After ignoring on Friday morning the story of California Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman being called a “whore” by an aide for her opponent, Democrat Jerry Brown, CBS started to catch up on the story – but also buried it somewhat – on the same day’s CBS Evening News and again on Saturday morning’s The Early Show. While ABC’s World News and the NBC Nightly News both devoted full reports to the controversy – about one-and-a-half to two minutes in duration – on Friday, the CBS Evening News only gave the story 40 seconds, waiting until 18 minutes into the show – right after a full story was devoted to the Harry Reid/Sharron Angle race in Nevada. The reports on ABC and NBC had started about six to seven minutes into each show. Saturday’s The Early Show gave 28 seconds to the Brown/Whitman story within a report filed by CBS correspondent Whit Johnson which also dealt with Democratic efforts to defend their congressional majority from Republicans. NBC overall gave the story the most attention, including full reports on the Today show on both Friday and Saturday, and on Friday’s NBC Nightly News. ABC covered the story on Friday’s Good Morning America and on the same day’s World News. More details on Friday morning coverage of the story on ABC and NBC can be found here . Below are transcripts of the relevant stories from Friday’s World News on ABC, the CBS Evening News, and the NBC Nightly News; followed by Saturday’s The Early Show on CBS and Saturday’s Today show on NBC: #From the Friday, October 8, World News on ABC: 6:36 p.m. 1 minute 30 seconds in duration GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: In other political news, another twist in the tight race for California governor. For days, Republican Meg Whitman has been on the hot seat over an illegal immigrant housekeeper. Now it’s Democrat Jerry Brown’s turn, thanks to an aide using a word that shouldn’t have been used and wasn’t meant to be heard. David Wright has the story. JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: Hey, Scott, give me a call, Jerry Brown, love to talk to you. DAVID WRIGHT: The latest bomb shell in the California governor’s race came from a voice mail message that kept recording after Democrat Jerry Brown thought he hung up. He was seeking a union endorsement but got word the union was about to back his opponent. BROWN AUDIO: Do we want to put an ad out? WRIGHT: At that point, a second voice chimes in with a harsh word about Republican Meg Whitman. UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE: She’s a whore. ANDREA JONES RIVERA, MEG WHITMAN CAMPAIGN: These are offensive comments that have no place in any conversation at any office – worst of all, in the middle of a gubernatorial campaign. WRIGHT: The Brown campaign has apologized for the salty language. BROWN AT DEBATE: This is a question of talking out of both sides of your mouth. WRIGHT: At their most recent debate, Brown called Whitman a hypocrite for employing an illegal immigrant as a nanny for nine years. Whitman called Brown a bully. MEG WHITMAN, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: It was a political stunt- WRIGHT: On the air waves- CLIP OF AD: Whitman was caught reaping millions from insider stock deals. WRIGHT -the two candidates have traded endless barbs – $140 Million spent on ads, including $120 million from Whitman’s own pocket, a new record. This campaign seems to be bringing out the worst in these two candidates. David Wright, ABC News, Oakland. #From the Friday, October 8, CBS Evening News : 6:48 p.m. duration 40 seconds MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Twenty-five days now until the midterm elections, and in the battle for control of the Senate, we’re following the critical contests that will decide it. The Republicans need a net gain of 10 seats to retake the Senate. The latest analysis by our CBS News election team finds 12 seats now held by Democrats are at risk. That includes the seat held by the top Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Ben Tracy reports that Reid is fighting for his political life in a race that’s down, dirty, and, oh, so close. UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR IN AD: Introducing Sharron Angle’s crazy juice! BEN TRACY: In Nevada, it’s become a race to the bottom. UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR IN AD: Harry Reid, the best friend illegals have ever had. TRACY: In a new ad, Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle says Senator Harry Reid even supports child molesters. UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR IN AD: Reid actually voted to use taxpayer dollars to pay for Viagra for convicted child molesters and sex offenders. TRACY: Reid calls Angle a pathological liar. UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR IN AD: More crazy talk and outright lies. TRACY: For the Tea Party, this is the biggest Senate race in the country. JOHN DICKERSON, CBS NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: It would show not only that they have influence, but that they have enough influence to knock off the most powerful Democrat in the Senate. UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER: Save America! TRACY: Tea Party groups have rallied in Reid’s hometown and have now spent more than $1 million, mostly on TV ads. Yet Harry Reid has another tough opponent, the economy. The unemployment rate here in Nevada is the highest in the nation, and the foreclosure rate is worse here than anywhere else. That’s made Reid deeply unpopular and an easy target for Republicans. And yet Sharron Angle’s own words could be keeping Reid alive. She suggested Americans may need to bear arms against the government, and that Islamic law is being set up in some U.S. cities, calling it “a militant terrorist situation.” BILLY VASSILIADIS, ADVISER TO SENATOR REID: She’s not of this planet, and it would be embarrassing to the state for her to be our U.S. Senator. TRACY: Even some Republicans worry. On Thursday, a top party leader in Nevada reluctantly endorsed Reid, citing Angle’s calls for privatizing Social Security and Medicare, calling that extreme. But her supporters say she has the momentum. Do you think if you had a more moderate candidate, you’d be doing a lot better? ROGER STOCKTON, WESTHAM REPRESENTATION PAC: I don’t think so. If the Dalai Lama ran against Harry Reid, he’d be attacking him for his choice of clothing or for hanging out with too many bald people. TRACY: The bottom line is that a surprisingly high number of voters in Nevada dislike both candidates, and a whopping 10 percent plan to vote none of the above, which makes this dog fight in the desert still a tossup. Ben Tracy, CBS News, Las Vegas. 40 seconds at 6:48 RODRIGUEZ: In another hotly contested race, some nasty language was caught on tape, and that’s tonight’s campaign 2010 hot sheet. In the California governor’s race, Democrat Jerry Brown and an aide were caught on voice mail blasting Republican Meg Whitman, accusing her of cutting a secret deal with a police union. A warning, the language is graphic. UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE #1: What about saying she’s a whore? UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE #2: That’s good. UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE #1: Whore. VOICE OF JERRY BROWN: Well, I’m going to use that. RODRIGUEZ: It’s not clear who spoke the offensive word, but the Brown campaign apologized to Whitman and anyone else who may have been offended. A Whitman spokesman said the language was an insult to the women of California. #From the Friday, October 8, NBC Nightly News : 7:07 p.m. 2 minutes 10 seconds in duration BRIAN WILLIAMS: And now to the governor’s race here in California. It has been a rough one by any standard, but it’s now hit a new low thanks to a piece of audio recorded on a voice mail that was not supposed to be for public consumption. Our report tonight from NBC’s Lee Cowan. LEE COWAN: As campaign calls go, the one Jerry Brown made to the offices of a Los Angeles police union last month sounded pretty routine. JERRY BROWN AUDIO: Hey, Scott, give me a call, Jerry Brown, love to talk to you. COWAN: Brown left a voice mail, but when he hung up- BROWN AUDIO: Your support means a lot to me Thanks. COWAN: -the call didn’t disconnect. What was then captured was an impromptu strategy session, the sausage making of political campaigns. And much like sausage making, it wasn’t pretty. On the call, Brown sounded frustrated. He mused that he had lost the police union’s support because he’d threatened to cut public safety pensions, while his opponent Meg Whitman promised something different. BROWN AUDIO: Do we want to put an ad out? That I have been warned if I crack down on pensions, I will be, that they’ll go to Whitman, and that’s where they’ll go because they know Whitman will give ‘em, will cut them a deal, but I won’t? COWAN: Suddenly, what appears to be a second voice is heard. BROWN AUDIO: What about saying that- UNIDENTIFIED VOICE AUDIO: She’s a whore! Whore! BROWN AUDIO: Well, I’m going to use that. It proves you’ve cut a secret deal to protect the pensions. COWAN: Whitman, anxious to divert headlines from her undocumented housekeeper troubles, responded almost immediately. “The use of the term ‘whore’ is an insult,” the statement read. “This is an appalling and unforgivable smear.” Brown’s campaign insists he was responding to the notion of Whitman cutting a deal, not the idea of name-calling, but admitted, “At times our language was salty. We apologize to Ms. Whitman and anyone who may have been offended.” Still, the Whitman campaign says this isn’t the end of it. The two are scheduled to face-off for their third and final debate next week, where the less than endearing term is sure to be brought up again. Lee Cowan, NBC News, Los Angeles. #From the Saturday, October 9, The Early Show on CBS: REBECCA JARVIS: Midterm election campaigns are entering the homestretch, and the White House is putting out its biggest stars with the hopes of saving some Democratic candidates trailing in the polls. And, as November looms, a new strategy is emerging. CBS News correspondent Whit Johnson is at the White House this morning and more with the story. Good morning, Whit. WHIT JOHNSON: Rebecca, good morning. Tomorrow President Obama and Vice President Biden head to Philadelphia for another big rally. The White House is hoping to reignite and reenergize the Democratic base – and they’re doing it by calling out some familiar names. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: In this Senate race, two groups funded and advised by Karl Rove have outspent the Democratic Party 2 to 1. JOHNSON: In Illinois this week, President Obama used Karl Rove as Democratic bait, the latest strategy to get voters fired up over millions of dollars of political ads paid for by special interests. CLIP OF AD: Friends don’t let friends vote Alexi. JOHNSON: Meanwhile, Republicans are staying on message calling the upcoming election a referendum on President Obama. JOHN BOEHNER, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: As Americans, we have to decide, do we want another two years of job-killing policies coming out of Washington? Or have we had enough? JOHNSON: As party leaders refine their agendas, some statewide races are getting nastier by the day. The California governor’s race, a recorded conversation between Democrat Jerry Brown and his staff has added fuel to an already hostile contest. JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE, IN AUDIO: They know Whitman will give ‘em will cut them a deal but I won’t. But she will probably believe it. UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE: What about saying that she’s a whore? JOHNSON: The Brown campaign apologized for the incident, but a spokesperson for Meg Whitman called it appalling and unforgiveable. The President and Vice President have been on the campaign trail for weeks stumping for various candidates, but next week, for the first time this election year, Michelle Obama, the First Lady will hit the road for a number of endorsements and fund-raisers across the country. Rebecca? JARVIS: And, Whit, last night on his program Bill Maher did another thing putting himself into this debate. He posted a photo of an Ohio politician – you see it there on your screen – posing in SS uniform. How’s it going to, Whit, impact elections there? JOHNSON: Well, Rebecca, that’s Rich Iott, Republican and Tea Party favorite. At ths point, all indications are the race is gong to go to the Democrat anyway, but he did defend himself to the Atlantic, saying that this was not a Halloween costume, this was simply a World War II Nazi reenactment group he used to be a part of. He does not subscribe to the tenants of Nazism. He says he is simply fascinated with the history of Nazi Germany, but certainly not something he wants to talking about this close to the election. #From the Saturday, October 9, 2010, Today show: LESTER HOLT: Now, to California’s bruising gubernatorial race, and the already ugly campaign may have reached a new low. NBC’s Lee Cowan reports. LEE COWAN: As campaign calls go, the one Jerry Brown made to the offices of a Los Angeles police union last month sounded pretty routine. JERRY BROWN AUDIO: Hey, Scott, give me a call, Jerry Brown, love to talk to you. COWAN: Brown left a voice mail, but when he hung up- BROWN AUDIO: Your support means a lot to me Thanks. COWAN: -the call didn’t disconnect. What was then captured was an impromptu strategy session, the sausage making of political campaigns. And much like sausage making, it wasn’t pretty. On the call, Brown sounded frustrated. He mused that he had lost the police union’s support because he’d threatened to cut public safety pensions, while his opponent Meg Whitman promised something different. BROWN AUDIO: Do we want to put an ad out? That I have been warned if I crack down on pensions, I will be, that they’ll go to Whitman, and that’s where they’ll go because they know Whitman will give ‘em, will cut them a deal, but I won’t? COWAN: Suddenly, what appears to be a second voice is heard. BROWN AUDIO: What about saying that- UNIDENTIFIED VOICE AUDIO: She’s a whore! Whore! BROWN AUDIO: Well, I’m going to use that. It proves you’ve cut a secret deal to protect the pensions. COWAN: Whitman, anxious to divert headlines from her undocumented housekeeper troubles, responded almost immediately. “The use of the term ‘whore’ is an insult,” the statement read. “This is an appalling and unforgivable smear.” Brown’s campaign insists he was responding to the notion of Whitman cutting a deal, not the idea of name-calling, but admitted, “At times our language was salty. We apologize to Ms. Whitman and anyone who may have been offended.” Still, the Whitman campaign says this isn’t the end of it. The two are scheduled to face off for their third and final debate next week, where the less than endearing term is sure to be brought up again. For Today, Lee Cowan, NBC News, Los Angeles.
Continue reading …Dan Webster, who is running in Florida against the detestable Alan Grayson, was asked a question that has become typical whenever one side is unfairly slimed by the other : When asked if he was seeking an apology from the Grayson campaign, Webster said, “No, I’m not. It is the way he runs his campaign.” Exactly. It drives me nuts when someone does something intentionally insulting, like Jerry Brown’s people calling her a “whore”, and then the aggrieved party demands an apology like Whitman did. Why? If the person was actually repentant about what they said they’d offer an apology freely and without prompting. The fact that an apology must be demanded from them is proof to me that they’re not sorry at all and in fact said exactly what they mean.
Continue reading …Daily Kos Already Lamenting How ‘Corporate Media’ Will Tell Obama to Move to the Center
October 9, 2010 No Comment
As you might expect, the bloggers at the Daily Kos are already rationalizing away about large liberal losses. This can only mean that true liberalism hasn’t been tried, declared one Laurence Lewis , and the media are mean-spirited centrist elites: No matter what happens this November, we know what will be at least one aspect of the corporate media’s response: they will tell us that President Obama and the Democrats must move more to the center…. The truth is that neither President Obama nor the Democratic Congress has been particularly liberal. They have been liberal relative to the extreme right that the corporate media largely accepts, rationalizes, and enables as the new iteration of the Republican Party, and they have been marginally liberal relative to the corporatist conservatism of most in that media, but on an honest scale, that is not really liberal. Weird enough? Then there’s the belief that global warming is not just some kid sticking the mercury in hot cocoa, says DarkSyde , but then cocoa gives way to oral sex analogies: If your child is sick and you want to check for fever, you use a thermometer. You don’t care what Rush Limbaugh says, or what Al Gore says, you care what that thermometer says. And if you want to be super careful, you might use more than one thermometer, or different kinds of thermometers, just in case that kid is dipping it in hot chocolate. That’s what two climatologists did when they wanted to check on the earth’s past temperature. Just to be safe they used several different kinds of thermometers. Doesn’t matter what Rush says, doesn’t matter what Gore says, all that matters is what those thermometers say. And guess what they said? The earth has a fever, that fever is rising, and it’s approaching delirium . The work was so exquisitely done, and it’s been so well supported by independent studies, that in any other nation the researchers involved would be up for major recognition. But not in teabagger America, where corporate rent-boys bought and paid for by fossil fuel johns drop to their knees on command to kiss some Koch . Or there’s weird Nuremberg trial analogies for bankers from Drawline : Justice in the 21st century is determined by billionaires. Capitalism unchecked brings you to another holocaust: First the holocaust of the environment and then the holocaust of the weak and powerless. If we lose the house and senate, we will not be able to replace far right judges in the court system, and justice will keep on being for sale in this country and other countries that follow our lead.
Continue reading …
Photos: via siryoga Besides shipping pallets, milk and beer crates, glass bottles are another building material that can be cheap, easily collected and reused, like in this house of 5,000 glass bottles built by a woman in Novoshakhtinsk, Russia…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
Oh yes, humans — it’s happening again! After a painfully long wait, we’re finally kicking our reader meetups back into gear. The first in the series will take place in New York City on October 11th, and it’s going to be a killer. The all-ages event is sponsored by Sprint and will feature a slew of amazing companies in attendance. What companies, you ask? How about Sony PlayStation , Research In Motion , Palm , Sony VAIO , Bug Labs , Sling , Roku , Sonos , Boxee , Peek , and many more (we’re adding names as we type)! In addition to the tons of gadgets and gear you’ll be able to get your hands on, we’ll have giveaways, demos, music, food, and drinks for everyone. The meetup takes place in NYC at Espace (635 W. 42nd St, New York, NY, between 11th and 12th Ave.), and will run from 6:30PM until 10:30PM . Capacity for the venue is around 1000, and we’ll likely fill up — so plan on getting there nice and early! We’ll be coming at you with more details and an updated partner list, but for now, mark the date down and get ready to party. You can sign up and discuss the event at our Facebook page, too. Note: The image above? Soon to be another limited edition T-shirt collaboration between eBoy and Engadget! Continue reading Engadget’s reader meetup happens October 21st in NYC — be there! Engadget’s reader meetup happens October 21st in NYC — be there! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony Ericsson’s LiveView Android device plays nice with an FCC ruler, gets rumored price and date
October 9, 2010 No Comment
We’re still trying to decide if a postage stamp-sized secondary display for your Android smartphone that you can wear as a wristwatch is a piece of genius or just a misguided widget that became a real gadget when it got kissed by a fairy in a dream. It’s looking like we’ll get to find out soon, as Sony Ericsson’s little LiveView remote/watch has just hurdled over the FCC’s measuring device and, according to Le Journal du Geek , will be shipping in November with a price of 59 euros. That’s right around $80, which could either be an awful lot or only slightly dear depending on how useful it turns out to be. Sony Ericsson’s LiveView Android device plays nice with an FCC ruler, gets rumored price and date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 15:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
When conservative atheist S. E. Cupp and liberal atheist Bill Maher get together on the same stage, it’s a metaphysical certitude they’re going to fight about religion. Following up on their last heated theological battle on the May 14 installment of HBO’s “Real Time,” Cupp and Maher went at it again on Friday this time over Glenn Beck’s decision to become a Mormon after he got remarried. Not surprisingly, Maher thought it was absurd Beck and his soon to be bride decided to “shop around for religion.” When Cupp made the case that Maher as an atheist couldn’t possibly understand how God’s callings work, and others on the panel agreed with her, the host said, “Oh f–k you all,” and moved on to his “New Rules” segment (video follows with transcript and commentary, serious vulgarity warning): BILL MAHER, HOST: I was reading a profile of Glenn Beck recently, and he said that when he met his second wife before they got married, she said, “Well, before we get married, we have to pick a religion.” And I thought this was interesting because the idea of picking a religion in adulthood. I understand when you’re born into something and you can’t help it. Okay, but as an adult to choose how you will be diluted. To go, “Okay, let’s shop around for religion” and they decided on Mormonism. I, I, picking this subject because Obama has said the same thing. He said it last week. He said, “I came to Christianity as an adult.” He picked this religion. P. J. O’ROURKE: He picked that church with a nut. MAHER: Yes, he did. Well, that nut was, said nothing different than every other preacher nut has ever said. He said if we act wicked, if we act wickedly, God will damn us. That’s what every preacher says. O’ROURKE: I’ve listened to Reverend Wright and I’ve listened to Father O’Flattery and I detect a slight difference. MAHER: Yes, one of them sounds black, I know. But you changed religions in adulthood. You say you’re open to, you’re an atheist. S. E. CUPP: I’m an atheist. MAHER: You’re open. I don’t know what would happen, but. CUPP: Well, some kind of miraculous event before my eyes might make me change my mind. But I’m an atheist. MAHER: But you know that’s not going to happen. What, you mean you really think Jesus is going to come down and go, “Hey you?” CUPP: I am sold on atheism. I am an atheist, unapologetic. But I’m not delusional that I could change my mind over the course of the next 70 years that I’m going to be on this earth. It could happen. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, NEW YORK TIMES: I’m actually with her on this issue. MAHER: Okay. O’ROURKE: How weird. SORKIN: You’re a pretty liberal guy. I’m surprised you’re not… MAHER: To the idea that? SORKIN: That you could change your religion. MAHER: You can. You’re allowed. I’m not saying there should be a law. I’m just saying it’s, it’s, it’s fucking crazy in adulthood. I can see if it’s forced into your head as a child. But as an adult, to me to change it. First of all, religion is supposed to be the one true faith. Their whole thing is about it’s from God, it’s eternal, it’s cast in stone. But we’re not married to it? CUPP: No, but wait. Listen, when you’re talking about Glenn Beck, for example, how are you especially as an atheist, how would you know how God works with his callings? Maybe that process of going to find religion was some kind of intelligent design version of finding religion and God was really behind it. I don’t know. Two, I mean, why would you begrudge someone choosing during adulthood? We reject a lot of things that are passed down to us. Glenn Beck for example rejected alcoholism which was passed down to him. O’ROURKE: Well, not me, damn it. CUPP: Unless you think Mormonism is more offensive than alcoholism, I think he turned out okay with that decision. MAHER: Religion is supposed to be something absolutely different than any other thing we… CUPP: You’re an atheist, how would you know? MAHER: What do you mean how would I know? CUPP: How would you know what the experience of knowing God is? I don’t. MAHER: I was raised Catholic. CUPP: So was I? I don’t know about knowing God. MAHER: Nobody does. O’ROURKE: Did the nuns hit you guys a lot? MAHER: Nobody does. Nobody gets a channel you don’t get. CUPP: Why would you judge someone who says he has a relationship with God for how he came to it? You don’t know how it works. MAHER: Because what somebody is saying who says that is, “My brain picks up a station yours doesn’t.” CUPP: Right. MAHER: Which bothers me a lot. JOSHUA GREEN, THE ATLANTIC: But why would that bother you, why would that bother you with Glenn Beck? I mean, it’s, it’s, the fact that he’s a Mormon is between him and Mitt Romney. MAHER: The idea that the wife says to him, “Before we get married we’ve got to pick out a religion. We’re going to go to all the show rooms and say, ‘The Catholics, the Evangelicals.’” And they decided on the Mormons. GREEN: At least they thought about it. CUPP: Isn’t that a nice thing? Isn’t that a nice thing that they’re thinking about their future? Let’s be good people. MAHER: Oh fuck you all, New Rules! This is boring. Isn’t that great? No one on the panel was agreeing with him, so he vulgarly ended the discussion. Now, in fairness, someone was likely telling him in his earplug that it was time for the final segment. However, to end the discussion this way was awfully rude. Stay classy, Bill
Continue reading …
The man expected to be the next leader of North Korea has appeared in front of the world’s media for the first time. Kim Jong-un went to an outdoor…
Continue reading …If a Republican called a Democrat a “whore” the Republican would be immediately and rightfully condemned by the National Association of Gals (NAGS, or NOW as they’re sometimes known). However, when Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown’s staff called Meg Whitman a “whore”, it earned him the NAG’S endorsement : Jerry Brown announced he has received the endorsement of the National Organization for Women, less than 24 hours after the emergence of a recorded message in which Brown can be heard in a conversation with advisors in which someone calls Whitman a “whore.” Coincidence? You be the judge. The NAGS have never been about promoting women, they’ve always been about promoting liberal politicians and causes, especially abortion.
Continue reading …