They railed about small government (without considering, apparently, how that concept aligns with social conservative issues such as imprisonment of marijuana users; censorship of dirty movies; school prayer;
abortion; or homage to God in the national Pledge of Allegiance).They listened to local vanity-radio figure Glen Meakem -- who used government assistance to build a company, then became rich selling stock in that company to people who knew far less about the company than he did (such as whether FreeMarkets would ever be profitable, or whether the stock he was selling for $300 would soon be worth about $2) -- lecture about the evils of government and the virtues of God-fearing capitalism.
They listened to Grover Norquist, an early supporter of George W. Bush and a conduit for Jack Abramoff's moneychanging, moan about broken government.
A Tribune-Review reporter's count of Tea Party attendees approximated 400. In other words, the Furries outdrew the Tea Partiers, 10 to 1, in Pittsburgh this weekend. (Anyone know how Jane Orie staffer Alan Berlin managed the scheduling conflict?)
7 comments:
"Scheduling conflict" ...heh heh.
I'm curious about your comment about Freemarkets. What gov't assistance did they have?
Meakem's radio show is hilarious. Talk about your "Narcissistic Personality Disorders." Palin's got nothing on this guy. I can't wait until he runs for something.
FreeMarkets applied for a received a series of grants and other forms of financial assistance from government sources. Mr. Meakem understandably doesn't talk about that much . . . especially the $500,000 FreeMarkets took from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for the creation of jobs that never were created . . . when he is yapping about the evils of government and the virtues of the "free market" and private enterprise.
FreeMarkets was a miserable failure . . . unless you were one of the insiders who got to sell overpriced stock to pension fund managers, before the bubble burst and the lack of profitability was revealed to those outside the company.
What is is about today's Republicans that cause them to look to the likes of Glen Meakem, Mark Sanford and Sarah Palin for leadership?
Thanks for the tip. Interestingly, if you go to the PA DCED web site at http://www.dced.state.pa.us/investmenttracker/default.aspx and enter FreeMarkets in the applicant field, two grants turn up, both in the year 2000 -- one for 500K and one for 750K. It would be interesting to know whether the state produced any kind of efficacy reports for these...
$1.25 million . . . that's about $1.25 million more than FMKT ever earned in profit, is it not? (If anyone has quantified details on FMKT's rise and fall, please provide them.)
Meakem's current persona omits the seven-figure government aid issue, and sidesteps the non-profit nature of the company (except for the insiders selling shares to purchasers who didn't know quite as much about the company as the insiders did). It emphasizes illusory triumphs and phony self-
reliance.
I hear he hired a speech coach and is toning down the God-chose-me-to-show-others-the-way message, the better to pursue his dream of public office. I still don't understand why anyone listens to a word he says.
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
what have you done lately for your community?
(1st Anon here)
Uh 2nd Anon, do you have a point you'd like to make, or do you think you're at another Tea Party?
Meanwhile, here's a curious FreeMarkets episode:
http://securities.stanford.edu/1013/FMKT00/
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