Michael Bloomberg is going to let Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s chief Holocaust denier (and President) visit ground zero.

This guy is no Rudy Giuliani, that’s for sure. Remember when Rudy kicked Arafat out of a concert for world leaders in NYC?

But the Mayor, explaining his decision yesterday, called Mr. Arafat a murderer and terrorist, and said he was not impressed by the fact that Mr. Arafat had twice been invited to the White House to sign the Middle East peace accords, or that he shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I would not invite Yasir Arafat to anything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace,” Mr. Giuliani said at a news conference yesterday. “I don’t forget.”

“…When we’re having a party and a celebration, I would rather not have someone who has been implicated in the murders of Americans there, if I have the discretion not to have him there.”"

Giuliani was criticized for his decision by the White House and others at the time, but looking back now, most people would agree with his decision 100%. Arafat was a cold blooded killer who had no business in any peace process.

With Ahmadinejad, Mayor Bloomberg has an even easier decision, NOBODY likes this guy. Persians living in the US & elsewhere don’t like him, sane Americans don’t like him, the world thinks he’s a clown. The only person who seems to embrace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is my fellow Jew and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

UPDATE: Rudy takes a stand

“Under no circumstances should the NYPD or any other American authority assist President Ahmadinejad in visiting Ground Zero. This is a man who has made threats against America and Israel, is harboring Bin Laden’s son and other al-Qaeda leaders, is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. Assisting Ahmadinejad in touring Ground Zero – hallowed ground for all Americans – is outrageous.”

UPDATE2: The New York Observer blog linked to this post

UPDATE3: Ahmadinejad’s Ground Zero visit rejected

According to Drudge, Fox News is going to be launching a business network called Fox Business Network (FBN). Rupert Murdoch says that the network is going to be pro-business in a Forbes article says:

“We have long considered the business television market to be underserved,” Murdoch said. “Having built Fox News into a cable news leader and a cultural phenomenon against all expectations, I’m confident Roger Ailes can do the same in business news.”

Murdoch indicated that Fox Business Channel will follow the FNC template in the way it reflects his philosophical outlook and the way it differentiates itself in tone and attitude.

“It will have a more pro-business stance … CNBC leaps on every scandal. It’s a negative attitude,” he said. “I won’t announce too much detail on the programming, because everything we say, CNBC will immediately copy.”

Fox News has dominated dominated 24 hour news by making it entertaining and pro-American. They have been a platform for people who would have never been invited on CNN. It’ll be interesting to see if Fox Business Network has similar success.

The 2008 election is wide open, everybody and their cousin is running for President. Below are a few celebrities you probably haven’t considered voting for (and who haven’t considered running…yet).

Vote for your favorite candidate

1) Mr. T for President

2) Larry King for President

3) Steve Urkel for President

4) Officer Carl Winslow for President

5) Andy Griffith & Don Knotts for President

6) The Wale from Free Willy for President

7) Sue Johanson for President

The Berenstain Bears for President

9) Oscar the Grouch for President

10) Steve Carell for President

11) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for President

12) Golda Meir for President

13) The bailiff on Nigh Court for President

14) Frank Lambert and Carol Foster for President

15) Paris Hilton for President

16) Mel Gibson for President

17) Donald Trump for President

18) Alf for President

19) Larry Elison for President

20) Ronald McDonald for President

21) Barney for President

22) Pee Wee Herman for President

23) Chuck Norris for President

24)Woody Allen for President

25) Warf for President

26) Bob Saget for President

27) Captain Picard for President

28) The Golden Girls for President

29) Bob Barker for President

30) Al Bundy for President

31) Knight Ridder for President

32) Genie and Aladdin for President

33) Tigger for President

34) The Agro Crag for President

35) The Chief (from where in the world is carmen san diego?) for President

36) The Bee Gees for President

37) Village People for President

38) Alice (from The Brady Bunch) for President

39) Pinocchio for President

40) 50 Cent for President

41) Beyonce for President

42) Harry Potter for President

43) iPhone for President

According to The Hill momentum is building for a Fairness Doctrine to regulate talk radio.

House Republican lawmakers are preparing to fight anticipated Democratic efforts to regulate talk radio by reviving rules requiring stations to balance conservative hosts such as Rush Limbaugh with liberals such as Al Franken.

Believe it or not, talk radio is an industry and radio stations largely do not have an ideological bias. Conservative talk radio gets better ratings than Liberal talk radio. Case in point:

liberal talk radio has not proved itself to be as profitable as conservative radio. Air America, the liberal counterpunch to conservative talk radio, filed for bankruptcy in October.

Let the market regulate who gets on the radio, not legislation. If Liberal talk show hosts can emerge with the ratings necessary to thrive, all power to them. But, ridding on the coattails of Conservative talk radio is anything but fair.

Does anyone else see a problem with this picture?

A CNN reporter gave $500 to John Kerry’s campaign the same month he was embedded with the U.S. Army in Iraq. An assistant managing editor at Forbes magazine not only sent $2,000 to Republicans, but also volunteers as a director of an ExxonMobil-funded group that questions global warming. A junior editor at Dow Jones Newswires gave $1,036 to the liberal group MoveOn.org and keeps a blog listing “people I don’t like,” starting with George Bush, Pat Robertson, the Christian Coalition, the NRA and corporate America (“these are the people who are really in charge”).

According to the New York Times ethics policy:

Companywide, our goal is to cover the news impartially and to treat readers, news sources, advertisers and all parts of our society fairly and openly, and to be seen as doing so…

Does anyone else see a conflict of interest here?

UPDATE: Other bloggers see the problem too, check out some of the headlines:

1. MSNBC Confesses, “Maybe The Media Is Bias…”
2. The Next Time A Journalist Tells You That He/She Is “Impartial” And/Or Has “No Affiliation”…
3. The next time RTD’s Michael Hardy writes something…
4. Journos and Political Contributions
5. Unbiased Journalism Under Threat From Both Sides