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1.) Crazy like a Fox (News) — Fox News CEO Roger Ailes returned to his alma mater Ohio University to bestow the students with some of his wisdom. TheDC’s Matthew Boyle was there to provide the report:
“In 1996, [Ailes] said, he was racing against the clock and his competitors. CNN ‘had a 17-year head start, was fully funded and was a worldwide brand’ and General Electric and Microsoft, ‘the number one and number two companies in America’ with ‘unlimited resources’ were set to soon launch MSNBC, he said. ‘It was my belief that we couldn’t wait until 1997 to launch Fox, so I had to work with what I had. What I had were no studios, no talent, no programs, no newsgathering, no offices and no control rooms. Nothing. I had an empty room. Today, that asset of that empty room is $13 billion.So, in 15 years, we transformed that situation. It was difficult. It took us six years to pass the competition, to build up to the point where, for the last 10 years, we’ve been the number one cable news network in America.'”
If you haven’t been paying attention, Ailes did alright with this Fox News.
2.) A true Reagan fanatic — There’s a difference between a fan and a fanatic. Anyone who buys the tube of blood purported to be Ronald Reagan’s, definitely falls into the latter category. TheDC’s Jim Treacher writes:
“The current bid as of this writing is £7,587, or about $12,000. I’m not sure if that’s too high or too low. Guess it depends on whether you believe it’s real, and if so, if it’s something you’d actually want to possess. See, that’s why we should do away with capitalism. The value of a thing is too dependent on the beholder.”
Whoever wins the auction should be immediately apprehended by the state and put into an insane asylum. We can understand the Reagan infatuation — he was more than just a swell guy, after all. But the deification of him? Buying a vial of his blood is a little more than just creepy.
3.) Death to the Death Penalty — Some people just don’t think the death penalty makes much sense, reports TheDC’s Michelle Fields.
“Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens spoke in Washington, D.C. Monday, blasting the death penalty and saying it ‘does a lot of harm, and does really very little good.’ Stevens was speaking at the American Law Institute’s annual meeting. He said he believes the death penalty will eventually be a thing of the past because of growing public sentiments opposing it.”
In most — though not all — instances, the former justice is probably right. Wouldn’t it be worse to spend the rest of your days in jail, provided it wasn’t a country club jail?
4.) The Patron Saint of the Free Market — Freedom rocks. One Catholic priest, wholeheartedly agrees, reports TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein (ME!):
“[Father Robert] Sirico, who co-founded the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in 1990, makes the moral case for the free market system in his new book, ‘Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy.’ ‘The system of profit and loss in a free economy can orient our behavioral compass toward activities that serve others, make good use of resources, and prepare us for the future,’ Sirico explained. ‘It doesn’t stop people from serving evil desires or eradicate original sin, but without the price signals in a free economy, our economic activities would be without order.'”
5.) Poll of the Day: Republican leads in AZ Senate race — PPP poll of Arizona Senate race: Republican Jeff Flake 48%, Democrat Richard Carmona 35%.
6.) Tweet of Yesterday — Fake AP Stylebook: There are differences between “pass,” “enact,” “approve” and “adopt,” but remember: your readers don’t care.
VIDEO: Even ABC’s Bob Schieffer is defending Romney from Bain attacks