers how intolerant the gay community can be.

Money line from Glenn:

Is it just me, or does it seem that the people who are the most demanding of tolerance tend to be those least likely to display it themselves?

Indeed!

Posted by Skip at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

An interesting debate about the "presumptive" Democratic nominee taking place here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire in our local papers and in cyberspace has escalated into a full blown debate over race, language, and political correctness. It all started when one of the local wags-- a Democrat "seasoned citizen"-- submitted a letter to several local papers. It's author, Mr. Jack Stephenson, is well known to me and is someone I've always found thoughtful, humorous, and honest almost to a fault-- he speaks his mind, and makes no apologies. Well, except when he puts forth his thoughts and later concludes he was mistaken... then, unlike most, he goes out of his way to admit it, and lets everyone know he was wrong with whatever previous mistaken position.

Here's what Jack had to say in the letter printed in the Citizen and Laconia Daily Sun newspapers earlier this week. Keep in mind, he has long been known for his not-always PC, but truthful letters, always with a touch of Yankee humor:

To The Editor,

It is clear that IF we all had the knowledge about Obama which we have heard since he got the "nomination" (not confirmed until their convention), Hillary would be the Democrat candidate. But back then we didn't know that brilliant Obama could not speak intelligently without his staff prepared cue cards. Back then we didn't know that he opposed any increase in safe, clean, cheap energy sources (long proven nuclear, wind, solar and clean coal). Back then we didn't know that he would propose the biggest tax increase ever in the US! Back then some of us thought that he was the same as most USA negros, but he is NOT, and he has become a total insult to our great successful negros in the USA. Back then we didn't know that he was both against the Iraq war and for it, both against battles in Afganistan and for it, and wants to greatly increase number of our troops in Afganistan (the most dangerous place on earth). He is totally for WAR and totally against war, totally for outrageous taxes and totally against taxes, totally for 100% control of all medical care, and totally oppossed to government control of health care.

It is absolutely clear that Obama is totally for and totally against every issue which Americans are concerned with. IE, he is the ultimate politician, as his Church Pastor long ago told us!

Honesty, practicallity, need, usefulness, has nothing to do with Obama. Clearly, Obama is trying to steal from Clinton the title of the world's best LIAR! Hillary tried that, but Obama beat her out for that title.

We must encourage Hillary to take the nomination away from misleading Obama, and give the nation a chance for a fair election. It can happen, and if it doesn't, we are in for a "Hollywood style" president!

Jack Stephenson

Gilford

Well... You just know that that letter certainly caught the eye of the readers locally, including that of the local Democrat Party leaders, most of whom, like their hero Obama, cannot accept the slightest bit of criticism, and immediately cry foul when it occurs. Call Obama unfit to lead? Bigotry! Question his qualifications? How dare we doubt his patriotism! Note his liberal record? Racist! The chair of the Laconia, NH Democrats sounded the alarm in the daily emailed communiqué:

By the way, I don't know how many of you saw the letter to the editor in the Laconia Citizen yesterday from Gilford's Jack Stephenson complaining about Obama.  An excerpt:  Back then some of us thought that he was the same as most USA negros, but he is NOT, and he has become a total insult to our great successful negros in the USA.  Personally, I find that extremely offensive and I'm writing a letter in response.  I encourage each of you to do the same.

This was followed by a later email and blog post reiterating his request to take "Mr. Stephenson to task." And so they did, including none other than NH Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley. But first out of the gate was another local lib (known to 'Grok readers, perhaps) who fancies himself intellectually superior  to most folks, once again seeking first to dazzle readers with his "vast knowledge" of matters of great importance, in the hopes they'll believe his recollection of history and culture. This week, he gave us HIS version of history-- "Negro 101", if you will:

Continue reading "Democrats ignite race debate in Central NH's Lakes Region. Part One: "Negro 101"" »

Posted by Doug at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Skip at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For years we've heard that we are all too fat, that we're killing ourselves.  Worse, we as parents are killing our kids because of obesity.

Then how do the Nanny Police explain this:

US life expectancy tops 78 as top diseases decline

For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years, the government reported Wednesday, although the United States continues to lag behind about 30 other countries in estimated life span.

The increase is due mainly to falling mortality rates in almost all the leading causes of death, federal health officials said. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2006 was about four months greater than for children born in 2005.

Japan has the longest life expectancy — 83 years for children born in 2006, according to World Health Organization data. Switzerland and Australia were also near the top of the list.

"The international comparisons are not that appealing, but we may be in the process of catching up," said Samuel Preston, a University of Pennsylvania demographer. He is co-chairman of a National Research Council panel looking at why America's life expectancy is lower than other nations'.

The new U.S. data, released Wednesday, come from the National Center for Health Statistics. It's a preliminary report of 2006 numbers, based on data from more than 95 percent of the death certificates collected that year.

Life expectancy is the period a child born in 2006 is expected to live, assuming mortality trends stay constant.

Look, I carry extra pounds, no doubt about it. As I often say, it's not that I overeat, I'm under exercised.  Yet, every time I hear that commercial that says "We may be the first generation that has our kids living shorter lives than their parents."

I guess the above information puts that bit of hyperbole to rest... 

Posted by Skip at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

These past few years we have seen the push-pull between traditional Christians and secular humanists - those that wish to express their religion and those that seemingly wish to suppress all expressions thereof.  No surprise - I'm with the former.  Like it or not, historically we are a Judeo-Christian nation and still remain one of the most religious Western nations. 

With that said, I was both not surprised (but still saddened) when I read this stating that these nine Democrats (which in the aggregate, tend to be much more liberal and much less religious than the general population) decided to vote against a US House of Representative Resolution that

"recognize the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.” :

Rep. Gary Ackerman (N.Y.)            Rep. Yvette Clarke (N.Y.)

Rep. Diane DeGette (Colo.)            Rep. Alcee Hastings (Fla.)

Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.)                 Rep. Jim McDermott (Wash.)

Rep. Robert Scott (Va.)                   Lynn Woolsey (Calif.)

Rep. Pete Stark (Calif.)

And then I continued on - what did they vote FOR?

A resolution that supported a House resolution to honor Ramadan -

the Muslim month of fasting.

Posted by Skip at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I did this report yesterday, but given that I am traveling and work precludes a lot of blogging, I figure that our friend John Hawkins (and fairly regular guest on Meet The New Press) says it quite well:

If you add together government bureaucracy + liberal political correctness + health care, it's not surprising that the result is something like this (which is occurring in Britain),

OVERWORKED nurses have been ordered to stop all medical work five times every day to move Muslim patients’ beds so they face towards Mecca.

The lengthy procedure, which also includes providing fresh bathing water, is creating turmoil among overstretched staff on bustling NHS wards.

“Some people might think it is not that big a deal, but we have a huge Muslim population in Dewsbury and if we are having to turn dozens of beds to face Mecca five times a day, plus provide running water for them to wash before and after prayers, it is bound to impact on the essential medical service we are supposed to be providing.

Welcome to the bureaucratic mentality, my friends! Just imagine taking the compassion of the IRS, combining it with the competence of FEMA, and the efficiency of the DMV and then turning it loose on health care in this country. That's what we're headed towards if Hillary Clinton and company get their way.

PS: Want to change our health care for the better without handing it over to the government? Take away the enormous tax breaks we currently hand over to companies for health care and allow people to get tax breaks for their own, individual policies. That would allow many more Americans to be covered, it would put an end to people losing their health coverage because they lost their jobs, and it would drive down the cost of health care. It's a much better, more efficient solution to our problems than socialized medicine.

Healthcare in Britain, under their socialist system, is rationed.  Wait times are growing and I see story after story after story of people needing care being denied that care.  And this is what the Democrats want to bring to us?

Frankly, it is nothing but pandering - and the folks that are buying into it see nothing wrong for everyone else paying for their healthcare needs.  To be sure, almost all systems being offered by the solons do have that component (after all, that's what insurance is).  The stark difference is that the Dems are falling all over themselves in the "...it takes a village..." model, while (for instance, Rudy's plan) tries to take government OUT of the equation and even out the tax inequalities to make that happen. 

Remember - it does not ALWAYS take a village.  Remember this?  What solutions generally need is voluntary cooperation (not coerced by government), a health dash of self-interest, and an ROI doesn't hurt either!

Posted by Skip at 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you well know, Members of Congress have voted themselves sufficient pay raises to be be in the top 5% of all income earners in the US (that boundary is about $145,000/year).   Even though most of them are quite wealthy on their own, they generally give the reason that they have to support two houses and other type balderdash on that paltry amount. 

Tangent Alert: I find it less-than-curious that the Democratic leaders wish to reduce "income inequality" that they say is a looming crisis in the county.  Well, why not lead from the front, lead by example?  You voted yourselves to make your selves rich, if you truly believe that being rich is wrong, you've got over 500 of the richest people in America already regularly meeting in one building - start there!

After all, the House of Representatives here in NH recieve a stipend of $100 and travel mileage.  Period.  There are still some things here in NH that allow me to state that we are a "frugal" state (the word is actually in our Constitution) but I have to wonder how much that will last given the Dems have taken over (and in their first budget owning the House, the Senate, the Executive Council, the Governorship, is up 17%). 

Anyways, what I really wanted to talk about was this that I saw over at DefenseTech:

Well, this brand spanking new $70 million C-40 (just came as a Thanksgiving - early Christmas present - either to the Air Force that has to maintain / fly it, or to the Congress, who will use it for their junkets.

With exquisite timing, Boeing chooses a travel weekend that could go down in the annals of airborne horror to deliver a top-of-the-line Boeing Business Jet that will be assigned to Congress -- those folks who have charged billions in air travel taxes over the decades and left us with 1930s blind-landing technology. The jet took off from Seattle this morning for its base at Scott AFB in Illinois.

The C-40C, jam-packed with 40 seats by luxury-jet specialists at Greenpoint Technologies, is the third and last of a batch ordered in 2005. They will be operated by the USAF reserve to carry Congressional delegations around the world.

I've done more than my share of riding on "Guppies" - I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt that I have NEVER had the chance to ride in a 737 (the civilian version of the C-40) that had just 40 seats ("normal specs" here): 

Continue reading "Look what they keep voting for themselves" »

Posted by Skip at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

University of Delaware - degrees in indoctrination? 

While this story came out last week and may be one of the most egregious of the bunch, it really bears watching. This is not an isolated instance by any stretch of the imagination - at a lot of campuses, political correctness seems to overrun sanity.  And in this case, common sense...

While the professors themselves may disagree, the Academy (our institutes of higher learning) lean left.  It has been shown in multiple studies that the professors are more often Democrats than Republicans in large (sometimes overwhelming) percentages - just like a lot of MSM newsrooms.  Often, entire departments will contribute to liberal causes (and politicians) to the almost total exclusion of conservative issues (and politicians).

And while I'd rather see a more equitable split, that's their problem, not mine.  But after reading this, perhaps it is a problem for all of us: Left and Right.

And it has turned into a problem.  It is has been seen that the radical, liberal groupthink that has overtaken our colleges and universities is threatening the free exchange of ideas and views - the whole raison d'etre for its existence.  In other words, while there is much talk of freedom in the theoretical, in reality, political correctness rules the day.  Unless one talks the talk decreed by that groupthink, you are in deep sneakers.

Examples: 

Have a great GPA but disagree that corporal punishment is not necessarily wrong?  Get thrown out of school:

SYRACUSE, N.Y., January 19, 2006—A New York appeals court has determined that Le Moyne College wrongly removed graduate student Scott McConnell from its education program for endorsing corporal punishment in class.  The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) first brought McConnell’s case to public attention last year.

Continue reading "The Academy - its dirty laundry keeps spilling out" »

Posted by Skip at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Growing up, I hated the Knicks.  Why?  They were always trying to beat my beloved (at least back then during the dynasty of Kevin, Larry, and Robert) Celts.  Given that my ardor for the once unbeatable (now hapless) team has cooled, there may be another reason?  And yes, I've made the language kid / filter friendly.

From the NY Daily News:

Isiah Explains double standard on slurs in Garden trial

Jurors heard the Knicks coach say he wouldn't stand for a white man calling a black woman a "b***h" - but wouldn't be as angry if the same words came from the mouth of a black man.

In a videotaped deposition played for the jury at fired Knicks exec Anucha Browne Sanders' sexual harassment trial, Thomas said he drew a distinction between whites and blacks when it came to the B-word.

Asked if he was bothered by a black man calling a black female "b***h," Thomas said: "Not as much. I'm sorry to say, I do make a distinction.

"A white male calling a black female a b***his highly offensive," Thomas said. "That would have violated my code of conduct."

"Maybe I shouldn't go there. ... A white male calling a black female, that is wrong with me. I'm not taking that. I'm not accepting that. ... That's a problem for me."

And then you wonder why I get so sick and tired of political correctness.  Frankly, isn't this just another form of blatant racism - the color of one's skin determines what one can say without landing in PC jail?

'Nuff said on this. 

Thomas was asked if he would have disciplined Marbury if he had found out he called Browne Sanders a "black b***h." Thomas said, "As best I could, yes."

Yup, strong leadership...the operative phrase contains: asylum, inmates, running,

Posted by Skip at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

We have a local paper, the Laconia Daily Sun, that runs a column of a local professor that, to put it mildly, with whom we disagree - a lot!  Short version: a Peace and Justice kind of guy, speaks poorly  about religion and national pride of any type (champions for a one world government via the UN), he advocates lots of talk and non-violence to solve ALL problems.  Violence is so passe; war is just so uncivilized.

Sure thing, dude.  'Splain this one (emphasis mine):

He’s made good will gestures. He’s made concessions.

He’s reached out.

But the jihadis keep slaughtering people indiscriminately.

What’s a military-installed prime minister to do?

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Wednesday that separatists fighting in Muslim-majority provinces have refused to take up his offer to launch peace talks.

Check one - Let's talk! 

“As of now, there has been no progress on starting negotiations, because that would require the agreement of both sides. So there are no talks for now,” he told reporters.

“My government is still adhering a policy of non-violence, but cooperation from the people is crucial,” he said.

Check two - non-violence! 

Since Surayud took office following a military coup last year, he has made a series of peace gestures to the militants fighting along the southern border with Malaysia.

Check three - keep trying! 

But the violence has only escalated since the coup, and the government has deployed thousands more troops and paramilitary forces to the region.

Go figure.

(Hat tip: Jihad Watch.)

MY hat tip to Little Green Footballs! 

Background:  the Thai military overthrew the civilian government a while ago as it became alarmed / frustrated over the continued violence and that government's inability to bring peace to the southern region of Thailand as radical Islamofascists continued attacking unarmed Buddhists and Christians.  They installed a new Prime Minister who was supposed to "fix" the problem.

The above is probably a model for what these peace centers are pushing for with the PM trying to act 

As one can tell...

Continue reading "See what happens when you try what the Peace Centers advocate?" »

Posted by Skip at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, about the only thing I can add to this is that I hope you join me in calling Hillary my newly invented name for her: Chillery!

And, "The truth will set you free" (Good Bible Verse, huh?) and I'd like to add: set you free of the democrats!

"Subject: WAYS TO BE A GOOD DEMOCRAT

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. Nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion of the Christ for financial gain only.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

Continue reading "Ways To Be A Good Democrat!" »

Posted by Judy at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

From the San Francisco Chronicle 

San Francisco's already tough laws on firearms will get even stronger -- becoming some of the most restrictive in the country -- after a vote at City Hall Tuesday....

They don't like the military (one supervisor believes that all the country need to defends itself is the Coast Guard and police), they don't like the Blue Angels, they don't like....well, you get the idea.

Being one of the most (if not THE most) liberal cities in the country, they certainly don't like guns - they're eeevvviiillll.  Hey, ban the guns and crime will go away.  Restrict peoples rights to own or carry guns should work, right?

Er... 

...But even new restrictions won't do much to stop the gun violence escalating on city streets, one sponsor of the new laws said after the vote.

The violence that has been generally confined to more crime-plagued neighborhoods crossed into a major tourist area Monday afternoon, with a shooting that left one person dead and put bullet holes through the front window of a popular restaurant.

Gun-related homicides, injuries from shootings, and gun crimes in and around schools are becoming increasingly common, according to the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.

Well, THAT notion seems to be working real well - in proving that old saw of "if you make owning a gun a crime, then only criminals will have guns"...

Yes, the come back is "well, the guns are coming from outside the city!".  Well, of course.  But look what has happened in Britain....restrict guns and they'll use something else.  And yes, Britain now has a terrific problem - knives have replaced guns.

The laws -- which gained final approval from the Board of Supervisors -- would restrict both the sale and possession of firearms.

Specifically, they would prohibit the possession or sale of firearms on city property, require firearms in residences to be in a locked container or have trigger locks and require firearm dealers to submit an inventory to the chief of police every six months.

The last provision is intended to allow city officials to know how many guns are sold, though there is only one gun shop in the city.

Please answer me one question - if it isn't helping to combat crime, if the restrictions that have been passed have effectively done nothing....why?

Despite the laws, however, Mirkarimi said he doubts they will quell the kind of violence that erupted on Monday afternoon, which police suspect may be tied to a feud between a San Francisco gang and an East Bay gang.

"Nobody should be surprised about the migration and proliferation of gun violence in San Francisco," Mirkarimi said. "We've been saying this for two-and-a-half years, that the murders, homicides and gun violence that have been occurring in the more routine areas ... have now migrated into other areas."

Sure thing!  No deterrence (gee, someone else might have a weapon to use on me as I rob or assault them!) only emboldens some.  Add to that the fact that they are a sanctuary city and the police are hamstrung with politically correct regulations, what would you expect?

Voters passed the proposition with 58 percent in favor, but it is tied up in court after the National Rifle Association challenged its constitutionality. Newsom said the vote amounted to a "public opinion poll."

Conservative - a liberal that got mugged....if they survive.

Posted by Skip at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So often I hear from the big name journalists that "we report the truth and only the truth".  That only a journalism degree and years of experience can allow one to objectively report on the goings on in the world.

Balderdash.  At the same time that they rail against citizen journalists and bloggers for our lack of the above, at least most bloggers readily admit their biases right up front instead of insisting that they are perfectly objective - unlike many journalists - like these! 

I am actually very surprised that journalists would investigate other journalists this way - telling secrets out of school?  I'm sorta glad that journalists are finally coming under the same microscope that they have applied to others - and I bet they don't like it!

See the list after the jump.

Add to it this story that outlines how the MSM forms a "template" and uses it to shape national opinion on certain topics - that is called lobbying and not what I consider "news".

Journalism: Last fall, when the jobless rate hit a five-year low of 4.4%, Vice President Cheney was asked by ABC's George Stephanopolous why the administration didn't get more credit for it. "Well," said Cheney, "you guys don't help."

So much for the understatement of 2006. Cheney, of course, was referring to the now-obvious fact that even when there's good news about the economy, it's played down — or turned upside down — by the mainstream media.

Coverage of that unemployment report, coming just before the congressional elections, was just one of many cases in point, as the Media Research Center (MRC) pointed out at the time.

ABC reported on the "exceptionally low" rate, as Stephanopolous described it — albeit 19 minutes into its evening newscast. But "CBS, and NBC to a lesser extent, spun the good news into bad," MRC observed. "Though wages had grown by 3.9% over the (previous) 12 months, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric used the lower unemployment news as a segue to ask: 'But do the jobs out there pay enough? A big issue in the battle for Congress this year is how much the lowest-paid workers make.'

"Viewers then saw a full story on the plight of minimum wage workers and how raising it is 'resonating' with voters."

No wonder, said MRC, that an ABC News/Washington Post poll taken just before the election found more than half of Americans (53%) thought the economy was "not so good" or "poor."

Objective, huh?  Straight up the middle, eh? 

There are good, honest reporters out there (we are blessed with a few here in central NH!).  Wish it were so other places. 

Details for the political donations:

Television:

(D) ABC News, Mary Fulginiti, "Primetime" correspondent, Hollywood, Calif., $500 to Gov. Bill Richardson, Democratic presidential candidate, 2007. Before she joined ABC in November 2006, lawyer Fulginiti gave $6,000 to Democratic candidates.

ABC forbids political activity by journalists.

"A friend asked me to contribute" to Richardson, Fulginiti said. "This is not a reflection of my political views. Look, I've made a mistake here. I'm a legal analyst — this is all new to me. I have been politically active in the past. This is when I was just starting out at ABC. I was still thinking as a lawyer."

Click to return to the list.

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(D) ABC affiliate in Boston, WCVB, Sangita Chandra, producer, $250 to House candidate Jamie Wall, Democrat, Wisconsin, in April 2005.

Chandra is a producer for the nightly newsmagazine "Chronicle" and news and feature programs. She said she gave to the candidate in Wisconsin because of a personal connection. "He's one of my best friends. He's the only candidate I've donated to."

Click to return to the list.

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(D) ABC affiliate in Wichita, Susan Peters, anchor, $600 to America Coming Together in two donations in 2004 and 2005. She anchors the news at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. America Coming Together funded get-out-the-vote drives to defeat President Bush in 2004.

Peters didn't return calls.

KAKE news director David Grant said, "To be honest, I don't have an answer for you. Can I get back to you?" He didn't call back.

Click to return to the list.

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(D) CBS News, Serena Altschul, contributing correspondent for "CBS Sunday Morning," $5,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in October 2004. She was a correspondent for CBS from 2003 to 2006.

A CBS spokeswoman said Altschul "did some checking with family members, and the contribution was in fact made in her name."

A year after this donation, CBS tightened its policy to forbid all political activity.

Click to return to the list.

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(D) CBS News, producer, Edward H. Forgotson Jr., "CBS Sunday Morning," $1,000 in June 2006 to Patrick J. Kennedy, Democrat, the Rhode Island congressman and son of Sen. Ted Kennedy. The donation was made two weeks after Kennedy pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of prescription drugs in an accident on Capitol Hill.

A CBS spokesman said the network's policy was tightened in September 2006 to forbid contributions to political campaigns. Previously, there was a bit of wiggle room.

"My donation pre-dates the clarification of CBS News policy," Forgotson said. "I've made no contributions to any candidate or party since."

Click to return to the list.

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(D) CBS affiliate in Boston, WBZ, Liz Walker, newsmagazine host, $1,000 to Women Senate 2006, which gave to Democratic candidates, in December 2005; $2,500 to Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton in January 2005; $250 to Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in Michigan in March 2006; and $250 to Sen. Maria Cantwell, Washington Democrat, in March 2006.

Walker did not return a phone call, but WBZ spokeswoman Ro Dooley Webster said that Walker was not in the news department when she made those contributions, though she has since returned to a news department role. Walker had been the station's anchor for 20 years but left in January 2005 to become host of the station's community affairs and opinion show. She made the contributions in 2005 and 2006, before returning to a news role, doing pieces for the newscast.

Click to return to the list.

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(D) CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, KCBS, Claudia Bill, news writer, $250 to Democrat John Edwards in March 2007, and $500 to Democratic candidate Lois Capps in a House race in October 2003.

"I'm a news writer. I write copy for the anchors," Bill said. "What's written by the news writers is copy edited several times. I haven't covered any politics at all in this particular race. I made a donation as a private citizen, not as a member of CBS. If I were, say, Katy Couric, then you may have a different picture." She said she wasn't aware that CBS policy now forbids donations.

Click to return to the list.

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(D) CBS affiliate in Memphis, WREG, Markova Reed, anchor of morning and noon news, $250 to Ed Stanton, a Democratic House candidate from Memphis, in January 2006.

Reed did not return calls. WREG's president and general manager, Ronald A. Walter, said, "Yes, we do restrict employees, journalists particularly, from engaging in political activity. We don't want people doing that. We feel that in this particular case it was an innocent mistake on her part, and we have handled it internally."

Click to return to the list.

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(D) CNN, Guy Raz, Jerusalem correspondent, now with NPR as defense correspondent, $500 to John Kerry in June 2004.

Raz donated to Kerry the same month he was embedded in Iraq with U.S. troops for CNN. He also covered reaction to Abu Ghraib and President Bush's policies in the Middle East. In 2006, he returned to NPR, and covers the Pentagon.

"Yes, I made the donation," Raz said in an e-mail. "At the time, I was a reporter with CNN International based out of London. I covered international news and European Union stories. I did not cover US news or politics."

Both CNN and NPR prohibit political activity by all journalists, no matter their assignment.

Click to return to the list.

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(R) CW affiliate in Chicago, WGN, Jay Congdon, news producer, $500 to Republican senatorial candidate Cynthia Thielen of Hawaii in October 2006.

Congdon did not return phone calls. The station's management would only confirm that he is employed.

Click to return to the list.

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(R) CW affiliate in Los Angeles, KTLA, Diana Chi, news writer, 19 contributions totaling $8,025 to the Republican National Committee from 2002 through 2006.

Chi did not return phone calls. Nor did the news director, Jeff Wald.

Click to return to the list.

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(R) Fox News Channel, Ann Stewart Banker, producer for Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor," $5,000 in June 2006 to Volunteer PAC, which gave to Republican candidates. Her father was once a campaign treasurer for former Republican Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee.

Banker didn't return calls. A Fox News spokesman said donations are allowed.

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(D) Fox News Channel, Codie Brooks, researcher for Brit Hume's "Special Report," $300 to Senate campaign of Harold Ford Jr., Tennessee Democrat, in March 2006, $200 more  in June, and $2,100 more in September.

Brooks, who said her family is friendly with Ford's, said she raised much of the $2,600 from friends — it wasn't her money alone. "A lot of Fox employees have contributed to Democratic candidates. I know I'm not the only one."

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(D) Fox affiliate in Omaha, KPTM, Calvert Collins, reporter, $500 in October 2006 to Jim Esch, Democratic House candidate from Omaha. Esch lost to the Republican incumbent in November.

Collins says that her father made the campaign contribution. "I had told my dad that I was friends with this man. He said, 'Would you like me to make a donation?' I said, 'That's up to you, but don't do it in my name.'" She said her father also made a $2,000 contribution in her name to Kay Granger, Republican, Texas, in 2004, when Collins was a student in broadcast journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Collins also posted a photo of herself with the candidate on her Facebook page, with the note, "Vote for him Tuesday, Nov. 7!" After the photo was posted on a blog about Nebraska politics, a public Web site, she posted a reply:

"I would like to take a moment to set the record straight, Jim and I are friends, and nothing more. It is part of my job to build rapport with candidates and incumbents during election season. I have many friends in other campaigns... It is also important to note, I have NEVER covered the 2nd District Congressional Race, and have no plans to do so in the coming week.

"To those of you who have been offended by this incident, I apologize. My relationships with politicians have not and will not affect my reporting. I appreciate your understanding."

She told MSNBC.com, "I covered more politics than any of our reporters. I try to establish good relationships with both sides, so they would call our station. A lot of the political PR people are former reporters, so they have allegiance to one candidate or another."

The photo was taken at a cancer fundraiser, she said. "We have a lot of mutual friends." She said she posted it on her Facebook page where only her friends could see it. "I foolishly wrote, in jest, to vote for him, and forgot completely that that was on there. When my boss heard about it, I immediately removed it. Press people of opponents called it to attention."

"The irony is, if anyone had really done their research, I was a registered Republican. I have now changed to being an Independent, and I will stay that way my entire career. I learned a lot from this experience that I will never repeat. In a way, I'm glad this happened to me at age 23, and not 33, and I will learn from it."

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(D) Fox affiliate in Minneapolis, KMSP, Alix Kendall, morning anchor, $250 in September 2006 to Midwest Values PAC, which gave to Democratic candidates.

Kendall said she opposes the war and thought that her donation was anonymous.

"I also believe that the station doesn't own my political views and values. Did I make the contribution? I did. We all have political opinions in this business. A lot of us want to be politically active. But marching in a war protest isn't an option, being a recognizable person, so we give with our checkbook. I don't think that working for a news organization I give up my rights. I interview plenty of people that I don't agree with, but I also ask questions to get the other side. I think it's actually an advantage — in a news organization we have people of many political views. We have healthy debates. I think it's my civic duty to be involved in what matters to me. I think it's ridiculous that anyone who's sitting in front of a camera doesn't have an opinion — come on, we all do. Did I think about that at the time? No, I didn't. Maybe I should have. But I still feel I have a right to my civic duties."

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(D) Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., WTTG, Laura Evans, anchor, $500 in August 2006 to John Sarbanes, Democratic House candidate in Maryland. Evans anchors the 5 p.m. news. She is listed in FEC records by her married name, Laura Manatos.

On her blog on the station's Web site she commented recently on the Iraq war: " Everyone's trying to save face here ... all the while people are dying. Didn't voters in November speak loud and clear, saying they're tired of the fighting and want an end in sight?"

When first contacted by MSNBC.com, Evans said her husband, lobbyist Mike Manatos, "actually made the contribution, and the check was written on our account."

But the records show that her husband had already given the legal limit to Sarbanes. He couldn't legally contribute more. When asked about those records, she said, "I hadn't talked to my husband. He reminded me that he had actually talked to me about this, because he had maxed out, could we write a check in my name. I said, 'Sure.' Now I remember having this conversation. It's within Fox policy, it was OK for me to do it."

Fox does allow news employees to make political contributions.

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(R) MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, host of the "Morning Joe" talk show and the evening newscast "Scarborough Country," $4,200 in March 2006 to Derrick Kitts, Republican candidate for the House from Oregon. Scarborough was a Republican member of Congress from Florida from 1995 to 2001. He also provides political commentary for MSNBC, CNBC and NBC's "Today Show."

MSNBC policy requires journalists to report any potential conflict of interest and to seek approval from the president of NBC News before making any political contribution.

A spokesperson for NBC, Jeremy Gaines, replied to questions sent to Scarborough. "Yes, he did make a donation to Derrick Kitts. Kitts is an old friend of Joe's. Joe hosts an opinion program and is not a news reporter."

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(D) MTV News, Gideon Yago, "Choose or Lose" presidential correspondent, $200 to Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark in January 2004; $500 to America Coming Together, which campaigned against President Bush, in September 2004; $250 to the Democratic National Committee in September 2004; $250 to VoteVets, which is running ads against the president's handling of the war, in March 2006, and $250 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in October 2006. He said he is no longer at MTV News.

Gideon Yago, raw:

"I don't understand. Things that I do as a private citizen?

"We're not a traditional news network in the sense of NBC or Fox or CBS.

"We're sensitive about equal time or fairness. We're non-biased.

"I mean, what the f---, man?

"I came back from doing coverage in Iraq and was very moved by what I saw. I was never told by my boss or anyone that we couldn't give to a campaign.

"I'm not a journalist now. Writing fiction.

"I would never qualify what we do as journalism. Ninety percent of what we did was simple identification, after 9/11: Who is Rumsfeld? Who is Colin Powell? Who is Al Qaeda?

"I try to call it as you see it.

"After my second trip to Iraq in 2004, I felt the conventional news media was not doing a good enough job of conveying the horrors and the failures of the war in Iraq.

"At 18 I was a registered Republican. At 24, I was a registered Democrat.

"I tried very hard — our job was not an indoctrination process — I tried to be as professional as possible whenever possible.

"We were a non-traditional news outlet. We were nonpartisan.

""OK, I've been rebuked. Thank you for spanking me in public.

"Do you hand in all your rights as a public citizen when you do this?

"I mean — who's your editor? I'm going to call him right now."

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(D) NBC News, Victoria Corderi, "Dateline" correspondent, $250 in December 2005 to Democrat Josh Rales, who ran for Sen. Paul Sarbanes' open seat in Maryland. Rales finished a distant third in the primary. Corderi is listed in the FEC records by her married name, Keane.

"In a word, 'Yikes!'" Corderi said in an e-mail. "Josh Rales is a longtime neighbor and acquaintance. A good friend of mine gave him a cocktail party last year, a sort of 'meet and greet.' My husband and I went to be nice, knowing full well Josh was tilting at windmills with his candidacy. Later, my husband (who is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, by the way) told me he'd written a check for a nominal amount so our friend would have something to show for the night. I'd not even thought to consider that since my name is on our checks that I would appear in public records as a contributor. I have a policy of not contributing to campaigns and not showing public support for candidates. This was a lapse that you brought to my attention."

The NBC policy does not outright allow or forbid donations but requires approval of the president of NBC News.

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(R) PBS affiliate in New York, Thirteen/WNET, Rafael Roman, host of "New York Voices," $250 to President Bush in July 2004, and $300 to Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota the same month.

"I wouldn't do it again, quite frankly," said Roman, a former news anchor for WNET. "At that time it seemed to me that it wasn't part of a story that I was covering in the future. I would say, now, no. Even if you're not covering something, you might at some point. Citizenship is an important responsibility that's not taken away by the job you do, but I wouldn't do it again."

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(D) Independent station KTVK, Phoenix, Steve Bodinet, reporter, $400 to John Kerry in May 2004.

Bodinet did not reply to messages.

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(D) MSNBC.com, Rachel Schwanewede, senior editor, TodayShow.com, $461.30 to America Coming Together in October 2004. She was among the more than 20 journalists who bought tickets to the "Vote for Change" series of concerts to raise money to defeat President Bush in 2004. MSNBC.com is not naming the others, but in the interest of transparency we are naming our own.

Schwanewede said she purchased the tickets for her husband's birthday for a Springsteen concert.

"There's no intention of mine to donate to any political campaign."

MSNBC.com policy requires permission of the editor in chief for any political activity.

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(D) MSNBC.com, Joel Widzer, travel columnist, $2,000 to Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson in February 2007.  Widzer actually is an employee of MSNBC.com partner Tripso.com, though the FEC record lists his employer as MSNBC.com.

Widzer said that he actually gave $1,000. The FEC records show two separate entries of $1,000 on the same day.

"I'm actually a Republican — one of the few Republicans who still support George Bush and think he's doing OK with the war effort," Widzer said. "One of my friends works for Bill Richardson and asked me to give to the campaign. She knew me from MSNBC, so she listed that."

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(D) Salon.com, Gary Kamiya, writer at large and former executive editor, $250 to MoveOn.org, which opposed President Bush, in September 2004.

Kamiya, who now writes a column for Salon, was executive editor when he made the donation. In his column he has urged the impeachment of President Bush, whom he calls "a historic disaster."

Kamiya did not reply to messages. The editor of Salon, Joan Walsh, said he is traveling.

This week, after MSNBC.com called, Salon.com decided to forbid political donations by all editorial staff.

"Salon hasn't had an explicit policy, but the growing importance and credibility of our political coverage convinced us that we needed one," Walsh said in an e-mail. We've told all editorial staff not to donate to candidates, campaigns, parties or groups that give money to candidates, campaigns or parties. We're including all edit staffers because we like to move people around, and come election time, most people contribute to campaign coverage."

The policy went into effect this week, Walsh said, but the editors "have been talking about it for a while."

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(D) Salon.com, Katharine Mieszkowski, reporter, $400 in April 2007 to EMILY's List, which gives to Democratic candidates who support abortion rights. Also gave $200 in June 2003 to EMILY's List.

Mieszkowski writes mostly about technology, science and the environment. She has also written on explicitly political topics, including John Kerry, Al Gore, voting machines, Texas textbooks, President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina, school vouchers and peace movements.

See the previous entry for Salon's new policy.

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Magazines:

(D) The Atlantic Monthly, Martha Spaulding, assistant managing editor, $500 to the Democratic National Committee in May 2004.

No longer at The Atlantic, Spaulding said, "It's certainly not the Atlantic's contribution." She said she was not aware that contributions were disclosed on the Internet with a donor's occupation and employer. And she said she didn't understand how any company could forbid political activity by its employees.

The magazine said a tougher policy may be coming.

"Historically, we have not had a formal policy," said spokeswoman Amy Thompson, "and as an institution, The Atlantic is part of ‘no party or clique,’ as our founders put it. Even though we have not implemented an officially codified policy, Atlantic editorial staffers are discouraged from supporting political campaigns.

"We're discussing this issue, and may in fact move toward a formal prohibition on political donations by editorial staffers. Of course, we have always policed any conflicts-of-interest on the part of writers and editors working on political stories."

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(D) Business Week, Prudence Crowther, chief copy editor, $200 to John Kerry in April 2004, and another $200 that July.

Crowther said she doesn't think of herself as a newsperson. "I'm not a journalist, so I can't help you. I did obviously contribute to the Kerry campaign."

Business Week policy allows donations for most staff. "Our Code of Journalistic Ethics requires journalists to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from stories if a conflict could occur," said spokeswoman Patti Straus. "As a business publication, we don't prohibit campaign contributions."

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(D) The Economist, Andreas Kluth, technology correspondent, $500 to John Kerry in May 2004. He is based in San Francisco, covering Silicon Valley.

"In my case, just to be clear, I told the editors about it, and I don't even cover politics," Kluth said in an e-mail. "That said, I do think that journalists can write perfectly fair and balanced pieces as professionals and simultaneously have private opinions, vote, donate, etc. Conflicts of interest such as shareholdings (where press coverage could be seen to lead to personal profit) are delicate, so in all these cases, disclosure seems appropriate. At The Economist we regularly disclose all investments."

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(D) The Economist, Joanne Ramos, financial writer, a total of $2,100 in September and December 2005 to Matt Brown, the former Rhode Island secretary of state, a Democrat who ran for the Senate before dropping out amid a fundraising controversy. Ramos has written about banking, corporate pension reform, auditor concentration, the hedge-fund sector, Iraq’s banking system and international accounting standards.

"I'm a finance writer. I don't write about politics," Ramos said. "I'm not sure what the policy is."

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(R) Forbes, Jean A. Briggs, assistant managing editor, donations to the Republican National Committee of $250 in March 2007, $250 in December 2005, $250 in February 2004, $250 in February 2003, $250 in March 2002, $250 in February 2001 and $250 in August 2000; as well as $250 to Rick Lazio, House candidate, Republican, in August 2000.

"I don't make campaign contributions," Briggs said. "I'm the assistant managing editor of Forbes magazine. I don't make campaign contributions."

When the contributions were described, she said, "You call that a campaign contribution? It's not putting money into anyone's campaign."

(The Republican National Committee put $25 million into the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004.)

When asked whether she made these contributions, Briggs said, "I don't believe I have to answer that question. Goodbye. Thank you for your call." And she hung up the phone.

In a follow-up e-mail, Briggs complained that MSNBC.com had not formally requested an interview before calling to ask questions.

Forbes policy allows campaign contributions. Says Monie Begley Feurey, senior vice president, corporate communications: "Forbes has no policy regarding employees' personal contributions to political parties or candidates, but it does encourage any employee to be involved in their communities in any way they choose."

Briggs is also listed as a board member by PERC, the Property and Environment Research Center, which advocates "market solutions to environmental problems." PERC has received funding from ExxonMobil and other oil companies. The organization's Web site says, "She exposes fellow New York journalists to PERC ideas and also brings a journalistic perspective to PERC's board. As a board member, she seeks to help spread the word about PERC's thorough research and fresh ideas."

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(R) Forbes, Robert Lenzner, national editor, $1,500 to Kathleen Troia McFarland, House candidate, Republican, in November 2005.

"As a rule, I don't make any political contributions," Lenzner said. "That was before the campaign that started. I never made any other contributions. It was merely a social, personal thing. I do not write about politics. Her husband is a friend of mine. It was contributed on the spur of the moment. I did not make it as a member of Forbes magazine. I don't believe it's a violation of any policy of Forbes magazine."

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(D) Forbes, Tatiana Serafin, senior reporter, $202 to John Kerry in April 2004. She covers billionaires, retailing and other topics.

"I don't feel comfortable talking about my politics," Serafin said. "I'd prefer not to answer questions."

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(D) Inc., Jane Berentson, editor, $1,000 to the Democratic National Committee in April 2004.  Berentson is the senior editor at the magazine.

"Inc. has no prohibition against campaign contributions," she said in an e-mail.

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(D) The New Yorker, David Denby, film critic, $1,000 to John Kerry in March 2004, and $250 more in May 2004.

He writes reviews and capsule summaries of films, including Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" (an "epochal documentary"), Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" ("slipshod intellectually"), and "An Unreasonable Man," a documentary on Ralph Nader, whom he apparently hasn't forgiven for getting in the way of the Gore and Kerry presidencies ("a thoughtless man who believes only in himself.")

Denby did not reply to messages.

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(D) The New Yorker, Henry Finder, editorial director and books editor, $250 to John Kerry in June 2004.

New Yorker policy allows donations.

"It's an interesting question," Finder said. On the one hand, he said, it's not convincing to think that by abstaining from making a donation, a journalist is "preserving some kind of equilibrium in my head where I don't have opinions. You can't will yourself to be indifferent between chocolate and vanilla.

"If people give, it's in the public realm. How do you justify opacity as somehow making journalism better, to say, we need to preserve an appearance of indifference. That's something like misrepresentation, a dubious form of disguise."

Though he said he could see the "prudential argument," that as an editor you wouldn't want to feed the public perception of bias, he expressed faith in "ordinary reportorial professionalism, that whoever the reporter, they're not writing a piece that will make the world better, in their view, but they're writing the piece that is the piece."

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(D) The New Yorker, Tad Friend, Hollywood reporter, $500 to John Kerry in May 2004. Friend is the author of "Lost in Mongolia: Travels in Hollywood and Other Foreign Lands."

Friend did not reply to messages.

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(D) The New Yorker, Ann Goldstein, head of the copy department, $500 to MoveOn.org in October 2006.

"That's just me as a private citizen," Goldstein said. As for what the New Yorker's policy might be, she said she hadn't considered it. "I've never thought of myself as working for a news organization."

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(D) The New Yorker, Hendrik Hertzberg