Moonie Times Smears Air America

[Triana]

Sorry if this has already been posted. A search didn't turn up the article unless it's archived. I didn't search archives.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20050728-081354-1414r.htm

One reichwingnut I know has been crowing about this tonight, insisting that AA is corrupt as Halliburton or Enron. Of course IF any of this is at all true (consider the SOURCE - Murdoch) it PALES in comparison to Enron or Halliburton.

[wli]

1. considering the source, might as well assume it's all lies

I don't know anything about this specifically, though. Moonies are approximately as trustworthy as Tom Flocco or similar.

[Triana]

6. "sources quoted anonymously"

"pieced together a story", yadda yadda. This reminds me of "SOME people say...." It's probably all a bunch of propaganda and innuendo meant to smear AA. I notice it's an OP-ED piece, not NEWS, too.

I can "quote anonymous sources" and "piece together a story" that says the sky is purple with yellow polka dots. That doesn't make it so...and it certainly doesn't make it news.

[wli]

7. yes, anonymous sources are signs of fabrication

It's the MSM. It's going to be hard to find a story that wasn't fabricated, and when you do, it's probably going to be a white girl lost in the Caribbean or the space shuttle exploding upon reentry.

[Triana]

10. McNews....

Ick! :puke:

[K8-EEE]

2. If Moonie Times Is Going After AAR --

AAR must be doing a lot right!!

[roguevalley]

3. editorials are opinion. Piss on them.

[Patchuli]

4. That's just stupid!

And since when did AA become "Al's" network? Oh brother...! :crazy:

[K8-EEE]

5. "hundreds of thousands of dollars"

Jeez Halliburton or Enron would steal that every day before breakfast.

Sounds like a bunch of lies and a hit on AAR -- I like how they say "Al Franken's Station." Does he own it or something?

[ConsAreLiars]

8. the Republican scammer who bought the rights to Air America and

was kicked out after five weeks seems to have swindled a lot of people. These charges involve Evan Cohen, not Air America. See the Wikipedia article section on "Early start-up difficulties" for more about the early days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_America_Radio

"Air America was started as part of Progress Media, which said it had amassed $30 million in venture capital prior to its debut, a claim which later turned out to be untrue (only $6 million was initially collected). Two individuals from Guam, Rex Sorensen and Evan Montvel Cohen, were involved in raising the capital but denied any wrongdoing. <1> Cohen had an unusual history for his position in a progressive-left radio network since he was a Republican political operative in Guam and former chief of staff for Republican Governor Tommy Tanaka. <2> Cohen dismissed concerns by saying he was a committed "progressive" and that Republicans in Guam "are left of Paul Wellstone." It was reported that Cohen had unpaid business debts in Guam, although Cohen denies this. <3> Tommy Tanaka pleaded guilty to corruption charges in 2003."

[Triana]

9. GREAT info...

...thanks CAL! Tomorrow, I'll slap previously mentioned reichwingnut with that info. That'll shut her up.

[ConsAreLiars]

12. Read the Air America statement also, at this link:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/28/2028/90537

(edit - also assure your friend that you agree that the Chimpy-Cheney pals at Enron-Halliburton are very good examples of the worst scum on the planet.)

[Triana]

14. Excellent summary there...

...thanks!

[Emit]

22. Here's a more recent update from Kos

it's a must read, too.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/7/30/124315/828

THE SOURCE for the "Air America stole from poor children" claim
by maha
Sat Jul 30th, 2005 at 09:43:15 PDT


It's fun to check in with Memeorandum now and then to see what the righties are linking to. Yesterday they were swarming like flies to a carcass to a story that appears to be phony.

I say "appears"; maybe it isn't. It's hard to tell, for reasons that I hope become apparent as you read this post. The point of this post is not to prove or disprove certain allegations, but to illustrate how, shall we say, uncritical reading and writing can create a lot of smoke without there necessarily being a fire.

So, here we go:

<<snip>>

Let's recap. What do we have so far? All allegations that the allegedly pilfered Gloria Wise money went to Air America Radio are based on one, and only one, source: Michael Horowitz in the prestigious, if ephemeral, Bronx News. And Horowitz got his information from "informed sources" of undetermined origin.

And, folks, that's it. Brian Maloney picked up Horowitz, and Hewitt and Michelle Malkin picked up Maloney, and by means of much huffing and puffing and overheated rhetoric (Malkin: "Will Air America's self-proclaimed champions of the poor and downtrodden--Franken? Garafolo? Springer?--touch this story with a ten-foot pole?") the righties manage to create much smoke without any visible fire. The rightie bloggers link to each other's allegations as "proof"; they link to anything they can find that mentions Air America in a negative light as "proof"; but in fact nothing has been made public that supports Malkin's claim ...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/7/30/124315/828

[bbgrunt]

11. O'Reilly also had a segment

on his show Wed evening about how AAR was going down the tubes.

[Triana]

13. O'Lielly?

Hrmmm....

[bbgrunt]

17. yeah--O'leilly

Considering the source I have very little faith in its accuracy, but it is indicative of another right-wing panic attack.

[Triana]

18. interesting simultaneous omission and distortion of...

...the facts. Can always count on the MSM for that, unless it's some braindead 'infotainment' story about sharks or who can eat the most hot dogs.

[FreedomAngel82]

20. LOL

In O'Reilly's wet dreams (ew).

[LSK]

15. I saw this last week. EVERYONE READ THIS

Air America is not responsible for OTHER ENTERPRISES conducted by Evan Cohen. When the current owners of Air America were given back Air America, they DID NOT TAKE the other ventures that the previous group were involved in.


Also see this link

http://www.airamericaradio.com/press

THIS IS ANOTHER DISGUSTING DIRTY TRICK BY THE RIGHT BY IGNORING LOGIC AND FACTS IN THE HOPES OF THE DUMBASSES IN THE WORLD TAKE NO TIME TO RESEARCH THINGS AND JUST ASSUME STUFF.

FVCK YOU WASHINGTON TIMES.

[LSK]

16. nominated because this disinformation must be debunked

[FreedomAngel82]

19. Why trust them?

[nosmokes]

21. the Air America Response

Statement:
If the allegations of mismanagement and corruption at Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club are true, it is absolutely disgraceful.


As reported in the Wall Street Journal and the HBO Documentary, Left of the Dial‚ the company that the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club officials gave money to, Progress Media, has been defunct since May 2004. That company was run at the time by Evan Cohen who has not had any involvement in Air America Radio since May 2004.

The current owners of Air America Radio have no obligation to Progress Media‚s business activities. We are very disturbed that Air America Radio's good name could be associated with a reduction in services for young people, which is why we agreed months ago to fully compensate the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club as a result of this transaction.

We at Air America Radio strongly believe in the mission of Boys and Girls Clubs to provide a safe and nurturing place for young people to learn and grow. As a result, we recently allowed the same club, Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club, to use our name in a fundraising effort for a summer camp for children in their community.

The funding for Camp Air America was raised and collected entirely by the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club, and Air America promoted the camp on air and urged support for it. A link on our web site sent those interested in contributing to the camp to the Gloria Wise web site. Regrettably, the camp did not survive the closure of the Gloria Wise organization. We have offered any individuals who contributed to the camp as a result of Air America's promotion the option of a refund paid for by Air America Radio and the Club offered the alternative option of having their donation redirected to Kip's Bay Boys and Girls Club.
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[Name removed]

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