I saw this awesome Pattaya Girls site for Pattaya News today…

Just wondering.

Just wondering.

isn't the point of sending people out to show the flag to show the flag, the public option? Isn't the point of having a communication department to go over HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, isn't it to avoid unintentional answers(do you know who Andy Reid is?)? Isn't it possible to explain that you are negotiating in conference to achieve the the public option? Isn't it possible to act like its a done deal?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33384395/ns/enterta…

Really, we have to get better at celebrating our own achievements and telling our story.

By LISA LERER & MICHAEL CALDERONE | 10/19/09 11:38 AM EDT
Updated: 10/19/09 2:44 PM EDT

n a dramatic shift, the Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that it is throwing its support behind climate change legislation making its way through the U.S. Senate.

Only it didn’t.

An email press release announcing the change is a hoax, say Chamber officials.

Several media organizations fell for it.

A CNBC anchor interrupted herself mid-sentence Monday morning to announce that the network had “breaking news,” then cut away to reporter Hampton Pearson, who read from the fake press release.

Pearson quickly followed up with a second report saying the “so-called bulletin” was an “absolute hoax.” Smelling a rat, CNBC’s Larry Kudlow demanded to know whether the White House had been involved.

In a story posted Monday morning, Reuters declared: “The Chamber of Commerce said on Monday it will no longer opposes climate change legislation, but wants the bill to include a carbon tax.”

Reuters updated the story to acknowledge the hoax, but it was too late: The Washington Post and the New York Times had already posted the fake story on their Web sites.

“Reuters has an obligation to its clients to publish news and information that could move financial markets, and this story had the potential to do that,” said a Thomson Reuters spokesperson. “Once we had confirmed the release was a hoax, we immediately issued a correction, and in keeping with Reuters policy, the story was subsequently withdrawn and an advisory sent to readers.”

The Yes Men, a left-leaning activist group that often impersonates officials from organizations they oppose, took responsibility for the hoax.

Andy Bichlbaum—an alias the activist uses for Yes Men demonstrations—told POLITICO that his group is targeting the Chamber for what he considers “retrograde” positions on climate change.

“Clearly, there is a question of who is hoaxing who,” Bichlbaum said. “I think the Chamber is hoaxing the American public at this point.”

Bichlbaum said that activists will continue targeting the organization. Bichlbaum said the Yes Men got help with their prank from members of the AVAAZ Action Factory, an activist group, and BeyondTalk.net, an environmental website.

AVAAZ has not returned calls for comment. But a post on the group’s Web site said it had plans to “make this the worst Monday ever for the anti-climate PR machine at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28456…

President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the Sidwell Friends schools Monday morning, stopping at both …

… Sidwell Bethesda and Sidwell D.C. to join the first lady for parent-teacher meetings.

He returned to the White House just after 9 a.m.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1009/su…

* 2009,
* Hillary Clinton ,
* Newspapers,
* Secretary of State,
* State Department

Official writes in to defend HRC

A U.S. official writes to push back against an Al Kamen piece on Hillary Clinton and her “gatekeeper” chief of staff Cheryl Mills today. The latter “has made entry to Clinton's suite something like penetrating the Green Zone in Baghdad,” Kamen writes. Though the official doesn't want to be identified, it's fair to say that he's a policy staffer who was aligned with Obama's campaign and is not part of HRC's inner circle.

“I trust you saw the piece this morning on complaints about Secretary Clinton maintaining a closed circle and the fingerpointing at Cheryl Mills. I wanted to push back on that. Secretary Clinton has gone out of her way to interact and engage with career State Department staff at every turn. She regularly takes turns to congratulate and praise staff on jobs well done — in late September, she spoke to the many Department staffers who helped out with the preparations for the UN General Assembly meetings, including the President's chairmanship of an unprecedented UN Security Council session. Today, she is stopping by at an awards ceremony for staff in the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs.”

“More broadly, this Secretary has maintained an open door when it comes to soliciting outside advice. She regularly holds roundtables in her 7th floor offices with Department staff to hash through issues. She enjoys hosting dinners at her home where she can engage with outside experts and get a reality check.”

“There are other, valid criticisms of the Secretary. Contending that she is a remote figure who has walled off the people working for her at State is unfounded and absurd.”

More from Ben, who previously reported that “Mills been a hard-liner during the Clinton campaign, pushing for sharper-edged attacks on Obama. She brought some of that stance to State, where she fought tooth and nail in the early days of the administration to control mid-level staff jobs, like the agency's White House liaison, and to ensure that those jobs went to 'Hillary people' rather than 'Obama people.'”

http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/1009/O…