Where is the NY Times, the "Paper of Record?" So far, zero coverage of the ongoing Air Deadbeat fiasco. As a matter of fact, there is almost no MSM coverage of this issue. Checking Google and Yahoo news, the only new player is Oregon Live (which links to the Oregonian):
There's, like, a major corporate financial scandal goin' down, dude. Some greed-head wheeler-dealer took almost a million in government funds intended for children and Alzheimer's patients and put the money into a private start-up company. The money was supposed to be a loan, but the loan was never repaid, Now, the nonprofit is broke and under investigation for "significant inappropriate transaction and falsified documents." And, you know, like, the mainstream corporate media? They're paying no attention to the story, man. Children and Alzheimer's patients get the short end of the stick while fat-cat private interests line their pockets -- only in George Bush's America, right?
Wrong. Only in the Air America scandal that's unfolding. The recipient of $875,000-plus from the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club in New York City is Air America, the left-wing radio network designed to take on the talk-radio right.
Oops. Amazing that it is a paper on the other side of the country that has to take Air Deadbeat to task. I checked the other sites that Advance Internet owns, which most are in areas that Air Deadbeat "broadcast" in, and nada from those papers.
David Reinhard then offers suggestions as to what the Air Deadbeat listeners could do:
Liberals are always letting the rest of us know just how much sharper and more compassionate they are than the rest of us. Now it's time to prove it: Air America Needs You.
First, its listeners should unleash their "we know better" candlepower and their you-can't-fool-us cynicism to get to the bottom of the Air America's kids-for-kilowatts scandal. And, clearly, a scheme that hurts children and Alzheimer's patients to fund left-wing outreach should appeal to progressives' dark sense of irony.
Second, Air America's listeners should go beyond the network owners on the financial front. Simply repaying funds to club isn't enough. Really, how cover-your-assets corporatist is that? Leftist listeners need to really showcase that storied compassion of theirs. Yes, how about a radio-thon to raise funds for kids and Alzheimer's patients across this broad land? Lefty listeners could, well, "Give piece of change."
Better yet, progressive forces should do what they do best -- hold a rock concert. Franken probably could put the finger on some major talent. It's hard to imagine that the Dixie Chicks, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand wouldn't want to participate in a Live Air America-Aid concert. The guess here is that even stars who said they would leave the United States if Bush were elected or re-elected would return home to help the victims of this hideous corporate scandal.
Sorry, David, but most of the Lefties are pretending that Air Deadbeat has done absolutely nothing wrong. It isn't part of their talking points.
Why does this story matter? In the greater scheme of things, Air Deadbeat really doesn't affect that many people, beyond the kids that can no longer go to camp. But, it shows the hypocrisy of the Left. You know, the ones that accuse the RightWingNuts of being thieves and liars. Yet, whose media is constantly getting busted for lying and wrongdoing, now thieving? Remember, in Florida, it wasn't GOP voting precincts which had issues. 27 of 28 of the problematic were run by Demorats. Rush's problems were personal. Hannity? No problems. But the Left will tell you that Savage is Jewish. I guess that is more important then Air Deadbeat and their scandal.
Here's a good question for all the cities and states that Air America operates in, maybe even the FBI: Air America operates in multiple states. In some cases, they broadcast across state lines. Was this "loan" simply for WLIB, the NYC station, or did it benefit the entire AA network? Wouldn't that make it a federal case?
Michelle Malkin and Captain Ed have more. Radio Equalizer has the lowdown on Air Deadbeat paying their employees late (again.)
Crossposted at the Pirate's Cove (cause I'm a lazy bastich)
Posted by William Teach at August 8, 2005 09:02 AM | TrackBack