Air America VII

Apparently The City of New York Department of Investigation has demanded Air America place $875,000 in escrow. That way the DOI Could distribute the funds after it has completed its investigation.

Air America's response, putting $50K into an account controlled by their lawyer. Moxy, huh?

Their statements have changed and changed, the blame is going and going, and who gets the shaft, kids and alzheimers patients.

For all of you have tried to change the subject on this, shame on you.
For those who think I am obsessing, too bad.

This is about kids getting ripped off, and that is the outrage. How can this not be a story? That dumbfounds me. How can people be dismissive of this.

Listen, Air America has a 66 station network. They have the means to put this to an end. Get on the air, come clean and raise from dog-gone money for this place, it is the right thing to do. It is no secret their ratings stink, and the place is in fiscal chaos, being honest and trying to make things right would go a long way towards mending their already damaged reputation.

The same people who were screaming here last week about Mark Belling using the word "wetback" on the air saying he should be removed have zero outrage of almost a million dollars being taken away from kids who could really use the activities this center provides. These are the same people who screamed and cried when the Wisconsin Republican legislature issued only $458 million in increases in k-12 spending while decrying the increase as a "draconian cut"

If it is really all about the children, how about getting just a bit ticked off at an organization that ripped them off. Ask yourself if you would be outraged if this was Fox News Radio? You know you would be.

If you comment, comment on this, do not change the subject.


************* UPDATE**************
New York AG Spitzer is going to look into this.... developing.

Hypocritic Oaf Awards

We have a tie this week in the Hypocritic Oaf Awards.

And the winners are, The New York Times "The Partisan Paper", and President George W. Bush.

Let us start with Mr Bush. In his 2004 State of the Union Speech he said the following:
To help children make right choices, they need good examples. Athletics play such an important role in our society, but, unfortunately, some in professional sports are not setting much of an example. The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message — that there are shortcuts to accomplishment, and that performance is more important than character.

This week Mr. bush said, "he believes Palmeiro when he says he didn't use steroids"

Mr. President, you look silly on this one, congratulations on your first Hypocritic Oaf Award.


Our second recipient this week is "The Partisan Paper" As I have stated this week the NYT has done some 59 puff pieces On Air America, yet they still refuse to ackowledge the current controversy as news. There are startling new developments today and the NYT still ignores this. This is the most Partisan Paper in the country. They deserve no recognition, but they do deserve a Hypocritic Oaf Award.

New York Times Roberts Adoptions and Ignoring Air America

Earlier today I commented the New York Times has done some 59 puff pieces on Air America. However, the “Newspaper of Record” has not seen fit to report on a high profile American Company full of millionaire employees taking money from a Bronx non-profit existing to provide services to children and Alzheimer’s patients.

Later today I learned that the “Newspaper of Record” is looking into the adoption records of Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts two children. Look into John Roberts credentials, writings and decisions for his qualifications, fine. But leave the wife and kids out of it.

All around RealDebateWisconsin over the last week or so we have been discussing media bias. Liberal posters have actually been trying to make the point the media is right-wing and one poster actually said the reason Kerry lost was due to a Bush friendly media. I found this statement so outrageous it was almost impossible to reply.

The New York Times should have a new subtitle. I will from here until eternity refer to the New York Times as “The Partisan Paper”. Digging into Judge Roberts’ adoptions and ignoring Air America just goes to prove the New York Times real mission. If it hurts liberals, ignore it. If there is nothing there on conservatives, dig deeper they must of just hid it well.

This is not Journalism; this is activism. How does this outfit retain any journalistic credibility?

Air America VI - Camp Missing

I thought I would go do some research on Gloria Wise. She is the civil-rights pioneer who funded the Boys & Girls Club Air America used for an $875,000 money grab. You can read about her here. She was an inspirational woman, I highly encourage you to read about her.



As I was looking at the site I saw the link for Camp Air America. Hmm, wonder what that is all about. Nothing. Every link on that menu was dead. Kind of Looks like the Gloria Wise Community Center is taking some distance.

Air America V

Well here we go, still the press ignores this outrageous story.

Still all my left-leaning friends who have been trying to convince me and my readers we really suffer under the tyrany of a right-wing media machine are silent on this. (I take that back they did say it was a non-story)

Answer me this one question, and I may drop this. Since its inception the New York Times has done some 59 stories on Air America. All puff pieces (source lexis nexis). Yet not a peep out of them taking $875,000 from a Bronx Non-Profit serving youth and alzheimers patients.

The following is from The Radio Equalizer:

--- A Powerline reader finally hears back from the New York Times, after bombarding them with emails as to why they aren't covering the Air America scandal.Imagine his shock in receiving this:

Well, in fact, we will reply. We are closely watching this story and how it is handled by the paper.

That said, this office has no control over the content of the paper, outside of what Mr. Calame writes about in his column.

Sincerely, Joe PlambeckOffice of the Public Editor, The New York Times

On the local front, not a word on this from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, (they did see fit to run a syndicated piece on them 8-02 on their inability to find an audience), The Journal Times, The Kenosha News, The Wisconsin State Journal or The Capital Times. Madison does have an Air America affiliate WXXM-FM 92.1 FM, you would think they might want to cover this.

Go to Air America's homepage what do you find? Amnesty International Calls on US to End Secret Jails Conjecture, no proof we can not find anything so they must have taken it on the seas???? Oh yeah there is some objectivity for you.

I wish someone would please tell me why this is a story not worth covering. Tell me on its own merits, do not fall into the what about this and what about that crap. Deal with THIS story.

We aint got no stinking vote fraud.

Milwaukee was rated #2 in the nation for voter fraud by the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund.

A list of Milwaukee's accomplishments to warrant such high distinction:

Summary Of Milwaukee Findings:-
Joint federal-local law enforcement task force found “clear evidence of fraud in the Nov. 2 election in Milwaukee,” including hundreds of felon and double voters and thousands more ballots cast than voters recorded as having voted in the city. -

Paid Democrat operatives were charged with slashing tires of 25 Republican get-out-the-vote vans in Milwaukee on the morning of Election Day. -

Four ACORN/Project Vote workers charged with felony election fraud for filling out multiple voter-registration cards using fictitious information. -

Five Wisconsin residents with illegal voting, two people charged with illegally voting while on felony parole or probation, while three others were charged with voting multiple times on Election Day. -

Democrat workers in Milwaukee gave homeless men packs of cigarettes in exchange for absentee votes on Election Day 2000.

Seems to me they only scratched the surface. And where is DA McCann and Mayor Barrett on this? No where. Dems know that fraud favors them, ergo blind eye as usual.

Air America IV

Air America lost an affiliate today, not sure if it had anything to do with the current scandal.

Michelle Malkin made a brilliant point today in regards to Air America snatchin $875,000 from the Boys & Girls club. Where are Rev's Jackson and Sharpton? Read her column here.

Where are they? Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the supermen of the civil-rights establishment – able to leap tall buildings in a single bound to get in front of a picket line. When victim politics calls, the demagogic duo leap into patented action: March. Boycott. Shakedown. Repeat.But the raging reverends are nowhere to be found as a scandal involving the liberal radio network Air America and a Bronx, N.Y.-based inner city charity for poor children brews. Why the silence?It's all about the Benjamins, as they say.

Edward Morrissey of Captain's Quarters adds this.

One would expect that mainstream journalists would want to take advantage of this opportunity to cover this harmonic convergence: A greedy corporation had taken a half-million dollars of city grant money from two certifiably sympathetic and traditional victim groups in order to pay off its already-wealthy employees.Surprisingly, only three mainstream outlets did so: the Washington Times, in an editorial calling attention to the blog reports, a New York Post article doing much the same, and a New York Sun article detailing even more extensive malfeasance on the part of the CEO.

I find this story outrageous I wish people would comment on THIS STORY.

Health Care Reform, BRILLIANT!

I wonder if any of you have heard of John Shadegg? Mr. Shadegg is a Congressman from Arizona who has some great ideas. I am in the insurance business, and Mr. Shadegg has a proposal in regards to Health Care Reform I find very exciting.

One of the major costs in Health Care Insurance is something called mandatory coverage. Each State has its own Insurance Commissioner, these Commissioners have great power in determining how insurance companies that do business in each state must operate. The number of mandates has grown increasingly over the years with such things as hair replacements, aromatherapy, acupuncture, etc adding extensively to the cost of coverage. In some States as many as 1,800 mandatory coverage items are listed.

The effect of this mandatory coverage is to force consumers in certain markets to get nothing less than Cadillac coverage in the States in which they live. Many people and many businesses can not afford to offer this type of coverage.

Another point, some States mandate Guaranteed Issue Insurance. What this lets people do is have no insurance, and then get it at any time. This is like buying flood insurance after your house is under four feet of water and getting damages covered. People do not get insurance until they need it. Let us say you are diagnosed with, whatever, a brain tumor. The insurance companies in your state would be forced to pay for your treatment immediately even though you had no coverage when the diagnosis was given. Think of how much that drives up cost!

So how do you fix it? Congressman Shadegg is putting through legislation to allow insurance products licensed in one State to be sold in another.

Here is how it works. Let us say Idaho has 300 mandates and can offer a family policy at $400 a month. New Jersey has 1,500 mandates and insurance coverage is a minimum of $2,400 a month. An insurance company licensed in Idaho could apply with the Insurance Commissioner in New Jersey to sell the Idaho product.

Think about this. Now the private business owner can afford basic coverage because it costs 84% less than the previously mandated cost in New Jersey. They can now buy coverage for themselves, and offer it up for employees now that it is more affordable.

Increasing competition in this fashion could go a long way towards getting more people covered in our Country. Now this is some great legislation. I understand The Speaker and the President are supportive of this plan and it could be brought up in the House In September. The plan did pass committe last month. This is exciting legislation and deserves attention.

Thoughts.

Profiling quiz from Cyber Dad

HISTORY TEST

Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple Choice test. The events are actual events from history. They actually happened!

Do you remember?

1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and
massacred by
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old
American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, a US Navy diver
trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; 2 were used as missiles to
take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining 2, one crashed into
the US Pentagon and the other was diverted & crashed by the passengers.
Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do
you? So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics
intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to
profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen
with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning and former Governor Joe Foss,
but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest they be guilty
of profiling.

And guess who just bombed London?

Need any help moving Michael?

Sounds like Michael Jackson has found a way to beat the heated up California housing market: Buy in Bahrain.

The longtime Golden State resident has purchased 14 acres' worth of "palatial property" as a "potential new home" in the oil-rich Persian Gulf kingdom, the New York Post first reported Monday. His next-door neighbor is said to be Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad al Khalifa, a longtime friend.

Sowa for Congress???? Yeah right.

So the first sacrificial lamb has thrown his hat into the right against 1st District Congressman Paul Ryan. Justin Sowa (D) Franklin has announced his attention to unseat Congressman Ryan.

From his bio: His senior year, he ran for student government president. Facing tough competition from conservatives on the, at the time, 5th most conservative campus in the country, he fell short of his goal. This only steeled his resolve. After the election, he became a voice for progressive causes on campus.

Okey Dokey, complaining Greendale was a conservative campus, he has the rhetoric down.

Good luck Mr. Sowa, you are going to need it.

(I have contacted the Sowa for Congress folks and asked if Mr Sowa has ever had a job, or is he doing this right out of college. We'll see what the response is)

****** UPDATE *******
Still nothing on my request for Mr. Sowa's work history. Apparently they plugged this guy out from the Democratic Underground site. Wiggy has some great stuff on this.

****** UPDATE 2 *******
24 hours and nothing from the Sowa campaign.

******* UPDATE 3 ********
48 hours and nothing from the Sowas campaign.... sending another email...

Did ya ever think?

I've been browsing some articles on reaction to the John Bolton recess appointment.

You know the only ones who are upset are Democrats? (mostly Senators)

Question. If they are so worried about his credibility, why are they out there in front of every camera and microphone they can find bashing the man? Perhaps a positive word or two might help?

Nah...

Hypocritic Oaf Awards

This weeks winner of the Hypocritic Oaf award is..............

Drumroll please.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Speaking on filibustering the nomination of Bolton to UN Ambassador Senator Reid said, "it is not the fault of the Democratic caucus. We're not here to filibuster Bolton, we're here to get information."

Come now Senator, no amount of information was going to change your mind. You knew that if you allowed the matter to come to the floor Bolton would of been confirmed.

After President Bush did what he had to do to fill the post the good Senator had this to say about Bolton, "He is a seriously flawed and weakened candidate" What because you did not give your blessing?

Ambassador Bolton was received well today at the UN, people there only care that he is the representative of the United States, and he has the faith of President Bush and Secretary Rice.

Congratulations Senator on your second consecutive Hypocritic Oaf Award.

RealDebate is the sole arbitor of the Hypocritic Oaf Awards, nominations are always welcomed though.

Air America III

I can not believe I can not get any reaction on this Air America Scandal. Hello all you lefties out there who have delighted in beating me up for the last couple of weeks! I love you guys and your participation on RDW but I would appreciate your opinions on this.

Synopsis. Former Air America Big Cheese Evan Cohen also sat on the Board of the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club. While having this dual role it was reported some $400,00 in loans were given to Air America from the non-profit organization. That number has since increased from $400,000 to $800,000 and today to $875,000. How high will it climb?

Other than two reports from the New York Sun, the only people really covering this are Michelle Malkin and Brian Maloney of the radio equalizer blog.

Air America has only really said, that was former ownership, we had nothing to do with that.

I find this story outrageous on so many factors.

1. Air America received millions of dollars of free publicity from the Main Stream Media, particularly the New York Times that has done some 29 puff pieces on them, yet they are ignoring this story completely!
2. When you need cash, you go to a bank, not a non-profit. I thought all these non-profits were starved for money.
3. If this was a right-wing radio host, much less a right-wing radio network the overly silent New York Times and the rest of the media would make this the #1 story. Just think about it...... NRA pays Limbaugh $875,000 supposed loan! National Beef Producers funnel Hannity cash to bash PETA.... oh it boggles the mind.
4. Air America wants to put the nastiest spin on everything any right-wing individual does (find a way to listen folks, these people are nasty), yet they ignore their own issues?!?

This is a story that should be catching legs but is not. For those of you who do not, read the radio equalizer blog. This guy is an industry insider and does a lot of market by market analysis, I give him a 5 out of five stars.

Comments would just be spiffy.

Air America II

Michelle Malkin is doing some great reporting on the Air America scandal. The equalizer has some great new points up on this as well.

This is as classic an example of media bias as you will ever find. If this was a right-wing non-profit giving cash to oh, lets say Tony Snow to get his show going this would be the only story you would hear for a month.

Media Bias I

I’ve been promising a few words on my position on Media Bias. This is really one of my hot button issues. I have a problem with people who hide behind objectivity when they clearly have an agenda they promote either consciously or subconsciously. For purposes of this discussion I will divide media into the following groups: print, television, radio and the internet. After that you must consider two factors: admitted bias and purported objectivity.

First, some statistical data. The most recent study by the American Association of Newspaper Editors surveyed 1,037 newspaper reporters. Of that number 61% of them identified themselves as Liberal/Democrat. 15% of the responders identified themselves as Conservative/Republican. For those of you who are math challenged that is 24% who proclaimed to be more centrists. In Kenneth Walschs’ 1995 book, “Feeding the Beast” he interviewed fellow White House correspondents on their Presidential voting patterns. He found the following:

· In 1992, nine of the White House correspondents surveyed voted for Democrat Bill Clinton, two for Republican George H. W. Bush, and one for independent Ross Perot.
· In 1988, 12 voted for Democrat Michael Dukakis, one for Bush.
· In 1984, 10 voted for Democrat Walter Mondale, zero for Ronald Reagan.
· In 1980, eight voted for Democrat Jimmy Carter, two voted for Ronald Reagan.
· In 1976, 11 voted for Carter, two for Republican Gerald Ford.

There is a ton of statistics out there on this sort of thing. In my mind these could, but do not point to any particular media bias. The issue is not so much someone’s philosophy but their ability to keep their philosophy out of objective reporting. Too often we ignore a source just simply as to who the source is.

An example. On an earlier post I pointed out that Senator Durbin’s remarks on Gitmo were completely ignored by CBS, NBC and ABC news. That is until his apology. This rather interesting item was ignored and impugned by several regular readers due to the source (mrc.org). Here is the interesting point to ponder; who exactly was biased? MRC pointing out that non-coverage of a story is its own form of bias, or readers who chose to ignore a rather interesting observation due to their perceived bias of the source?

A few words about radio. For the most part I love radio. In no other broadcast medium are people more free with their opinions than talk radio. For the most part radio broadcasters admit their biases up front, to me that is a huge thing. NPR is another thing all together. NPR is among those who claim to be unbiased, give them a listen they are exceedingly liberal in their opinion and news pieces. The big point in my perception of bias, they pretend not to be liberal they claim objectivity. Rush Limbaugh, big rightie, admits it, no issue. Al Franken, big leftie, admits it, no issue. Sean Hannity, big rightie, admits it, no issue. Ed Schultz big leftie, admits it, no issue. NPR, big lefties, denies it, big issues! I am not trying to just pick on NPR here; they are the first example that comes to mind.

Ok to all my left-leaning friends, I absolutely Love Fox News. I can hear it now, oh big surprise there…. For those of you have not, try and watch some Fox News. What you will find there more than any place else in national broadcast media is BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY. On the whole when you add up the in front of the camera host-type folks they lean much more conservative. What Fox News offers up more than anyone else are experts who offer positions from both sides of the political isle. Their motto is, “We Report You Decide” This to me is the big difference between Fox News and the rest of the cable news genre. Watch CNN or MSNBC for a while, see how Conservatives are treated there, truly it is ridiculous. Liberals are given voice on Fox News and plenty of room to speak their minds.

Have you ever really asked yourselves why Fox News pulls more ratings than all the other cable news networks combined? Think about it a second… Times up. The reason is simple; the others are for the most part saying exactly the same thing. How do you want your news? Presented with spin without anyone presenting a differing viewpoint, or debated and left for you to make up your mind?

One of our posters actually made the following point, “The Democrats continue to loose elections because we face a conservative media juggernaut that is very good at convincing people to see things their way.” I’ll grant the poster talk radio skews a long way to the right, but the major broadcast networks all favored Kerry in their coverage as did CNN and MSNBC, the New York Times is so anti-Bush that even left-leaners must agree on that. The left is losing elections because their message is lost outside of the major population centers on the east and west coast. People in the sunbelt and rustbelt are not going to go for the same messages. The left was ineffective in delivering it, blaming a right-wing media is just passing the buck away from the parties own responsibility for its agenda not winning majority support.

I’m sure this is enough to get a discussion going, and as this is one of my pet peeves I am sure there will be more to come. Here is where my point comes down to, if you claim objectivity, report objectively.

No doubt this will degrade into a slurry of examples of right-wing and left-wing examples, that’s fine let’s just be nice about this.

Bolton Appointment - Case Study.

President Bush appointed John Bolton as UN Ambassador a few minutes ago. The reason he felt it necessary was due to posturing from a few Senators not allowing his nomination to come up for a vote.

The Washington post did a nice piece about former recess appointments. See it here.

This will provide an interesting case study on my upcoming post on media bias.

Rants and raves as always, not welcome! Just kidding, post your comments please.