Associated Press

Have you ever wondered how the geniuses who report business news know why the stock market opens or closes up or down on any given day -- especially when they venture into political explanations? I received this e-mail from CNN just after the markets opened: Gosh, those e-mail drafters at CNN are smart. Who knew that the markets want the stimulus package so bad? Can't you hear, senators? The…

Update (Feb. 9; 11:15 EST): Apparently the Buffalo News updated the story and the link I gave in my lede goes to a follow-up story. I wasn't able to find the exact article I was writing about, but here is a link to an updated story from Feb. 6 by Armario, entitled: "Botched abortion outrages pro-life, pro-choice factions." "Fla. doctor investigated in badly botched abortion," reads the headline…

"Sarah Palin Makes New Enemy: Ashley Judd," reads a February 5, 2009 AP headline.But in truth, there's hardly anything new about the controversy in question save for a celebrity chiming in to resurrect the issue of aerial wolf hunts in Alaska:It's not the first time Defenders of Wildlife has targeted Palin. Last fall, when Palin was John McCain's running mate, it ran ads in several states…

Yesterday was Pity the Poor President Day in Old Media.Early last night, I noted how the Associated Press's Ben Feller chose to characterize an already-planned visit by Barack and Michelle Obama to a DC elementary school as an "escape" that "surely made him happy for a while."A few hours ago, NB's Brent Baker reported with amazement the absurd attempts by CBS's Katie Couric and NBC's Brian…

Here are the January 2009 results (source articles - Detroit Free Press, Associated Press; December 2008 results on the right are from this USA Today report [scroll to bottom left at article]): General Motors - Down 48.9%Ford - Down 40.3%Chrysler - Down 54.8%Toyota - Down 31.7%Honda - Down 27.9%Nissan - Down 29.7%Relatively minor players Subaru and Hyundai posted gains (that's right) of 8% and…

I suspect most readers' first reaction to this will be, "There's no way George W. Bush would ever have gotten this level of sympathy from an Associated Press writer."You see, poor Barack Obama was having a hard time and getting stressed out after his first two weeks on the job. So he "escaped" with his wife to a Washington, DC public school.The Associated Press's ever-sympathetic (or, I should…

In one of her first official decisions since being confirmed as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton on Monday appointed a special envoy on climate change who is currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.As NewsBusters reported in June 2007, CAP is led by former President Clinton's Chief of Staff John Podesta, and the list of all those involved reads like a Clinton…

In his first few days as President, Barack Obama issued decrees concerning a terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, abortion, and apparently told Congressional Republicans who they should and shouldn't listen to.Yet, according to the Associated Press, "he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands."Makes you wonder what these folks were watching this week, doesn't it, for in a…

In a follow-up to an January 19 report from the Navy Times, the Army Times reported yesterday that:The promoter who failed to hold a promised Veterans Inaugural Ball on Tuesday has left behind a trail of angry corporate sponsors and charities who contributed to the event, disappointed performers who were booked for entertainment, and 17 to 25 beauty queens who were told they would be ambassadors…

On January 22 the Associated Press posted an interesting little tidbit of news about how Team Obama is treating the press. Apparently, the Obama White House is trying to force news agencies to use Obama's own, special, ostensibly "official" photographer's photos taken at Obama press conferences instead of allowing news agencies to have their own photogs present to record the event. As a result of…

One convicted on bribery, the other attacks cops at crime scene saying she wasn't driving drunk Now that the media has had it's near orgasmic reaction to Obama's inaugural, it's apparently time for some more "name that party" fun for everyone. Today we have incidents widely separated by distance, but not separated at all in at least one way. We have in Alabama a pair of convictions on bribery…

Sometimes you learn a lot from commenters. I was going through the comments tonight at my Pajamas Media column about the Geithner nomination that went up earlier today, and came across this at Comment 39 from "Mike M": The deduction he took for the summer camp as a day care expense is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED IN THE IRS CODE! That’s out and out tax fraud. Even Leona Helmsly (sic) is jealous in her…