Ahhh, we live on the best planet in the Universe. This morning...riding waves on a tilted axis, as the earth rotates and the sun seemingly rises out of the water. Orange-golden glittering warmth splashing across the cresting, churning volume of liquid variegating from black to purple to blue, like the canopy of sky above.
And waves upon waves barreling toward the shore, making tunneled slides for surfers. On the sand the crumbled waves hiss just before they recede back into the ocean to make more water mountains to ride.
Friday, October 2, 2009
WARNING: Email propaganda...Cande = Conjecture and Exaggeration
Fande = Fact & Evidence; Cande = Conjecture and Exaggeration
Just because someone says or writes something does not make it true. There are a lot of unsubsantiated accusations here (playing on emotional biases) with little to no proof. Let's research if the following information is true or false.
Here is an email sent to one of my colleagues today, October 2, 2009...
* CAVEAT: Read with caution. Sharpen your critical thinking skills, 'cause here comes some Cande.
**************************EMAIL BEGINS***********************************
Subject: "Important for MI and AMERICA! Who 'owns' Chrysler???????????"
Body of email:
[My comments will appear in brackets]
"I don't know if this is true or not. After reading this I have such a pit in my stomach. Could this be true? Maybe you already knew this...I did not. Very Scary.... Chrysler's 'Real' CEO
This could be a scandal of epic proportions and one that makes Nixon's Watergate or Clinton 's Monica Lewinsky affair pale by comparison [what about Bush starting a war in Iraq under false pretenses or the Bush/Paulson $700 billion bailout for the financial meltdown?] Why was there neither rhyme nor reason as to which dealerships of the Chrysler Corporation were to be closed? Roll the clock back to the weeks just before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Chrysler, like GM, was in dire financial straights and federal government "graciously" offered to "buy the company" and keep them out of bankruptcy and "save jobs." Chrysler was, in the words of Obama and his administration, "Too big to fail," same story with GM.
The feds organized their "Automotive Task Force" to fix Chrysler and GM. Obama, in an act that is 100% unconstitutional [Got proof?], appointed a guy named Steve Rattner to be the White House's official Car Czar- literally - that's what his title is [that's not really his title]. Rattner is the liaison between Obama, Chrysler, and GM.
Initially, the national media reported that Chrysler had made this list of dealerships. That is not true. The Washington Examiner, Newsmax, Fox New and a host of other news agencies discovered that the list of dealerships was put together by the "Automotive Task Force" headed by no one other than Mr. Steve Rattner.
[Are these trustworthy sources of information? The Washington Examiner & Newsmax, let's find out more about them.]
Now the plot thickens. [What plot?] Remember earlier we said that there was neither rhyme nor reason [no rhyme or reason?] why certain dealerships were closed? Actually there's a very interesting [how interesting is it?] pattern as to who was closed down. Again, on May 27, 2009, The Washington Examiner and Newsmax [questionable sources of information] exposed the connection. Amazingly, of the 789 dealerships closed by the federal government, 788 had donated money, exclusively to Republican political causes, while contributing nothing to Democratic political causes [DOGMA = assertion without proof; who is making these unsubstantiated accusations? Got proof?]. The only 'Democratic' dealership on the list was found to have donated $7,700 to Hillary's campaign, and a bit over $2,000 to John Edwards. This same dealership, reportedly, also gave $200.00 to Obama's campaign. Does that seem a little odd to you? [Got proof? Where's the pudding?]
[Coincidence? Maybe. More to the point: is the accusation true?]
Steve Rattner is the guy who put the list together. Well he happens to be married to a Maureen White. Maureen happens to be the former national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As such, she has access to campaign donation records from everyone in the nation, Republican or Democrat. But of course, this is just a wacky 'coincidence,' we're certain.
Then comes another really wacky 'coincidence.' On that list of dealerships being closed down, a weird thing happed in Arkansas , North Louisiana, and Southern Missouri . It seems that Bill Clinton's former White House Chief of Staff, Mack McClarty, owns a chain of dealership in that region, partnered with a fellow by the name of Robert Johnson. Johnson happens to be founder of Black Entertainment Television and was a huge Obama supporter and financier. These guys own a half dozen Chrysler stores under the company title of RLJ-McClarty-Landers. Interestingly, none of their dealerships were ordered closed - not one! while all of their competing Chrysler/Dodge and Jeep dealership were! Eight dealerships located near the dealerships owned by McClarty and Johnson were ordered shut down. Thus by pure luck, these two major Obama supporters now have virtual monopoly on Chrysler sales in their zone. Isn't that amazing? Go look in The Washington Examiner, the story's there, and it's in a dozen or so other web-based news organizations; this isn't being made up. [Got proof? Got named sources? Assertions without proof = DOGMA.]
Now if you thought Chrysler was owned by Fiat, you are mistaken. Under the federal court ruling, 65% of Chrysler is now owned by the federal government and the United Auto Worker's union- Fiat owns 20%. The other 15% is still privately owned and presumably will be traded on the stock market. Obama smiles and says he doesn't want to run the auto industry.
As horrifying as this is to comprehend, and being as how this used to be the United States of America , it would appear that the president has the power to destroy private businesses and eliminate upwards of 100,000 jobs just because they don't agree with his political agenda. This is Nazi Germany [DEMAGOGUERY & AD-HOMINEM ATTACK: playing on emotional biases and name-calling, instead of debating the subject of discussion with fact & evidence] stuff, and it's happening right here, right now, in our back yard.. There are voices [Whose voices? Got a named source?] in Washington demanding an explanation, but the "Automotive Task Force" has released no information to the public or to any of the senators [Which senators? Got a named source?]. demanding answers for what has been done. Keep your ear to the ground for more on this story. If you've ever wanted to make a difference about anything in your life, get on the phone to your national senator or representative in the House and demand an investigation into this.
Benjamin Franklin had it right when he said, 'All that's necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.' Car Czar No More. An amazing thing happened as this story was going to press. Obama's Car Czar, Steve Rattner, resigned on July 13 and was promptly replaced by former steel workers union boss Ron Bloom.
According to CBS News [got a named source?], Rattner left 'to return to private life and spend time with his family.' Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said, 'I hope that he takes another opportunity to bring his unique skills to government service in the future.'
By the way, Rattner is under investigation for a multi-million dollar pay-to-play investment bank scandal in New York . Uh-oh! But, we're certain that had nothing to do with his resignation. And, according to several news sources [names of these news sources?] out there, there are rumors [rumors? Got FANDE?] he's being investigated for what could be pay-to-play scandal involving the closing of Chrysler and GM dealerships. Really? Again, that couldn't have anything to with his resignation- that's ridiculous! Like CBS [got a named source?] said, this guy just wants to 'spend more quality time with his family.' Obama has 32 personally appointed "czars" who answer to no one but him, all of whom are acting without any Constitutional authority [Not true!...see NY Times link below for counter argument]. But hey, we're sure they all have 'unique skills,' as Tim Geithner likes to say!"
*****************************END OF EMAIL********************************
Here are the articles from the Washington Examiner and Newsmax, as well as the same stories reported by the New York Times...
FANDE from the NY Times:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/czar-wars/?pagemode=print
"Just to be clear, the job title 'czar' doesn’t exist in the Obama Administration. Many of the officials cited by conservative commentators have been confirmed by the Senate."
CANDE (written by Newsmax, as noted at bottom of article):
http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/chrysler_republicans/2009/05/27/218757.html
FANDE (written by the Associated Press, or AP, as noted at bottom of article):
http://www.newsmax.com/us/senate_dealer_closings/2009/06/03/220882.html
FANDE from the NY Times...
Chrysler Plans to Shut 1 in 4 of Its U.S. Dealers
By BILL VLASIC and NICK BUNKLEY
The carmaker sent letters to 789 of its 3,200 American dealers revoking their franchises.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/15dealers.html?emc=eta1
BUSINESS May 28, 2009
DealBook: Rattner Had Investment in Cerberus
By DealBook
Steven Rattner, one of the president's leading advisers on the automotive industry, was an investor in the investment fund that controlled Chrysler and GMAC, according to financial disclosures released by the government.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/auto-adviser-to-obama-had-ties-to-industry-fund/?emc=eta1
BUSINESS July 22, 2009
Obama Auto Adviser Tells Lawmakers Not to Undo Dealer Closings
By NICK BUNKLEY
The head of President Obama's auto task force warned Congress that halting the closure of dealerships could threaten G.M.'s and Chrysler's turnarounds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/business/22auto.html?emc=eta1
* Bring your Fande, leave your Cande.
Just because someone says or writes something does not make it true. There are a lot of unsubsantiated accusations here (playing on emotional biases) with little to no proof. Let's research if the following information is true or false.
Here is an email sent to one of my colleagues today, October 2, 2009...
* CAVEAT: Read with caution. Sharpen your critical thinking skills, 'cause here comes some Cande.
**************************EMAIL BEGINS***********************************
Subject: "Important for MI and AMERICA! Who 'owns' Chrysler???????????"
Body of email:
[My comments will appear in brackets]
"I don't know if this is true or not. After reading this I have such a pit in my stomach. Could this be true? Maybe you already knew this...I did not. Very Scary.... Chrysler's 'Real' CEO
This could be a scandal of epic proportions and one that makes Nixon's Watergate or Clinton 's Monica Lewinsky affair pale by comparison [what about Bush starting a war in Iraq under false pretenses or the Bush/Paulson $700 billion bailout for the financial meltdown?] Why was there neither rhyme nor reason as to which dealerships of the Chrysler Corporation were to be closed? Roll the clock back to the weeks just before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Chrysler, like GM, was in dire financial straights and federal government "graciously" offered to "buy the company" and keep them out of bankruptcy and "save jobs." Chrysler was, in the words of Obama and his administration, "Too big to fail," same story with GM.
The feds organized their "Automotive Task Force" to fix Chrysler and GM. Obama, in an act that is 100% unconstitutional [Got proof?], appointed a guy named Steve Rattner to be the White House's official Car Czar- literally - that's what his title is [that's not really his title]. Rattner is the liaison between Obama, Chrysler, and GM.
Initially, the national media reported that Chrysler had made this list of dealerships. That is not true. The Washington Examiner, Newsmax, Fox New and a host of other news agencies discovered that the list of dealerships was put together by the "Automotive Task Force" headed by no one other than Mr. Steve Rattner.
[Are these trustworthy sources of information? The Washington Examiner & Newsmax, let's find out more about them.]
Now the plot thickens. [What plot?] Remember earlier we said that there was neither rhyme nor reason [no rhyme or reason?] why certain dealerships were closed? Actually there's a very interesting [how interesting is it?] pattern as to who was closed down. Again, on May 27, 2009, The Washington Examiner and Newsmax [questionable sources of information] exposed the connection. Amazingly, of the 789 dealerships closed by the federal government, 788 had donated money, exclusively to Republican political causes, while contributing nothing to Democratic political causes [DOGMA = assertion without proof; who is making these unsubstantiated accusations? Got proof?]. The only 'Democratic' dealership on the list was found to have donated $7,700 to Hillary's campaign, and a bit over $2,000 to John Edwards. This same dealership, reportedly, also gave $200.00 to Obama's campaign. Does that seem a little odd to you? [Got proof? Where's the pudding?]
[Coincidence? Maybe. More to the point: is the accusation true?]
Steve Rattner is the guy who put the list together. Well he happens to be married to a Maureen White. Maureen happens to be the former national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As such, she has access to campaign donation records from everyone in the nation, Republican or Democrat. But of course, this is just a wacky 'coincidence,' we're certain.
Then comes another really wacky 'coincidence.' On that list of dealerships being closed down, a weird thing happed in Arkansas , North Louisiana, and Southern Missouri . It seems that Bill Clinton's former White House Chief of Staff, Mack McClarty, owns a chain of dealership in that region, partnered with a fellow by the name of Robert Johnson. Johnson happens to be founder of Black Entertainment Television and was a huge Obama supporter and financier. These guys own a half dozen Chrysler stores under the company title of RLJ-McClarty-Landers. Interestingly, none of their dealerships were ordered closed - not one! while all of their competing Chrysler/Dodge and Jeep dealership were! Eight dealerships located near the dealerships owned by McClarty and Johnson were ordered shut down. Thus by pure luck, these two major Obama supporters now have virtual monopoly on Chrysler sales in their zone. Isn't that amazing? Go look in The Washington Examiner, the story's there, and it's in a dozen or so other web-based news organizations; this isn't being made up. [Got proof? Got named sources? Assertions without proof = DOGMA.]
Now if you thought Chrysler was owned by Fiat, you are mistaken. Under the federal court ruling, 65% of Chrysler is now owned by the federal government and the United Auto Worker's union- Fiat owns 20%. The other 15% is still privately owned and presumably will be traded on the stock market. Obama smiles and says he doesn't want to run the auto industry.
As horrifying as this is to comprehend, and being as how this used to be the United States of America , it would appear that the president has the power to destroy private businesses and eliminate upwards of 100,000 jobs just because they don't agree with his political agenda. This is Nazi Germany [DEMAGOGUERY & AD-HOMINEM ATTACK: playing on emotional biases and name-calling, instead of debating the subject of discussion with fact & evidence] stuff, and it's happening right here, right now, in our back yard.. There are voices [Whose voices? Got a named source?] in Washington demanding an explanation, but the "Automotive Task Force" has released no information to the public or to any of the senators [Which senators? Got a named source?]. demanding answers for what has been done. Keep your ear to the ground for more on this story. If you've ever wanted to make a difference about anything in your life, get on the phone to your national senator or representative in the House and demand an investigation into this.
Benjamin Franklin had it right when he said, 'All that's necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.' Car Czar No More. An amazing thing happened as this story was going to press. Obama's Car Czar, Steve Rattner, resigned on July 13 and was promptly replaced by former steel workers union boss Ron Bloom.
According to CBS News [got a named source?], Rattner left 'to return to private life and spend time with his family.' Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said, 'I hope that he takes another opportunity to bring his unique skills to government service in the future.'
By the way, Rattner is under investigation for a multi-million dollar pay-to-play investment bank scandal in New York . Uh-oh! But, we're certain that had nothing to do with his resignation. And, according to several news sources [names of these news sources?] out there, there are rumors [rumors? Got FANDE?] he's being investigated for what could be pay-to-play scandal involving the closing of Chrysler and GM dealerships. Really? Again, that couldn't have anything to with his resignation- that's ridiculous! Like CBS [got a named source?] said, this guy just wants to 'spend more quality time with his family.' Obama has 32 personally appointed "czars" who answer to no one but him, all of whom are acting without any Constitutional authority [Not true!...see NY Times link below for counter argument]. But hey, we're sure they all have 'unique skills,' as Tim Geithner likes to say!"
*****************************END OF EMAIL********************************
Here are the articles from the Washington Examiner and Newsmax, as well as the same stories reported by the New York Times...
FANDE from the NY Times:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/czar-wars/?pagemode=print
"Just to be clear, the job title 'czar' doesn’t exist in the Obama Administration. Many of the officials cited by conservative commentators have been confirmed by the Senate."
CANDE (written by Newsmax, as noted at bottom of article):
http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/chrysler_republicans/2009/05/27/218757.html
FANDE (written by the Associated Press, or AP, as noted at bottom of article):
http://www.newsmax.com/us/senate_dealer_closings/2009/06/03/220882.html
CANDE (written by the Editorial Page editor of the Washington Examiner):
FANDE or CANDE?...Who is John R. Lott and his son Maxim, and why do their opinions matter?
FANDE from the NY Times...
Chrysler Plans to Shut 1 in 4 of Its U.S. Dealers
By BILL VLASIC and NICK BUNKLEY
The carmaker sent letters to 789 of its 3,200 American dealers revoking their franchises.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/15dealers.html?emc=eta1
BUSINESS May 28, 2009
DealBook: Rattner Had Investment in Cerberus
By DealBook
Steven Rattner, one of the president's leading advisers on the automotive industry, was an investor in the investment fund that controlled Chrysler and GMAC, according to financial disclosures released by the government.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/auto-adviser-to-obama-had-ties-to-industry-fund/?emc=eta1
BUSINESS July 22, 2009
Obama Auto Adviser Tells Lawmakers Not to Undo Dealer Closings
By NICK BUNKLEY
The head of President Obama's auto task force warned Congress that halting the closure of dealerships could threaten G.M.'s and Chrysler's turnarounds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/business/22auto.html?emc=eta1
* Bring your Fande, leave your Cande.
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