Bring it home baby!
everhopeful |
01.20.06 - 5:05 pm | #
From last thread:
Wilson, was the Kuwaiti oil statement part of the reason the market tanked?
marky |
01.20.06 - 5:07 pm | #
Frank...off sounds like as big an asshole as Jack...off.
He should be hiding somewhere, overcome with shame and learning deep humility and contrition for having produced such a corrupt parasite criminal for a son, not writing complaining letters to newspapers.
tech98 |
01.20.06 - 5:11 pm | #
By the way, Larry Franklin got sentenced to 12 years in prison.
"Say hello to Jonathon Pollard" says Steve Gilliard.
marky |
01.20.06 - 5:11 pm | #
"Innocent and decent" people? Like the girls forced into prostitution and sweatshops in Saipan with the help of Little Jack and his buddy Tom?
The Howell attack is great and a good show of power as long as it's kept up.
I'd love to see the same power turned toward shining a light on the Abramoff Saipan story, which is truly vile.
not being a cognoscento on Wall Street (spit!), I don't know but it caught my ear on the TeeVee. oil is a finite resource...
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:12 pm | #
A bit of self-promotion. I blogged about this earlier. Even said, "To whit". (Hey, Hamser! You're stealing me ideas!)
From my own sweet blog:
Friday, January 20, 2006
Spit-Take Moment du Jour
Jack Abramoff's father has gotten his knickers in a twist about George Clooney's comments about his son's unfortunate nomenclature at the Golden Globes Awards ceremony.
To whit:
In the letter, Frank Abramoff furiously defends the name, saying his son is named after Frank's father. In the two-page letter, he calls Clooney's act a "lapse in lucidity" and an "obscene query."
Former GOP lobbyist Abramoff admitted bribing public officials and defrauding his American Indian clients of millions of dollars.
In a telephone interview with The Desert Sun Thursday morning, Frank Abramoff said Clooney was "an idiot" and described the actions as "pure, unadulterated stupidity."
(snip) "Oh how far Hollywood has fallen," laments the Abramoff patriarch. Oh, yeah. It's just tragic, isn't it? Hollywood has fallen a full two inches further into the gutter since the days when Fatty Arbuckle beat young women to death and the Black Dahlia murder. Congress, on the other hand, thanks to Mr. Abramoff's son, has become government by the highest bidder, a money machine for well-connected fatcats, lobbyists, and day-traders.
Whatever, old man. I don't look to Hollywood for moral rectitude. That's not what they do. They make entertainment. It's our elected officials who are allegedly supposed to be acting in the best interests of the American people, not jet-setting around the golf courses of the world like O. J. Simpson or Fred Durst. Get a fucking clue, you self righteous prick.
Thesaurus Rex |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:12 pm | #
"innocent and decent" people like Abramoff that used a children's charitable athletic fund to send weapons and training to Zionist wingnuts in the West Bank?
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:15 pm | #
Mercury,
We must remind the media that Abramoff's client list was made up of more than Indian tribes.
Idiots like Kyra Phillips may not even realize this.
I may be reading things wrong, but I think that a lot of people on TV news, and many at newspapers, are airheads.
Shocking, isn't it? Some of them don't really understand how they are being gamed. Others, of course, do. Still, I bet 10,000 civil emails saying "Kyra, here are the facts" may be effective.
Let's just face reality here. The traditional media hacks have absorbed the meme that "bloggers" are nasty brutes.
It IS true that we enjoy a much rougher level of discourse than one usually sees in print.
So be nice, hard as it is.
marky |
01.20.06 - 5:15 pm | #
I'm auditioning to replace Kevin Drum, in case you couldn't tell by my last post. Let's all be reasonable now, ok?
Here's a question for you: If the CIA had good intelligence that there were 4 left wing bloggers in a safe house in Pakistan, along with 18 innocent civilians, would the US be justified in launching an airstrike that killed all 22 people?
Come on, be reasonble!
marky |
01.20.06 - 5:17 pm | #
Jane, have you seen or heard anything about this. I only copied a short piece from this. It's about Libby and his defense.
Libby's Lawyers Want to Subpoena Reporters
Updated 7:45 PM ET January 20, 2006
Lawyers for a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal judge Friday they want to subpoena journalists and news organizations for documents they may have related to the leak of a CIA operative's name.
In a joint filing with prosecutors, lawyers for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, 55, warned U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton that a trial likely will be delayed because of their strategy to seek more subpoenas of reporters' notes and other records.
This is from ABCNews.com
George A |
01.20.06 - 5:17 pm | #
From the transcript of Lou Dobbs today - part of a little conversation with James Bamford (who was great at John Conyers' hearing today) about Bush's illegal surveillance:
DOBBS: Jim Bamford does it trouble you that in your insistence on a narrow view on this, if you will, at least to David Rivkin and others, obviously the administration would say, would it trouble you that we would be forgoing, putting aside a weapon in the war against radical Islamist terrorists not to be conducted this surveillance?
BAMFORD: Well, I think it's a false choice. I think if it's a valid...
DOBBS: It's the only one we've got, really. Jim, I appreciate you don't like the question, but it's mine. Would you give me the benefit of at least an answer?
BAMFORD: What I want is the president to obey the law. The FISA court is the easiest court on earth for them to go through, and that's what I want them to do. I don't want them to go around the FISA law.
Lou was on a roll today - "don't bother me with the facts" - first, insisting that Abramoff gave to democrats, no matter what the truth is, and then framing the NSA debate as: objecting to illegal spying and trying to curtail presidential power is denying the country a formidable weapon in the war on terror.
I was watching Tweety when they began discussing the Jack'Off story. I posted these comments about the show at the end of last thread:
Just watched the new Friday "Hotshots" segment on the Tweety Show. Heard more hatespeech there than I saw on the entire WaPo comments page. It was, to use an overworked word, surreal. Apologies if this was disccussed earlier, but what is this idiotic new segment? It consists of Tweety, Carlson, Crosby, and Scarborough--notice anybody missing?
Given Tweety's recent comments, along with those of Deborah Howell, Kyra Phillips, and now Rove's speech, it seems pretty clear that Bushco believes somebody has knowingly or unknowingly hit a major nerve. The pushback appears far too orchestrated for that not to be the case. I just wish I knew which nerve.
In Need of Surveillance |
01.20.06 - 5:20 pm | #
His own daughter is ashamed of him.
SUPER HAWK |
01.20.06 - 5:20 pm | #
concerning sending an airstrike killing civilians: we have always been at war with Oceania. We did it when we were always at war with Eurasia so it's OK now too...
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:21 pm | #
I didn't know hubris was an inherited trait.
eb |
01.20.06 - 5:22 pm | #
Bwaaaah. His son is an admitted crook and so are his friends
steve_gilliard |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:23 pm | #
Agree with you about the civility, Marky. Our side needs to bite back the overt outrage and fight smart. These folks are so loath to listen to dissent in the first place that some sort of seduction is necessary.
But quite obviously the force of numbers and the speed with which this can happen has unnerved them.
Perhaps the same flood of e-mails to Mr. Dobbs, leavened with civility and big bold accurate graphs would have some effect?
mercury |
01.20.06 - 5:23 pm | #
Mercury,
Color-coding is very effective too!
marky |
01.20.06 - 5:24 pm | #
Clooney is a DREAM-BOAT!
question for the prez |
01.20.06 - 5:25 pm | #
Is it me or did Mr. Abram(Don't call my son Jack)Off just declare himself part of the Abramoff story? Because normally, I think you leave family members well enough alone. But once they step into it, then don't they become fair game?
emptywheel |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:29 pm | #
OT - CSPAN2 is repeating the Conyers' hearing on the domestic spying mess in about a half hour (8PM Eastern).
I know... I'm banging the drum. It seems important.
OldCoastie |
01.20.06 - 5:30 pm | #
I love to be civil
civil as pie
Always say "inartfull wording"
never say "lie"
Always say "collateral"
and never say "dead child"
Because uncivility is worse
than torture gone wild.
citizen k |
01.20.06 - 5:30 pm | #
Maybe we should have the Gloden Globes on at least once a week, so as to shake things up a bit, as the press sure isn't doing its job, or maybe it is doing just what this administration wants, ya think?
plages |
01.20.06 - 5:30 pm | #
OOPS! Meant 9PM on CSPAN2 for the nsa spying hearing...
OldCoastie |
01.20.06 - 5:32 pm | #
the desert sun had this story that included comments from nick clooney. major props to a very cool dad who begat a very cool son:
"In a phone interview, Nick Clooney said he wasn't surprised by his son's "off-hand and flippant" remarks, but did relate with Frank Abramoff's concerns.
"I understand what it is like to have one's son criticized in a very public way," Clooney told The Desert Sun. "It's very painful and it's very difficult.
"The difference here, and it must be said, is Mr. Abramoff's son, instead of pursing some positive efforts to do what he hoped would change the climate of the American politics, has confessed and has been convicted by that confession of subverting the political process," Nick Clooney said.
"It's not Mr. Abramoff Sr.'s fault that (Jack) turned out to be who he is any more than it is to my credit that my son turned out to be what he turned out to be."
Here's a repost from last night using the May 2005 blog archieve for those who did not see it.
Anon-Paranoid said...
Oh I feel so much safer knowing that the NSA under orders from the Fuehrer has been wiring tapping phone calls of Americans and reading emails etc...etc...
and so should everyone else....
Oh my GOD!!!!!!
I'm begginning to sound like Snow Flake Blue Fritz.
On the other hand though, now that we know that the Fuehrer has been breaking the law before 911 how is it possible that the NSA didn't monitor any phone calls {Cell or otherwise} of any of the 19 hijackers. I guess he was only wiretapping American Citizens whom disagreed with his policies.
You Know........His political enemies.
If the NSA had been listening to foreign calls and emails they should have been able to stop 911.
I assume then that making enemies lists
and spying on American Citizess was more important than saving American Lives.
1/19/2006 09:36:54 PM
Another to follow. My responce to Colleen
1/20/2006 06:52:03 PM
Anon-Paranoid said...
Here's the second one.
Anon-Paranoid said...
Colleen...
Its been reported that the wiretaps had been going on way before 911 occured. If that is indeed true than 911 should never have happend.
Der Fuehrer is more paranoid than I am and that is clearly seen by the amount of security used by him. It also shows up in all his so-called Town Hall Meeting [Capive Military audiences and invitiation only public events].
Anyone in the Military who disagrees with his policies can not voice them for fear of retribution and Court Martial.
There was a person who called the Bud Hedinger talk show that believed the Fuehrer should have total authority while acting as CIC during a time of War. An authority that was above the Constitution and those who questioned it should be jailed as traitors for acts of Treason against OUR COUNTRY during a time of War. Hedinger agreed.
Least we forget Hitler had the powers that many fascists in this country want too give Der Fuehrer. Those who have such authority are Dictators.
Are we now living in America the 4th. Reich? Where does the power of the Presidency stop? If he's above the Law, than are we still a Nation Of Laws? I think not.
Martial Law and the suspension of the Constitution may be just around the corner. How would you feel if you lose your rights and are arrested as an enemy combatent, locked up with no legal recourse for as long as Der Fuehrer choses? After all he is the Law.
We may find out by the time the 2006 elections are due if nothing is done soon. I fear for all loyal Americans that Freedom is in its last throes here at home.
Like I said call me Paranoid.....
1/19/2006 11:17:20 PM
1/20/2006 06:54:07 PM
George A |
01.20.06 - 5:35 pm | #
Just caught this at HuffPo - Peter Daou
Matthews Responds to Bloggers: "People Misunderstood What I Said Last Night"
For those of you following the Hardball scandal, the online community's fury elicited this response from Matthews:
MATTHEWS: "Why is [OBL] doing it? Why is he trying to track what he picks up in the internet and from the media as the lingo of the left in America, like Moore?
Why would he start to talk like Moore? People misunderstood what I said last night. I think he's getting some advice from people, he's getting some lingo, some wordage that he hears working in the United States about this thing for war profiteers and he's jumping on every opportunity. Is that what you are saying Joe?"
SCARBOROUGH: "Listen, if somebody can't look at the words that Bin Laden said last night and match them up with what Michael Moore said, with what John Kerry said on Face the Nation with he said Americans were terrorizing Iraqi women and children in their homes hat night, which is what Bin Laden in effect said. What Ted Kennedy has been saying. Remember he said after Abu Ghraib that Saddam's torture came bers were turned over to -- chambers were turned over to new management, U.S. troops, that's the same thing Bin Laden hit on."
On the heels of a statement from John Kerry, massive pressure on MSNBC and Matthews from the blog community, we get an on-air reaction within 24 hours. Many will rightfully slam Matthews for this tepid non-apology apology, but the lesson here is simple: the netroots working with party leaders can put tangible pressure on the traditional media and "close the triangle."
This is a long, hard, but viable struggle and the target - as I've said many times - is not Rush or Hannity, but the "trusted" reporters, the "neutral" ones, the ones who shape public opinion precisely because they're supposed to be giving us the facts, not the GOP spin. Maybe it's credit to Matthews that he's still in that category. If he stays away from Fox-lite tactics, he might just regain our trust.
everhopeful |
01.20.06 - 5:37 pm | #
This one I really enjoyed. I called my Senator also and basically told his office the same thing.
Has anyone else done so?
Here's the post......
Anon-Paranoid said...
Today I called my Senators office. I spoke to a very nice sounding young ladywoman. I informed her that I was a registerd Independent who votes Democratic 95% of the time and had two {2} issues of concern I would like her to let my Senator know about.
She ask me for my zip code which I gave her than told her my concerns. My first concern was the fact that Keane was chosen to give the rebuttable to Bush's SOTU speach. I informed her that I was disappointed that the Democratic Party chose Keane instead of Congressmen Murtha who was a well spoken and very respected person.
I informed her that my second {2} concern was the confirmation of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court. I stated that the Democrats needed to get spines and fillabuster his confirmation. I stated that if Alito is confirmed than we would end up with a Dictatorship like Germany did when Hitler put Judges on the Courts who affirmed his power and authority.
I also informed her that if the Democrats rolled over and confirmed Alito there would be a backlash by the American People and we would do everything in our power to vote all incumbants out of office. I went so far as to tell her that I would no longer vote for any Democrats unless they were new to the political process such as those Irag veterans who are running for the Congress or Senate here in my home state.
She said that she would pass my comments on to the Senator. I don't know if it will make a difference or not, but I made my voice heard. Everyone should do the same and contact their local represenatives and let them know how mad we are at them.
1/20/2006 07:16:51 PM
George A |
01.20.06 - 5:38 pm | #
"Two weeks ago, a US security company came up with conclusive evidence that the second key belongs to NSA. Like Dr van Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym of Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service Pack release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that Microsoft's developers had failed to remove or "strip" the debugging symbols used to test this software before they released it. Inside the code were the labels for the two keys. One was called "KEY". The other was called "NSAKEY". "
annie |
01.20.06 - 5:44 pm | #
I wouldn't be surprized if many TVE talking news celebs don't know much about the Abramoff scandal. I found out how much these kind of people know when I was caught in the middle of the 90's LA riots. The local TV news celebs showed that they knew almost nothing about LA, except for the rich and glamorous parts. I realized that for them, nothing south of the 10, and east of the glamours cool places along the beach even existed. Ninety percent of LA was a strange foreign country to them, they knew nothing about it, including the geography.
Might be same thing here.
Post reporters, and Post ombudsperson should know what's what about the scandal though.
anon_1 |
01.20.06 - 5:50 pm | #
I can't remember where I saw it (I'll try to find it), but Abramoff's father and uncle have ties to organized crime in New Jersey through co-ownership of property there.
notjonathon |
01.20.06 - 5:51 pm | #
One thing dimwits like Matthews need to understand is that not everyone who e-mails him or comments on a blog is not one of those grungy "bloggers" per se -- they're American citizens, normal taxpaying folks. calling him on bullshit.
mercury |
01.20.06 - 5:52 pm | #
the reason Tweety has his Friday Hotshots is to try to boost the feeble ratings of the M$NBC nighttime lineup. It's like the Today Show carrying a story that hypes an NBC TV show playing that night.
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:53 pm | #
not to defend the Abramoffen or anything but I think it was his partner (heterosexual) Mr. Kidan that was all mobbed out...
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:55 pm | #
Molly Ivins: In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit ...
So the netroots are morphing the dachshund Democrats into shepherds - smart dogs them - good.
Something else - 9/11 among other things should have shown us what a true believer would do with god and faith on his side - our true believers should be willing to fly airplanes into buildings, should be mobbing the recruitment offices - none of that is happening so what to really make about all those polls that say we are a god fearing nation? We're whores really - give the right answer for our 15 minutes of fame - and we think the republicans treat the fundies like suckers - but really where are the true fundies and why aren't they, like radical muslims, fighting in Iraq? On the other hand Democrats must be dumb as posts to think that those 140 million believers have to take out the trash first and then - look out Iraq here we come! Change if it does come must forced fed by the netroot German shepherd babysitter from hell - it gets results - Rush knows what's inside our bottle and everyone of them including the DLC are trying like hell to keep it corked. Power - can you taste it?
der |
01.20.06 - 5:57 pm | #
Carrying on a conversation from the previous thread....
############
Amazon has been gotten to. My original review contained no profanity or anything untoward.
Pachacutec | 01.20.06 - 5:00 pm | #
__________
Okay - so how about swarming Amazon with emails complaining about what's going on? Tell the we will boycott Amazon (already do but they don't know that) if they keep removing reviews and propping up bad books for their friends on the right wing.
Amazon WILL pay attention if they are bombarded with hundreds/thousands of emails with this same message. Unlike some of the advertisers for WaPo, Amazon lives and dies by Internet traffic. There are many more of us using the Internet then wingnuts.
dab |
01.20.06 - 5:58 pm | #
Chris Matthews the host of DumbAss has done considerable harm to this country. He doesn't mind though because he's paid well.
Everythingseemssoneat |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 5:59 pm | #
Seems Frank Abramoff and his brother were involved in several schemes.
notjonathon |
01.20.06 - 5:59 pm | #
notjonathon,
"Frank Abramoff had once looked into operating a casino in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. territory that includes Saipan. He introduced his son around, and the Marianas became one of the first important clients of the new lobbyist."
"Frank Abramoff, apparently, grew up in Atlantic City and moved to Beverly Hills.
With his brother, he has been involved in real estate deals near Atlantic City. Rumors that they were laundering money for the mob, or otherwise fronting for mob (purchase of toxic waste cite in early 80s). Google also puts Frank together with a conman named Kewl at a meeting in Ft Lauderdae Florida.
Frank is reported to have wanted to get into casino business."
Hoo boy, that's a frickin' riot! had to rush to get some coffee so I could re-read it and test my clear plastic keyboard protective cover....
samples headlines:
Osama Bin Laden's Whitewater Connection
Editorial: Chalabi is our Kind of Pope
Presidential Powers Save Life During Wiretap
punaise |
01.20.06 - 6:01 pm | #
OT, but someone at kos has the first of a length series of posts on Bush's military career in which he claims that the public record shows Bush was stripped of his honors in disgrace and that there are forgeries in his record.
The user is exlrrp---not familiar to me, but he says he is a Vietnam vet. I've read several paragraphs down and he is a good writer, at least.
"People misunderstood what I said last night."
punaise |
01.20.06 - 6:05 pm | #
notjonathon: thanks for the info! now the connections to Kidan make more sense. Now the gangland-style rubbing out of Boulis makes sense. Now the fascination with INDIAN GAMBLING ENTITIES makes sense. So Jack was a front for the mob in Indian Casinos? things that make you go "hmmmm" ...
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:06 pm | #
notjonathon,
The fact that he lives in Palm Springs is a red flag too. A favorite mob retirement destination. ; )
Cozumel |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:07 pm | #
Oh what a lovely picture of George, Jane! Being Oscar season I've been running into him for one reason or another constantly over the last few weeks -- press conferences, cocktail parties, events, etc. And he's cooler than that at all times. It's all I can do to keep from grabbing him up and running off to Canada with him for a quickie marriage.
Hell, even straight men want to marryGeorge.
As for the meat puppets, he's bulletproof. MUCH too smart fro the lot of them and they know it.
With Good Night and Good Luck and Syrianna he's fast emergeing as the new Improved Warren Beatty -- more output, less fucking around.
But if you DO want to fuck around George . . . .you know where to reach me.
David Ehrenstein |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:14 pm | #
Psssst! Jane!
Now that everythings oogely boogely, and you have things all stirred up, the rabble is roused - ya gotta organize this mess. It's torch bearers in front and pitch forkers in the back with tines up, UP! up is that way you marroons and the endzone is that way - defense is for suckers, it's the offense that scores points - and you don't win unless you score!
der |
01.20.06 - 6:16 pm | #
Frank Abramoff had once looked into operating a casino in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. territory that includes Saipan. He introduced his son around, and the Marianas became one of the first important clients of the new lobbyist..... (Thursday, December 29, 2005; A01 )
Read on down through the comments, many of them posted by the same author, "Patrick Hentry," who has been a-Googlin' and searching and is turning up quite some dirt.
It appears, for example, that Jack'off's and Tom Delay's clients and colleagues in the Northern Mariannas garment industry are real good on the right-to-life front:
TU XIAO MEI: When I told them [her factory managers] I was pregnant, they told me to have an abortion.
Skipping ahead:
And in fact, when people at the Department of Interior attempted to do that, DeLay actually tried to introduce a bill to cut off funding for that particular section of the Department of Interior, to stop them from essentially backing the workers’ claims. And it became an ugly situation on Capitol Hill. And DeLay and others, but DeLay in particular, were involved in blocking the legislation and making sure that that status quo continued on Saipan.
Oh, there is much, much more -- even a dash of Deborah Howell!
35: Number of Camp Wellstone graduates who have won elective office since 2004!
Ceci |
01.20.06 - 6:19 pm | #
everhopeful,
Great post. You are so right, it's the so-called "trusted" reporters that we should be concerning ourselves with...not the rightwing nutjobs.
Jay |
01.20.06 - 6:19 pm | #
Imagine, though, old Frank Abramoff, completely clueless as to the sins of his son, watching the GGlobes, and the first winner gets up and, completely out of the blue -- makes fun of his son's name! Bolt upright out of his seat, I bet Frank was....
-
No Dad loves his son and gives him that name. Clooney was right.
TeddySanFran |
01.20.06 - 6:20 pm | #
George can come share some lucid moments my way any day....because he said it the way many of us were thinking...I wish George's dad would think about running again...and even better George should think about running...
enigma4ever |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:21 pm | #
Can someone help me know who Abram is, to whom Papa dedicated his son Jack's future "off" activities?
This is d r i f t g l a s s's take on it. Should I make Frank Costanza, I mean Abramoff an Assclown of the Week or should I just let this go because he was just defending his son?
What do you, the people at Firedoglake, think?
jurassicpork |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:28 pm | #
Shame and dishonor? Little Jack is an admitted criminal of a particularly vile and corrupt sort, but Dad is put out by Clooney mocking his name on an awards ceremony? Holy crap.
tigrismus |
01.20.06 - 6:30 pm | #
Mama Dzugashvili thought highly of her baby boy Joe Stalin too ...
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:33 pm | #
oil is a finite resource...
Wilson46201
This could be bad news for the Administration. If they ever run low on the KY, there could be some rough spots in their relations with the media.
Hugh |
01.20.06 - 6:37 pm | #
Interesting...
"I ask you to consider, Deborah Howell, does the Schmidt/Grimaldi reporting on Frank Abramoff seem credible to you, considering the newspaper clippings that I presented? Schmidt/Grimaldi, citing no source, describe Frank Abramoff as a man who went from marketing the franchises of a celebrity, Arnold Palmer, to being president of "Diners Club credit card company", in March, 1969, (for the purpose of impressing us that Frank had amassed important "connections"), with no work experience as a manager in the credit card business, and
back to franchise marketing at Coburt Licensing, Inc., by July, 1969?
The information on Frank Abramoff's work history that I emailed to the WaPo ombudsman, may have influenced the following correction, which now appears at the top of the WaPo article:
"Correction to This Article
A Dec. 29 article about former lobbyist Jack Abramoff cited an incorrect date for an e-mail he sent about client bills. The e-mail was sent in April 2001, not April 2000. A Dec. 29 article misstated the position once held by the father of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Frank Abramoff was president of the franchises unit of Diners Club, not the parent company."
The two results of this example are that the research that I provided to the WaPo website ombudsman may have influenced a "correction", that renders the point of the Schmidt/Grimaldi paragraph irrelevant in their Dec. 29 Abramoff article"
I find your comments today erroneous and objectionable. You said:
"What set off readers was a Sunday column by Post ombudsman Deborah Howell who wrote that corrupt former lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave money to Democrats as well as Republicans. That's true but most of the money went to Republicans."
Jack Abramoff gave NO money to Democrats. This is factually wrong, an untruth.
Readers were quite angry with Washington Post's Howell for the very same reason: she promoted and perpetuated as truth an untruth, that Jack Abramoff gave Democrats money. [See http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...11400859_2.html] Democratic members of Congress in both Houses may have received monies from Native American tribes -- in many cases, from tribes who were their constituents -- but no Democrat received money from Jack Abramoff.
These untruths constitute slander, and libel if printed and published at CNN.com, to my mind, when no effort is made to retract them. As a member of the Democratic Party I feel personally slandered and libeled. I will ask the DNC to consider taking legal action against any media outlet, including CNN, CNN.com and any agent of the same for perpetuating this slander if they do not make an effort to correct this untruth in the same time slot or market space to the same audience that heard the untruth.
CNN appears to have forgotten that business sustainability is not merely dependent upon advertisers' dollars; it is dependent upon readers and viewers who need the truth, who rely on the expertise of journalists. Without readers and viewers, there is no franchise to market to advertisers. Without the truth, there is no reason for readers and viewers to consume CNN's products. There are already many other media products to consume that could offer more value if the truth cannot be had at CNN.
I had forgotten my first semester Bus. Law and the topic of tort law and reliance on experts.
I'm posting my request at the DNC's blog now. Tweety's next at hardblogger@msnbc.com.
Rayne |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:43 pm | #
Fuck him. Frank's in. The irony of his open letter is just too delicious to pass up.
jurassicpork |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:44 pm | #
cozumel--that's the Steno Sue article that tries to distance Tom "my closest frend" DeLay from Abramoff.
There was a wonderful video of Abramoff and DeLay hugging at a College Republican convention, but it's rolled off the page at Hollywood Liberal. If anyone can find it, please archive it.
It must be tough for the parents. Their boy grew up to buy and sell American Democracy to the highest bidder. And THIS is how we repay him!
Schoolyard bullies can never take a punch, not from no Hollywood Eee-lite.
Jenius |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:45 pm | #
notjonathon,
Check this out! Just below what I quoted in the post above (same link).
"Mysterious Entrance....
....Abramoff also counted on his father, who had a wealth of
connections from his days as president of a minor Diners Club credit card company start-up subsidiary, Diners Franchise Systems."
Now that it is written accurately (the WaPo did not re-write the actual paragraph in the article), the new information makes it look more like the propaganda that most of the article actually is, since the intent seems to be to distance republicans, and more specifically, the white house, from close connections to Abramoff.
Remember, the WaPo article was written by the lead reporters of the Abramoff story. Two examples of their exclusive and implausible reporting:
My vote is to leave it alone - unless and until the radical right, or more especially, the MSM, pick it up as something credible - at that point, rip 'em to shreds!
everhopeful |
01.20.06 - 6:50 pm | #
lest we forget: Judy Miller grew up in Las Vegas where her Dad was a nightclub operator. I wonder who Daddys associates were there ...
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 6:51 pm | #
Rayne - I'm no lawyer but I say, yeah! Great idea - sue 'em all - or threaten it - that's what the rightwing does, right? Boycott and threaten to sue?
We'll take our cue from you and the other lawyers as to what's "sue-able" and what's not - for the ones that are, we should go for it!
BTW - I think Michael Moore should sue Tweety - can he?
everhopeful |
01.20.06 - 6:54 pm | #
coz--
And reading farther down: good luck on replacing an indicted Senator Cornyn. I don't suppose my old schoolmate (she's actually a little younger, but my yearbooks are all back in Houston) Molly Ivins would run for the Senate, would she?
notjonathon |
01.20.06 - 6:58 pm | #
For some reason, "Honest Abe" Sr.'s reaction to Clooney's sophmoric jab reminds me of Art Linkletter having blamed the Beatles for the death of his daughter.
Sonoma |
01.20.06 - 6:59 pm | #
You guys and gals seen this???
Frist calls Alito Democrats' "nightmare" By Richard Cowan
1 hour, 18 minutes ago
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told Republican Party activists on Friday night that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito was the "worst nightmare of liberal Democrats."
Frist, a Tennessee Republican, made the remark to fellow Republicans during a private tour he gave them of the Senate chamber when the Senate was not in session.
Frist was not available for comment following his remarks.
Asked about the senator's remark, Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said that Alito "is a thoughtful mainstream conservative jurist who is well respected by his peers, by Democrats and Republicans alike."
Stevenson added, "There are liberals, many of them represented by the outside groups, who will do anything to kill any nominee put forward by this administration."
Democrats have expressed concerns the conservative Alito would push the nation's highest court to the right in areas such as abortion rights, civil rights and presidential powers.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Tuesday on the Alito nomination and the full Senate intends to debate it next week.
Three top Democrats announced this week they would vote against sending Alito to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court
Susan |
01.20.06 - 7:00 pm | #
OT
Something to remember is that all the major news outlets do not report the news. They sell it. They need to ramp up their coverage to spur as much "controversy" as possible. Why? They need ratings, subscribers, sponsors. And those with the highest numbers charge the highest rates for advertising, and thus "sell" more news.
I was thinking about Tweety's comment (by the way, that's not hate speech-that's our pet name for him) about Michael Moore and Osama. More controversy=higher ratings.
The problem, though, is that it's really counter-productive in the effort to protect this country from terrorism. Osama is probing how we react to his statements to get a sense of what is the best way to divide us. Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Ann Coulter, John Gibson and the rest commit a monumental blunder when they equate liberals with terrorists.
Here's a quote from Dan Brown's Angels and Demons: "Terrorism is not an expression of rage. Terrorism is a political weapon." These talking heads play right into Osama's hands when they start blaming liberals for "giving aid and comfort" to the enemy.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to defend these people. They have jobs to do-they need to make money for their corporate owners. But, they really do need to stop, think, and shut the fuck up!
mc |
01.20.06 - 7:04 pm | #
notjonathon,
"Molly Ivins would run for the Senate, would she?"
I doubt it, they'll run up another wingnut. Kay Granger maybe, GREAT mayor (Fort Worth), Wingnut Rep.
Cozumel |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 7:04 pm | #
Maybe the Abramoff family should have been more concerned about being called names before its member fleeced the public and subverted the public trust for personal enrichment.
Pachacutec |
01.20.06 - 7:09 pm | #
The wapo comment story was on Yahoo for oh... almost a minute. Well maybe two.
ac |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 7:10 pm | #
Sorry. I'm gonna clobber the prick tomorrow night. I've already written his segment and, man, is it a doozy. This is too good not to post.
jurassicpork |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 7:28 pm | #
I've given up on "hardball" it's turned into a clusterfuck suck off- not worth watching.. hope others make the same decision and tweety ends up fighting for Fox market share--give up on him- he's a whore.
rwcole |
01.20.06 - 7:38 pm | #
in this article:
"How NSA access was built into Windows
Duncan Campbell 04.09.1999
Careless mistake reveals subversion of Windows by NSA." http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artike...l/5/5263/
1.html
one of the cryptographer's who discovered and had comments about this, has this to say on his- now blank- website,
"Yes, this is the website of Cryptonym Corporation (of the "NSA Key" fame).
I hope to, sometime in the near future, put a brief explanation the whole story online, so stay tuned..."
brkily |
01.20.06 - 7:59 pm | #
I'll be looking for Frank's letter apologizing for not instilling better morals in his son.
Course, could be "sins of the father" and all that..
Duane |
01.20.06 - 8:07 pm | #
It doesn't surprise me that Micro$oft would let the gov. right into their software. They are very pro-establishment and completely unethical.
Is it really true that Jack Abramoff used to work as a lobbyist for Bill Gates' father's firm?
MarkH |
01.20.06 - 8:13 pm | #
Thesaurus Rex:
Fuck You. Arbuckle was acquitted. Nobody believes that coke bottle shit who actually knows the trial history. One of the first trials-by-media, courtesy of W.R. Hearst. Read someting besides Hollywood Babylon sometime.
mndean |
01.20.06 - 8:53 pm | #
Since Lou Dobbs is reporting that Dems got roughly 1/3rd of Abramoff's contributions, why don't we try to get Keith Olbermann to counter with the truth?
He was great when Matthews made a big deal over Hillary's plantation comment. He simply showed that the Republicans had made the same comparison in earlier years.
Olbermann seems to care about journalistic integrity; he might help us.
susan |
01.20.06 - 9:13 pm | #
everhopeful -- I'm definitely not an attorney, only had enough law in college and experience working for a lawyer to decide I didn't want to go to law school. ;-)
But I'm pretty certain that pointedly reciting untruths that damage a person or organization can be deemed defamation (slander) and if written, libelous. We also forget that our society considers paid journalistic professionals to be experts; we make important decisions after informing ourselves by reading or listening to their work. If they damage us by promoting falsehoods, this could be actionable.
If there's an attorney hanging around here at the end of this thread, correct me if I'm wrong. I know I'm angry enough at the complete breakdown of our media into a for-profit propaganda machine that I'm willing to consider legal action to stop it.
Rayne |
Homepage |
01.20.06 - 9:18 pm | #
Clooney's Jackoff comment was over the top, obscene, and mean. Yes, of course I'm aware Abramoff said horrible, ugly, racist things about Native Americans. But this was an attack on the guy's parents. Why is anyone defending this?
Seriously, people. It's not cool to defend this, just like it's not cool to post Deborah Howell's home address and phone number.
George Clooney also made a crude remark about Julia Roberts' boobs at another recent awards ceremony. What is with him? I thought he was supposed to be classy.
Lobstergirl |
01.20.06 - 11:35 pm | #
Timothy Noah, the "chatterbox" at slate.com wrote an article, back on Apr. 27, 2005 that contained:
"Back in 1975, I saw all this coming—and I didn't even know it!
Abramoff was a year behind me at Beverly Hills High School. I don't remember that we ever had a single discussion. But I observed, from a distance, that he was kind of a glad-hander. (I had no idea that he was a conservative, but apparently he already was, as I was already a liberal.) And so, behind his back, I began referring to him as "Abraham Jackoff." Was it cruel? I won't deny it. Was it adolescent? Of course. Please remember, though, that I was … an adolescent. I was 17 years old. And I never dreamed it would get back to him." http://www.slate.com/id/2117520/
Clooney was not the first to publicly "demean" the "Abram-off" name.
Jack's father, Frank, via his "tirade", may have triggered the one thing that I have been not been able to do since I first posted my research into his background, last month..... embarass the MSM into asking questions about Frank's "purchase" of an extremely toxic, NJ landfill : http://64.233.187.104/search?q=c...6citationno%
3D6
and...whether his brother Bernard's 1978 business relationship with a Toronto mobster's partner: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/
nyti...n+Atlantic+City
or here: http://scandal.atspace.com
"......" Neither Mr. Pucci or Mr. Montemarano has a criminal record, but
the officials say they have started to look into the real-estate
activities of the two men following the airing of a Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation documentary in which Paul Volpe, who they
say is a major figure in organized crime in Toronto, called Mr.
Pucci, "my partner".
....Bernard S. Abramoff, president of Jerome Realty here, served as broker in most of the Pucci purchases......."
By the way.... mobster Paul Volpe was secretly filmed by a CBC TV crew declaring that Bernard Abramoff's $4 million "customer, Angelo Pucci, was Volpe's "partner! http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/
nyti...y=REVERSE_CHRON
"TV Film Links Mob in Toronto To Atlantic City
By ANDREW H. MALCOLM Special to The New York Times
Mar 28, 1979;" Toronto - Millions of dollars in underworld money is
being funneled through Toronto into
real-estate investments in Atlantic City, according to an unusual
television documentary broadcast tonight by Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation......
and if there is linkage here: http://www.nicaso.com/pages/
doc_...oc_page122.html
"Although many of the deadly deeds occurred in other cities such as
Montreal or Toronto, there was usually a strong Hamilton connection. For example, the authors have fingered two Hamilton brothers --
identified only as members of an organized crime family -- as the
killers of Toronto mobster Paul Volpe in 1983. At the time, Volpe
was one of the most powerful mob figures in Canada. According to the
authors, he [Volpe] had started moving his operation into Atlantic City without paying proper respect or financial remuneration to the
Philadelphia mob which controlled the rackets there.
to this situation: http://www.newtimesbpb.com/Issue.../
feature_2.html
"But in 1977, nine years after stowing away on a ship to Canada, Boulis began to see his business sour.
".....After making his way to Toronto, Boulis took a job as a cook at Mr. Submarine, a small chain of four sandwich stores. A five-foot-seven blond man with a thick accent, Boulis devoted himself to the job, memorizing the menu and learning how to do every job in the restaurant. Impressed, the owners promoted Boulis and eventually gave him his own restaurant to manage.
The relationship with the partners wasn't that good, because he had to do all the work and they were blocking him in so many ways to expand," Frances said in court. Boulis sold his assets in the company to his partners, claiming in later years that he received $30 million to $40 million in the sale. However, according to a 1988 FDLE report, an attorney close to Boulis told law enforcement agents that the businessman actually received far less: only about $300,000 to $400,000,"
For example, the authors have fingered two Hamilton brothers --
identified only as members of an organized crime family -- as the
killers of Toronto mobster Paul Volpe in 1983. At the time, Volpe
was one of the most powerful mob figures in Canada. According to the
authors, he had started moving his operation into Atlantic City
without paying proper respect or financial remuneration to the
Philadelphia mob which controlled the rackets there."
We know that Boulis came from Toronto to live in Florida. We don't know how much money he came with, how he managed to own and overcome government hurdles to the operation of his casino ship fleet, or how he ended up selling the fleet to Jack and Adam, even though they didn't pay him the $23 million at the closing. The PRESS sleeps on...and instead puts lipstick on Frank "A" and gives him his 15 minutes !
host ( aka patrick_henry ) |
Homepage |
01.21.06 - 2:38 am | #
Poor Mr. Franks....a man made fun of his son's name. Poor baby. Jack Abramoff corrupted public officials and brought dishonor to our political system. Fuck him if he is offended by jokes about this name.
Dennis |
01.21.06 - 5:15 am | #
"lest we forget: Judy Miller grew up in Las Vegas where her Dad was a nightclub operator. I wonder who Daddys associates were there ...
Wilson46201 "
Actually, Wilson, Judy's Mom was a dancer at the "Latin Quarter" in new York -- the Mafia front nightclub owned by Barbara Walters' father, Lou. Judy's Dad owned a Mafia front night club in New Jersey where the Rat Pack performed for their mobster patrons.
David Ehrenstein |
Homepage |
01.21.06 - 7:15 am | #
