Franken, Drobny, Air America: All Caught Fibbing
THE LIARS CLUB
Inside Air America: Al Franken's Lying Lies
Part Of An Ongoing Investigative Blog Series
BY MICHELLE MALKIN AND BRIAN MALONEY
(This is part two, the story begins at Michelle Malkin's Site)
Once caught, what price does a liar typically pay in our society?
Does it depend on severity and circumstances? Is it about context, or whether anyone was harmed by the person's factual misstatements?
One would imagine all of these considerations to be important.
For a smug, self-righteous "lying liars" book author who proceeds to tell one of the year's biggest, however, there should be particular contempt.
When his company and its co-founder are caught up in the deception, the disgrace is compounded.
And when inner-city schoolchildren suffer as a result of this blatant fraud, it becomes the icing on the cake.
These newly disclosed documents go beyond casting serious doubt on Air America talk host Al Franken's recent assertions. They prove that Franken and his cohorts were aware long ago of the community center scandal, contrary to their public statements.
This settlement agreement (left) was signed by Franken and other key Air America officials, each in the presence of a notary public.
Six Weeks Without Consequences
Since first blowing the lid off of Air America Radio's Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club scandal in July, where $875,000 in taxpayer money was apparently diverted from the nonprofit to its own account, we've watched the network, its air personalities and supporters dismiss the mess with excuses:
--- We're a new company (Piquant), we simply purchased the old one (Progress Media).
--- It's not fair to pin this on the talk hosts, they knew nothing about it.
--- A Republican operative from Guam, Evan Montvel Cohen, is responsible, he did this to make Air America look bad.
--- Our critics are right-wingers, why should anyone pay attention to them?
So far, they've failed to face real consequences, as their defenders blame it entirely on Evan Cohen. Is this about to soon change?
Did Media Inspire Overconfidence?
As we've shown here and in previous pieces, these excuses simply don't wash.
Yet, despite the issue's severity, few mainstream media outlets took the opportunity to investigate it. As mentioned earlier, even some conservative talk hosts resisted discussing the matter, assuming Franken and other on-air personalities couldn't be held responsible.
Did this lead to overconfidence at Air America's headquarters, that consequences would simply not follow public revelations?
Or, is so much energy devoted merely to keeping the operation from going bust, there's simply no time to worry about negative publicity?
Franken sure seemed to believe he could get away with his blatant on-air lying, without the irony of his book titles (and years of blasting Bill O'Reilly and others over matters that seem small by comparison) smacking him in the face. Did arrogance fuel a sadly unfounded belief we wouldn't be able to obtain the smoking gun?
If so, it proved to be a fatal miscalculation.
Franken Not Alone
It isn't just Al Franken caught red-handed lying: add co-founder/Democrat Party activist Sheldon Drobny and Air America parent company Piquant to the mix, as well. It's a rogue's gallery of liberal talk radio tricksters.
Piquant's rank dishonesty in the matter is now also exposed. Recall the statement put out by Air America after our story broke-- which remains on their website:
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.
THE TRUTH: according to the November 2004 Evan Cohen-Rex Sorenson-Air America settlement agreement, Piquant is in fact obligated to pay back the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club money.
This directly contradicts Air America's claim that its owners "have no obligation" to pay back the loan.
Air America's recent website statement suggested they weren't sure if the allegations were true, but the 2004 document proves they knew of the situation all along.
Throwing in irrelevant references to HBO and the Wall Street Journal merely served to confuse Air America's fans into thinking this was old news. And the Evan Cohen mention is obviously meant to tie him alone to any wrongdoing.
While he certainly appeared to have a role in the taxpayer funds transfer, this new evidence points to a larger group of irresponsible corporate villains.
Air America Co-founder's Role
Remember Air America co-founder/Democrat activist/ Lyndon Larouche sympathizer Sheldon Drobny? We recently detailed his background, providing a transcript of this C-SPAN appearance:
Dallas caller: Yes, I was wondering, you talk about the road to Air America, I've been reading in the New York Sun and articles by Michele Malkin that $875,000 approximately was acquired in a loan from a children's center and an Alzheimer's center in New York.
And you just mentioned you had funding and introductions from VP Gore and former president Clinton and I was wondering are you proud of the fact that you've obtained money from a partially federally funded children's center in New York and that you are now in default on that loan?
What is your explanation on that because I think that is pretty troubling.
Drobny: Well, ah, if you go to the website www.airamericaradio.com they have a very, very appropriate response. Ah, I would love to be able to answer the question and you would love my answer but the, ah, that particular transaction occurred from the previous ownership and, ah, I cannot legally talk about it although I'd love to. But that was not our loan. That was a loan to the previous owner.
Host: For those who are not familiar with the issue, can you explain?
Drobny: (cough) Well, because we had difficulty funding the project, our firm was willing to allocate up to 10 million to an all liberal radio network and, ah, we were not able to raise any more than that and we needed about 30 to 40 million dollars.
So about, ah, about August or September of 2003, and we had already hired, or got Al Franken to commit, we had our executive team and whatever, we didn't have enough money to fund the thing to the process of. We were introduced to the former owner who acquired our network at the time and, ah, supposedly had the funding to take it forward and to get it on the air.
They got it on the air but unfortunately they ran into financial difficulty and I suppose one of those difficulties was this Boys Club situation. And, ah, then they defaulted when we sold the station or network, they defaulted on our loan.
So they also defaulted on our credit. So what happened was we had to reacquire, we reacquired the, ah, the network through a different company.
Host: But as you've been reading, Michelle Malkin and others have been quick to point to it as one of the problems in the financial structure of Air America.
Drobny: That was the former ownership. We are very solid right now. And I can tell you if you just read the Air America statement it will tell you that (unclear...)
THE TRUTH: we now know $167,000 of the Gloria Wise taxpayer money was transferred to Air America on October 2, 2003. This is revealed in the settlement agreement. The Drobnys turned over the reins in November, 2003, retaking it in 2004 from Evan Cohen and Rex Sorenson.
Therefore we can prove, via hard evidence, the transfers began on Sheldon's watch. He didn't tell the truth on C-SPAN, did he?
Smoking guns sure do come in handy.
What's Next For Franken?
On October 25, Franken's unfortunately-titled, long-anticipated The Truth (With Jokes) will reach bookstore shelves. This release is key for his career and the publishing industry will be carefully watching its performance.
Will Al face any road-tour fallout over this new proof he lied about his knowledge of the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls scandal?
One would expect the nature of Franken's books and public rhetoric to make him especially careful about telling the truth in public. Somehow, defending Air America got in the way.
The other question: how does this affect his possible US Senate plans? He's said to be a potential 2008 candidate for Minnesota, his home state. From the New York Times in June 2005:
The swells who showed up before Al Franken's speech at a Democratic fund-raiser to down finger food and punch were thrilled to see him, all the more so because he continues to make threatening noises about running for the Senate here in 2008.
A former writer and performer for ''Saturday Night Live'' and more recently a radio host on Air America, Mr. Franken has used his outsider status to hurl humor-based invective and indignation at the powers that be, but he is considering becoming part of what he so frequently assails.
On Saturday evening he worked the crowd as if being accosted by strangers in a sweltering tent redolent of meatballs was his idea of a good time.
Will he still be able to mount a credible campaign, or is there simply too much baggage at this point? Are his supporters loyal, no matter what has occurred at Air America?
Or will Minnesotans now look at him differently, finally grasping the real Al Franken?
It will be interesting to see how Franken, Drobny and Air America collectively manage to weasel out of this mess.
We've made an attempt to contact Franken regarding this article. We'd be happy to consider his response if we receive one.
Scandal graphic by Darleen Click. Your Amazon orders that begin here, help to support this site. Thanks!
Inside Air America: Al Franken's Lying Lies
Part Of An Ongoing Investigative Blog Series
BY MICHELLE MALKIN AND BRIAN MALONEY
(This is part two, the story begins at Michelle Malkin's Site)
Once caught, what price does a liar typically pay in our society?
Does it depend on severity and circumstances? Is it about context, or whether anyone was harmed by the person's factual misstatements?
One would imagine all of these considerations to be important.
For a smug, self-righteous "lying liars" book author who proceeds to tell one of the year's biggest, however, there should be particular contempt.
When his company and its co-founder are caught up in the deception, the disgrace is compounded.
And when inner-city schoolchildren suffer as a result of this blatant fraud, it becomes the icing on the cake.
These newly disclosed documents go beyond casting serious doubt on Air America talk host Al Franken's recent assertions. They prove that Franken and his cohorts were aware long ago of the community center scandal, contrary to their public statements.
This settlement agreement (left) was signed by Franken and other key Air America officials, each in the presence of a notary public.Six Weeks Without Consequences
Since first blowing the lid off of Air America Radio's Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club scandal in July, where $875,000 in taxpayer money was apparently diverted from the nonprofit to its own account, we've watched the network, its air personalities and supporters dismiss the mess with excuses:
--- We're a new company (Piquant), we simply purchased the old one (Progress Media).
--- It's not fair to pin this on the talk hosts, they knew nothing about it.
--- A Republican operative from Guam, Evan Montvel Cohen, is responsible, he did this to make Air America look bad.
--- Our critics are right-wingers, why should anyone pay attention to them?
So far, they've failed to face real consequences, as their defenders blame it entirely on Evan Cohen. Is this about to soon change?
Did Media Inspire Overconfidence?
As we've shown here and in previous pieces, these excuses simply don't wash.Yet, despite the issue's severity, few mainstream media outlets took the opportunity to investigate it. As mentioned earlier, even some conservative talk hosts resisted discussing the matter, assuming Franken and other on-air personalities couldn't be held responsible.
Did this lead to overconfidence at Air America's headquarters, that consequences would simply not follow public revelations?
Or, is so much energy devoted merely to keeping the operation from going bust, there's simply no time to worry about negative publicity?
Franken sure seemed to believe he could get away with his blatant on-air lying, without the irony of his book titles (and years of blasting Bill O'Reilly and others over matters that seem small by comparison) smacking him in the face. Did arrogance fuel a sadly unfounded belief we wouldn't be able to obtain the smoking gun?
If so, it proved to be a fatal miscalculation.
Franken Not Alone
It isn't just Al Franken caught red-handed lying: add co-founder/Democrat Party activist Sheldon Drobny and Air America parent company Piquant to the mix, as well. It's a rogue's gallery of liberal talk radio tricksters.
Piquant's rank dishonesty in the matter is now also exposed. Recall the statement put out by Air America after our story broke-- which remains on their website:
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.
THE TRUTH: according to the November 2004 Evan Cohen-Rex Sorenson-Air America settlement agreement, Piquant is in fact obligated to pay back the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club money.
This directly contradicts Air America's claim that its owners "have no obligation" to pay back the loan.
Air America's recent website statement suggested they weren't sure if the allegations were true, but the 2004 document proves they knew of the situation all along.
Throwing in irrelevant references to HBO and the Wall Street Journal merely served to confuse Air America's fans into thinking this was old news. And the Evan Cohen mention is obviously meant to tie him alone to any wrongdoing.
While he certainly appeared to have a role in the taxpayer funds transfer, this new evidence points to a larger group of irresponsible corporate villains.
Air America Co-founder's Role
Remember Air America co-founder/Democrat activist/ Lyndon Larouche sympathizer Sheldon Drobny? We recently detailed his background, providing a transcript of this C-SPAN appearance:
Dallas caller: Yes, I was wondering, you talk about the road to Air America, I've been reading in the New York Sun and articles by Michele Malkin that $875,000 approximately was acquired in a loan from a children's center and an Alzheimer's center in New York.
And you just mentioned you had funding and introductions from VP Gore and former president Clinton and I was wondering are you proud of the fact that you've obtained money from a partially federally funded children's center in New York and that you are now in default on that loan?
What is your explanation on that because I think that is pretty troubling.
Drobny: Well, ah, if you go to the website www.airamericaradio.com they have a very, very appropriate response. Ah, I would love to be able to answer the question and you would love my answer but the, ah, that particular transaction occurred from the previous ownership and, ah, I cannot legally talk about it although I'd love to. But that was not our loan. That was a loan to the previous owner.
Host: For those who are not familiar with the issue, can you explain?
Drobny: (cough) Well, because we had difficulty funding the project, our firm was willing to allocate up to 10 million to an all liberal radio network and, ah, we were not able to raise any more than that and we needed about 30 to 40 million dollars.
So about, ah, about August or September of 2003, and we had already hired, or got Al Franken to commit, we had our executive team and whatever, we didn't have enough money to fund the thing to the process of. We were introduced to the former owner who acquired our network at the time and, ah, supposedly had the funding to take it forward and to get it on the air.
They got it on the air but unfortunately they ran into financial difficulty and I suppose one of those difficulties was this Boys Club situation. And, ah, then they defaulted when we sold the station or network, they defaulted on our loan.
So they also defaulted on our credit. So what happened was we had to reacquire, we reacquired the, ah, the network through a different company.
Host: But as you've been reading, Michelle Malkin and others have been quick to point to it as one of the problems in the financial structure of Air America.
Drobny: That was the former ownership. We are very solid right now. And I can tell you if you just read the Air America statement it will tell you that (unclear...)
THE TRUTH: we now know $167,000 of the Gloria Wise taxpayer money was transferred to Air America on October 2, 2003. This is revealed in the settlement agreement. The Drobnys turned over the reins in November, 2003, retaking it in 2004 from Evan Cohen and Rex Sorenson.
Therefore we can prove, via hard evidence, the transfers began on Sheldon's watch. He didn't tell the truth on C-SPAN, did he?
Smoking guns sure do come in handy.
What's Next For Franken?
On October 25, Franken's unfortunately-titled, long-anticipated The Truth (With Jokes) will reach bookstore shelves. This release is key for his career and the publishing industry will be carefully watching its performance.
Will Al face any road-tour fallout over this new proof he lied about his knowledge of the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls scandal?
One would expect the nature of Franken's books and public rhetoric to make him especially careful about telling the truth in public. Somehow, defending Air America got in the way.
The other question: how does this affect his possible US Senate plans? He's said to be a potential 2008 candidate for Minnesota, his home state. From the New York Times in June 2005:
The swells who showed up before Al Franken's speech at a Democratic fund-raiser to down finger food and punch were thrilled to see him, all the more so because he continues to make threatening noises about running for the Senate here in 2008.
A former writer and performer for ''Saturday Night Live'' and more recently a radio host on Air America, Mr. Franken has used his outsider status to hurl humor-based invective and indignation at the powers that be, but he is considering becoming part of what he so frequently assails.
On Saturday evening he worked the crowd as if being accosted by strangers in a sweltering tent redolent of meatballs was his idea of a good time.
Will he still be able to mount a credible campaign, or is there simply too much baggage at this point? Are his supporters loyal, no matter what has occurred at Air America?Or will Minnesotans now look at him differently, finally grasping the real Al Franken?
It will be interesting to see how Franken, Drobny and Air America collectively manage to weasel out of this mess.
We've made an attempt to contact Franken regarding this article. We'd be happy to consider his response if we receive one.
Scandal graphic by Darleen Click. Your Amazon orders that begin here, help to support this site. Thanks!
published by Brian Maloney at
02:35
30 Comments:
All I can say is "good work" Brian. You and Michelle have done some solid research and excellent writing. I'm especially interested in how Franken will explain why he claimed he didn't know about the settlement agreement despite the fact that his signature is on it. People need to just come clean and 'fess up. The more you lie, the more you have to lie.
By
La Shawn Barber, at 07 September, 2005 06:39
Al Franken will probably feign senility for not remembering his signature on that legal document.
Hey, hey Al. How does it feel to be the true liar now?
"I'm the Lying Liar who Lies Like a Dog." - because he can but he's no Bill Clinton.
By
Mike, at 07 September, 2005 08:20
Great investigative work. I live in Minnesota, and I know that none of this will be front page material. In contrast, former MN Republican Senator Rod Grams narrowly lost his re-election bid to Mark Dayton (quote from Powerline)"in a close race that was marked at the end by the Star Tribune's breathless coverage of Grams' son's drug problems."
Our metro papers print anti-GOP stuff on page one (e.g. Grams' son arrested!!!!!"). Items harmful to the Dems are either scuttled or get relegated to below-the-fold back-page status (e.g. the Franken story will be page 6, headline "Piquant diasvows loans").
The Minnesota MSM motto: Nothing to see here, just move along.
By
KCFleming, at 07 September, 2005 08:28
Let's hope that revelations of this kind are cumulative... the old-line D-rat media premium has been eroding for some time, now at an accelerating rate. Whenever a Franken rears his head, grotesque fraud mixed with vulgar denials reaches almost Clintonesque proportions.
There really does seem something in the Left-Liberal makeup that lends itself to pervasive dishonesty, even self-delusion. We could go on about Louisiana, the UN, etc. but these are institutional symptoms of more profound personal deficits. Fact is, Al Franken is a classically dysfunctional narcissist. Everything to him is words, echoing "I am the greatest". If Minnesotans are fool enough to think this degraded scamster would ever represent interests other than his own, they should depress their sights to view MzBill and Charles "The Man" Schumer in New York-- neither of whom will under any circumstances exert the most elementary effort on non-partisan initiatives.
Used to be, the MSM's "don't ask, don't tell" schtick dropped D-rat scandals down Orwell's memory hole.
Will New York's magical, Wall Street-bashing Attorney General, eager to assume Pataki's mantle, so much as acknowledge these incriminating documents' existence? To ask the question is to answer it... excuse the cynicism, but nothing an Al Franken perpetrates will raise waves in Liberal-land until his Voter Registration changes.
By
Pyrthroes, at 07 September, 2005 09:05
I echo the above about the good work.
The failure of the MSM to cover this story after their shameless pimping of Air America during its start up is perhaps the most blatant, overt, obvious proof of liberal media bias that I have ever witnessed in my 46 years.
By
DaveW, at 07 September, 2005 10:25
Question:
This Settlement makes reference to the (still secret, as far as I know) Asset Purchase Agreement, and seems to suggest that the APA did explicitly transfer Progress Media/Air America's debts to Piquant, including the Gloria Wise loan and the Multicultural Broadcasting claims. Does this render moot the "fraudulent transfer" issue?
By
Voice of Reason, at 07 September, 2005 10:32
Segzz -
Did you get that from my Autorantic Moonbat Generator (the Liberal Robot Who Hates You).
Time for Franken to face up to a timeles truth - A Liar Needs A Good Memory.
By
Peter Porcupine, at 07 September, 2005 11:54
Al Franken doesn't care about black children.
By
Saint Kansas, at 07 September, 2005 11:55
Al Franken belongs in jail.
He is the worst kind of thief, holding the American public up as a bunch of stupid idiots who he thinks he can con with that stupidly innocent looking Stuart Smalley grin.
I hope that he is elected as Sen from Minnesota. Those stupid libs there deserve to be taken to the cleaners by this jerk.
Laugh now Al, you big crook!!!!
By
nocoen, at 07 September, 2005 12:49
I would still like an answer to my question.
Does it now appear that the Asset Purchase Agreement did explicitly transfer Progress Media/Air America's liabilities to Piquant and thus the "fraudulent transfer" claims are mooted?
By
Voice of Reason, at 07 September, 2005 15:15
VoR?
I know, this thing is a bit confusing, but after reading the actual signover papers, the "fraudulent transfer" charges are pretty much nailed to the courthouse door, ala Martin Luther's 95 Thesis. The only thing left is to see whose hide joins the "you are soo getting nailed" party when Spitzer, the NYCBOI,and especially Multicultural Radio's legal shark Randy Mastro decide to go in for the kill.
By
Unknown, at 07 September, 2005 18:11
Franken ratings recently booted Limbaugh off the air in the Twin Cities. Limbaugh soon has to join his good friends, the "long-hair hippies", on FM radio where he will get close to a zero share.
By
@whut, at 07 September, 2005 19:58
wht wrote: Franken ratings recently booted Limbaugh off the air in the Twin Cities.
Seems like wht has as big a problem with telling whoppers as does Frankenlyin'.
Here's THE TRUTH (no joke): from the Star-Trib, 8/20/05:
Shift to sports
Locally, listeners tuned into sports in greater numbers this spring. Weekday ratings at sports-talk station KFAN (1130 AM) are up 37 percent among listeners ages 25 to 54 compared with a year ago, while KSTP-AM is down 33 percent.
A look at individual shows reflects much sharper contrasts. Limbaugh's show, which airs Monday through Friday from noon to 3 p.m. on KSTP, dropped from a 7.6 percent share of listeners ages 25 to 54 in spring 2004 to 4.3 this spring. Sean Hannity's 6-8 p.m. show dropped from 6.3 to 2.3 percent.
In contrast, KFAN has seen its afternoon lineup of Dan (Common Man) Cole, Chad Hartman and Dan Barreiro post audience gains of 24 to 32 percent. Both WCCO (830 AM) and KFAN have made gains in the 26 to 29 percent range during the 6-8 p.m. time period.
So it isn't liberal talk that's stealing Rush and Sean's audience, it's sports talk. Here's what the same article says about Franken:
The ratings shift hasn't affected partisan radio stations such as WWTC (1280 AM), known as the Patriot, or KTNF (950 AM), home to Air America programming, including Al Franken's weekday show. Both have maintained relatively stable, if small, audience shares of about 1 to 1.5 percent.
Franken is an exception, however. Locally, the Minnesota native has increased his audience share to 2.4 percent of listeners ages 25 to 54, compared with 1.3 last year.
All in all, not bad news for Franken. Perhaps he can be just like his hero, Walter Mondale: really, really popular in Minnesota...and nowhere else.
By
L.N. Smithee, at 07 September, 2005 22:32
Ummm...excuse me, WHT? Self described "Incompetent Engineer"...can you even remotely back that "Franken ratings recently booted Limbaugh off the air in the Twin Cities" issued fart of hope from your lefty geek's cheeks with--and I'm cutting you serious, serious slack--a clip from the Strib? C'mon...Normie would have gone nuts.
Last Arbitron numbers:
KTNF-AM 950 AM (Air Idiot): 0.9
KSTP-AM 1500 FM (Rush): 3.7
By
Unknown, at 07 September, 2005 22:48
Are you sitting down? Al Franken has an excuse
Yesterday, Mr. Franken stood by his earlier statement. He said that, on the advice of his lawyer, Gunnar Erickson, he signed the agreement last fall that erased legal claims he had against Messrs. Cohen and Sorensen because they owed him money, but he said he did not see the list of liabilities that included the Gloria Wise transfers. ..."I am not an investor, and I didn't see this thing..."
So, he's either a liar, or he doesn't read things he signs. Either way, does he deserve to be a Senator?
By
LonewackoDotCom, at 07 September, 2005 23:10
AAR's Garafolo and Seder also help push Sean Hannity out of the Twin Cities AM radio market.
By
@whut, at 07 September, 2005 23:56
While I do not in any way condone what AAR, Al Franken and his minions have done, I have to wonder if it is really in our interests to have AAR off the air?
Listening to their amatuerish braying and spite-filled rants help show everyone what dipsticks they really are.
Having them on the air helps move people to the right just trying to get as far as they can from them.
By
Some Schmuck, at 08 September, 2005 00:04
Having them on the air helps move people to the right just trying to get as far as they can from them.
Thanks Malkin, for publishing the link to the AAR stream in your blog post. Keep the publicity coming.
By
@whut, at 08 September, 2005 00:58
WHT wrote, strangely enough: Thanks Malkin, for publishing the link to the AAR stream in your blog post. Keep the publicity coming.
Fat lotta good all that advance publicity did the LiAARs.
Hey, WHT: I don't know what FM radio sounds like in Minnesota, but where I am from, it sounds BETTER than AM. I would love it if I could listen to Rush in stereo; the bumper music would be cooler than it is in mono, and I wouldn't have any reception trouble in my office.
By
L.N. Smithee, at 08 September, 2005 02:43
WHT: "AAR's Garafolo and Seder also help push Sean Hannity out of the Twin Cities AM radio market."
The sky must be pink in your world.
By
Unknown, at 08 September, 2005 08:58
Oh, and you, that loose moron in the corner... Kerry?
"all over the media" you say?
Cite it. Link it. PROVE IT.
I'm sitting in Staten Island and I got five hundred bucks that says you, sir, are a total moonbat schmuck making shit up. You show me TWO places that don't include the NY Sun that have printed a mere riff about this story.
Come get my money, punk.
By
Unknown, at 08 September, 2005 09:05
kerry? Sweetie! I didn't ask for podunk press, I asked for the Old Gray Batty Broad or the WashPo...hell, I'd even accept the LA Times (after Pattericco cleansed them).
You cited a bunch of rags that don't even reach a population that beats my borough.
Back to your corner!
By
Unknown, at 08 September, 2005 11:39
TC Lynch,
Yes, when I think 'rag', the first publication that comes to mind is Fortune Magazine. And who has ever heard of the NY Post?
She showed you up. Now pay up. Or are you just a blowhard like Rush?
By
Dave, at 08 September, 2005 12:40
Nice try, kerrypatricia. You wrote:
Here in New York, this story has been all over the mainstream media.
The top two dailies in New York -- the Daily News and the Times -- have not by any definition been "all over" the LiAAR story. The Murdoch-owned Post and the upstart Sun have been digging into the story from the start, showing that they are more committed to investigating local New York scandals than the high-falutin' national agenda-setting Times.
You didn't think you were going to get away with saying "Here in New York, this story has been all over the mainstream media" and then cite newspapers from Phoenix, AZ, Macon, GA and Grand Forks, ND as proof, did you?
What am I saying??? Of course you thought you would. That's your problem.
By
L.N. Smithee, at 08 September, 2005 17:33
Here we go again. I guess I will be the first to actually address what is in the "newly discovered documents."
BTW, one reason why there not be many replies from the "other side" is that the author has chosen to require anyone who wants to reply to set up an account with Blogger, which requires you to create and point to your own blog. What a pain.
Wading through the virtual document dump, all one discovers is that it's just an ownership and assets transfer agreement post-Cohen. The sheer quantity of legalese does not provide credibility. Nobody cares who ends up with the office furniture.
I notice the first page of the settlement is mysteriously undated, but I'll presume the parade of notarized statements at the end says this occured last November.
The Unequalizer has had an axe to grind over AAR since its inception, so immediately readers need to hold some suspicion over the veracity of the accusations and the conclusions the author draws (and steers readers to) based on the evidence provided.
In this case, most of his "expose" is really just him angrily responding to his critics who rightfully questioned his interpretation of factual documents, whether it was fair and journalistically credible to mix opinion with straight reporting, and whether the lines he attempted to draw were actually appropriate to the facts.
For example, we were last told that because the Dept. of Investigations in NY was investigating a suspicious transfer of public funds on a loan basis between a non-profit city funded agency and AAR through the arrangement of Evan Cohen, former CEO (and involved with both), that meant it was factually accurate to report the DOI was investigating AAR for "theft" of public funds. When people checked it out, we learned the DOI was investigating the matter, but they most certainly were not investigating Piquant, the current ownership of AAR. I've noticed the author has now stopped that accusation himself. The former CEO Evan Cohen may or may not be under investigation - they won't say. The author also suggests Al Franken himself is directly culpable and he was also under investigation. That's questionable too.
In the end, the mainstream press originally reported not on Maloney's opinionated and highly unproven charges, but rather on the media reports that he, himself, used to springboard and enhance his own article. Let's also disclose he's running a blog, not a news site. Anyone can say anything on a blog. It's a one man show.
His main charge seems to be:
"These newly disclosed documents go beyond casting serious doubt on Air America talk host Al Franken's recent assertions. They prove that Franken and his cohorts were aware long ago of the community center scandal, contrary to their public statements."
Actually, they don't prove that at all. All they prove is that the debt to the Boys & Girls center is listed on their papers as one of the Liabilities. In sections 20 - 22, there are confidentiality provisions as well an indemnification clauses which would seem to protect Piquant from the legacy of some, if not all, of the former corporation's interests.
Just listing a liability does not mean that someone should be instantly aware of the repayment schedule of said debt, and with a confidentiality agreement, one's ability to discuss these business matters is somewhat limited. Nobody ever denied there was a debt - the only question was whether it was the responsility of Piquant or the former owners, and the indemnification clauses may still leave that an open question.
Next, we see the author set up various straw men in order to knock them down. All of them are either false or significantly distorted:
"We've watched the network, its air personalities and supporters dismiss the mess with excuses:
--- We're a new company (Piquant), we simply purchased the old one (Progress Media).
--- It's not fair to pin this on the talk hosts, they knew nothing about it.
--- A Republican operative from Guam, Evan Montvel Cohen, is responsible, he did this to make Air America look bad.
--- Our critics are right-wingers, why should anyone pay attention to them?"
Argument one leaves out the significant second half of the statement which said the company was unsure of their legal liability to repay a debt obtained by former owners AND despite that, Franken himself said there was a moral obligation to repay it anyway, and that it would be repaid.
Argument two is a distortion. The author provides no evidence that any of the talent other than Franken, bound by the confidentiality agreements therein, were party to or aware of this confidential document.
Argument three is false. The management and talent have not put forth that assertion in statements I have seen. In fact, the source of that charge keeps coming back to right wing blogs who say they heard someone say that. That sounds like a straw man argument, as in: "Can you believe those crazy liberals now actually believe Cohen was a secret operative?" Now perhaps some AAR fans may have also speculated accordingly, but that is not the position of AAR. If someone can point to a serious document, news release, or recording saying otherwise, I'd like to see it.
Argument four is distorted. Actually, the dismissive attitude to the Unequalizer comes not from some grand conspiracy, but rather his amatuerish journalistic practices which rely mostly on real media which he copies, then amplifies, distributes, and redistributes the in-turn amplification that comes from those other blogs who support his personal point of view.
In the end, there is nothing "explosive" at all in today's Unequalizer report.
Our star reporter remains a failed, unemployed right wing talk show host who relies on the "special pyramid style" method of journalistic reporting that allows gems like "it's a rogue's gallery of liberal talk radio tricksters," in your unbiased news report.
I'd say Snoopy would stand a better chance of winning that Pulitzer (or even the prize that lets you nominate yourself - the Payne Award).
By
Phillip Dampier, at 08 September, 2005 17:45
I would love it if I could listen to Rush in stereo; the bumper music would be cooler than it is in mono, and I wouldn't have any reception trouble in my office.
What does the flapping of jowls sound like in stereo?
Yea, like the bumper music from The Pretenders that Ms. Hynde can sue over whenever she wants to.
But Limbaugh never licensed his show's use of the song, according to Hynde and her manager, Gail Colson. Asked about Limbaugh's conscription of "My City Was Gone," several music licensing experts maintained that if a radio show adopts a recorded song as its theme, it must receive permission from the music publisher and the record label. (Labels often require approval by the artist, and Hynde, in addition, retains publishing rights to her songs.) As Kohn on Music Licensing, a prominent industry text, notes, "The making of recordings of introductory music themes ... as part of syndicated radio shows ... [requires] permission from the copyright owners."
By
@whut, at 08 September, 2005 20:13
"la la lala la la!
Al frank-en is a li-AR!
Li-AR li-Ar liAr!
la la la lala la!
Nyah nyah nyahnyah nyah nyah!"
It's nice to see the kinds of people who actually support the non-journalism found here. The author's own supporters are his worst enemies, especially when it comes to being taken seriously.
I love your picture too. You should have just posted a blank response because the photo pretty much says it all.
By
Phillip Dampier, at 10 September, 2005 02:01
"It sure as hell is thrown around here like he just robbed the US Treasury."
This site is well documented and discussed on radio industry message boards. The author is an unemployed former right wing talkshow host who appears to be supplementing his income by becoming a tool for the talking points crowd. Before this "expose," he was pretending to be an unbiased source for news and information about talk radio.
When Air America Radio didn't succumb to the talking point that "nobody wants to listen to liberal talk" that we heard from every right winger back in the spring of 2004, Maloney started taking potshots at Air America by selectively quoting ratings in an effort to present a negative picture of the network (all while it was adding affiliates I might add).
There is something in the water that apparently drives some conservatives nutty - the very presence of a competing talk network that does not represent their views. They actually see it as a threat. The attitude of "let the free market decide" seems to apply to a lot of things, but not to liberal talk radio.
As AAR and like minded talk radio continues to grow in listeners, affiliates, and ratings, the shrill attacks seem to be getting more and more frequent.
Woodward and Bernstein the author is not, and flinging around allegations and trying to draw lines with big crayons between the ultimate evil of Al Franken (when Michael Moore isn't available) and Evan Cohen's questionable loan from an organization he was involved with to an organization he was involved with is not Watergate. I emphasize "was" by the way.
When your stuff is echoed only by like-minded blogs and a few columnists, it's not going to bring down AAR no matter how loud these people scream.
I fully expect in a few weeks, we'll have "shocking" new charges that AAR hosts were caught using non-recycled paper, used two staples on a document instead of the one required, and that AAR allowed several light bulbs to blow in a hallway allowing for potential rapists to have hiding spots. Why do they hate America so much?
By
Phillip Dampier, at 10 September, 2005 02:17
Go ahead, try and make this stick.
Try and make people care about this.
I dare you.
You won't be able to.
Reduce it to a talking point if you can. Not likely.
Smoking gun? More like a cap pistol.
But nice try.
Anyway, the truth will out. If Franken broke the law, it will catch up to him eventually. If he runs for senate, this will derail any campaign he mounts, if this is really important.
But it isn't that important.
AAR has had a lot of financial difficulties, like many businesses. The majority of all new businesses (including those started by Republicans) fail in their first year, for a variety of reasons.
AAR is still growing, in spite of whatever growing pains and financial problems they may be having. The fact they've been going for over a year now and have 70 affliates means they are 10 times more successful than any right-wing pundit thought they would ever be.
And they can't stand it.
But, hey, keep on trying. It's a free country.
By
Scott, at 31 October, 2005 11:52
Nothing suprises me about this self-appointed, sanctimonious piss-pot.
debt consolidation to
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By
bill, at 10 June, 2007 12:11
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