Irene: How Bad Of A Bitch Was She?; Buffett: A Fake, Phony + Fraud; Al "Sharpie" Sharpton Gets the MSNBC Gig; Chicago Allowed Rapists + Molesters To Baby-Sit

"America Gets Set To Enjoy Month Or So Of Libya Seeming Like Symbol Of Freedom."---The Onion

• Well, the post-mortem on Hurricane Irene has already begun. Was Irene over-hyped? Are some diminishing her fury? These are just some  of the many questions now being asked. My take? Irene was more of a flooding problem than she was a wind-maker. In fact, there is some evidence out there that some in the media did, in fact, over-hype wind speeds. While the media was reporting high wind speeds, some observers did some "look-behinds" and tried to verify those speeds---and could not. In other words, there are accusations that wind speeds were exaggerated by the media. Bottom line is she caused a lot of damage. Some people died. She was not as bad as hyped, but she was still a bitch.
• But there was one good unanticipated consequence---it got Pres. Obama back to work.
• The reporting was so bad, my friend and I watched a reporter reporting on high wind speeds where he was located. Every hair on his head was in place, and when the camera panned the area---it was as calm and quiet as a Sunday morning church service. In another piece, as the reporter was also hyping the winds, a group of young people were goofing on him in the background shot. They acted like they were trying to walk against hurricane force winds with no winds in the area. Imagine several people moon-walking.
• But the hype of the day had to come from CBS and MSNBC. They actually had the cahones to use former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin as an on-air consultant.
• But that's still not as bad as MSNBC announcing one of the country's biggest charlatans, Al "Sharpie" Sharpton, as a new host on their network. As one commentator said, "He's a complete hypocrite of the first order...He's moderately articulate, but neitherer clever nor charming...if you're looking for a black activist with lots of indignation and a spotty ethical record and a history of race racketeering, he's better than Jesse Jackson. Younger, anyway."
• Several weeks ago, Warren Buffet, one of the world's richest people, wrote an editorial trying to make a case that rich people should pay much more in taxes. His editorial fell on deaf ears. But there was something Mr. Buffet neglected to tell his readers. His own firm, Berkshire Hathaway, has owed federal taxes for years.  In fact, the company admitted it owed taxes as far back as 2002. As the editorial in the NY Post points out, "He cares more about shilling for Pres. Obama." In other words, Buffet is another fake, phony and fraud.
• If you recall, last week, while in China, Slo Joe Biden suggested he supported China's one-child policy. Unfortunately for Slo Joe, he apparently was not aware that the policy is upheld through forced abortions (China's policy has long been attacked and denounced by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch). So what did the Obama administration say about Slo Joe's comments? She said what Biden actually believes isn't necessarily what he says. Folks, once again, you can't make this stuff up.
• And in another the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up," file, The Chicago Tribune is reporting today that a state program subsidizing child care for poor families actually allows felons access to these children. One man, Conelius Osborne, was convicted of raping two women. He's a sex offender. Yet, for more than two years, the state paid him almost $5 grand to baby-sit two children. He was finally sent back to prison for dealing drugs. Unfortunately, the Tribune found other cases of convicted rapists, child molesters and other violent felons given access to children over the past 10 years. The state's Department of Human Services has been charged with improperly doing criminal background checks. In my opinion, those state employees should be sent to prison themselves for placing so many children at risk.