New Territory

I'll be filming an episode of Pajamas TV this afternoon. Live for the very first time! Please no fat jokes (I'm working on it.)

BTW, I'm riveted by the political and economic goings-on as the next American over and, at some point, when I think I can contribute something useful to the conversation, I will. :::Yeah, I know. That's never stopped me before.:::

UPDATE: If you watched, you saw me freeze up a couple of times. Maybe I ought to have a shot of vodka before the next time, should they invite me back. Hey, it always works for the Russian oral DLPT!

Coolness factor: I got to sit next to Bill Whittle!

Thank you so much, good folks at Pajamas Media.

Comments

[Tim]

I had never heard of pajamas TV until you mentioned it...

It is the coolest thing I have seen in quite some time!

Well done PJ media!

Tim

[TruthFirst]

Looks like you got slammed for your little smear Obama stunt. How's that Kenya school fund-raising going? Remember, promises are promises!

http://www.laweekly.com/2008-09-25/news/letters-to-the-editor

[abinitioadinfinitum]

Congrats baldi, I missed it but will have to find it in their archives when I get some time. As for Bill Whittle, I really enjoyed his article you linked "Make Safe the City."

[baldilocks]

TruthFirst: One person does not a slam make. Mr. Rheault is entitled to his opinion, however unencumbered by facts it may be.

BTW, the effort is still on if you'd like to do something besides sneer.

[baldilocks]

aa,

Thanks. As nervous as I was, I'm glad that many missed it. :-)

[TruthFirst]

What facts in Mr. Rheault's account are you disputing? Do you agree Senator Obama's home in Hyde Park is a "luxury" home? Compared to what? Your modest LA abode? But "luxury" in most worlds tends to suggest the uppermost reaches.

And Mr. Rheault rightfully points out that Taves did nothing to expose you for what you are: a disgruntled individual who would stoop to exploiting a poor village school a world away to score some cheap points in a political campaign. I'm glad you have found gainful employment in the right-wing smear industry. Hey, everyone needs to pay their bills (except of course Phil Gramm's Wall St. buddies). But don't think anyone believes you have integrity or any moral high ground.

P.S. Went to your little "donation" website. Of course it is a scam. No activity as suspected (as soon as the press attention died down, you mothballed it - case closed, nothing to see here folks, move on - no Kenyan kids will be helped - afterall that was never he purpose!). Why don't you answer my pointed questions I left on the website before you try to solicit further "donations" to your little multi-level marketing ponzi scheme.

[a new reader]

Dear Baldi,

You were great on PJTV!! This was my first introduction to you and your blog. Good work! I hope next time you're more relaxed. Think of those of us on the other side of the camera smiling at you.

[Rebecca]

TruthLast: You accuse Baldilocks of political opportunism rather than real concern for a school in Kenya. The fact that she made this effort when Senator Obama, who can summon up publicity for a cause with a wave of his hand, did not do so, is an embarrassment to him. If I, or dozens of other conservative bloggers had taken up this cause, you would be correct to question our motivation.

In this case, you are profoundly wrong.

Take a look around this site, and then ask yourself, does this person have a connection to Kenya, and the Luo people in particular, that predates this election? You'll see that the answer is yes.

When the election process in January became violent, Baldilocks was the site I turned to for a deeper understanding of the events. Even when she was clearly trying to keep a journalistic detachment, the concern and compassion she felt for the people there and their suffering, came through between the lines.

If she were only interested in grabbing credit from Obama, she could throw money in the general direction of the problem, then walk away feeling good about herself and have achieved the goal. The fact that she's doing so much more, taking pains to make sure that the school will actually get the help, when it would be easier to send cash and claim credit, speaks volumes about her character and intent.

The facts expose you. You spread lies and innuendo for your own political purposes. You don't like the fact that Obama is embarrassed, so you blame Baldilocks for his shortcomings. Rant away. No one here will be swayed by your smears, so type your fingers to the bone. You fool only yourself.

[baldilocks]

Thanks, Rebecca, but when the demons screech, you know you're on the right track, so I do what I want following the 501c3 rules which I voluntarily chose to submit this effort to. If TF wants to complain to the the California authorities, it can be my guest. Otherwise it's just doing Lord Obama's silly work of "getting in their faces." And I'm laughing in its face.

[baldilocks]

Also, TF doesn't even know what an actual Ponzi scheme is. It's just using words that it heard somewhere that it thought might be appropriate. However, it's too lazy to look up the definition.

[TruthFirst]

Still waiting Baldilocks for you to point out where Mr. Rheault's letter is "unencumbered by facts." Funny how you keep "forgeting" to do that.

Since you are such a stickler for language, I'm sure you will enlighten us ASAP. No one is so enamored by Senator Obama that it inhibits us from insisting on real accountability from the likes of you.

As for the "ponzi" part - this is of course a "non-profit" scam you are running so I was using the term lightly. You act as the hub for your donor victims, promising them "high returns" in the form of assistance to a Kenyan school which you have never had a single communication with at any time. Yet somehow you have led these sheep to believe you have some special "Kenyan" connection that they themselves do not have and therefore they are completely are your mercy for this "black box" charitable giving. If you can keep the ruse up, they will keep sending you money and you will keep using it for your own private purposes.

One would think if you were serious with your stunt you would have actually made some contact with the school BEFORE you began your solicitation of donors.

I also believe you are running afoul of the charitable solicitation laws - you cannot very well solicit donations if you haven't already filed for tax-exempt status with the IRS - have you done that? Please post your filing papers if you have done so. At least that will encourage donors that at some future point they MIGHT be able to claim a tax deduction from your scheme. That of course assumes you are still bothering with your stunt in a few months time.

P.S. Anyone can file for incorporation and for CA charity status. The point is whether you actually receive 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.

[AME]

Tax-exempt status is not a prerequisite to receiving donations. If anybody has yet made a claim that current donations are tax-exempt, I missed it. And the author's application for charitable organization status is merely voluntary submission to accountability.

Juliette's connection to the particular region is well established. She has been very up front about what she is trying to do and how, and people have donated a considerable sum to the cause. So far she has done precisely zero things that would lead anyone even minimally familiar with her to think that the entire enterprise were a scam.

All of your accusations so far are completely without merit unless you have access to some insider facts opaque to the rest of us.

TruthFirst wrote: Still waiting Baldilocks for you to point out where Mr. Rheault's letter is "unencumbered by facts." Funny how you keep "forgeting" to do that.

How about a trade? You substantiate even one of your asinine accusations about Baldilocks, her charitable efforts, or her motives and we'll be all over your request. Short of that, I doubt any of us think you're worth the effort.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/3/19/

[Rebecca]

TF, you are tossing around some serious accusations. Do you think online anonymity protects you from the legal consequences of your actions?

[baldilocks]

I'm not "forgeting" anything, TF. You don't call the tune in here. I do.

[baldilocks]

How about this to all of your "requests," TF? No.

Now what are you going to do? Go all Dem activist on me?

[TruthFirst]

Thanks Juliette for proving my point!

Gee, you sure don't like it when some random outsider with their own agenda (in this case, exposing a scam, in your case, to embarrass an accomplished African-American) and absolutely no prior connection to the subject in question, starts making all kinds of demands.

But when, in the case of Senator Obama, you are the outsider, your little stunt is completely justified in your warped view of the world. However, in my case, I should just shut my trap and leave you alone! You refuse to be held accountable for your very specific "promises" to help a poor school in one of the poorest places on earth which you have chosen to use as a pawn in your twisted little game of right-wing identity politics.

I won't waste my time exposing your hypocrisy anymore. I will just check back in on your websites in a month or so. I don't expect to see much having changed. Afterall if a savvy mil-intel veteran can't find a way to contact a Kenyan schoolmaster during two whole months (Aug/Sept), we can assume it is because she isn't trying very hard. And please no excuses. The English media had no trouble making connections with the school, so why is it so hard for you? Because you have no intention of doing so!

I can't wait for a few more months of inactivity to pass so you can be shamed by the Kenyan people when they find out how their traditions and great need have been manipulated by you and your cynical ideologues.

[baldilocks]

So now you've taught me a lesson. I certainly am chagrined. :::yawn:::

LOL...dude, you're overestimating the worth of your words and you sure do yap a lot. You can stay here and keep yapping since it seems so important to you. Or you can go play activist somewhere else.

BTW, if I wanted to hide your aspersions, I could ban you or hold your comments and publish them at a time of my choosing. But frankly, besides being wrong, your assumptions are just not that important.

I don't respect your thought process--the way you arrive at your conclusions--so why should I waste my time trying to convince you of anything?