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Wednesday: Odds and ends
posted at 2007-09-26 23:55 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Lots of not-quite-news happened today, but not much to talk about. So here’s a few fun items you might have missed.
LA vs Rep
Mecklenberg Republican Jim Gulley’s former legislative assistant, Alan Teitleman, is running for the Republican nomination for House District 103. Yes, that’s Gulley’s seat. And it’s the first time that anyone I talked to at the legislature can remember an LA campaigning against his/her former boss.
Teitleman left Gulley’s office last January to pursue his real estate career. Their relationship cooled quickly, but not before Gulley told his former assistant he wouldn’t run for re-election. But while Teitleman was working the Charlotte GOP for support, Gulley was apparently reconsidering his decision to leave Raleigh.
Teitleman says he hadn’t planned to run against his former boss, but he’s committed to going ahead with his run regardless of Gulley’s decision. For now, at least, he isn’t going negative. His release is here.
NPR to Bush: "Nuts"
The WaPo's Howard Kurtz reports NPR turned down an interview with President George W. Bush because the Bush administration refused to do the interview with anyone other than Juan Williams.
As the rumor mill has it, NPR moved Williams onto the White House beat after former Bush media guy Andy Card froze out NPR’s regular White House reporter Don Gonyea. Inside sources say Gonyea almost quit over the situation, while Williams earned plenty of complaints about his softball interviews with various administration officials.
NPR recently moved Williams out of DC and onto a “roving reporter” beat, at which point he signed on as a part-time political analyst for Fox News -- where, most recently, he failed to bat an eyelash when Bill O’Reilly recently expressed his surprise that patrons in black restaurants don’t scream “M-Fer” at each other. (You couldn’t make up this stuff up if you tried.)
Williams says O'Reilly's remark was taken out of context. Here's his side of the story.
Anyway, NPR turned down the President’s conditional request, saying that if Bush wouldn’t talk to an anchor, as he has on every other major media outlet, then no thanks. The administration went with the latter.
Some say NPR made a mistake. I disagree. Sure, scoring an interview with the President would be a service to our listeners -- but not if all he’s doing is fielding softballs. And since when do we let any public figure dictate who's allowed to ask questions?
Hellbender gets some love
As an amphibian fan, I’m always happy to hear that some non-photogenic critter’s getting some love. Yesterday, it was the Hellbender’s turn.
Also known as the “snot otter,” the ancient Hellbender is the largest and least cuddly amphibian in North America. But two NC Zoo researchers won a research grant to study the beastie and figure out how to save its habitat. Even slimy brown critters need friends.
Leg up
Smoked ham, anyone? A ghastly yet irresistible story about a lost limb gone wrong. Honestly, could this happen anywhere BUT rural NC?
Acronym Madness: the follow-up
M.U.R.D.O.C.K. is bad, sure, but it could be worse. At least someone's making money off of this one. Hat tip: the barkeep’s Mom. Hey, family values, right?
Comments? Drop me a line.
