California: Washington Post

In 1998, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz put out "Spin Cycle," a superb dissection of how the Clinton White House attempted to manage the TV and print reporters covering the administration. In 2009, we have the Sacramento version...

Despite the numerous statements from President Obama, the media hasn't yet really grasped the concept that spending is stimulus.  As the President said, "that's the whole point."

Yet, today we get the Washington Post passing off some press releases from a few anti-tax groups as original research and "news."

The compromise stimulus bill adopted by House and Senate negotiators this week is not free of spending that benefits specific communities, industries or groups, despite vows by President Obama that the legislation would be kept clear of pet projects, according to lawmakers, legislative aides and anti-tax groups.

The deal provides $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, for example, including money that could benefit a controversial proposal for a magnetic-levitation rail line between Disneyland, in California, and Las Vegas, a project favored by  Senate Majority Leader Harry M.

Both the Washington Post and the LA Times have stories today about the budget crises facing the states, where governors and legislatures have exhausted every gimmick and now must enact painful cuts that will work against the federal program to bring us out of the economic downturn.  The personal stories are significant:
Nevada resident Margaret Frye-Jackman, 71, was diagnosed in August with ovarian cancer. She had two rounds of chemotherapy at University Medical Center, the only public hospital in the Las Vegas area.

Soon after, she and her daughter heard the news on TV: The hospital's outpatient oncology services were closing because of state Medicaid cuts.