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Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

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Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

People are weird.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

“But what about the lurkers?”

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Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Open Thread: Unlimited! Corporate! Cash!

Open Thread: Unlimited! Corporate! Cash!

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By now, you’ve probably heard about Media Matter‘s big reveal — according to NPR media reporter David Folkenflik’s upcoming book, Fox News really did pay people to act as sock puppets:

“On the blogs, the fight was particularly fierce. Fox PR staffers were expected to counter not just negative and even neutral blog postings but the anti-Fox comments beneath them. One former staffer recalled using twenty different aliases to post pro-Fox rants. Another had one hundred. Several employees had to acquire a cell phone thumb drive to provide a wireless broadband connection that could not be traced back to a Fox News or News Corp account. Another used an AOL dial-up connection, even in the age of widespread broadband access, on the rationale it would be harder to pinpoint its origins. Old laptops were distributed for these cyber operations. Even blogs with minor followings were reviewed to ensure no claim went unchecked.” [Murdoch’s World, pg. 67]

Paul Constant at Seattle’s Stranger takes it a step further:

… [N]ow I’m wondering if Fox News ever sock-puppets itself. Fox reporter Sally Kohn yesterday published an article on the Fox News site that was given the scary headline of “I was an ObamaCare guinea pig.” But the article itself turned out to be unabashedly pro-Obamacare…

The comment thread, predictably, has turned into a massacre…

Apart from reminiscing about concern trolls past, what’s on the agenda this evening?

Reader Interactions

111Comments

  1. 1.

    askew

    This is probably a more appropriate thread for my questions:

    So, I renewed my benefits today and ended up saving money on my medical insurance. It was about $10 less per month. However, the company is taking $3 per paycheck for the ACA Reinsurance Fee. Isn’t that what was delayed 1 year with the debt ceiling deal? And can companies really charge a fee to their employees to cover this and how do we know they aren’t just scamming us to make money?

  2. 2.

    Hill Dweller

    Jake Tapper told me his “sister network” had to be defended from the Obama administration onslaught.

  6. 6.

    c u n d gulag

    Jyazoos!
    Considering what they’ve put-in and done inside that sock, I’d hate to stick my hand in one, and be a sock puppet!

    Do they have shots for coming in contact with that stuff?

    In all honesty, kind of like the NSA looking at everything that we communicate with, actually, I’d be more surprised if they DIDN’T do that!

  8. 8.

    lamh36

    Been at work all day and have been AWOL on politics since this weekend at least, but happened to see on twitter that Doug J’s nemesis Ron Fournier is now comparing the ACA website glitches to Bush’s handling of Katrina and Iraq!!!!

    Let review:

    Deaths from Katrina: Greater than or equal to 1000.

    Iraq War Soldiers, Civilians, Contracters…etc dead/wounded: Est >20,000.

    Death/Injuries from http://healthcare.gov: ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, G00SE EGG!

  9. 9.

    Chyron HR

    @lamh36:

    Surely the death toll from healthcare.gov should be negative–every person who can’t sign up is saved from the DEATH PANELS.

  11. 11.

    lamh36

    @metaquest 1h
    OMG after all we’ve been through with the shutdown & near default, @Sen_JoeManchin is working on bill to delay #Obamacare indiv mandate

  12. 12.

    Hill Dweller

    @askew: During Obama’s first year in office, his admin decided to publicly go after Fox. Tapper defended his “sister organization” against Obama’s criticism.

  13. 13.

    askew

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I think you are right. I can’t think of anything ABC did recently. Both CBS and NBC have aired hit pieces on Obamacare that were factually wrong. Don’t know about ABC though.

  14. 14.

    lamh36

    Oh, and I see Dick Durbin is standing by his quote on the GOP Leader who said he “couldn’t stand to look” at POTUS.

    But Dick needs to go ahead an name names, cause he’s the one who introduced it to the conversation, and now it’s gonna be nothing but a pain in the WH azz thanks to ole Dick.

  16. 16.

    Mandalay

    Geneva, Oct 21:

    As the UN Human Rights Council scrutinized Saudi Arabia’s domestic rights record this morning, a minority of democracies such as Canada, UK, and the Czech Republic raised concerns, while the vast majority of countries lined up to defend and praise one of the world’s most repressive theocratic regimes.

    Saudi Arabia, Oct 23:

    Saudi Arabia’s government has warned it will use force if campaigners take to the streets protest against the country’s ban on women driving…

    Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are barred from driving, but debate about the ban, once confined to the private sphere and social media, is spreading to public forums too…The Saudi Interior Ministry said calls on social media for “banned gatherings and marches” to encourage women to drive were illegal.

    The Saudi regime is sick and evil, yet all our Administrations continue to genuflect to them.

  17. 17.

    lamh36

    @lamh36:

    ‏@DanaHoule 1m
    Big way ACA rollout & Iraq war aren’t same: Dems aren’t accusing Repubs of being pro-heart disease & pro-cancer

  18. 18.

    Cermet

    I remember all too well the paid trolls from the nuke industry that attacked me for posts here about the nuclear accident in Japan (that place still(!) has a reactor cooking out of control – waste storage tanks boiling off (!) and lethal radiation levels just around the water storage tanks! The reactors must really be off scale!)

    One Troll wasn’t bad and they answered some good questions as they told another attack dog to leave me alone. Hope they at least got paid for their work.

  19. 19.

    BGinCHI

    @askew: Well the very fucking stupid Jonathan Karl is their WH correspondent, so there must be something. What a moran.

  20. 20.

    Mike G

    @lamh36:

    Ironic that after screaming about Obamageddon death panels the ‘tards are reduced to bitching about a balky website.

  21. 21.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @lamh36: No, you are still missing something. # of lives already improved by the preexisting condition change and the ability to remain on parents’ insurance until 26.

  23. 23.

    EconWatcher

    For an alleged news organization, this seems like it should be a big deal. I mean, they’re essentially creating fraudulent documents, in a newsworthy area, about themselves. Even for Fox News, that looks pretty bad.

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    Maybe we could have a post highlighting the legendary catchphrases of Balloon Juice’s dearly departed trolls.

    @schrodinger’s cat:
    Well, which of that sock puppet’s many nyms were you trying to mention?
    Um, on second thought, don’t answer that.

  29. 29.

    ruemara

    Rejection letter #Idon’tknowIlost count. Oh well. The new router is very nice, tho. The cats are playing in their kitty travel containers. I’m really nervous about shipping them out. Only one can be carryon and the other one is flying in a few days later. Just full of worry.

  31. 31.

    lamh36

    Damn, now we can’t even SWB (Shop While Black).

    “Shopping while black’: Teen arrested for buying expensive belt from Barneys

    An African-American teen has filed a lawsuit against the high-end clothing store Barneys and the NYPD after he says he was hand cuffed for purchasing a $350 designer belt from one of their New York City locations.

    According to the New York Post, a Barneys clerk asked 19-year-old Trayon Christian for identification at the register. He reportedly did not believe the young man could afford the item. The clerk subsequently alerted the authorities.

    As Christian exited the store, undercover officers approached him and asked “how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt,” according to the suit.

    He was then arrested and taken to the local precinct. Prior to this, Christian had no arrest record.

  40. 40.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    @lamh36: I once accidentally purchased a $350 pair of shoes. When I returned them the next day, the store personnel were rightfully suspicious that I had “rented” them.

    Hopefully, this young man has learned an important lesson that no belt is worth $350. Spend $20 for a belt and put the other $330 towards justice for all.

  43. 43.

    lamh36

    @Hill Dweller: I’m guessing that’s due to Stewart segment on the ACA website on Monday.

    I get it’s Stewarts shtick to dump on “both sides”, but I’m just saying, he’s doing a real disservice to his viewers by not at least also informing them that the you can still enroll in ACA via phone. Stewart audience is the “target” audience needed to enroll in ACA right?

    I thought maybe this was an issue that Stewart actually cared about, but I guess his shtick is more important.

  44. 44.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @BGinCHI: Let me do a little magic with that headline. How about Lying Fucking Liars Fucking Lied. Note the alternating Ls and Fs. Plus you get a bit of a snowball effect from the repetition.

    @Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: Batman’s utility belt is worth far more than $350. Refudiated you, I have.

  46. 46.

    lamh36

    @Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: I’m not a fan of this argument though.

    This young man saved him money for something that he wanted to buy. It’s a $350 dollar belt, but would it have been worse if it was a $500 Iphone or Ipad.

    Also, nobody knows if the money he saved was the ONLY money he’d saved, for all we know the young man has 1000s saved, but decided to splurge on this one thing. I’ve done it on any occasion.

    The “well why is he spending money on a $350 belt” is a cop-out. It’s his money, maybe it was a birthday present, or a congratulations to himself for whatever. Also unlike you, he intentionally saved for the item he wanted to purchase for himself. It wasn’t accidental and he wasn’t returning it.

    The treatment he got shouldn’t be warranted even if he bought a $1000 pair of cufflinks. He had the money on his card, he had identification…WHY WAS HE HANDCUFFED AND BROUGHT TO THE PRECINCT? Cause he was Black and young and therefore must be poor and what shouldn’t be allowed to spend his money any way he damn well pleased.

  50. 50.

    BGinCHI

    @lamh36: Plus, are the goddamn police in NYC that fucking bored? Jesus, catch some criminals! Or at least sweep the sidewalk if you’re just gonna stand there.

  53. 53.

    ruviana

    @lamh36: Yep. When I read JSFTL’s comment I started thinking of silly things I’d spent “too much” money on, like the $600 vacuum cleaner that I still love. Would I spend that kind of money on a belt? No, but I’d spend it on something else I wanted badly enough if I had it and the mere idea that someone could haul you off in handcuffs for shopping while black is appalling. White privilege much?

    ETA: And/or what Violet said.

  56. 56.

    Citizen_X

    @ruviana:

    I started thinking of silly things I’d spent “too much” money on

    Yeah, like dru…er, shoes! I’ve spent too much money on shoes!

  57. 57.

    lamh36

    @ruviana: I would like to get a completely souped up Apple computer that’s likely to run me over $900. That’s a big chunk of my paycheck biweekly. Do I “need” it…not immediately…do I “want” it…hell yeah.

    So I’m SAVING for the purchase. Damn right. I could just buy another $500 crappy HP computer that won’t last me over 2 years or I can save for the one I want. Which I am doing.

    I’ll be damned if somebody gon tell me “why you buying that”…hell, if my bills are paid, I’ve saved something in the bank or rainy day fund, then hell, I work damn hard, why the hell can’t I buy myself a $1000 computer or a $300 Coach purse?!!

  58. 58.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    @Mandalay:

    Do you give a shit about human rights?

    Not him. Omnes is actually sewing together a suit of human skin he cuts off his still living victims so he can cover his own hideousness.

  71. 71.

    hoppipolla

    @ruviana: it’s just living up, or rather down, to its nym. (ruemara,i swear i wrote this comment before i saw yours.) btw, i still consider the ~$400 i spent on my dyson to be the best investment i ever made. bunnies like to make messes.

  72. 72.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    Can they both be put in the same carrier and carried on together? Some airlines will allow that. We have three, so it would definitely be tricky to take them anywhere on an airplane.

  73. 73.

    scav

    @Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: Well, you’re the fuck out of line and don’t like being called on it, except oh, that’s just who you are and what you find meaning in, because there’s no other there there in the mirror. There’s no shackle of all earnings must be spent on justice attached to money in the hands of minorities or women, unlike the cash of god-damned white males who can blow it on whatsofuckever they want.

  75. 75.

    Amir Khalid

    @lamh36:
    I remember what happened to Oprah Winfrey at that store in Switzerland, and yes, it’s hard not to conclude there’s some racism behind such incidents. Retailers are a suspicious bunch to begin with, when it comes to their patrons. Their security people are, in my experience, hardly no better than hoodlums, inclined to suspect the worst of the general public, and more than happy to try to bully you into confessing to theft even in the absence of evidence. It happened to me once.

    I don’t think I spent US$350 (over a thousand ringgit!) on all the belts I’ve ever owned, never mind on a single belt. Never been in a high-end fashion store, either, except to gawk at the price tags. But you’re quite right. That a customer bought an item you didn’t think he could afford isn’t grounds for suspecting him of anything. I hope the kid really sticks it to Barneys.

  76. 76.

    muddy

    @ruemara: My niece sent her cat by plane to South Africa from NYC, it was fine. Supposedly the cats just hunker down, and the vibration of the plane makes them fall asleep. Not that I saw a luggage compartment video, it’s just what they said. The cat was fairly old and a little on the frail side. I’m sure your cats will be okay.

  79. 79.

    Chris

    @EconWatcher:

    For an alleged news organization, this seems like it should be a big deal. I mean, they’re essentially creating fraudulent documents, in a newsworthy area, about themselves. Even for Fox News, that looks pretty bad.

    Yeah, but Both Sides Do It, so why are we singling out poor lil’ Fox News when we should be investigating whether there are any shenanigans going on at liberal news organizations?
    /wingnut
    /snark

  80. 80.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    @scav: I’m not speaking to the racism involved because I CAN’T SPEAK TO IT based on the new Balloon Juice race rules, you feckless twit.

    But it’s stupid to spend $350 on a belt and I can speak to that.

    Now stand down.

  85. 85.

    Hugely

    @lamh36: more like shopping while dumb – $350 belt? does it come with handjobs?

    ETA: lol looks like other people already started a metathread – and yes its wrong to arrest a YBM or even question his ability to buy based on melanin

  86. 86.

    askew

    @Mnemosyne:

    Maybe call HHS to find out? It doesn’t sound legal to me, but I’m not a lawyer or an HR person.

    Not a bad idea. I think I’ll do that. Seems shady.

  87. 87.

    max

    @lamh36: The treatment he got shouldn’t be warranted even if he bought a $1000 pair of cufflinks. He had the money on his card, he had identification…WHY WAS HE HANDCUFFED AND BROUGHT TO THE PRECINCT? Cause he was Black and young and therefore must be poor and what shouldn’t be allowed to spend his money any way he damn well pleased.

    He should have solid grounds for a false arrest suit. At no point have they established any cause for arresting him. (What in God’s name did they charge him with?)

    @Amir Khalid: I don’t think I spent US$350 (over a thousand ringgit!) on all the belts I’ve ever owned, never mind on a single belt. Never been in a high-end fashion store, either, except to gawk at the price tags. But you’re quite right. That a customer bought an item you didn’t think he could afford isn’t grounds for suspecting him of anything. I hope the kid really sticks it to Barneys.

    Even if they suspected him of something, they need some kind of evidence.@EconWatcher: For an alleged news organization, this seems like it should be a big deal. I mean, they’re essentially creating fraudulent documents, in a newsworthy area, about themselves. Even for Fox News, that looks pretty bad.

    Except running sock puppets on liberal blogs have been conservative SOP since at least, what, 2006? About the time the ratfuckers noticed that blogs were like, popular, man, and the kids like them, so we have to facebook on them or something.

    max
    [‘I suspect a lot of media types are running socks as well. It seems to be a thing among the older crowd, once they notice the internet at all. Fucking newbies.’]

  90. 90.

    Amir Khalid

    @Hugely:
    That belt might seem ridiculously expensive to you (it certainly does to me) but the store and the police had no right to treat the kid as a suspect just for buying it.

  91. 91.

    eemom

    So how am I supposed to know who’s real and who’s a sockpuppet at this point?

    Certainly doesn’t help matters to find out that my esteemed Omnes is a serial killer and Fuckhead is fomenting race riots.

    I iz very confused.

  94. 94.

    RAM

    @lamh36: Dick Durban, is, unfortunately, both my senator and a moron. God a fundraising email from him this past week asking for $16 to fight against the GOP and the tea baggers. I replied that I wouldn’t give him a nickel, much less $16, until he shuts up about cutting Social Security. We not only have the stupidist governor in the U.S. here in Illinois, but also two of the dumbest senators.

  98. 98.

    cckids

    @lamh36:

    I’ll be damned if somebody gon tell me “why you buying that”…hell, if my bills are paid, I’ve saved something in the bank or rainy day fund, then hell, I work damn hard, why the hell can’t I buy myself a $1000 computer or a $300 Coach purse?!!

    True, though I’d go farther. If you have the money, or the line of credit on your card, I don’t care if you’ve paid your bills yet. It’s your money. Full Stop. Maybe the young man wanted to impress a date, or had a job interview. Maybe you’ll use the computer to make more money, I don’t know, and none of it is anybody’s damn business.

    Jesus.

  100. 100.

    ruemara

    @Mnemosyne: No. They’re a little too-well, Kage is a little too big for a good fit in a carryon. I get to make his life hell with cuddles for a couple of extra days.

  102. 102.

    Trollhattan

    @lamh36:

    Well, Trayon/Trayvon, only one letter different so: Guilty, He Waz! Hopefully, Special Timmeh and his magic killer sidewalk will stay on the sidelines for this one.

    Can recall more than a few times being shadowed by the “store dick” when I was a yout, which encouraged me to handle vast amounts of merchandise I was uninterested in, but not once was I ever stopped, much less held. I hope he can get a false imprisonment suit hung ’round their pretty necks. (Confess I don’t know what Barney’s is, but if they have five-hunnert-dollar belts, that’s knowledge enough.)

  103. 103.

    Lurking Canadian

    @cckids: maybe the kid is filthy rich and $300 is pocket change. I would imagine mitt Romney’s entitled spawn made a habit of buying obscenely overpriced shit every chance they got. Probably almost never got arrested.

  104. 104.

    Cassidy

    Well geez. That young other should have known better than to be buying an expensive belt where white people shop. I bet he went through the wrong door too!

  105. 105.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @max: “. (What in God’s name did they charge him with?)”

    If I’m remembering my “Law & Order” shows correctly, no charge need be made up till 24 hours after an arrest.

    Just a procedural observation, not a defense of such a vile action.

    Speaking of “Law & Order,” tonight’s “SVU” (which I haven’t watched in years) is doing a “ripped from the headlines” play on the Anthony Weiner saga. Might haveta gonna watch that one.

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @ruemara:

    I could probably cram Annie and Charlotte into a single carrier since they’re both on the smallish side, but Keaton would definitely need to have a room of his own. They’ll probably be fine, though.

    The good thing about cats having no sense of time is that when you see them again, as far as they’re concerned, it will only have been a few days since they last saw you no matter how long it was in “human” time. Cats don’t forget.

  108. 108.

    xenos

    This is the same rationalization that is always coming from these corporate-subsidized activists on the right. First comes the accusation, out of nowhere, about some sort of corrupt practice, whether it being Soros funding all the liberal bloggers, or newspapers being funded by commies, or whatever.

    It is the perfect tell that they are doing, or have decided to do, that very thing, on an industrial scale. Who remembers when they started talking about Soros bucks… was it 2003?

    “andrightlyso.com”, in response to sadlyno.com, was early 2004, IIRC.

  109. 109.

    Li

    @ruviana: I once spent $350 dollars on a spiffy rice cooker that makes the best rice ever and talks to me in Korean. It’s like having Lady Rainicorn as my personal cook. Was that a wise purchase? Probably not. But I wasn’t hauled down to to the police station for it either.

  111. 111.

    Starlit

    @ruemara: FWIW, I had a really good experience shipping my cats across the country. I went from New Jersey to Oregon. Vet gave them kitty tranquilizers, but I got really nervous when changing planes in Chicago. I had a bit of a freakout while boarding. Said something like, “I just want to know they’re OK. That they are still knocked out.” The stewardess was still telling me that there wasn’t anything she could do when this nice guy came up and said, “I have dogs. I’ll go look.” He came back and said, “They’re still totally out.”

    Turned out he was the pilot.

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