Is he independent or works for a PR firm? This sounds like Mark Penn or Karl’s spin.

mmm, and precisely WHY go after the Humane Society?

Why attack PETA now? Is the GOP worried PETA will do some commercials showing a Sarah Palin airplane wolf hunt? Is the GOP worried about endangered species being protected?
Why Business is contracting now there is no need to drill in Alaska now oil prices are dropping.
That and the oil companies still have federal leases that they are not drilling on.
Or is there another issue PETA supports that big business is wary of?

The rethug party is all about association. Any supporter of dems that can be demonized should reflect upon the entire dem. party.

The ad was bought by the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), a front group that represents the fast food, meat and dairy industries. You might remember CCF from when they attacked Mothers Against Drunk Driving (yep, they represent big alcohol, too).

http://www.greenisthenewred.co…..errorists/

The Fast food industry is worried that factory farm meat and milk might be outlawed?
Cool is Obama giving any sign he might do this or is the GOP being Paranoid again.

True but the GOP has cried wolf once to often people don’t read newspapers as much anymore they are rejecting the Corporate message.

I think the GOP has done it 6,457 times to often but that does mean they are going to change.

Ethics violations

In the early 1990s, Berman was tied to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich through possible ethics violations involving Gingrich’s PAC (GOPAC). In 1993, Berman made a $25,000 contribution to Kennesaw State College for Gingrich’s class on “Renewing American Civilization” on condition that Gingrich teach ideas supported by EPI. House Ethics Committee reports revealed that Berman’s contribution was solicited by GOPAC and that Berman had already helped GOPAC in recruiting big donors. In the cover letter to the check, Berman thanked Gingrich for his “help” in enabling Berman to testify at a Congressional hearing on another matter of interest to the industry.
[edit]

http://www.sourcewatch.org/ind…..ick_Berman

Ah I see he is a Bagman. a front

A bag man (or bagman), is a person designated to collect money in a protection racket, who in this context may also be known as a delivery boy or running man.

Originally the term applied only to Mafia members collecting for mob bosses, but the term later spread to use in corrupt police precincts for patrolmen who picked up and delivered bribes from the local mob(s) to the precinct captain.

The bagman may receive a fraction of the money collected. The term can also be used for a person who performs small tasks for the Mafia, such as chaffeuring, transportation of goods, or even shakedowns.

The term is also used pejoratively to describe fundraisers for political parties and employees of the IRS.

The Oxford Concise Dictionary defines “Bagman” as an “agent who collects or delivers money for illicit purposes”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagman

Good I would hate for them to try something new it might work:)

P.S. The GOP has come out with a new ad (played snip on C-Span this am) that tries to link Obama to Blago.

What took them so long?

heh..so much for socalled “post-partisan” politics, eh, Barak?

The organization is another front group by sleaze propagandist Richard Berman. Among Berman’s list of hatchet jobs is a PR campaign through his American Beverage Institute to slam Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of the alcohol industry. Via the Center for Consumer Freedom, Berman wielded a literally toxic campaign for the tuna industry to encourage pregnant women to eat tuna—never mind the mercury. (AFT’s NCLBlog also points out Berman’s attacks on Robert Redford here.)

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/03…..-teachers/

I wonder if Cindy McCain gave? Mercury in Tuna sounds like the coal industry there has been a few mining disasters under Bush.
We need laws requiring that we know who is paying to manipulate the public.
What possible public good is served by keeping Berman’s supporters secret?

is this it? I didn’t catch it this morning.

Americans love puppies and kitties. People like watching Animal Cops too. Berman will lose paws down.

That is it. Thanks Elliott

Hope we find out who these “terrorists” are soon. My daughter works for the SPCA and I don’t want her associating with people like that s/

This is the kind of thing we could use to hang the GOP if we can get some sustained media attention on it. The MSM has to stop doing drivebys on the issues.
It would help ratings if they just picked a few issues and do a Crusade for months or until change happens!

ah…but is it the ‘paws’ that refreshes?

What an amazing creep this Berman is. This never ends, does it?

You have been reading Punaise too often:)

I merely worship at the feet of the master. *g

i believe the gov’t has a list of all fringe groups that are a threat to the establisment. green peace, peta, humane soc, tree huggers, science orgs, etc. pretty much includes all my social circle. guess i am in trouble.

Puns are harder than Snark sometimes.

I disagree, I think they need to present facts as they are all across the spectrum and stop the BS. I hate to see kids killed but the MSM has devoted 25% of its airtime on Kaylee. Look at what Al Jazeera manages to cover
http://english.aljazeera.net/

I get attacking PETA (from a corporate point of view), but the Humane Society???? I don’t get that. I’ve never thought of them as being political or a threat to corps. What am I missing?

Kaylee.

?

I’m talking about covering the news and explaining the issues like series of posts like the lake is doing about Obama’s AG want to be Holder.

Kaylee was a little (white) girl that disappeared, her remains (probable remains) were just found
one of those 24/7 news channel stories

I have no problem at all with covering things like the lake is doing, that is why I hang out here so much *g* but what I am saying is that the MSM needs to spend time letting us KNOW what is going on in the world and stop spending so much time on insignificant stuff.

eCHAN just saw your question I like John Dean but history has shown the Nixon pardon let the country heal?
The Nixon Pardon gave us Darth and Rummy they wanted to recreate the Nixon Presidency and they if anything learned from Nixon’s mistakes.
John Dean could not be more wrong on this.
Going after Nixon and his flunkies would have made an example of them!
The panel seems afraid of holding Bush accountable do private schools teach the French Revolution as something bad?
After the revolution France changed Europe French law, customs, the metric system influenced everyone.
The Sun King could never do what Napoleon did clearing the deadwood nobles gave France a chance at greatness.

See I switch the channel at the first sign of a missing White Women story I’m burned out on that topic.

Agreed.

Speaking of Holder, Rove’s on it.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/…..omination/

“What Scumbag Would Call The Humane Society “Terrorists”?”

Only a right wing terrorist would call someone else this to make himself better about who he really is.

Right wingers such as Berman hate anything American….including our animals.

Red Baiting is what it used to called. Same sh*t, new packaging.

What no mention of the Chiquita Banana gets convicted of aiding terrorists?
We need one Dem with a spine to challenge the GOP on why they are being quiet about that on the Sunday tv talking head shows.

Yep, you got my point exactly.

The most you could give to John Dean’s POV, it that it “healed” the country in the very short term by getting Nixon out of the headlines. But he’s giving no consideration that the Nixon pardon laid the groundwork for the strife & division under W.

I wouldn’t even give the Dean arguement credence in the short run. A full legal proceeding over Nixon would have revealed all the garbage, and the country may well have felt it was a good thing to do after they had full information. Of course, that’s a counterfactual so YMMV.

The Rs will never hold Chiquita against Holder. They would think that’s the best part of his career. It’s all about Clinton, not Holder.

According to the Virginia Terrorism Manual, a person might be a terrorist if they are an environmental and animal rights activist. (PDF)

http://www.virginianewssource……Manual.pdf

Their silence gives us an opening to discredit them if we can get airtime.

Glenn’s up
Republicans: “Take Away the Car Keys”

Diary!

here here!

Email me so I don’t miss it I’m on the fdl facebook site as ThingsComeUndone

Top o the morning, pups.

Please digg this post!

Well I think Berman’s an industry shill…but PETA is often times very ignorant in their efforts…and actions these have killed animals (e.g. mass-releasing mink into the wild which likely killed not only the mink, but the local small bird and mammal life in the forest habitat). Granted these mink were doomed, but I don’t see that this was very logical.

I’ve also had some contact with more extreme members of ALF…some that were in PETA but left because it “didn’t go far enough”. These folks are generally recognized as having burnt down an animal Veterinary caretaking facility at UC Davis’ Primate Center several decades ago…they’ve talked about doing it…and other acts (they tend to get involved with other groups…always suggesting more violent activities than the founders and the other members of the groups want).

But the Humane Society has never done anything quite like this, ASFAIK. In fact, they generally support spaying…and the improvement of ASPCA/ local Animal Management facilities to improve the lives of animals in confinement.

Cute puppies in the picture. I have another, less pressing, question regarding the current state of American policy. What kind of scumbag would brand an entire country as a terrorist state based on lies regarding ties to 9/11 and lies regarding “weapons of mass death?” That’s right, George W. Bush, Congress, U.S. media, and a majority of Americans. Yay! We’re war criminals! We’re Americans, we like trying new things!

Whether or not PETA is ignorant is beside the point: Berman uses “terrorist” to slam non-violent advocacy of the mildest possible form.

Your comment discusses your perception that PETA members who left the group for ALF did so because PETA “didn’t go far enough”. From everything I’ve read, PETA is non-violent. Conflating PETA’s actions with those of ALF is wholly misleading. (I do not think your intent was to mislead, but I wish to be very clear about these matters).

On a narrow level, I was not aware that PETA had conducted mass mink releases. Regardless of who conducts such releases (I’m only aware of ELF/ALF releases), I agree that they do pose a very real risk of extirpatiing local popualtios of indigenous species.

On a broader level, the word “terrorist” is used the same way in which “anarchist” was used after the 1999 Seattle protests and “communist/ Bolshevik (?sp) / socialist” were (and are) used as epithets against progressives and other non-vient activists for social change.

Whatever ALF may or may not have done is wholly irrelevant to the fact that corporatists’ PR flacks (such as Berman) now deploy the “T-word” on behalf of megacorps seeking to deflect and thwart legitimate non-violent progressive adovacy and organizing.

H$U$ or Rick Berman??? That’s easy. Rick Berman. Check out http://www.humanewatch.org and see with the agenda of PETA and H$U$ is. Their agenda is to “free” animals from bondage. That means freeing pets from the people who love them…you!!! Like your pet cat or dog? H$U$ doesn’t. They don’t want anyone to have pets. Their position is spay and neuter all dogs and cats. “One generation and out.” Before you give your hard-earned money to either group, please realize they don’t have shelters. They don’t give a crap about pets. They want to legislate pets out of the reach of average owners. And, they’re being quite successful.
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