Super Patriots or Super Hypocrites?

The right-wing media blowhards like Glen Beck, Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other of that contemptible ilk love to loudly proclaim their patriotism. They love even more to denounce as America-haters and traitors anyone who dares to disagree with their ideologies.

Yet these and others like them actually cheered when Chicago was not selected as the site of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Glen Beck: “Oh, it’s so sweet. Savor the moment.”

Rush Limbaugh: “I don’t deny it. I’m happy.”

Erik Erickson of RedState.com: “Hahahahaha!” (Articulate devil, isn't he!)

But why in the world were these buffoons slobbering with such delight? Clearly, Chicago’s pitch to the International Olympic Committee had nothing to do with politics, left or right. It had only to do with the huge economic benefits that would have come to the people – the American people – of that city.

Incredibly, in their tortured minds, the devastating loss to the people of Chicago was not nearly as important as the supposed loss of face for President Obama, who had flown to Copenhagen to champion Chicago’s bid for the games (photo above). And that's why they were cheering.

What a bunch of miserable, low-life, soul-less hypocrites.

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Same Old Story: Big Guys Win, Little Guys Lose.

The plight of newspapers in this country is disturbing. People have instant access to news now from the internet, most of it free. It's a phenomenon which newspapers were slow to recognize and even slower in their attempts to counter.

Jim Hightower puts out a neat little newsletter every month called the Hightower Lowdown and recounts a sad tale about the problems of one of America’s great papers in the January issue. It’s about The Tribune Company, which owns a number of the country’s leading newspapers – the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun among others – plus 23 television stations. Oh yes, and the Chicago Cubs baseball club, too.

A year ago, Chicago real estate zillionaire Sam Zell bought the Tribune Company for more than $8 billion … that’s billion, with a “B”. Well, actually, he sort of bought it. Zell put up a relatively small amount of his own cash and borrowed the rest from the ever-helpful bankers.

But here’s the catch: As part of the deal, Zell talked The Tribune Company’s CEO into letting him use the employee pension fund as collateral.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune newspaper was already getting squeezed. The economy had tightened, advertisers were cutting back, etcetera, etcetera. Ever the businessman, Zell went right to work. Newsroom staff was laid off, the paper reduced content and other cost cutting steps were taken.

But it wasn’t enough. The verable Chicago Tribune went bankrupt.

As usual, the little guys get screwed. Employees have lost their jobs and more will undoubtedly follow. And critical safety nets like severance pay and pensions are probably gone, too.

Zell lost some money, too, although for him it amounted to chump change because so much of the purchase price had been borrowed.

But, here's the kicker: According to Hightower, the CEO who helped Zell engineer that sweetheart deal got $40 million for his efforts. Citigroup and Merrill Lynch were a part of this and they got $36 million each for being "advisors." Morgan Stanley was paid $7.5 million for generating an "opinion" that sanctioned the deal.

These are the guys who got billions in bail out money from the Bushies. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?