Rick Santelli's rant was a preplanned right-wing scam to torpedo Obama's economic agenda
By John Amato Sunday Mar 01, 2009 9:00amJust another day and just another conservative scandal. I thought the organization around Rick Santelli's rant was a little too smooth, a little too perfectly orchestrated for something not to be very, very wrong about it. That's why I've been so vocal about it and that's why it infuriated me so much, but I had no idea how deep this deception went.
The right wing moneychangers tried once again to control the message and lie to the American people to push their agenda that only hurts America. The right wing elite hated FDR because he turned on his own class of people and put the average American worker ahead of them. They were shocked that he would care about the state of our nation over the vested interests in a very small few. I did write that Rick's behavior was indicative of most talking heads that appear on the Wall Street shows because they are slaves to the very wealthy. These same people are terrified that Barack Obama may indeed reach America in the same way that FDR reached into the hearts of a depressed and hopeless American population that was beat down by the the depression back in 1929.
Rick Santelli is a traitor to this country and he should be fired immediately along with all those that participated in this fraud. The rest should be exposed and made to answer for this charade.
What a great job of reporting by Mark Ames and Yasha Levine of Playboy:
Last week, CNBC correspondent Rick Santelli rocketed from being a little-known second-string correspondent to a populist hero of the disenfranchised, a 21st-century Samuel Adams, the leader and symbol of the downtrodden American masses suffering under the onslaught of 21st century socialism and big government. Santelli’s “rant” last-week calling for a “Chicago Tea Party” to protest President Obama’s plans to help distressed American homeowners rapidly spread across the blogosphere and shot right up into White House spokesman Robert Gibbs’ craw, whose smackdown during a press conference was later characterized by Santelli as “a threat” from the White House. A nationwide “tea party” grassroots Internet protest movement has sprung up seemingly spontaneously, all inspired by Santelli, with rallies planned today in cities from coast to coast to protest against Obama’s economic policies.
What we discovered is that Santelli’s “rant” was not at all spontaneous as his alleged fans claim, but rather it was a carefully-planned trigger for the anti-Obama campaign. In PR terms, his February 19th call for a “Chicago Tea Party” was the launch event of a carefully organized and sophisticated PR campaign, one in which Santelli served as a frontman, using the CNBC airwaves for publicity, for the some of the craziest and sleaziest rightwing oligarch clans this country has ever produced. Namely, the Koch family, the multibilllionaire owners of the largest private corporation in America, and funders of scores of rightwing thinktanks and advocacy groups, from the Cato Institute and Reason Magazine to FreedomWorks. The scion of the Koch family, Fred Koch, was a co-founder of the notorious extremist-rightwing John Birch Society.
As you read this, Big Business is pouring tens of millions of dollars into their media machines in order to destroy just about every economic campaign promise Obama has made, as reported recently in the Wall Street Journal. At stake isn’t the little guy’s fight against big government, as Santelli and his bot-supporters claim, but rather the “upper 2 percent”’s war to protect their wealth from the Obama Adminstration’s economic plans. When this Santelli “grassroots” campaign is peeled open, what’s revealed is a glimpse of what is ahead and what is bound to be a hallmark of his presidency.
Please read the entire article: Backstabber: Is Rick Santelli High On Koch?
All I can say is thankfully we have blogs to help expose this massive corrosion that has seeped into the bowels of our nation and uses our national media on all levels to mainline their corruption. Shame on them all.
It appears that this is the brain child of the shadowy Sam Adams project:
The Sam Adams Alliance, a nonprofit conservative organization, has started an ambitious project this year to encourage right-leaning activists and bloggers to get online and focus on local and state issues.
And the coordination is now expanding to business interests that are opposed to Obama's programs:
Industries from health care to agribusiness to mining that stand to lose under President Barack Obama's policy agenda are ramping up lobbying campaigns to derail or modify his plans.
The day after Mr. Obama formally laid out his policy goals in his first address to Congress, the former chief executive of HCA Inc. unveiled a $20 million campaign to pressure Democrats to enact health-care legislation based on free-market principles.
And don't bother to ask who is behind the Sam Adams Alliance, because all that is scrubbed:
But it’s the Alliance’s scrubbing of their link to Koch that is most telling. A cached page, erased on February 16, just three days before Santelli’s rant, shows that the Alliance also wanted to cover up its ties to the Koch family.
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much ado about absolutly nothing! ever watch these reality tv shows? you know the ones that have a bunch of goombas team up to beat the other bunch of cocanuts trying to win a million bucks, its all phony like pro wresteling matches and anyone who couldnt see this was staged has got to get in touch with me , i got a good deal for yah on a good used bridge in manhatten!
and although Santelli's rant was over the top, I haven't read anything showing proof that it is part of some Republican plot. That sounds very much like a conspiracy theory. Repubs will oppose anything Dem and viceversa. It doesn't matter who it is doing the ranting.
I see no diff between this and the fight progressives and Dems attempted against Bush, with the Repubs fav line being it was all bankrolled by George Soros.
is laughable.
We're at the scene of the crime, representatives of all the bailed-out companies who helped make this mess are here with me, let's bitch about the average tax payer getting some stimulus money!
Don't they know that is for us?! The nerve!
It wasn't simply from the "trading floor" -- it was from the trading floor on national television by corporate owned and run media. Don't be naive. You're ignoring a lot of the information John has posted above. Read the article before you comment.
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Do you think anyone would have known about Santelli's rant if it weren't on TV? I haven't seen too many here mention the other blatantly obvious point.
You don't start a new Boston Tea Party by getting the criminals who just robbed you to suddenly feel a sense of righteous indignation over others getting a piece of the pie. That's kind of like Satan bitching about someone else committing a sin.
MAYBE if some on the left VERY PUBLICLY POINTED OUT THERE ARE A BUNCH OF FIRMS ON THAT TRADING FLOOR SUCKING ON UNCLE SAM'S TIT RIGHT NOW to stay alive, it would steal the grossly hypocritical steam out of this stupid tea party idea.
THINK!
“chicagoteaparty.com” domain was bought last August.... read the links before you comment
You're being naive. Go back and read the article. And you're misinformed about Soros - sounds like you've been drinking the kool-aid. Do the research and some reading - apply some critical thinking.
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You could try reading the Playboy article and all about how it traced the Tea Party website to the Koch fortune. I understand that's a little much to ask of you, though.
Concerned Canuck says, "I haven't read anything...".
Exactly. Here's another fine example of Intellectual Dishonesty at work.
It's true, most right-wingers lack critical reading and thinking skills, and while reading anything their minds are so full of preconceived ideology they're unable to comprehend what they are reading, but lie and say they do anyway.
The problem with concern trolls like this is they take up bandwidth and space in an attempt to 'muddy the water' and distract others from the truth. Dishonesty and lying are traits that run rampant on the right, as witnessed here. Cowards and traitors, each and every one of them.
I worked on wall steet for years...something most should know is that the vast majority of people who have their sets tuned to CNBC watch it with the volume on MUTE...why? 1) they are working, and 2) the commentators are generally useless, and Santelli is a perfect example of that. Now he's being used as a pr tool...whatever.
The press secretary destroyed him with the line about this notion being dead: "adage that if it was good for a derivatives trader it was good for Main Street."
Brains beats bullshit again, just takes awhile.
John
Let's all hope that Obama's plan works. I think the mess we're in is just one of the unfortunate results of unrestrained capitalism and maybe was inevitable sooner or later, as many warned.
If Obama's plan doesn't work, the Republicans would have had a heyday AFTER the fact anyway. If it DOES work to slow the collapse, the Democrats will have plenty of ammunition against the Republicans in the short term, and the Republicans have so many problems anyway, they're just bleating themselves out of consideration for anything that seriously addresses America's needs.
Exactly. Wasn't any surprise to me to find that out.
it would be a good idea for someone from the Obama Administration to come out within minutes of his weekly address and tell people who's behind the opposition. Of course it would take a jounalist and a fair and balanced media to make it happen. What was I thinking?
the POTUS will see the true value (and loyalty) of the progressive netroots. He has "betrayed" the special interests (financials, MI complex) who bankrolled his campaign just to hedge their bets and are now aghast that he is actually doing what he said he would do.
We must support the Kos, Hamsher, Moveon alliance and put our petty differences aside. It's now a proxy war for the survival of the country. Forget the idiots who threaten violence and rush to buy guns. They are nothing. We will ultimately have the law on our side. Eric Holder is the key here. He has already shown signs of steering the DOJ back onto it's long neglected path. It's time to get on the bus or else everything Obama wishes to do will be negated by the moneyed few. IMO Obama sees the writing on the wall and will (already has) reciprocate. It's our last best hope. We have the upper hand.
Stand UP!!!
FDR didn't care that much for the average American. And he wasn't exactly a traitor to his class, as is often alleged.
What FDR realized that if he didn't throw some crumbs to the "people," they might just rise up and eat the elites.
The conservotards do hate FDR's legacy, but they have spent the last 75 years working diligently to undo it.
well im thinking FDR knew that ww2 was just over the horizon and knew if he let the american people go under that when war came thier would not be a tax base or a manufactureing population capable of building the weapons or fighting for a cause if that cause was only for the rich who allways had thier heels on the working classes throuts,as tom joad would probably say fuck it why sould i get killed just so' some fat over fed bastard can kick me down again onest i save his ass!
I do not believe FDR knew war was coming to USA. USA was supplying weapons and airplanes to UK but not a lot more. FDR didn't know Japan was going to attack Pearl Harbor (no ct please). Pearl was the reason we got in. Even if you don't think FDR was the friend of the average joe, FDR could see what the economic imbalance between the elite and the poor had done to the country (depression) and the remedy was more than a few crumbs. WWII really sealed the "deal".
i have a news paper in my possesion from the armys third divison printed in coblentz just a few years after the first world war, and thiers an article in that paper written by a captain from the same divison , in it he states that the german people are starveing the world powers who defeated germany are in the prosess of making germany ripe for another war if america and the other countrys that defeated them keep demanding that they spend thier meager national treasures on reparations for the war , as it is now the german peoples curency is worth very little and it takes a wheelbarow of practicaly useless paper money to purchase a loaf of bread if these people are kept in servitude to the world powers ect ect but the gist of it was that he predicted within one year the start of ww2, as for the japanese to think they would not attack us after fdr placed an oil embargo on them when thier military only had around a year and a halfs supply of oil to opperate thier navy with would be the heighth of stupidity, not to mention we cut off our sales of scrap metal to japan, without these items the japanese had no options but to attack us and take the islands in the pacific and replenish thier fuel stocks with the oil from indonisa borneo ect , we knew the war was comeing but the war planners based thier war plans for japan on building up the philippine islands , case in point was the plan code named orange, the defence of the philippines , wich fdr thought would be attacked first , had the japanese went for that bait they most surely would have been defeated at the outset , but the japanese were smarter then we were they knew that the fleet at pearl harbour was the key to defeating us , hence dec 7th, i did not say fdr had no sympathy for the average joe but as most politicians they figure the odds and act accordinly!
You are wrong, wrong, WRONG!!!
Open your fucking eyes. You let your guard down for a minute and these fuckers will be back in the driver's seat. You want that?
haven't really left the driver's seat, have they? What has this administration done differently from the Repubs economically, or war on terror-wise so far? I guarantee you, if this was a Republican administration, ALL the left blogs would be screaming about the spending and taxcuts, and the war on terror funding. I'd be willing to wager money on it.
no sense. Wake up. Look at what has happened in just 6 weeks. I supported Kucinich in the primaries and never gave a dime to Obama. I voted AGAINST McCain/Palin. The plutocracy is well entrenched. This administration is our LAST HOPE. There are signs of life. We have no other alternative than to throw every ounce of support to this administration.
I repeat. There is no other alternative.
The naysayers might just as well go jump the fence and sit with the far right wingers...They're headed that way anyway
That's not a fair statement. Things are not that easily defined. Things are not that black and white.
People need to be open to the possibility that both parties and two administrations have botched the economic recovery by sending 10 dollars to the banks (not even counting the other industries receiving bailouts or "assistance, just banks) for every one dollar spent on the people and infrastructure.
I support several of the moves the Obama administration has made, I don't support his economic policy (specifically the portion that continues to be pledged to the banking industry, not the stimulus package so much).
Do I belong over there with the far right wingers?
but the knee jerking has to stop for a while, at least let O get his toes wet first, no?
the crooks are still in control, I just posted on this here: Yes chant "Hayek" and invest in the dead!.
I believe his intentions are right but I'm dumbfounded at the obvious that is getting ignored. You are correct in your previous post, we are in for the ride whether we like it or not. By the time they wake up it will be too late.
well i got to wonder why i should believe any poliotician whos lied to me from the start, obama told me hes against fisa then he votes for it, hes against the patriot act then he votes for it even tells me these wars bush started are wrong then after he votes for more funding to keep them going he tells me bushes only mistake was not doing them more smarter and afganistans a good war because of such tripe as bin ladens there in some cave and people there got to know the blessings of democracy even if we have to kill them to make them see it, jesus the man lied thru his teeth , then you guys tell me a man has to lie to me to get elected ,whats the problem with that? then when i say im for kucinich they say hes grate but unelectable because hes not lieing to me , and in the same breath youall tell me a dog turd could beat the republicans with mccain and palin running for the repugs , wheres the beef ?
Needs an edjumacation or a smell chckr
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Antitax_movemen...
Like the alternative definition of 'tea bag.' Especially when they make kids hold up signs. Yeeesh.
That's the definition (tea bag) I always think of, and then snicker. (I must grow up? ...Maybe in my 50s I will?))
... needs a poofreader.
Or maybe they're telling their supporters to misspell things in their signs to prove that it's really a grassroots movement.
Did you hear Limbaugh's speech? What a beautiful speech! That guy Limbaugh is truely presidential material! I tell what. Let's get Palin as his vice president and Santelli as Economic advisor, what do you think? What a team! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ! Damn!
With a little luck, I hope they're the ones against Obama in 2012.
on a roll this AM. Did you see those people giving him standing O's?
They need to be crushed. They are already down. Never let them get up again. The media keeps them in the loop.
Take power.
KEEP power.
He's dead!
Had a big Tea Party rally here in Boise. A mostly well behaved crowd showed up with banners and slogans. It was quite a sight.
Estimates of the crowd size ranged from three to four.
Those are not the folks we should be concerned about.
more porta potties than attendees.
Gotta have those potties to handle all the crap they are spewing.
share is as foreign to them as Rush Limbaugh thinking about giving up one jelly donut a week. Limbaugh calls the Aristocracy "producers", when they are actually hoarders and in fairness, should not only have lost their last tax cut immediately, but should have had a "Patriot Tax" surcharge to help make up for the increased deficit caused by their years of underpayment.
Well well well. I wonder what our little friend dennis will have to say about this.
Santelli and Dennis want us to assign blame to our neighbors. It's totally divisive, and that's all they have. Pit us against each other and exploit the fabricated differences to retake power.
I would say that he as been exposed.
is he back? Christ on a pogo stick.
Remember W's first couple of pressers?
He was laughed off the podium and never did unscripted appearances in public again.
They replaced the whole format to a controlled show of trained seals all barking on cue.
The repugs aren't dumb.
They saw the power of the media and took that over.
The election showed them the power and immediate presence of the web.
They have virtually unlimited power and money to control this resource as well.
They are a little slow to react at first but just watch the next year or two.
I fear we may be back to secret decoder rings and funny handshakes.
They've already damaged this country beyond repair.
Obviously there's no shortage of Little Hitlers waiting in the wings for their chance to "be somebody".
Answer: Money: untold riches.
The fact alone that an entire network that was supposedly giving us insight into the financial world wasn't reporting anything about a financial crisis of global proportions until after the fact should disqualify Mr. Santelli as a serious reporter. That whole scene with him stirring up the commodities traders (some of the biggest parasites in my opinion) was like watching the Black Knight in Monty Python's Holy grail. If it was scripted that takes it from comical to criminal. Derivatives are the Emperor with no clothes!
or their shills. PERIOD.
you can do if you were rich like me!
And they are still saying the same things they said last time they took everyone to the cleaners.
It's a good time to buy Stocks!!
they forget to tell you tho is that somebody has to get fucked for you to get rich and that is usually the poor
The boomers who snipped their ponytails and became middle class suburban billionaire worshipers also are getting shafted.
But that's their fault, they're supposed to be ejumacated, my high school educated mother in law even knew that the invested people were going to get fucked eventually, "what goes up, must come down" she said
Like that disgusting poster (not sure if it's still around, but most of you have seen it), the one with all the "toys", that says, "the one with the most toys at the end wins." People worship that kinda shit. Greed drives peole quite far in their ambitions, good and bad.
These wackos need to be closely watched. I swear if anything happens to my President....
What were your first thoughts on the Post cartoon?
It screamed assassination to me, the racism, just par for the course.
It's like they're afraid of someone that might become too populist and successful threatening to derail their gravy train so the veiled hints become a lot less obscure.
But that's just crazy old me.
My first thought, too.
People from Chicago have very big egos. You should learn not to take them seriously. I’m from Southern IL so I know what I’m talking about. [snarkles]
He's from the United States of America. The sooner you pick up on that, the sooner we can turn this thing around.
But you are probably referring to Santelli.
my gut said something was NOT right about rick's rant. i've been watching/listening cnbc for yrs. when i saw rick go off like that it didn't feel right. currently, cnbc is challenging to watch but i try learn about business/corporations/politics. there's definitely a corporatist/(R) leaningphilosophy. this financial crisis is
MUCH larger that foreclosures. having said that the foreclosure part of this crisis has gotten larger possibly larger than reported as people lose their jobs and the difficulty refinancing mortgages.
Anyone born after 1980 needs to get used to it.
I've been through hardship before many many times so I'm not shocked by what lays ahead.
I've been mentally preparing myself to be a bag lady for decades. I plan to start walking, and stop when it gets warm enough to sleep outside.
So consider doing what I did and send them a note asking that Santelli be fired and an apology issued.
junk mail filters. No harm trying though.
They added CNBC to my cable package last year. I flipped it on once and almost puked. It's simpy revolting. I can't watch it for any reason. It's everything I've ever loathed.
In my view this is just HUGE. After this CNBC will have very little credibility. I can see O'Reilly pimping the Fox Business Channel now. CNBC is in a world of trouble I think. Doing a business channel, they rely heavily on their credibility and confidence that they are impartial. Santelli has taken CNBC down a slippery slope. There is no way they can get out of this without firing his ass. My opinion about him from the first time I saw his little charade was that he is an asshole. This really just proves his assholeness.
FOX will snap him right up. Best way to marginalise this guy is to keep him on and give him petty jobs to do, covering mall
openingsclosings and puff pieces, all on tape. And saddle him with the ball busting-est producer and editor on staff. Preferably two people who already hate the sight of him.Some of us are out here trying to find employment after the mismanagement of the rethuglican party. I am truly appalled at the announcers on CNBC who each day complain that the president and Geitner have not got them back on track. It is like they do not realize what their class has done to this economy. Santelli is just a worthless reichwing moron who should join the job search with me. The babes on the talk shows should realize that the way things were will never be again. Deregulation, hedge funds, default swaps etc is the cause of this economic crash. AIG is the larges insurance enterprise in the world and default swaps (created to bypass insurance regulations) are what are bringing them down. What the hell do they expect?
your absolutely correct. i've been watching/listening closely for several months. cnbc often(not always) push this mortgage responsibility/we're all responsible/people live beyond their means. NOW present some deeper info.(derivatives,CDO,ETC.) but the ongoing theme/chant is irresponsible homeowners. also the
SOCIAL programs and why the "market" is NOT responding because of Obama. it's all posturing/nonsense
by WallStreet more specifically the banks. unregulated/OVER the counter credit default swap market the BIG problem we're dealing with. read more about the "shadow banking system". Wallstreet/mortgage bankers wanted to sell as many mortgages as possible. why? securitization write the loan and sell the RISK as soon as possible. bundle them with other financial instruments to dilute and then "bet" on those with a hedge like insurance instrument. it's been like a casino. now they try to blame the public and piss off the people who are paying their mortgage. all to take heat off WALLstreet.DECEPTION.
Wonder what his contract with CNBC says about other employment? IMHO, this is a conflict of interest or at the very least should be disclosed before every one of his reports. If one followed CNBC talking heads' advice, one would probably be even worse off than picking stocks by dartboard.
And FWIW, this post really is a public service.
I feel like a dolt for not seeing through Santelli's rant when it occurred, but wow -- it was everywhere so quickly that the thesis of this post has a lot of credibility.
Particularly given the timing.
Thanks, C&L.
To the Chicago Tea Party Mailing list. If they ever set foot in NYC.. which I doubt, I'll be glad to show up representing the other side. Obama's victory was just the beginning, folks. It's time to take to the streets.
Georgia Pacific is the biggest holding of Koch Industries... they make plenty of products regular folks buy, e.g., bath tissue http://www.gp.com/forYourHome/bathtissue.html, dixie cups, paper towels: http://www.gp.com/forYourHome/papertowels.html. as well as building supplies, why subsidize these
greedy hippocrates?
The article states that the Koch family has tried to remain hidden. I would bet there are other interests just as wealthy that are going to do whatever they can to sandbag this president. It is really scary, OBama vs the unknown power brokers that have been running this country.
What is frightening is the thought these hidden power brokers are determined to win at all costs. Such is the scenario going on right now with the use of "tools" like Santelli or Limbaugh or Hannity.
I believe another president faced huge opposition and look what happened to him and his brother. I don't believe in conspiracy theories but I do believe that some people will do whatever it takes to remain in power.
I do believe in the conspiracies.
People getting together and planning to "do whatever it takes" and then taking an action toward that plan, is a conspiracy. Seems to be a lot of clear evidence that this was all planned,(conspiracy). The "frighting thought" of hidden power brokers makes you a believer of conspiracy theories, so don't discount what your common sense, the evidence, and your heart tells you. Many,many so called"wild conspiracy theories have been proven to be true, and more will be brought to light very soon. The "scenario going on right now" is a conspiracy as was another which will remain unmentioned here.CEO,citizens,eyes,open.
It's been reported that when FDR went to the CEO of Standard Oil and asked him (implored him?) to stop selling oil to Nazi Germany, the CEO replied, "You don't want us to stop selling oil to the US, do you?"
And thus the US was coerced into creating the American Military Industrial Complex, to fight the Nazi War machine that had in turn been funded by the very American Fascists who profitted from the creation of the American Military Industrial Complex.
Always playing both sides against each other and profitting from both.
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-0...
when you get time read this article in Wired magazine. david Li came up with the math formula to determine risk. this is where it all started you won't hear about this/clearly on cnbc. mr. Li won the Nobel prize in economics. the formula fell apart.
Wall Street has long been the enemy of the people.
Great Link.
Almost 80 years later and the issues and players are very similar.
Thanks for sharing.
You mean it was all a lie? BAWHAHAHHAHAHA! Of course it was, it came from the right. Just assume everything you hear coming from that side of the nation is a lie and you'll never be disappointed.
It sounds like a joke, but it's true.
"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
I seem to recall that Santelli was against the bank bailout. I believe he's been saying this is a solvency/confidence problem for quite some time and if that is his opinion, he's right. The major banks are broke due to their bad derivatives bets and because the shadow market is so large (close to $600 trillion) and so corrupt, no one has any confidence that they aren't going to get ripped off too in this corrupt system.
As a liberal, it pains me that I agree with a CPAC speaker.
I think the same people pushing this bullshit soundbite by Santelli are the ones pushing the bullshit circus one in a million case of Natya Suleman as well. It drives the focus on the people instead of the powers that be. I don't like what happened with Natya and I hope that type of medical situation doesn't happen again, but that is small potatoes to the tax frauds, and theft going on at the highest levels.
exactly. it takes alittle time and sophistication to really understand what's going even then we're never sure. blaming people in pre/foreclosure very easy to do. people are generally lazy and many don't want to know the truth. knowing the truth may NOT jive with what their CULTURE club is telling them. this propoganda continues the HATE and division the very wealthly/(r) love. trying to blame fannie/Freddie
is also nonsense. these banks were trying to compete and are privately run. Lehman was was in this deep and many others followed.......greed/envy.
These are the same tactics they used with the Anthrax case. The ends justice the means in these guys pursuits. We are fools if we underestimate their willingness to succeed by any means necessary.
John, you should really stop posting things like this. They will come back to bite you and be used to embarrass you in the future. The piece in Playboy is poor journalism, at best.
What sort of journalism critiquing training have you had? Why don't you fill us in on the article's faults, in a media watchdog manner. What exactly makes the piece "poor journalism, at best?" Are they lying? Bad spelling or punctuation, dangling participles?
As for embarrassment, look at your handle.
And NO ONE buys Playboy for the pictures. It's ALL about the articles.
Playboy has pictures?
Wow, just my luck, I have a subscription to the Braille version.
And all this time I've been wondering about those blank pages with just two bumps on them.
Thought they were photo ops of Bush and Cheney.
Oh, same thing...
John is a great journalist.
P.S. this was supposed to be in response to the entitled californian concern troll.
Americans know that the lying, incompetent Reslugs can't ever be trusted.
My god, even Playboy is practicing better journalism than the MSM now??
Playboy has always been about good journalism. What else is there in the magazine. Just good ole good journalism.
Just wait - if you think this is ugly - just hang onto your hat.
They're sociopaths and they'll stop at nothing. It's a mistake to underestimate them.
These people have enough money a thousand times over for paid assassins - if they want to go that route.
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I don't get why anybody cares about this whole thing, scripted or not. Santelli babbles for a few minutes and a few traders cheer him (not exactly a huge outpouring of enthusiasm from them though), and it's supposed to be some major thing? I don't see what the big deal is. Whether it's real or all a crock, it doesn't change the fact that the whole thing is irrelevant and silly either way. It's like arguing about angels dancing on the head of a pin.
The individual who wrote the comment "Huge story"? It's ridiculous is probably either very dumb, or a troll. Oh, wait, I repeat myself...
The thing that I've always loved about watching trollish drool turn up is that it almost always signals they're flipped out about a post or topic.
Hehehehehehehehehehehe...
Our job, should you accept it, is to expose the astroturfers and the right wing noise machine and the money behind them used to fool the murkan public.
Once they're exposed, they are done.
"Fool the murkan public"??? About what? That corporatist investment bankers and commodities traders don't like support for people struggling with mortgage payments and cheer on a guy who makes up bullshit stories about it? Yeah, that was really shocking to me, I never would have thought it. I guess there is a silent majority of them after all!
I mean seriously, assuming it was scripted, would you have expected it to be any different if it wasn't? I don't think it would be. I also don't think they'll be "done" after being exposed given that they do this kind of shit all the time. Is Bobby Jindal "done"?
You don't think blatant undisclosed conflicts of interests and the intentionally staged nature of this event are a problem? Just what sort of journalistic ethics do you subscribe to? The ones whose bar is on the ground? The kind where any sort of trash talk goes?
Why don't you start doing your part to lift up America by ascribing to a higher standard and calling our fraud and deception when you see it? Remember---your silence is your consent. Apathetic people like you are so much part of the problem.
WTF are you three talking about? I'm not flipped out about it, I'm wondering why everyone else is. Why does anyone, at NBC, C&L, on the left or right, care about this dipshit going off with some cheerleaders?
Yes, I'm all for better journalistic ethics, but did you actually think Santelli had any before you heard that this was staged? The *real* problem of journalistic ethics - worse than apathy - is the MSM pretending that people like Santelli, John Bolton, Alan Keyes, etc. have any kind of relevance and giving them coverage as if they're newsworthy and provide "balance".
Why should we care?
This whole episode is a disgrace, MR, and minimalizing the situation by saying it's no big deal and get over it is wrong.
If you are supposedly for better media standards and ethics, then calling Santelli on his blatant fraud and undisclosed conflict is absolutely the right thing to do. If you aspire to minimal standards, however, or if you care to tolerate any of his ethical lapses, then do nothing and say it's nothing.
I have no qualms calling out these frauds because they are a blight on our national discourse. I have had enough of these media hacks like Santelli, the poison they call commentary, and their overt political agenda that compromises America.
I agree that the MSM has a substantial problem with balance but refusal to call out fraud and lies when you see them as we did here is called complicity and apathy.
If these people are not called out every time they raise their head above the surface of the hole they live in then they will acquire more and more followers. This is how Bush got "elected" the first time. He went from being the doofus that he is to somebody who would be able to run the country becasue of Rove and others who kept saying that Bush was good and a guy to have a beer with and this and that. And the internets were not as big then. Or the blogs. There is no way Bush could come close enough to get elected that he could steal it if he was running at this space in time. That is why we have to cut the Santellis off at the knees as soon as we can. Otherwise he will get more validity and his nonsense will snowball in to a movement for the right.
You should care. That's how these people feel about you. If you work for a living, you are a loser. You're not one of THEM.
... that the web sites for the 'tea party' idea was already dreamed-up and funded by Koch's right-wing operatives. The registrations and quick on-line of the sites is right there for all to see.
Santelli's rant was scheduled & scripted and was immediately flogged by CNBC, Fox News & Drudge.
No conspiracy. Just the way that the right wing nuts do business. And the more that good reporting like Playboy did here and the more that Crooks & Liars, Kos and Media Matters point this crap out, the more that we regain our democracy and reclaim our national media.
This is a disgrace. The big business and wall street types are going to fall hard and not give up the perks of Reaganomics and Bush tax cuts without a serious fight. Too bad for them. We won. They lost.
Here's more proof the Right Wing Extremists are using urban terrorism to infest the American public with their toxic agenda. With the evil lies and spin of wingnut propaganda, Fox News leads the way for Republican Terrorism to prosper.
Awesome reportage.
Will MSNBC run with it?
Matthews? Olbermann? Maddow? We're lookin at you.
Traditional media chooses Friday to release big news in order to bury it over the weekend.
But blogs do their best reporting on the weekends because that's when their audience is reading them. Will traditional media catch up on Monday morning with what has been burning up the net all weekend?
Rick Santelli in every pot.
Obviously that means only a tiny, tiny piece of him in every pot.
After searching the web, this whole thing smells like Libertarian light.
They can't afford the house. Foreclosure is not the end of the world. Renting is underrated, it still puts a roof over your head. There are people in some countries that live in shacks. Americans are so spoiled to be crying over the loss of their poorly built McMansions. I mean some people have killed themselves and their families over this, they need to grow up.
How long did it take you to memorize those glaringly untrue and blantantly malicious talking point lies?
This article is a waste of web space. I was bored and reading digg.com articles and stumbled across this digg and decided to read it for a laugh and in fact yes it is hilarious. I bet the author of this truly believes Elvis is still alive.
Yea every one who researches facts believes elvis is alive, this old trick of linking something absurd to known facts to discount it is old hat and only shows your willful ignorance and lack of comprehension.People who have done the work over the years have all had to put up with lazy jack-ass,like your self, just because you don't have the IQ to put two and two together. Have another six pack and let the grown ups talk- troll, here's some crazy elvis is alive folks that just happened to be ...well RIGHT.CEO,citizens,eyes,open
PS thanks for the laugh ecs detroit your hick humor was the hit of our party.
Lusitania Truthers Vindicated!
By Jonathan Cole P.E.
The Jan/Feb 09 Archaeology Magazine "Lusitania's Secret Cargo" appears to have vindicated the Lusitania “Truthers” .
The article states:
"The nearly century-old debate about whether the passenger liner Lusitania was transporting British war munitions when torpedoed by a German U-boat is over.
Physical evidence of just such a cargo has been recovered from the wreck, which rests 12 miles off the Irish coast in 300 ft. of murky turbulent water."
"Lusitania was sunk off County Cork on May 7, 1915. The attack killed 1,198 people, including 128 Americans and helped push the United States into WWI. Ever since the ship went down, there have been suspicions [by conspiracy theorists known as 'the Lusitania truthers' (JC.)] that the Lusitania was carrying live munitions. Under the rules of war, that would have made the liner a legitimate target, as the Germans maintained at the time."
Bored were you? You think fraud and overt deception are funny? Looks to me like your moral compass is DOA, pal. I guess we wont be counting on you to help lift up America, you'll sit on your apathetic ass and point fingers while others rebuild what shitheads like Santelli tear down.
You are a real piece of work, buster. I bet you think trickle down voodoo economics really works. So take your own advice---get a life.
"Wolfman" is probably the same guy that worked as a trader for Enron during the Californian rolling blackouts. You know, the guy, who when fires were raging there, shouted to his buddy: "Burn, baby, burn!"
This is another example a fraud rising to the level of RICO crimes. Fighting this on the blogs is Ok, but it doesn't have the national exposure weilded by the MSM, who arranged this particular act of defrauding the public. Traud. wire Fraud. Conspiracy to commit the same. What would be useful is to get the DoJ involved. In the end, they are the only ones who are going to be able to put a stop to these kinds of abuses of the American Public.
'We hold as the arbiters of truth, those who have lied to us the most.' -- Dr. Amos Wilson
It seems like the blog has been removed from Playboy's website.
*What a great job of reporting by Mark Ames and Yasha Levine of Playboy*
such a great job, that the story has now disappeared.
Is there no `crooks and liars' that you won't fall for?
A turd extraordinaire!
How long before this article disappears as well...?
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