Cliff LyonWhy We Need Blogs Like OneUtah
My good friend and blogger Ken Bingham of Oblogatory Anecdotes, much to my disappointment, continues to perfect the art of shrilling for the ultra-conservative right-wing.
Sadly, extremist blogs, threaten the greater potential of this medium by giving credence to common and justified criticisms. As Joe Klein put it recently, “Well I bow to nobody in, in my disdain for bloggers. They’re all opinions and very little information.
Smack in the middle of the overstated mantra that our country is sharply divided between two ideologies; liberal and conservative, are the 80% of us who really just want the truth.
This is the milieu in which OneUtah.org is born.
Ken’s Saturday post is a classic example of why the right-wing propaganda machine has been so successful. Taking orders from no one, but rather cues from many, Ken takes a headline, “Bush-Bashing Black Charity Sits on Katrina Cash†from one of Brent Bozell’s propaganda tools posing as a news source , and rephrases it to become “Rep. William Jefferson, Democrat - Louisiana, Caught In Katrina Money Scandal!â€
Then, as if excerpting from the article, he does a little editorializing of his own. Nowhere in the article does it say “none of the nearly $400,000 raised to that point had been distributed.â€
What the article actually does say is, “She added that the distribution of the money would not begin until January or February of 2006 at the earliest.â€
Q: So, what is really going on here? A: There is $400,000 for Katrina relief sitting in an account controlled by and organization that has criticized Bush, just like the article’s title.
That’s it. No scandal, no investigation and certainly NOT a discussion that lends itself in anyway to Ken’s greater “oblogation†to subordinate “strength of conviction†in the quest for objective knowledge in such a way as to advantage his community.
January 22nd, 2006 at 3:15 pm
The point of the story is to illustrated hypocrisy at its highest level. How can the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) chaired by Rep. William Jefferson, Democrat – Louisiana, criticize President Bush for “dragging his feet” at the same time drag their feet as well? What makes it particularly galling is they are and sitting on the money meant for the very people they claim to support and advocate for. Hopefully by shining light on this organization it will pressure them into distributing the money that is not rightfully theirs.
$400,000 was raised. Almost half of that was given to another organization close to Rep. William Jefferson, Democrat - Louisiana. How much interest has accumulated, and will the interest also be distributed to the people it was intended, or will it too be sat upon to enrich those that claim to only want to help?
They say they will distribute it in January or February of this year. Why is it taking so long? It seems to me the people of New Orleans affected by the Hurricane needed it several months ago, not January, February or whatever time is convenient for the CBCF, chaired by Rep. William Jefferson, Democrat – Louisiana.
January 22nd, 2006 at 5:57 pm
Your much-appreciated comment leaves me still wanting for several things;
1. An explanation your decision to entitle your post “Rep. William Jefferson, Democrat - Louisiana, Caught In Katrina Money Scandal!†in light of the absence of any suggestion that I could find that anyone has been “caught†in any kind of “scandalâ€.
2. That you presented your own words “none of the nearly $400,000 raised to that point had been distributed.†As excerpted from the Cybernews article.
As for your response that “Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) chaired by Rep. William Jefferson, Democrat – Louisiana, criticize President Bush for “dragging his feetâ€. I found NO EVIDENCE of such criticism in this article from their website.
It would appear that you have pulled a “guilt be association†ploy, assigning the criticisms of others to an organization by virtue of loose affiliation.
Lastly, you assertion of hypocrisy assumes the CBCF and The Federal Government are equally responsible for Katrina relief efforts. They are not.
The criticism of the Bush administration’s response to Katrina is far and wide, and undisputed (I believe Bush fired Brownie). Why is it any more the responsibility of an organization that has raised money for Katrina victims to disperse it some erroneous time-frame, than it is for an organization that is still in the process of raising money?
The apparent targeting of at least 4 black groups and other black leaders in the Cybernews article for what, I’m still not sure, smacks of, well, what it smacks of.
January 23rd, 2006 at 12:42 am
Ok Cliff
I did go ahead and put a question mark on my posts title because it only has the potential to become a full blown scandal. I do concede that point, but not the overall point of the post. The CBCF should make their intentions more clear. They owe it to the good people that donated and the Katrina victims the money is intended to help.
January 23rd, 2006 at 4:30 pm
Whats nice about the internet is that no matter how loud the music, you can still see whos got the chops.
January 23rd, 2006 at 10:04 pm
Ken, you are a shameless, scandalous, fire starter. Does your wife know what you are doing? - Lucy
January 23rd, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Ken, Are you singling out black people? Do you know how many other organizations have raised money for Katrina that have yet to disperse it?
Its quite a difficult process. How do you decide where it should go? How do you make sure you are not duplicating efforts with the feds?
Do you do scholarships in small chunks, and hire adminstrators? Or do you find one big project for the whole ball o’ wax?
The feds haven’t even doled out the FEMA money?
Wait…YOU”RE A FREEPER?
Do you have a website?
January 24th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Cornereddog
We have to watch any group that raises money for any particular cause. We have seen the problems that can arise by the example of the American Red Cross with their handling of 911 contributions. Organizations should have clear and written policies regarding when and how the money is to be distributed. Any tax exempt group except for churches is required to have open books. It should all be public record on what they are doing with donor’s money.
My criticism has nothing to do with race. It is all about accountability. The government in Louisiana isn’t bad because they are black, it is bad because of rampant corruption and incompetence. It is not racist to shine light on this fact.
May 1st, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Cliff it was great to see you at the impeachment on saturday.My wife and i try to get involved with our community as much as we can.we have seen you in our community and like all the hard work you are doing on these great campaign trails.Keep up the good work!! This web site is one that is very informative,
and helps me keep up with what is really going on.
Thank-you,
Mike and Lisa Robinson