News You May Have Missed
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| Also listed in: Appalachian Populists | Interfaith Peace Coalition | Licking County Pro-Active Citizens (www.licopac.org) | Ohio 12th Congressional District | Ohio 18th Congressional District | Perry County Democratic Forum |
You may assume that because you sat up late watching John McCain's speech last night, you don't need to read about the GOP convention in today's paper.
You would be wrong.
Yes, today's Dispatch main convention stories predictably swoon over McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, without adding anything you don't know already. But that's to be expected, given the Dispatch's Republican leanings and - perhaps more importantly - the habit of journalists to put at least first-day priority on stenographic rather than analytical coverage.
Still, we have to learn how to read newspapers the way the Russians do: look for the small items at the bottom of the column, and for what is NOT being reported.
Let's look at what's buried first:
---(Page A8) Former 12th District congressman John Kasich, once widely viewed as a responsible budget hawk, is now trying to kick-start his fledgling gubernatorial campaign by joining the loonies in the Ohio General Assembly pushing for repeal of the state income tax. This is overkill, says former Bush budget director Robb Portman of Cincinnati (also eyeing a gubernatorial run) who prefers tax "reform." As the Dispatch's Joe Hallett points out, "replacing the $9.1 billion generated by the income tax would not be easy. The 5.5 percent state sales tax would have to leap to around 12 percent to raise a similar amount."
---(A6) While all eyes were on St. Paul, Vice President Dick Cheney is setting the stage for the showdown with Russia by "insisting" that the former Soviet republic of Georgia be admitted to NATO. The last paragraph of this AP story discloses that "U.S. officials have said it is likely that more military assistance will be forthcoming at some point to help the badly routed Georgian forces rebuild again."
Maybe this is what John McCain meant when he predicted there would be more wars even if Iraq and Afghanistan are pacified.
Now consider what's missing from today's edition:
---No mention of the demonstrations last night during McCain's speech by anti-war veterans who raised signs criticizing the nominee's position on veterans benefits. They were shown briefly on television several times but didn't get any ink, at least in the Dispatch.
---Even more curious is why the Dispatch on its editorial page has been mum on the Sarah Palin nomination, at least up until now. Maybe the newspaper just wanted to wait and make sure she was, in fact, nominated at the convention and will publish its Valentine this weekend. But ever since Bush was elected, the Dispatch has been critical of the influence of the Christian Right on the Republican Party, and of Bush for catering to the fanatic fringe.
You would be wrong.
Yes, today's Dispatch main convention stories predictably swoon over McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, without adding anything you don't know already. But that's to be expected, given the Dispatch's Republican leanings and - perhaps more importantly - the habit of journalists to put at least first-day priority on stenographic rather than analytical coverage.
Still, we have to learn how to read newspapers the way the Russians do: look for the small items at the bottom of the column, and for what is NOT being reported.
Let's look at what's buried first:
---(Page A8) Former 12th District congressman John Kasich, once widely viewed as a responsible budget hawk, is now trying to kick-start his fledgling gubernatorial campaign by joining the loonies in the Ohio General Assembly pushing for repeal of the state income tax. This is overkill, says former Bush budget director Robb Portman of Cincinnati (also eyeing a gubernatorial run) who prefers tax "reform." As the Dispatch's Joe Hallett points out, "replacing the $9.1 billion generated by the income tax would not be easy. The 5.5 percent state sales tax would have to leap to around 12 percent to raise a similar amount."
---(A6) While all eyes were on St. Paul, Vice President Dick Cheney is setting the stage for the showdown with Russia by "insisting" that the former Soviet republic of Georgia be admitted to NATO. The last paragraph of this AP story discloses that "U.S. officials have said it is likely that more military assistance will be forthcoming at some point to help the badly routed Georgian forces rebuild again."
Maybe this is what John McCain meant when he predicted there would be more wars even if Iraq and Afghanistan are pacified.
Now consider what's missing from today's edition:
---No mention of the demonstrations last night during McCain's speech by anti-war veterans who raised signs criticizing the nominee's position on veterans benefits. They were shown briefly on television several times but didn't get any ink, at least in the Dispatch.
---Even more curious is why the Dispatch on its editorial page has been mum on the Sarah Palin nomination, at least up until now. Maybe the newspaper just wanted to wait and make sure she was, in fact, nominated at the convention and will publish its Valentine this weekend. But ever since Bush was elected, the Dispatch has been critical of the influence of the Christian Right on the Republican Party, and of Bush for catering to the fanatic fringe.
