Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Am I The Only One? RE: "The Governor General Refuses Bible"

host · 11-23-2005, 12:24 PM

Is the popularity of the discussion of an obscure, Canadian political appointee's refusal to swear an oath of office, a sign that even folks here, with an above average interest in things political, are avoiding the effort and the vigilance that it takes to examine and engage in informed discussion of more weighty issues of the day?

An example of this avoidance is that there has been no comment about Michael Scalon's plea agreement with federal prosecutors. He has agreed to make payments of $19.7 million in restitution for fees that he "earned" in a lobbying scheme that involves potenitally numerous elected officials in congress, and he has agreed to cooperate fully with prosecutors. He has been sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In exchange for his guilty pleas, and his agreement to cooperate his sentence is suspended until the investigation and other prosectuions have been completed.

There are other facets of this story that and investigation that potentially implicate white house officials, christian coalition founder, Ralph Reed, long time republican tax reduction advocate Grover Norquist. The NY TImes describes this a potentially the largest congressional scandal of the century.

I think that the popularity of the "bible swearing" thread this week, is a symptom of an escapist reaction from real interest in current political events.

My question to fellow members is:

If you who profess an above average interest in politics, are not making the effort to prioritize your information gathering and analysis focus on the most important events of our times, and then discuss them in depth.....

who will?

11-23-2005, 12:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
host Banned	Am I The Only One? RE: "The Governor General Refuses Bible" Is the popularity of the discussion of an obscure, Canadian political appointee's refusal to swear an oath of office, a sign that even folks here, with an above average interest in things political, are avoiding the effort and the vigilance that it takes to examine and engage in informed discussion of more weighty issues of the day? An example of this avoidance is that there has been no comment about Michael Scalon's plea agreement with federal prosecutors. He has agreed to make payments of $19.7 million in restitution for fees that he "earned" in a lobbying scheme that involves potenitally numerous elected officials in congress, and he has agreed to cooperate fully with prosecutors. He has been sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In exchange for his guilty pleas, and his agreement to cooperate his sentence is suspended until the investigation and other prosectuions have been completed. There are other facets of this story that and investigation that potentially implicate white house officials, christian coalition founder, Ralph Reed, long time republican tax reduction advocate Grover Norquist. The NY TImes describes this a potentially the largest congressional scandal of the century. I think that the popularity of the "bible swearing" thread this week, is a symptom of an escapist reaction from real interest in current political events. My question to fellow members is: If you who profess an above average interest in politics, are not making the effort to prioritize your information gathering and analysis focus on the most important events of our times, and then discuss them in depth..... who will?