InksLWC livingwater's Library tagged Public →  View Popular

The Michigan State of the State address is about to begin. I will be live blogging the event, giving my analysis (so my apologies for any spelling errors - I’ll fix them eventually).
Alright, she’s entering the chamber (I’m not sure if this is the House or Senate - probably House since it’s bigger).

At a press conference yesterday, Barack Obama told reporters, “I think that it is creaky and needs to be reformed if it’s going to work. We know that the check-off system has been declining in participation and as a consequence, the amount of money raised through the public financing system may be substantially lower than the amount of money that can be raised through small donations over the Internet.”

Wow - so I was reading a news story about McCain and/or Obama taking public financing (which I did a blog post on, available here: http://inkslwc.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/obama-reconsidering-taking-public-financing-and-its-85-million-spending-limit-pledge), and I came accross this statement by Barack Obama to reporters earlier today:

After seeing how much Obama has been spending, John McCain has come out and said that he is worried that Obama may not keep is word to accept public financing, and more importantly, it’s $85 million spending limit for the general election. John McCain has said that he plans on accepting the money and the limits, but if Obama breaks his promise, he may have to reconsider.

Here’s a story I’ve had in the queue for a slow news day (Bill Richardson DID drop out today, but I’ve done enough election posts, so I’ll worry about that later):
I saw this on ABC and saved it, but the page has been taken down or moved, so I don’t have many details, but what happened was a woman was sunbathing topless under a tree in Berliner Park (Columbus, Ohio). Robin Garrison, an off duty fireman approached her and talked to her. Eventually, she asked to see his penis, so he pulled it out and showed her. Then cops in an unmarked van pulled up and arrested him, charging him with a misdemeanor of public indecency. Being topless in the park is allowed, but anything more than that is against Columbus law. Video footage taken by the police was used to help convict him resulting in an order to not go to the park, a fine of $250, and a year on probation. The last update I heard was that he was on paid desk duty pending an internal investigation. Garrison plans on appealing the case, arguing that the jury wasn’t given the definition of entrapment (I find this hard to believe, but I wasn’t there).