C-SPAN: Andrew Breitbart talked about his new book, Righteous Indignation, and he responded to viewer phone calls and electronic communications. In his book he examines his transformation from a liberal to a self-described “conservative cultural warrior,” perpetually in battle with members of the mainstream media. He also discussed his belief that a liberal bias pervades U.S. news outlets.

I didn’t have an alcohol problem, I had a great time at college and I recommend that anybody who goes to New Orleans have the time of their lives.

[...]

Would you ask Barack Obama in an interview with him … what’s your current relationship with cocaine?

Cameras are everywhere today: In convenience stores, at intersections, the workplace, your computer, your cellphone, ATM machines. There’s even been a camera in news anchor Katie Couric.

Yet there’s one place cameras have never been allowed: The U.S. Supreme Court. Just what are Supreme Court justices hiding beneath their robes that they continue to say no to cameras in their courtroom?

For decades the White House and Congress have opened their public business to television cameras, but the judicial branch has remained staunchly against the practice. As C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb tells Reason.tv, the justices have rebuffed every attempt to videotape the oral arguments phase of Supreme Court proceedings. On this, an often-divided court remains unanimous, even if the arguments offered up Justices Scalia, Breyer, Thomas, Kennedy, and others remain even weaker than the majority’s logic in their awful Kelo decision, which legitimated eminent domain abuse.

Both Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan have spoken in favor of cameras in the Supreme Court. Can a new batch of justices, more attune to the benefits of transparency, finally change things for the better?

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It’s appreciably more difficult for Washington politicians to amaze Americans who paid any attention at all to what has been transpiring in Washington. And that number is growing. But the Democrats are giving it their best shot.

Read this just out from Politico, explaining that the Senate’s committee process simply must be suspended to jam through Obama’s energy/cap-and-tax Power Grab, because it is so expansive that it would invoke the jurisdiction of six Senate committees. These include the tax-writing Finance Committee, because cap-and-trade and the new gas tax (styled by some cheerleaders who think you’re stupid as a “carbon-linked fee”).

So, again, Harry Reid is going to write a couple of thousand pages — and try to buy off the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with revenues taken from you — in closed-door, back room deals. The ability to do so is one reason the bill in its House version grew to 1,400 pages, bigger and bigger with each closed-door deal. There are so many ways to design this takeover and the wealth transfers and lost freedoms involved, and to hide and target the hurt.

If that sounds like the health care takeover, it should. It’s the same thing. As the perpetrators admit to Politico. So possibly C-SPAN might ask to be involved. Surely the White House can come up with a better response than last time.

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PREDICTION:

The Republicans are going to suddenly have that seat at the table, now that the Progressives can’t ram their agenda through unilaterally.

Republicans should demand to bring C-SPAN with them to the table in a non-partisan effort to help the President fulfill his campaign promise.

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Republicans are continuing to insist on behalf of the American people that any legislative negotiations pertaining to health care reform be made public. Today, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is filing a discharge petition which, if signed by 218 Representatives, would force an up-or-down vote on his bipartisan resolution (H. Res. 847) requiring that health care talks be public and open to the media, as President Obama promised they would be.

We’re taking this step because something as important as the Democrats’ health care bill, with its Medicare cuts and tax hikes, should not be slapped together behind closed doors.  Secret deliberations are a breeding ground for mischief, including sweetheart deals that end up not being discovered until it’s too late (see: Sen. Ben Nelson’s “Cornhusker Kickback.”)

Of course, the American people should be able to see how every bill is coming together, but it’s even more important to adhere to this common-sense standard when we’re talking about transforming one-sixth of our economy and implementing drastic changes to the way in which Americans live.

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Transparency be damned.  It seems as if many of the elites in Washington, D.C. were for transparency before they were against it.

President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid all promised and pledged transparency as part of a covenant with the American people to allow them to take power.  Those promises have been broken.  One Senior Congressional Staffer tells Big Government that “for elected officials that promised the most transparent Congress ever, I never believed them, but it is stunning how fast they are going back on their promises as if they think the voters are too dumb to remember things they said 3 years ago.” (more…)

Brian Lamb is the founder, Chairman and CEO of C-SPAN, the non-profit cable channel that broadcasts Congressional proceedings. Few people have done more to empower the general public’s engagement with those in power. Thank you, Brian Lamb.

The mainstream media were complicit in their coverage of the ACORN scandal. Their behavior was and continues to be an insult to democracy and journalistic responsibility as the Fourth Estate has ignored facts, engaged in one-sided sourcing, and avoided basic and inherently important journalistic questioning.

First, there was avoidance. Some media outlets simply ignored the story. On Sept. 15, five days after the Maryland tape was released, ABC’s Charlie Gibson said, “I don’t even know about it… so you’ve got me at a loss” and said that the story might be “just one you leave to the cables.” But, Gibson was not alone in his lack of knowledge. The New York Times did not cover the story for nearly a week. On Sept. 26, Clark Hoyt, The Times’ Public Editor, acknowledged the paper’s tardiness, but insinuated that the story was lacking in facts:

But for days, as more videos were posted and government authorities rushed to distance themselves from Acorn, The Times stood still.  Some stories, lacking facts, never catch fire…But others do, and a newspaper like The Times needs to be alert to them or wind up looking clueless or, worse, partisan itself.

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“Well, I absolutely agree with you, which is why as the CEO I took swift and immediate action, terminated those employees, because regardless as to what we know or… edited, doctored tapes and where you don’t see everything where finally people were thrown out in dozens of our offices, it is inexcusable, and indefensible, to sort of, have such poor judgment.  That’s not our professional standards.  That’s why those folks were terminated because all of my other employees, of course they did the right thing.  They saw this ridiculous couple, who by the way were very aggressive and refused to leave some of our offices, but our other employees did the right thing.  And so I wanted to make sure that people understood this is not who we are, we will not tolerate even two minutes of that kind of conversation, our standards are much higher, and in fact, these folks got thrown out of a lot of offices.  So, this handful of employees, it’s unfortunate, but you know what, you can’t work for me if you don’t have common sense.”