your tax dollars at work

This morning Yahoo news is promoting an AP story by robin Hindery with a headline that promises discussion of California's "little Watergate". This breathless approach to a purported major scandal drew me in to see what all the fuss was about. As it turns out, California State Attorney General (and candidate for governor -- again) Jerry Brown is going to investigate the circumstances surrounding the contract between Sarah Palin and the Foundation that is throwing a fund raising dinner for funding of a University of California branch. Students from the UC campus fished a draft of the contract out of the trash and traveled to Sacremento to turn the previously unseen document over to Brown. In the article we learn that Palin actually demands that she have two water bottle at the lectern when she speaks and that there should also be bendable straws. Her contract also specifies the number of hotel rooms needed for her party and calls for her to travel first class to the speaking engagement. I can see why Brown and the students are so upset. After all, a privately funded speaking engagement which will raise money for the public university of California will be sullied by bendable straws. Oh the humanity! I truly do understand why the students fished the document out of the trash -- they are in college and apparently have nothing better to do with their time. But Jerry Brown -- what is his story? Is he really paid to examine straw men (or in this case straw disputes)? And the news organization that actually calls this a little Watergate. My guess is the the reporter (so-called) does not even know what Watergate was. This is just an idiotic news story intended to embarrass Governor Palin but which only embarrasses Robin Hindery (the so-called reporter for the AP who wrote this story) and Jerry Brown who clearly should know better. California is in a critical situation with its budget deficits and other problems. Brown should spend his time on something other than gotcha nonsense (especially silly stuff like this).