Another game of guess the political party.
Via News Busters
The results of a search on the name of former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick at the Associated Press’s main national site are revealing — both for what is there and what isn’t. It’s an understatment to say that the wire service’s priorities are warped.
What isn’t there is any news about the results of a Boston Herald investigation which found that “Patrick’s administration secretly diverted nearly $27 million in public money to off-budget accounts that paid for a $1.35 million trade junket tab, bloated advertising contracts, and a deal with a federally subsidized tourism venture backed by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.” The AP determined that this news only deserved a brief and woefully inadequate local story.
The search returned three items the wire service apparently thought are far more important to the rest of the nation than significant alleged corruption:
One is about how Boston’s mayor has “created” gender-neutral bathrooms at City Hall, thanks in large part to Patrick signing a 2011 law “adding ‘gender identity and expression’ to the state’s civil rights laws.”
A second story notes that “Female Same-sex Nuptials Far Outnumber” male same-sex “marriages” in the Bay State. Patrick’s name appears because he “officiated” the “2012 wedding of former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank to his longtime partner.”
Finally, there’s a story about the latest in a legal “Dispute Over (a) Martha’s Vineyard Casino Plan.” Patrick’s name appears because when he was governor, he “negotiated an agreement with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe,” while he declined to “negotiate an agreement with the Aquinnah Wampanoag.” This is apparently riveting information the nation absolutely needed to have.