About Me

Name: gab
Biography
Loading...

Create Your Own Blog Find Other Townhall Blogs

Comments

Archives

Search

Blog Roll

 

AXELROD aka ASTROROD PLAYS ONLY ON ASTROTURF!!!

Posted by gab on Thursday, April 23, 2009 1:53:31 AM

AXELROD CALLS TEAPARTIES ASTROTURF...

(and I call David Axelrod from now on Mr. Astrorod)

What next.....just wait until you read this next article I am posting.  Did you know all this stuff about the "man behind the Obama victory,"  Mr.  David Axelrod?   He is now a Sr. White House advisor, and is always the first one to put the "spin" out on any topic that needs spinning. He did it brilliantly during the campaign, and now he is doing it every day from the White House. Soooo, we get to the tea party events, which the White House and Press is trying very hard to negate or "make small".  David decided to dismiss  the tea parties as astroturf rather than grassroots events.  (The term "astroturfing" refers to a practice in which a public relations firm or a corporation artificially creates an impression of grassroots support for a cause or concern.)  Well, wouldn't you know it, Mr. Astrorod (I just love his new name:) is the master at that game....read on.  Just to give you a tidbit, read this excerpt from the World Net Daily article posted below:

"According to a profile piece in Business Week entitled "The Secret Side of David Axelrod," AKP&D Message & Media established a reputation for running public issue ads secretly paid for by corporations.

Business Week cited as an example a television commercial Axelrod's firm created for Commonwealth Edison, t the largest electric utility in Illinois. 

The television spot, presented as a public service advertisement, warned of a ComEd bankruptcy and blackouts unless a rate hike was approved.

The commercial was sponsored by CORE, which described itself as "a coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations."

After a complaint was filed with state regulators, ComEd was forced to admit it had bankrolled the entire $15 million astroturfing effort."

  OUCH!  This is about the guy in the White House right now, who is "framing" everything that is going on in our country. Now, please, amuse yourself and read the entire article below.  It is important for the confused populace (like me and everyone I know) to try and understand who and what we are dealing with. This is a good beginning....Learn about President Obama's most trusted advisor who frames everything  for "us," his willing populace, with the help of the liberal media .  And then, be a little cautious....(as if you aren't already...:)


WND

Obama chief Axelrod sells 'astroturfing' firm
Inventor of artificial 'grassroots' efforts dismissed tea parties as fake
Posted: April 21, 2009
10:07 pm Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2009 WorldNetDaily


David Axelrod
White House senior adviser David Axelrod – who has dismissed the April 15 tea parties as "astroturf" rather than grassroots events – stands to profit $3 million over the next five years from selling his interest in ASK Public Strategies, a Chicago public relations firm he created that many credit with having invented "astroturfing."

The term "astroturfing" refers to a practice in which a public relations firm or a corporation artificially creates an impression of grassroots support for a cause or concern.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele charged Axelrod reflected the "arrogance of power" when he alleged last week's tea parties were "unhealthy," according to Politico.com

The Chicago Sun Times reported Axelrod took a $3 million buy-out spread over five years for his shares in ASK Public Strategies.

Last year, the major client of ASK Public Strategies was Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.


The Sun Times reported that last year, Axelrod earned $1.5 million for his work on the Obama campaign.

Included in the sum was the $896,776 Axelrod earned as salary from AKP&D Message and Media, his original public relations firm, and another $500,000 from the firm for his partner's share.

ASK Public Strategies operates out of the same offices as AKP&D Message and Media, which Axelrod created in 1985.

According to a profile piece in Business Week entitled "The Secret Side of David Axelrod," AKP&D Message & Media established a reputation for running public issue ads secretly paid for by corporations.

Business Week cited as an example a television commercial Axelrod's firm created for Commonwealth Edison, the largest electric utility in Illinois.

The television spot, presented as a public service advertisement, warned of a ComEd bankruptcy and blackouts unless a rate hike was approved.

The commercial was sponsored by CORE, which described itself as "a coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations."

After a complaint was filed with state regulators, ComEd was forced to admit it had bankrolled the entire $15 million astroturfing effort.

ASK Public Strategies helped Cablevision, the owner of Madison Square Garden, to create a front group to oppose the New York Jets in their plans to build a new stadium in Manhattan.

ASK worked with Cablevision to form the "New York Association for Better Choices," to run anti-stadium television advertisements without mentioning Cablevision's name or financial support.

According to Business Week, ASK was paid $1.2 million by Cablevision from 2004 to 2005 to create the bogus public service front.

(Please post comments to GAB right below this article!!! )


Bookmark and Share



Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (2) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

A TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT!!! (read on)

Posted by gab on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 4:13:10 PM
It just doesn't get better than this chart, and read the paragraph below the chart.  I love graphics like these, that try to wrap our arms around these ridiculous  USA government budget numbers floating around.  I don't know about you, but I find it amazingly insulting that right after the "tea parties"  Obama decides to throw out a bone to the "dissenters" of his budget plan, and announces a $l00 million budget cut!  (I guess he showed us how unimportant our tea tempest was!!!)  Thanks Obama - about as significant as ....well , read below - and you will see what I mean!!! (And don't you just love the Drama of Obamas missive to his cabinet: "I want you to find these cuts in the Next 90 DAYS!!!!! " Even though he managed to put together a 3.67 TRILLION  FY'10 Budget in less than 60 days!!!!!!!!!!!  Hope his cabinet can make that deadline, and without a latte by their side. ) 


Obama’s Spending vs Obama’s Spending Cuts — in Pictures

According to reports, President Barack Obama plans to convene his Cabinet for the first time today, where he will order members to identify a combined $100 million in budget cuts over the next 90 days. Just how laughable is Obama’s latest stunt to try to maintain his “fiscal responsibility” credentials? This graphic from Heritage’s John Fleming  might help:
obamacuts

Harvard University economics professor Greg Mankiw’s comments:

To put those numbers in perspective, imagine that the head of a household with annual spending of $100,000 called everyone in the family together to deal with a $34,000 budget shortfall. How much would he or she announce that spending had to be cut? By $3 over the course of the year–approximately the cost of one latte at Starbucks. The other $33,997? We can put that on the family credit card and worry about it next year.”

Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

STEVE SCHMIDT TAKES RISK WITH GOP ON GAY RIGHTS

Posted by gab on Monday, April 20, 2009 4:47:45 AM

STEVE SCHMIDT  TAKES A RISK WITH GOP  on Gay Rights  - YEA!!!

(If you hate the idea of making marriage legal for gays, YOU SHOULD READ THE ENTIRE TRANSCRIPT LINKED BELOW)

Left Wing Media Doesn’t Know What to do with Steve Schmidt’s Speech to Gay Political group.  (Or more interesting…….do republicans know what to do with Steve Schmidt’s speech? ) Why is no one piling on and agreeing with him, and supporting his point???? At the very least, left wing liberals should be appaulding him!

In his first speech to ANYONE since running the election for John McCain, Steve Schmidt made a powerful and moving speech to the Log Cabin Republicans (a gay political group) in DC a few days ago.

A transcript of the complete speech can be found at:

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/04/steve-schmidt-to-log-cabin-gop-must-embrace-gay-marriage.html

He made some amazing  points regarding this highly charged issue, which I think are worth conservatives’ thoughtful reflection.

(The added bonus of reading Mr. Schmidt's speech is that he has some wonderful analysis and thoughts on the Obama/McCain election – and remember ---this was his first speech since the election. P.S.:A small note, don't skim, read every PP, it has such a nice flow and so many astute, thoughtful points - read from beginning to end)

What was troubling after the speech, was watching CNN struggle with how to cover this!!!  Yes, they had to cover it – I mean after all, a major political mind of our generation (Mr. Schmidt)  urging Republicans to lead the way in allowing gay marriages, accepting gays sexual orientation as innate, and not hiding behind the Bible for ammunition against gays....AND telling the republican party that they need to wake up and quit being perceived as  intolerant...........WOW!  

Yet, after watching CNN in the background all day after the speech, I watched each newscaster struggle (and their editorial/input boards) with how to deal with a major Republican figure speaking their (liberals) tune…Ummm, we can’t really attack him, and we certainly are not going to be decent people and applaud him – so ummmmm, lets see, oh, We will pick him apart on his “timing” and his “choice of venue"– and his “lack of consideration of the republican base…why didn’t he take baby steps and test the water on this topic with republicans rather than just come right out and say what he thought?”  Or, let’s adopt a sarcastic smile  and throw up some red/blue charts later in the day to make it all political. 

Arggggggggggg, do you  hear  or sense, while I am writing this, that I am pulling my hair straight out of my head over our senseless media puppets who have actually no moral backbone or decency.  What a glaring example, again, of the media speaking out of both sides of their mouth, and changing realities for partisan leanings.  If Democrats/liberals/media want Change (use of capital ‘C” on purpose, to remind us of how important that word was to the Democrats)  than they got it smack dab in their laps, via  Steve’s speech.  And the fact that they cannot spontaneously and promptly applaud that effort, shows the shallow and cynical shadow of their belief system.

Did anyone of them (media) think, just maybe, , that Steve had done a courageous and heartfelt act (he does have a gay sister so obviously has first hand experience and knowledge of the issues surrounding  any gay individual)…..  and that maybe they could talk about that rather than try to turn him, or the issue, into something that serves their own purposes, i.e, use any wiley technique, any obscuring of facts, any drumbeat, any silly lead in music, or small laughters before they start the story, to diminish what happened. 

Here is a man, Steve Schmidt,  who could talk on hundreds of fascinating topics, to any venue he pleases, yet he just did what he did for his own reasons. And perhaps we should all talk about what he said.  Republicans and Democrats. 

 

Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (5) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive
« Previous1Next »