The Disgrace Of The Fourth Estate - The Obama Media Group

Interesting times, to say the least.

President Obama's surrogates in the dinosaur media are wasting no time in attempting to clear the way for him the same way this president has always won elections - by using Alinskyite tactics to destroy opponents in advance.

It worked with Jack Ryan, whose divorce records were mysteriously unsealed by Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama's pals on the Chicago Tribune to the point where Ryan dropped out of the race and Obama coasted to an easy victory in a race he likely would have lost otherwise.

It was done to John McCain, where the campaign started with a bogus front page New York Times story about an affair he supposedly had with a lobbyist, and even continued with attacks on his war record, his age and his spouse's character.

And it was done to Governor Sarah Palin, with tons of opposition researchers combing Alaska, the setting up an entire network of local Democrat operatives, using the Journolist network to plan media strategy to demonize her, having the campaign collude with with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson in advance of the Palin interviews, mounting an organized attempt to bankrupt the Palin family and even stooping to attacking her children.

The same forces are at work once again. We've already seen the media hit jobs on Michele Bachmann attacking her religion, her relationship with her husband, and her generosity of spirit in adopting foster children. We saw how anxious the media were to jump on Herman Cain. We saw how the dinosaur media attacked the record of one of the most successful governors in America. Rick Perry.

And now, the assault is focused on Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

I think Rush Limbaugh is entirely correct that Matt Drudge threw a monkey wrench into the works by exposing the ABC interview with Newt Gingrich's ex-wife in advance.

The day before, ABC had gone after Mitt Romney with two stories so bogus they don't even qualify as intelligent commentary, let alone journalism. The first one attacked his Mormon faith directly and his charitable contributions to the Church of the LDS in terms that were designed to convey the impression of a sinister, behind the scenes religious right wing mafia in which Governor Romney's part was now 'newly uncovered'. The second focused on portraying him as a tax cheat and plutocrat with 'millions parked in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven'.

The original waited until the very end of the story to inform you that what Governor Romney was doing was entirely legal and that he pays taxes on the money. It has since been changed to include a line in the second paragraph saying 'spokesperson for the Romney campaign says Romney follows all tax laws and he would pay the same in taxes regardless of where the funds are based.'

A number of people sounded off in the comments section on how ridiculous the article was. Here's a sampling:

This article is completely uninformed and misleading. Investment groups use Cayman entities to avoid DOUBLE taxation of capital gains for foreign investors. It is not in any way depriving the US IRS of any money it is entitled to. There is no "hidden" money in this. Will the reporters simply call any reasonable corporate attorney who knows about fund formation to understand this, and then do the responsible thing - retract their story or clarify the intent of these Cayman investments. It is driving me crazy to even think about how misleading this article is. And judging by the comments, people are buying into it. Again, ask ANY corporate attorney that knows about fund formation. There is NO tax evasion that comes from this, and there is NO undeclared money in these Cayman funds. This is allowing international investors to invest through a single Cayman entity as opposed to investing through hundreds of foreign companies (German, Italian, Singaporean, etc.).


Very common for American Companies to set up operations in Cayman Islands an Bermuda. Virtually all major corporations do it. The impact has been litigated several times overs - and the tax rules are clear cut. It is common largely for corporations that self insure. There aren't all that many jobs connected with the overseas operations - a few accountants generally. Some of the resasons they do it have to do with holding foreign currencies. I don't think it is allowed here - but managing currency re-evaluations is a major risk management necessity for corporations. Nothing to see here.


Average Americans making $36,000 - $55,000 only pay 3.1% in income tax.yes, 3.1%, that's it.I'm actually impressed that Romney pays 15%, because take Obama's buddy, Warren Buffett, for example: Warren Buffett is far, far more wealthy than Romney,and Warren Buffett pays Less Than 1% in income tax.


I am writing in response to your article about Mitt Romney's use of Cayman vehicles. This is truly irresponsible reporting. I know first-hand about these structures, and they are completely legitimate. There is NOTHING unethical about this as the article's innuendo implies. This is legitimate, ethical, and the responsible thing for Bain to do for its investors. The motive for doing this is exactly as they explained. The corporations that Bain invests in pay their corporate taxes. The partners at Bain pay taxes. The investors in Bain pay taxes. They are helping their investors avoid DOUBLE taxation on capital gains. A foreign investor in say... Germany can buy a US company stock in Germany on the stock exchange. The US company will pay its taxes, so the IRS gets everything it is due. The German stockholder is ONLY liable for capital gains taxes in Germany, not the US. Now for a fund like Bain, they have investors in many countries. If Bain sets up a US corporation, LLC, or Partnership as the holding vehicle for all of their investors, then every investor will be subject to US capital gains taxes - even if they have no business, presence, or operation in the US. Then they will also have to pay their taxes in their homeland. This is ONLY because of using a US holding company. If the German investor invested directly through a German company, they would not be subject to US capital gains taxes. It isn't practical for a company like Bain to set up hundreds of holding companies for each country that they have an investor from, so they set it up in a tax jurisdiction that is neutral such as the Caymans. That way Bain doesn't have to set up hundreds of holding vehicles, and foreign investors who WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY US TAXES ON CAPITAL GAINS ANYWAY can all invest through one vehicle. This is to reduce the number of necessary entities and avoid DOUBLE taxation on capital gains, not to avoid taxes period.


Being a CPA, I know that dividends and capital gains are taxes at a 15% tax rate, What this article fails to mention is that this income comes from corporations that pay 35% in income taxes. Therefore the effective rate of this income is closer to 50%.

The entire idea was to slime Romney enough so that Gingrich either won South Carolina or finished a strong second and then unleash the interview from his ex-wife to take him out as well. Matt Drudge simply forced them to unleash it prematurely..not that it mattered to the media. CNN's John King's opening question in last night debate was to ask Newt Gingrich to respond to his ex-wife's recent television interview describing his desire for an open marriage. Gingrich's response:

GINGRICH: I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.(APPLAUSE)

KING: Is that all you want to say, sir?

GINGRICH: Let me finish.

KING: Please.

GINGRICH: Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question for a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine. (APPLAUSE)

My two daughters wrote the head of ABC and made the point that it was wrong, that they should pull it, and I am frankly astounded that CNN would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate. (APPLAUSE)

KING: As you noted, Mr. Speaker, this story did not come from our network. As you also know, it is a subject of conversation on the campaign. I'm not -- I get your point. I take your point.

GINGRICH: John -- John, it was repeated by your network. You chose to start the debate with it. Don't try to blame somebody else. You and your staff chose to start this debate with it. (APPLAUSE)

Let me be quite clear. Let me be quite clear. The story is false. Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period said the story was false. We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested because they would like to attack any Republican. They're attacking the governor. They're attacking me. I'm sure they'll presently get around to Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul.

I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.

Actually, they're already getting around to Rick Santorum, alleging that his wife had an affair with an abortionist before the Santorum's marriage - as if that has any place in a presidential campaign. They will not go after Ron Paul in great detail, and I've already explained to you why.

Meanwhile, hardly anyone in the dinosaur media has any interest in exploring Fast and Furious, Solyndra and the other Green Energy scams. Or President Obama's relationship with the Nation of Islam, Rashid Khalidi, Khalid al-Mansour and Edward Said, or his corrupt deals with people like jailed bagman Tony Rezco, Big Pharma and a host of others.

With few exceptions, they aren't journalists in any sense 0f the word. They aren't even commentators for the most part, because commentators of whatever viewpoint usually attempt to present things honestly from their own viewpoints.

They're just campaign operatives in masquerade, following marching orders from upstairs including from the White House. They're simply bought and paid for whores, with the exception that a whore generally provides value for money.

They're worthy of no respect or consideration whatsoever, and it's about time people let them know about it, and often.