a little reality check for the reality checkers…
By American Girl in Italy on October 1, 2009 at 3:01 PM in Chicago, Chicago politics, Corruption, Current Affairs, Fox News, Obama Administration, Sara in Italy, Valerie Jarrett
I stumbled upon the latest Reality Check brought to you by WhiteHouse.gov. Apparently the Obama administration is still obsessing over FOX news, this time targeting Glenn Beck. They took Beck to task, providing the “REALITY” to his “RHETORIC”. I provide the *ACTUAL REALITY*.
What topic do they take issue with? His comments on Afghanistan? Health Care? The economy? Nope. The Olympics.
The problem is, I don’t think they were very honest or thorough in their fact checking.
Last night Fox News continued its disregard for the facts in an attempt to smear the Administration’s efforts to win the Olympics for the United States. In the past, hosting the Olympics has been a source of pride and unity for the country, but once again Fox News’ Glenn Beck program has shown that nothing is worthy of respect if it can be used as part of a partisan attack to boost ratings.
RHETORIC:
BECK SAID VANCOUVER LOST $1 BILLION WHEN IT “HAD THE OLYMPICS.” Glenn Beck said, “Vancouver lost, how much was it? they lost a billion dollars when they had the Olympics.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]REALITY:
VANCOUVER’S OLYMPICS WILL NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL 2010. Vancouver will host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games from February 12 – 28, 2010 and March 12-21, 2010, respectively. [Vancouver2010.com, accessed 9/29/09]
ACTUAL REALITY:
MONTREAL OLYMPICS LOST $1 BILLION. Beck just got the name of the Canadian cities mixed up.
“Montreal’s Olympic Stadium needs a new nickname — the Big Owe no longer applies because Quebecers have finally paid off their $1.5-billion debt from the 1976 Summer Games.”
“Australian taxpayers are still paying off an Olympic debt from the 2004 Sydney Games that could cost them $32 million a year for a decade. Barcelona is still paying back a $1.4 billion Olympic deficit. And even the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002 left Utah with a $155 million deficit.”
“Greece is facing a massive budget deficit as it tries to absorb the cost of the Olympic Games.”
The Auditor General of New South Wales stated cost overruns plagued the 2000 Sydney Olympics and as the guarantor of the games, the state government spent $2.3 billion.
The 1994 Lillehammer and 1992 Albertville Olympics along with the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games ran multimillion dollar deficits.
Even Calgary – considered a model Winter Olympic Games – lost money. The International Olympic Committee claims Calgary turned a $90 million profit in 1988, but Thomas Walkom, a Toronto Starr reporter and columnist disputes those figures.
In 1999, he reported the organizing committee omitted the cost of building facilities from its figures. The federal, provincial and municipal governments contributed $461million towards the games – nullifying any profits.
***
RHETORIC:
VALERIE JARRETT “WAS LAST SEEN WITH THE NEA.” Beck’s guest, FOX News contributor Pat Caddell, said, “[Obama] is going to go [to Copenhagen] with Valerie Jarrett who was last seen with the NEA pumping up their use of, you know, money.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]REALITY:
VALERIE JARRETT WAS NOT ON THE NEA CONFERENCE CALL. Valerie Jarrett was not a participant in the August 10, 2009 United We Serve/NEA conference call.
ACTUAL REALITY:
FROM TRANSCRIPT OF CONFERENCE CALL:
Ms Buffy Wicks: So, I’m at the office of Public Engagement at the White House. Our office does a lot of outreach to communities all across the country, either by constituency groups or issue. We have about 20 folks and we work under Valerie Jarrett, she’s one of our fantastic leaders, and Tina Chen. And so we’re really here at your disposal as we want to be helpful to you.
Jarrett was not a participant on the conference call, but the call was placed on her behalf, and the White House, as stated by Buffy Wicks.
***
RHETORIC:
CHICAGO IS CLOSING THE GOVERNMENT SEVERAL DAYS A WEEK BECAUSE THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO BE OPEN. Beck’s guest Caddell said, “Chicago is closing the government several days a week because they cannot afford to be open. They are going to go and reward — this is the biggest scandal.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]REALITY:
CHICAGO HAS HAD ONE REDUCED-SERVICE DAY IN 2009, AND WILL HAVE TWO MORE ON THE FRIDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING AND ON CHRISTMAS EVE. On August 17, 2009, CBS Chicago reported, “If you planned to check out a library book, visit a city clinic or have your garbage picked up on Monday, you’re out of luck. The City of Chicago is basically closed for business on Aug. 17, a reduced-service day in which most city employees are off without pay. City Hall, public libraries, health clinics and most city offices will be closed. Emergency service providers including police, firefighters and paramedics are working at full strength, but most services not directly related to public safety, including street sweeping, will not be provided. That also includes garbage pickup. Residents who receive regular collection on Mondays should expect trash to be picked up on Tuesday. Some other customers may experience a one-day delay as collectors catch up. As part of the 2009 budget, three reduced-service days were planned for 2009, days which are unpaid for all affected employees — the Friday after Thanksgiving; Christmas Eve; and New Year’s Eve. The City Council recently approved moving the reduced-service day planned for New Year’s Eve to Monday. The 2009 budget anticipates saving $8.3 million due to the reduced-service days. In addition to reduced service days, all non-union employees were asked to take a series of furlough days and unpaid holidays, and most non-sworn union employees agreed to similar unpaid time off.” [CBS Chicago, 8/17/09]
ACTUAL REALITY:
According to WH.gov, Pat Caddell said this, not Beck. Caddell has worked for Democratic presidential candidates George McGovern in 1972, Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980, Gary Hart in 1984, Joe Biden in 1988, and Jerry Brown in 1992….so, take it up with him, not Beck.
This was Caddell’s introduction for his appearance: “Pat Caddell is a former senior adviser to President Carter. He’s a Democrat and a proud Democrat, not a Democrat that agrees with the crazy revolutionaries that seemed to have hijacked his party.” Is this a vast right wing conspiracy?
Perhaps he meant “several times a year”? Regardless of the actual number of days offices are closing, they ARE closing on certain days to save $8.3 M. In addition to reduced service days, all non-union employees were asked to take a series of furlough days and unpaid holidays, and most non-sworn union employees agreed to similar unpaid time off.”
***
RHETORIC:
VALERIE JARRETT WILL BENEFIT FINANCIALLY. Beck asked, “Is it possible that she is going to benefit if the Olympics come to Chicago?” Caddell responded, “Well, that’s the word. She has certainly had a lot of dealings going on in real estate.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]REALITY:
UPON ENTERING GOVERNMENT, VALERIE JARRETT DIVESTED ALL HER REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT HOLDINGS EXCEPT FOR A SINGLE INVESTMENT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE OLYMPIC BID. Valerie Jarrett divested all her investment real estate holdings upon entering government except for a single real estate holding that she was unable to sell. This single real estate investment has been determined by White House Counsel and the independent Office of Government Ethics to present no conflict of interest in performing her duties as a White House advisor. It has nothing to do with the Olympic bid.
ACTUAL REALITY:
Until joining the Obama Administration, Jarrett was the CEO of The Habitat Company, a real estate development and management company which she joined in 1995. She has been replaced by Mark Segal, a lawyer who joined the company in 2002, as CEO. Daniel E. Levin is the Chairman of Habitat, which was formed in 1971. Jarrett was a member of the board of Chicago Stock Exchange (2000–2007, as Chairman, 2004–2007).
She is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago Medical Center, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago and a Trustee of Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. Jarrett serves on the board of directors of USG Corporation, a Chicago based building materials corporation.
Jarrett’s previous year’s income, in a 2009 report, was a $300,000 salary and $550,000 in deferred compensation from The Habitat Executive Services, Inc. The Wall Street Journal also reported she disclosed payments of more than $346,000 for service on boards of directors that reflect her political ties, and work in Chicago real estate and community development. She was paid $76,000 for service as a director of Navigant Consulting, Inc. a Chicago-based global consulting group with governmental clients. She received $146,600 from USG, and $58,000 to serve on the board of Rreef American REIT II, a real estate investment trust based in San Francisco. The Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc., paid her $34,444.
Jarrett received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments, and deferred compensations, for her service on boards for various companies. She serves on the board of directors of USG Corporation, a Chicago based building materials company. Are we supposed to believe that she will not benefit through some means of compensation for her efforts to bring the Olympics to Chicago?
Other comments that were made in the same interview:
BECK: “Pat, let me ask you this. Fox TV in Chicago was told they can’t run a story on the negative part of the Olympics. And Valerie Jarrett — some people say she was a slumlord and she may personally benefit.”
CADDELL: “Look, Tony Rezko, in the end, probably will make money on this. This is the greatest outrage, and people need to tell the Congress right now to pass a law — not a penny, not a dime from us to bail it out for stimulus grants to pay for this. This is going to be a disaster at a level we’ve never seen in American politics financially.”
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents linking Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to Barack Obama and the co-chairman of the President-Elect’s transition team, to a series of real estate scandals, including several housing projects operated by convicted felon and Obama fundraiser/friend Antoin “Tony” Rezko.
According to the documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Illinois Secretary of State, Valerie Jarrett served as a board member for several organizations that provided funding and support for Chicago housing projects operated by real estate developers and Obama financial backers Rezko and Allison Davis.
“Like Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett is a product of the corrupt Chicago political machine. And it is no stretch to say that she was a slumlord,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “We have real concerns about Jarrett’s ethics. Washington already has plenty of corruption. We don’t need to import more of it from Chicago.”
Why didn’t the White House respond to this *rhetoric*? Why didn’t they address these statements?
While you ponder that question, take a look - I think I found the top secret Chicago Olympic Presentation Video!
(Release: November 13)
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potus has gone to bring home the bacon.
will it be good for his hometown??time will tell
Beck has obviously gone under their skin. I hope Beck continues to be sand in their shoes. He is certainly provocative and makes himself hard to ignore by this administration. I wonder if the W.H. thinks that Beck’s book, Arguing with Idiots, is about Obama?
David Brooks in the NYT (I don’t buy it, I won’t buy it, I read it for free on line) about the effectiveness of the Becks, Hannitys, Limbaughs on public opinion.
in much the same way the Republicans were unable to convince anyone during the election to support their choices and ended up with McCain.
Whom do we believe? I watch the polls and it would seem that growing numbers are turning against Obama, the Democratic Congress and their policies.
And what of the role of the Matthews, Maddow, Olbermann set? Are they not as ‘radical,foaming at the mouth and idealogical’ as Brooks accuses the right of being? Do they not shout out and interrupt fully as much as Beck? Apparently that is lost on Brooks.
Personally, I don’t believe one more than the other, and prefer to listen to the polls, what’s happening in the news that can’t be skewed, and if it takes a Beck to expose the kinds of people Obama has surrounded himself with, I’ll watch and listen, because resignations of these czars, as an example, speak volumes.
The Republicans need to come up with a viable Presidential candidate, someone with high intelligence, political savvy, attractive persona (that’s too bad, really, because that shouldn’t matter, but American being Americans, straight teeth are everything) and great speaking ability.
Even if Republicans lose the next presidential election, it shouldn’t matter too much, as long as they hold majorities in the Congress. That will neuter Obama.
As a Chicago resident, I can tell you that many many many of us DO NOT WANT the Olympics in our fair city. We would much rather give it to Rio, as South American has not had one (probably not ever). Oprah and Michelle Obama do not speak for the majority of the taxpayer citizens (but they have the loudest voices) who, despite assurances from Mayor Daley, will most definitely foot the bill for it. We already have the highest county taxes in the country. Having the Olympics will certainly help Mayor Daley, Obama and his cronies whereever they may be found. Obama’s second term will end in 2016, and that is coinciding with the unveiling of the Obama Library, right in the Olympic neighborhood. You can bet Obama & Co. et al will profit very nicely from the Olympic bid, the taxpayers and citizens of Chicago, not very well.
Maybe they will install a set of real stone Obamopolis pillars? Not those tacky styrofoam ones, but real pillars sp that Obama might have a lofty throne from which to
giveread a grand speech on that glorious day. I hope they get him a gold fig leaf crown… It will look good with his toga.This is a link from another thread for a site that contains all the email addresses for the IOC members. I thought it was worth reposting. I plan to email and BEG them not to give the Olympics to Chicago.
http://hillbuzz.org/2009/10/01/thursday-open-thread-october-1-2009/
this is the biggest bunch of crap from you obama haters and it is simply disgusting. do you think for one minute that any mayor or city official of any olympic city candidate would NOT be going out on a limb to try to get the olympic committee to select their city? remember atlanta, remember salt lake city??? of course there are individuals who will profit from the olympics - hundreds of people in chicago will profit if the olympics come there - and why shouldn’t they? Valerie Jarrett and her real estate holdings have NOTHING to do with what she is doing now. chicago was selected over los angeles as the american entry in spring of 2007. valerie jarrett was not in the white house then neither was Obama. so get off the conspiracy and garbage of chicago politics being so involved in this olympic bid. brazil’s president is in copenhagen, japan’s prime minister is there and the King of Spain is there on behalf of their cities. that’s what it has come to. just like Hillary and Michael Bloomberg were in southeast asia a few years ago for the first round of olympic contending cities for 2012 (New York didn’t even get past that round) - that’s what the leaders do nowadays. so who cares? and why wouldn’t you want the olympics to be held in the US? i lived in los angeles during the 1984 olympics and attended olympics in seoul, atlanta and nagano, Japan. they were all wonderful experiences - the only people to complain were those natives who were negative people anyway and were unable to rent their own houses or apartments out and rake in the big bucks. AGI - what the hell business is this of yours to be touting glenn beck and pat cadell, two of the biggest jerks to hit the tv - you aren’t in chicago or the US so you don’t really get to vote on any of this. stay in Italy and quit knocking Chicago.
It’s my f*cking business when the Whitehouse.gov site LIES while “fact checking”.
Why don’t you deal with the issue at hand, and quit your attacking and name calling.
What you fail to acknowledge is that there ARE Chicagoans who do NOT want the Olympics there because they do not want to add more debt to the already HUGE debt that we have. You also fail to acknowledge that the WH lied/was not truthful in their *reality checks* on the government web site.
and you’re right, I don’t care if the Olympics are in Chicago - that isn’t the point of my post. The point is the WH lying, and not revealing the truth!
Naomi, you are so obviously pro all things Obama that you miss something a tad important….America is in the midst of two difficult wars, where Obama doesn’t have the time to speak with McChrystal, except once since he’s been in office, where life and death decisions need to be made NOW! Where is Obama? He is galavanting off to play Mayor of Chicago. THAT IS NOT WHAT WE ELECTED HIM TO DO. He’s too busy playing celebrity to do any real work. He needs to stay in the damn Oval office and tend to the peoples’ business. And by the way, they needed
2 planes for Obama and Michelle? Cost to taxpayers for the planes along? 1.2 million.
Drool all over yourself as much as you like, but the other presidents who have pitched for the Olympics haven’t been in the midst of war, out of work Americans (9.8%), a health care crisis, illegal immigrant problems, just to name a few of the pressing problems,
Obama was supposed to have good judgment? Show me some. It has yet to make an appearance, much as Obama has yet to make an appearance behind his desk!!!!
“-Only in America can you make that much money crying,” he said of Beck. “Glenn Beck is not aligned with any party. He is aligned with cynicism and there has always been a market for cynics…”
No, no, no, that quote is not form Barako.
It’s from Sen. L. Graham (Repuglican-S.C.)
And he has a few choice words for what they call ‘birthers’:
http://firstdraftofhistory.theatlantic.com/analysis/graham_the_loyal_opposition.php
******LOL******
I think Glenn Beck is On to something. You get on TV and ball & wheeze your heart out…. I mean tears storming down like Niagara Falls. Before you know it, the Obamas and company are worried sick about your rating. Anything that would make Obama toast and not sleep, makes me happy.
haha:) larry, you made my morning!
Caught sight of the Big Owe up at the top of the article and thought that the writer was referring to Obama - you know, The Big OweBama…
MG-PUMA
I’m just extremely unclear as to why the office of the President of the United States, the White House, would expend any time and effort to respond to random TV or Radio commentary with such frequency.
To me, it’s a bit below the office and reflects a shallow “I can’t believe they said that about me” paranoia that you might find in some defensive entry level supervisor or a whiney high schooler. It certainly isn’t a characteristic one would want in the “leader of the free world.”
What it does seem to reflect is a stunning inability to move away from a partisan activist mentality to a broader leadership ethos.
I sincerely doubt, however, that he or his underlings will ever move on.
The reason Obama’s office reflects the shallowness of the latteral lines of a country dwelling sceptic system is due to the fact that the Obamas are nothing but the shallow vessels of their socialist upbringing. The pig’s ear will always be that part of the pig and never a silk purse. AMEN
Agreed. It gives credence to the critics to focus on them at all. Imagine if Bush had a website up countering all the leftist hate against him. It would have become a mockery. It is absolutely astonishing to me that our taxpayer money is going towards Obama trying to win a pissing contest with Glenn Beck. He’d be better off ignoring Beck entirely.
This “leader of the free world” thinks that the presidency is one big Celebrity Sunshine Tour.
Chicago could make millions at the expense of the rest of America’s tax payers. Too bad Rezko wont be able to profit from jail. But that’s okay, the rest of Obama’s cronies will be at the feeding trough. Someone else was talking today about the sacrifices the lady?, wearing the horse blanket, Michelle Obroadass, was making in taking time to tour Copenhagen to lobby for the Chicago bid to host the Olympics. All good things comes to Chicago, including the first installments of socialism. AMEN
By training their sights on Beck, one commentator out of many, the Obama Adm., with all the resources at their command, has already made Beck victorious. Van Jones tried to initiate a campaign to choke off advertisers on the Beck program, and he lost. Beck now has ratings almost as high as O’Reilly and Hannity, even at a lousy time slot; and his viewership is increasing with every attack coming from the administration and its allies.
I hope Fox gives Beck an additional slot at 3PM PST to go toe-to-toe with the Oprah show. It should be fascinating, especially if he reprises that show with mothers. Perhaps he could expand his audience to families–fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. That should be fascinating.
Good for you, AGI. Yes, Beck is getting under the skin of the WH crew, including the POTUS. Why? He’s pulling back the curtain and Obama and his crew are looking less like the Messiah and his Disciples than Chicago Gang midgets. The very fact that Daley flicks the whip and the POTUS gets on a plane for Copenhagan tells us everything we need to know [whether we really wanted the info or not].
I was surprised to see Pat Caddell on Beck’s show. He’s appeared several times now and is worried sick about the blatant corruption. He says it’s infected the entire system, involves both parties and will bring the country down if not addressed.
There’s no way you can brand Caddell as anything but an old time, dedicated Democrat. His history speaks for itself. And anyone who has read the nonsense that’s been going on in Chicago for years, taunte
Whoops! Hit the post button before I was done. Just to complete the thought:
Anyone who has read the history, the nonsense that has passed for Chicago politics over the decades, tainting both parties, Republicans and Dems alike, can see the connections. Caddell does and he’s not afraid to express his deep, deep anxiety at what’s going on.
I have problems with Beck’s delivery but I give him credit–he’s the only one willing to do the digging that the MSM refuses to do. He might no be the perfect messenger, but he’s doing the public a service.
And if it makes the WH angry or nervous? Tough!
PSPS: Beck is leading off with this topic tonight, AGI. You called it!
oh can’t wait to see it!! And thanks for your comments! And I agree.
Wow–stellar reporting, AGI! Maddow, Olbermann, Matthews, Blitzer, & Cooper–TAKE NOTICE–this is what a real reporter does!
Did you hear what Michelle O just said? It’s a “sacrifice” to go to Europe and pitch for the Olympics! http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Michelle-Obama-Its-a-sacrifice-to-travel-to-Europe-to-pitch-for-the-Olympics–For-Oprah-and-the-president-too–But-were-doing-it-for-the-kids-62928957.html
Then stay home, you dope. The American people do not want to pay for your travel so your special buddies can be enriched.
And not just Michelle’s travel - we have paid for Air Force One AND Two to go to Copenhagen for the Obamas to shill for the Chicago Machine. It is OBSCENE that they are using these aircraft as their own personal taxis to benefit their buddies.
ARGH. I cannot stand the way they are treating the presidency. There are REAL ISSUES at stake here - as Hannity said, AFGHANISTAN is a hornet’s nest, and Obama cannot deal with THIS - with our soldiers lives at stake - but he can go to Copenhagen?? I’d say his priorities are COMPLETELY skewed…
GREAT work, AGII!!
Yup, yup, ‘n yup!
Yup, yup and yup! hehe
http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=10272218&referralPlaylistId=949437d0db05ed5f5b9954dc049d70b0c12f2749
And thank you!!! I was just bowled over at their SUCH obvious lies and bullsh*t! (well….am pretty used to it coming from Obama and his peeps, but to see it on the ACTUAL White House web site was un frickin believable.)
Wow! Excellent Article Sara!!
And Great research.
And scary.
This could turn into the next reality series - White House Lies. Only everyone would think it was fiction.
Wow! Excellent Article Sara!!
And Great research.
And scary.
This could turn into the next reality series - White House Lies. Only everyone would think it was so over the top it had to be fiction.
To be honest, way back before the campaign, I thought Beck was a nut. I never watched him or payed any attention to anything he said. Now, I’ve totally changed my tune about him. I pay attention to everything he says, these days. I really appreciate what he has done to expose ACORN’s corruption. I hope he can expose the corruption that is involved in Chicago’s bid for the Olympics, as well.
Kim, I have a real problem with Glenn Beck’s histrionic delivery. I don’t agree with everything he says but . . .
these “shocking revelations” were out there for well over a year. Not rumors or baseless accusations but articles, well-researched, based up by facts. I read many exposes at RBO. Then checked them out. They were on the money.
I read Evelyn Pringle’s series on Chicago corruption, the web of power and money [Republican and Democrat, the Illinois Combine] and how Obama figured into all this. I wrote Pringle and said: why is this “not” being carried by our MSM? She was gracious enough to write back. She’d sent her material everywhere but could not get the major outlets to take any interest. “They know,” she said. “But they simply do not want to know.”
Unfortunately, the majority of the populace found the “hopey-dopey” message more attractive.
A frigging disaster. Glenn Beck may be skinned alive. But he’s reinterating information that was trickling out there during the primaries, well before the election.
The fact that so many ignored the information, put a spin of what was clearly false is the real tragedy. For everyone.
I just saw that it cost $1,202, 886 dollars JUST to fly Air Force One to Copenhagen for this trip. That doesn’t include the First Lady’s plane, OR the planes that accompany AFOne with staff and equipment.
Are you freakin’ KIDDING me?!?!?
Money is no object, Amy. Particularly when it’s not yours.
Besides, this trip was a “noble sacrifice.”
Hahahaha!
Oh, yeah - SUCH a sacrifice.
Can you believe these people?
And you are right on, Peggy Sue - they could care less how much of our money they toss away…
nothing’s the limit for Obama on our tab!
Excellent, excellent reality checking AGI.
technology is great. Have been offline, but right now on free time, in the middle of the desert, I have a laptop hooked up to my cigarette lighter, with a cell adapter hooked up to the laptop and I am getting you sitting in my car in the middle of the desert.
now time to scan the other news.
very cool!
Don’t worry about the cost.
Those southern, racist bottlers can pick up the tab.
“I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony”!
Just be grateful it isn’t Weds that Obama rushed to Demnmark, the fortune to pay for his Weds night Pizza party would be rediculous!
IMPEACH OBAMA…..Start the proceedings now. enough. Take your choice on his wrongs, legally and morally. I have had it, cant take it everyday watching and hearing his bullshit. enough, impeach that fruad now. How much more do we have to take.
They should be ignoring Beck. Lordy, clowns to the Left, Jokers to the Right.
They should be ignoring Beck and FOX. Instead they give them credibility by their constant carping about them. Wouldn’t a strong White House would be above that kind of whining?
They give Beck credibility and make themselves look like whiners. Not good at a time when more and more people are saying that Obama is “weak”.
A weak whiner is hardly the change expected. Or wanted. IMO
Here (I) we (am) are stuck in the middle with you (America)!
Obama needs a win - even if it’s just the Olympics - in his political prowess column. Such a sorry fall from messiahdom.
Anybody Else in 2012!
“Australian taxpayers are still paying off an Olympic debt from the 2004 Sydney Games that could cost them $32 million a year for a decade.”
Am I missing something here? Sydney did not lose money when it hosted the Olympics because the final cost was neutral, as reported by the New South Wales Government at the time. So what is with the comment that it still owes millions of dollars.
Tax payers covered the $2.3Billion shortfall.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/mar2000/olym-m03.shtml
Sydney, billed as self-financing, had a $2.3 billion deficit. http://users.resist.ca/~eps2005/olympics.html
the true cost of the Games was more like $AUS 5.9 billion, of which the public would be paying $AUS 2.3 billion (Source: http://www.liebreich.com)
Read more: http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/top-stories/2009/03/01/when-flame-burns-out?page=0%2C2#ixzz0SmNuT1HZ
In 2002 the Auditor-General of New South Wales undertook a further audit, confirming that the Sydney Games had ended up costing $AUS 6.6 billion (£2.3 billion), and had cost the public purse somewhere between $AUS 1.7 and 2.4 billion (between £580m and £830m), depending on your estimate of incremental tax revenues
Thanks for that, but here in Australia The Sydney Olympics are still being hailed as one of the most cost effective Games ever. I don’t for one moment doubt your figures, although I am unsure as to whether or not the New South Wales taxpayers are still paying for any outstanding debt. Mind you I wouldn’t bet on it. By the way, I love your articles.
Beck mocked their “reality” on yesterday’s show, and he skewered Michelle’s comment about their Copenhagen trip being a “sacrifice.” It was hilarious; Beck is better than Jon Stewart.
Well, now, we’ll hear at 12:55 pm EST that [cue the video up please] Chicago will be the site chosen to host the 2016 Olympics.
Whatever. The Corruption in this country is way past anything you’ve ever read in a novel.
Who’s Afraid of Sibel Edmonds?
http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/nov/01/00006/
More:
http://original.antiwar.com/scott/2009/10/01/gigantic-scandal-the-sibel-edmonds-story/#
Oops, forgot to say, thanks AGI, loved the blog post. You nailed it!
David Brooks and Lindsay Graham have also taken issue with Mr. Beck. They know the Republican Party cannot come back if it is seen as the “crazy party.”