Rep. Frank extracts media mea culpa from Andrea Mitchell: 'We plead guilty.'

[babylonsister]

Run time: 02:08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODbEK1_sYVE   Posted on YouTube: March 11, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: March 11, 2009 By DU Member: babylonsister Views on DU: 1380

 
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/03/11/mitchell-media-apology/

Rep. Frank extracts media mea culpa from Andrea Mitchell: ‘We plead guilty’ to ‘gotcha’ journalism. »

On MSNBC this afternoon, Andrea Mitchell asked Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) about Tom Friedman’s New York Times column today, in which he called it “insane” that “dozens of key appointments at the Treasury Department” are held up over minor infractions. Frank replied that “it’s a problem,” adding, however, that it was “a little self-serving” for the media to “blame that entirely on the Senate.” After Frank said that the media’s “over-focus” on minor infractions “is the problem here in part,” Mitchell conceded, saying “you’re right”:

FRANK: No, I mean the media is the problem here in part. It is the over-focus on the part of people in the media to relatively minor infractions that cause this. I guarantee you that my colleagues would not on their own be doing this. So, yeah, I do think we are in a culture now where a lack of perfection exacts too strong a toll. But that’s the politicians reacting to the media.

MITCHELL: I take your point. Mr. Frank, Mr. Chairman, you’re right. And we plead guilty because this culture right now of gotcha has gotten completely out of control.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Barney Da Man! nt

[Enrique]

2. does anyone in Washington obey tax laws?

it seems so hard to find nominees without these "minor infractions."

[Patiod]

3. Playing Devil's Advocate here

I tried to work as a free-lancer for two years, and was overwhelmed by the tax requirements. I ended up owing the IRS money, because I hadn't understood the social security tax rules and therefore hadn't paid that portion of my taxes (although everything else was okay).

Maybe that's because I tried to do it myself, without spending money for a tax accountant (as these folks can afford to do) but tax laws can be complicated, and I wonder what percentage of people in the US who are not 1040-EZ taxpayers have as some point in the past 10 years had a run foul of the IRS

[Cha]

6. I have someone do my

taxes and it's 1040EZ 'cause I messed up a couple of years ago and decided it wasn't worth the stress.

But, I'm not a numbers person:)

[lapfog_1]

4. Got news for you

The tax laws are written so that EVERYONE is guilty (almost everyone), whether you know it or not.

Most are never looked into, much less prosecuted.

But it's the easiest way to keep control... if someone is a trouble maker, it's easy to bring a tax regulation violation
charge against them, one where they have to prove their innocence rather that the government proving that they are guilty.
And it's so much easier if they are, in fact, guilty of some minor technical violation of the rules.

Case in point was the tax charges against Mr. Daschle.

The car and driver were provided to him by a third party... how would he even KNOW that the taxes on that were NOT being
paid by the same third party?

[RollWithIt]

8. Well, the IRS says 80% make tax mistakes during their lifetime....

So it's not like its just Washington.

[Cha]

5. WOW! Thanks babylonsister..I can't

imagine that I would ever see something like that if I didn't with me own eyes!

Wonder if Andrea was thinking about that question she asked the Mayor of Cleveland the other day about how much were they paying in Security for the President's visit?..and he shoved it right back at her and said.."the same as when bush visited"?

Good on ya Barney Frank!

[underpants]

7. I saw that live. Barney was great as usual