Folks, I was curious about people calling the health care protests “astroturf;” meaning, the protesters are recruited to be there by right-wing fringe leaders like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and, the mobfather himself, Rush Limbaugh.
But, people seem to be missing the point. Nancy Pelosi, for example, called those asking questions of the Messiah “Un-American.” But, in 2006, she said, “I’m a fan of disruptors.”
But, if it turns out these groups are getting marching orders from groups,–in the words of Rush Limbaugh–’bout damn time.
And I completely agree. The aggressor sets the rules, folks. The left-wing loons set a precedent for disruptive behavior, and to refer to the questioning of an elected official as “Un-American” is simply that.
Now, let’s take a look at the real astroturf.
Now, I must admit, I get my marching orders from MoveOn.org. I receive their email…just so I can know what’s going on in the world outside of my God and Guns…
Here is part of an email from August 7, 2009:
Check it out–as well as just who is laying astroturf–after the jump…
Folks, this was crazy. A couple of days ago, Megyn Kelly asked Bill Burton about the “enemies list.” She asked if the White House will keep the email addresses of the people being reported. He could not, and actually refused to answer the question.
Megyn Kelly Discusses “Enemy\’s List” With WH Press Secretary:
Now, it turns out, that people are receiving unsolicited emails from the White House.
Major Garrett has received emails from folks saying they received emails from the White House.
Apparently there is a lot of “disinformation” regarding the health care system. And apparently, “Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”
They are asking you to turn in people. Folks, please. Turn me in!
Here is what you can tell them…
Matt Harrington of The Harrington Report thinks the best way to reform health care is:
Tort Reform
Matt Harrington of the Harrington Report thinks that:
Obama wants to force private insurance companies out of business.
Obama wants a single payer system.
Obama means what he said; including wanting to eliminate private health insurance. Nothing was taken out of context.
The only “misinformation” is coming from the White House.
People should continue to attend town hall meetings and give their congressmen the what for, even if they are called extremists.
So, folks, if you are reading this, please, listen to our fearless leader, turn me in. Shoot an email over to “flag@whitehouse.gov” and tell them that I am propagating propaganda.
Click above to see my email, turning myself in.
Now, call me crazy for turning myself in…but I want to know what is going on here.
Did anyone flag themselves or someone they know? Let’s hear about it!
UPDATE: Lots of views on this post. I hope you’re all reporting me!
UPDATE: WH press secretary Robert Gibbs, when asked about the flag email and he said, “I cannot understand your question.
Here is the transcript–from Whitehouse.gov, which I think is hilarious–of Robert Gibbs denying flag@whitehouse.gov.
Q Do you know how many e-mails have been sent to the flag at whitehouse.gov address? And, secondly, isn’t the White House required by law to save all correspondence it receives, so will it be informing individuals whose e-mails have been forwarded that they might want to have a chance to correct the historical record about the alleged fishiness of their e-mails?MR. GIBBS: I, for the life of me, didn’t understand your question.
Q Is the White House required to save the e-mails?
MR. GIBBS: Obviously, the National Archives documents correspondence with the White House.
Q So the people whose e-mails have been forwarded, they won’t be informed that their e-mails are being forwarded to the government?
MR. GIBBS: Maybe I’m missing something. I’m sure you’re hashing some nefarious plot, but I, for the life of me, can’t understand it.
And finally, O-man had this to say, “But I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking.”
UPDATE: August 10, 2009:
This sort of “community reporting project” is happening in my home city of Sacramento, California. They are asking folks to report their neighbors for wasting water.
For those that are out of the loop on Sacramento news and politics…apparently, we don’t have a whole lot of water…even though the river which runs behind my house has been pretty high…
I have sent another email to flag@whitehouse.gov…Check it out…
Click for full size.
UPDATE: August 17, 2009:
The White House has acknowledged that members of the general public have received unsolicited emails from the White House regarding health care reform. However, they are passing the buck onto advocacy groups saying that the groups sign their members up for updates from the White House…
So, as it turns out, the White House has removed the email address flag@whitehouse.gov. It no longer exists. They also acknowledged that folks were receiving unsolicited emails from the White House, saying,
“It has come to our attention that some people may have been subscribed to our email lists without their knowledge –- likely as a result of efforts by outside groups of all political stripes -– and we regret any inconvenience caused by receiving an unexpected message. We’re certainly not interested in anyone receiving emails from the White House who don’t want them. That’s one reason why we have never — and will never — add names from a commercial or political list to the White House list.
Now, if I could just stop everyone there for just a second, the egregious grammatical error in the second sentence is really rather stunning…
Now, this news doesn’t mean that they have stopped collecting information. They have retooled their mechanism and are now going through the Reality Check website…
Today we have some exciting new features that we are excited to implement here at the Report.
First, there are new ways to have the your favorite newsblog brought to you, not at all unlike a dog trained to bring you your slippers and a newspaper after a long day. Just head on over to the Become a Friend of the Reportpageand do just that–become a friend of The Harrington Report! After you sign up for the RSS Feed (the easiest way to get the most up to the second content) make sure you sign up for the Email subscription service to get a recap of the day’s stories sent to you, and don’t forget about Twitter and Facebook!
Second: today we are introducing two new ways to keep in touch with the stories that the Report will be paying special attention to. Certain posts will have and icon at the top left that reads either “Breaking” or “Featured”. These badges are an easy way for you, our intrepid reader, to know at a glance what stories we are keeping an eye on. And if you want to quickly filter out only stories that are “Breaking” or “Featured”, simply click on the icons to open up a collection of only those stories! Whose got your back? Oh, that would be your friends at The Harrington Report.
Here’s what the badge for Breaking stories looks like:
And here is what you will see adorning a Featured story:
Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?
Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore?
Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?
If so, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull the curtain away you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.
We surround them.
So, how do we show America what’s really behind the curtain? Below are nine simple principles. If you believe in at least seven of them, then we have something in common. I urge you to read the instructions at the end for how to help make your voice heard.
Ladies and Gentlemen, after your massive response to the We Surround Them article, Glenn Beck has added the next part of his We Surround Them plan. Here it is.
