Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"Mitt Romney was firm and direct with the abortion rights advocates sitting in his office nine years ago, assuring the group that if elected Massachusetts governor, he would protect the state’s abortion laws. Then, as the meeting drew to a close, the businessman offered an intriguing suggestion — that he would rise to national prominence in the Republican Party as a victor in a liberal state and could use his influence to soften the GOP’s hard-line opposition to abortion. He would be a 'good voice in the party' for their cause, and his moderation on the issue would be 'widely written about,' he said, according to detailed notes taken by an officer of the group, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.'You need someone like me in Washington,' several participants recalled Romney saying that day in September 2002, an apparent reference to his future ambitions. Romney made similar assurances to activists for gay rights and the environment, according to people familiar with the discussions, both as a candidate for governor and then in the early days of his term." (WashingtonPost)

"Speaking of Uncle Sam, the TV networks should be ashamed of themselves. All this week they have given saturation coverage to the Madoff family, probably the most disliked bunch since the Manson gang. TV in America looks to satisfy the lowest visceral needs, hence the Madoff saga invading our drawing rooms nonstop. The Madoffs come across as vain, greedy, dysfunctional, and out to play the victim. Although very well-off, the son, two daughters-in-law, and the wife are selling their story, and the American public is buying it. They’ve come up with a failed suicide story that smells to high heaven. They’re shilling a book proclaiming their innocence and their victimhood. It’s a sordid business that was timed perfectly. Here’s the latest Madoff con: In September, Manhattan federal judge Jed Rakoff threw out nine of 11 counts brought by the trustee Irving Picard against the New York Mets’ owners. He judged that the 'clawback' should apply only to the two years prior to Madoff’s coming clean. This ruling lets the owners—two very shady characters named Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz who were Madoff’s very close buddies—off the hook. It not only severely limits the amount the trustee can recover from the shady ones—only 386 million big ones—it lets the two shady ones keep around 750 million greenbacks Madoff threw their way during his heyday of stealing. The two-year cap is a scandal in itself, and it stinks to high you-know-what. The trustee had argued that the clawback should go back at least six years, and that by limiting it to two, the judge is reducing monies available for victims by many billions. But it gets worse. Under the six-year rule, the disgusting Madoffs would have had to give back a total of $141 million. A two-year statute would require the disgusting ones to return close to $59 million. You do the math, dear readers." (Taki Theodroacopoulos)