Anyone know if there's any truth to this Gloria Wise/Air America loan?

[NNguyenMD]

Judging from the fact that the ONLY people covering this story are the likes of Newsmax, Washington Times, and GOPUSA, I'm guessing there's little truth to it, but there are idiots posting on Eliot Spitzer's blog calling for him to investigate this.

I just wanted to know if anyone else knew about this too, I love Air America radio and don't want these RW bastards going after such a wonderful radio station.

Apologies for the RW link, but like I said, they're the only ones making a fuss out of this.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/8/6/112003.shtml

[Rosco T.]

1. Air America Press Release

http://www.airamericaradio.com/press/gloriawise

Statement from Air America Radio

Statement: If the allegations of mismanagement and corruption at Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club are true, it is absolutely disgraceful.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal and the HBO Documentary, Left of the Dial‚ the company that the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club officials gave money to, Progress Media, has been defunct since May 2004. That company was run at the time by Evan Cohen who has not had any involvement in Air America Radio since May 2004.

The current owners of Air America Radio have no obligation to Progress Media's business activities. We are very disturbed that Air America Radio's good name could be associated with a reduction in services for young people, which is why we agreed months ago to fully compensate the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club as a result of this transaction.

We at Air America Radio strongly believe in the mission of Boys and Girls Clubs to provide a safe and nurturing place for young people to learn and grow. As a result, we recently allowed the same club, Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club, to use our name in a fundraising effort for a summer camp for children in their community.

The funding for Camp Air America was raised and collected entirely by the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club, and Air America promoted the camp on air and urged support for it. A link on our web site sent those interested in contributing to the camp to the Gloria Wise web site. Regrettably, the camp did not survive the closure of the Gloria Wise organization. We have offered any individuals who contributed to the camp as a result of Air America's promotion the option of a refund paid for by Air America Radio and the Club offered the alternative option of having their donation redirected to Kip's Bay Boys and Girls Club.

[papau]

2. Many earlier threads explain how it is not an AAR problem

Indeed drop by their (AAR) site read the facts

[NNguyenMD]

3. sounds like another RW hack attack where they jump up and down over nothin

I'm sorry I didn't go to AAR website to read the truth myself. Thanks for helping clear that up.

[NNguyenMD]

5. btw just got back from visiting my family in SoCal, AM 1150 is a godsend

its just a breath of fresh air haveing AAR in the Los Angeles area finally. Now I'm not as sick of being stuck in traffic anymore as long as I've got AAR on the radio.

I didn't think there would be a big difference in my listening habits from having it on my podcast to just tuning in on the radio, but there is I listen to it much more often on the radio.

[Spiffarino]

4. Another RW "throw it against the wall and see if it sticks" ploy.

The fact that Scaife's monkeys are attacking AAR proves that it is becoming a powerful weapon in our arsenal. At first, they were laughing it off. Now they're attacking it.

Hooray for our side.

[checks-n-balances]

6. Right, it's a RW story. See "How to Fake News: A Primer"

at http://www.mahablog.com/2005.07.24_arch.html

This long article points out that rightwinger bloggers Michelle Malkin (!) and Brian Maloney are spreading this. Also, it discusses Evan Cohen, who was featured on the HBO special about AAR, "Left of the Dial". I wasn't surprised that this article reveals Cohen as a right-wing operative - the person who started this whole thing in the first place!

Excerpt:
"Here is another part of Air America's response to the allegation:

If the allegations of mismanagement and corruption at Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club are true, it is absolutely disgraceful.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal and the HBO Documentary, Left of the Dial‚ the company that the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club officials gave money to, Progress Media, has been defunct since May 2004. That company was run at the time by Evan Cohen who has not had any involvement in Air America Radio since May 2004.

The current owners of Air America Radio have no obligation to Progress Media‚s business activities. We are very disturbed that Air America Radio's good name could be associated with a reduction in services for young people, which is why we agreed months ago to fully compensate the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club as a result of this transaction.

The literacy challenged Brian Maloney interprets the statement above as an admission of guilt. And if AAR washed their hands of the mess entirely, I'm sure Maloney would be whining that AAR was shirking its responsibilities..."

Thanks for starting this thread, because DU needs to debunk this rumor!

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Nominate so every one can read this.

[ConsAreLiars]

8. See Wikipedia: The alleged swindler is a Republican operative

who first bought the rights to Air America and was kicked out after five weeks who seems to have swindled a lot of people. These charges involve Evan Cohen, not Air America. See the Wikipedia article section on "Early start-up difficulties" for more about the early days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_America_Radio

"Air America was started as part of Progress Media, which said it had amassed $30 million in venture capital prior to its debut, a claim which later turned out to be untrue (only $6 million was initially collected). Two individuals from Guam, Rex Sorensen and Evan Montvel Cohen, were involved in raising the capital but denied any wrongdoing. <1> Cohen had an unusual history for his position in a progressive-left radio network since he was a Republican political operative in Guam and former chief of staff for Republican Governor Tommy Tanaka. <2> Cohen dismissed concerns by saying he was a committed "progressive" and that Republicans in Guam "are left of Paul Wellstone." It was reported that Cohen had unpaid business debts in Guam, although Cohen denies this. <3> Tommy Tanaka pleaded guilty to corruption charges in 2003."

(edit title for clarity)

[Eric J in MN]

9. Evan Montvel Cohen is a Republican and a crook.

Air America got rid of him two months after going on the air.

If he did something unethical, no big surprise, but it doesn't reflect on the rest of Air America.

[Hissyspit]

10. They're comparing Air America's start-up problems with Enron??

What a joke. Thousands and thousands of investors lost their life savings over absolute deception, immoral behavior and greed by people entrusted with the public good (power/public utilities). Where's the comparison? Idiots.