Re: Continuing on: Why lawsuits are so difficult.

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

You didn't know that many, many of these 'grassroots groups' are fake?

They are set up by PR firms that specialize in this kind of lobbying and

'activism'.

They have drawers full of phones with individual numbers, one for each

group, and

they even have special printers that can write handwritten letters..

On 6/20/07, snk1955@... <snk1955@...> wrote:

>

> Below is a link to Source watch. They are writing about a " grassroots "

> group that calls itself Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. They are funded by

>

> , among others according to Source watch.

>

> _

> http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_Against_Lawsuit_Abuse_

> (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_Against_Lawsuit_Abuse)

>

>

> Another " grassroots " group is SickofLawsuits.org. I did a little research

> on this org at one time. If I remember correctly, it went back to

> organizations like the US Chamber and was linked with CALA.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sharon, doing some looking around the net, I found some posts on

astroturf (as its called) groups.. they describe how they do it..

They pervert the democratic process with this garbage..

http://www.rationalgrounds.com/mt-archives/2005/06/deceiving_us_ha.html

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006420.html

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_06_05.php#005795

[Guest guest]

Quackadillian,

Yep. Much of the information that comes to us today is not simply free

thought being shared. It is an organized marketing of a concept meant to sway

public opinion for the financial benefit of others. Although insidious and

manipulative, that in itself is not the most egregious aspect of the matter.

The

real danger in the situation is when one delves into these marketed

concepts, what they are promoting is grossly spun to hide the true purpose of

the

matter. In other words, the American public is being lied to in many ways and

on

many levels. This stuff has always gone on, but since the Bush

Administration entered the White House in the year 2000, the mass marketing of

misinformation has become blatant and pervasive. The Weapons of Mass

Destruction

fiasco is a prime illustration of how this works. Intelligent design is

another.

Some marketing words that always put me on alert and cause me to look

further are:

" Reform " , as in tort reform, lawsuit reform, workers comp reform.

" Sound " , as in sound science, sound economics.

" American " in the title of an association (this one does not always hold

true, just makes me look further)

" Personal accountability " , as in I got mine, why don't you have yours and I

am justified in not helping you.

" Citizens for " ....I suppose corporations could be citizens.

Below is a document from the tobacco legacy library,

collection, describing the conceptualization and marketing of " sound science " .

Below

that, is an overview paper of the concept.

Burson-Marsteller. Scientists for Sound Public Policy: assessment project

and symposium. 1994. Document no. 2028363773/3791. Available at:

_http://www.pmdocs.com_ (http://www.pmdocs.com)

_http://www.pmdocs.com/PDF/2028363773_3791_0.PDF_

(http://www.pmdocs.com/PDF/2028363773_3791_0.PDF)

_http://www.tobaccoscam.ucsf.edu/pdf/9.6-Ong & Glantz-JunkScience.pdf_

(http://www.tobaccoscam.ucsf.edu/pdf/9.6-Ong & Glantz-JunkScience.pdf)

BTW, who is Bursen-Marsteller and what are they doing today? This one will

shock you.

www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Burson-Marsteller

Sharon

In a message dated 6/20/2007 8:27:51 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

quackadillian@... writes:

Sharon, doing some looking around the net, I found some posts on

astroturf (as its called) groups.. they describe how they do it..

They pervert the democratic process with this garbage..

_http://www.rationalhttp://www.rhttp://www.rhttp://www.ratiohttp://www.r_

(http://www.rationalgrounds.com/mt-archives/2005/06/deceiving_us_ha.html)

_http://nielsenhaydehttp://nielsenhahttp://nielhttp://niel_

(http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006420.html)

_http://www.talkingphttp://wwwhttp://www.tahttp://wwwhttp://wwwhttp:/_

(http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_06_05.php#005795)

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

Thank you for posting all of these documents and links!

What strikes me as very disturbing is the way these PR organizations try to

portray their point of view as being 'scientific'.

Obscuring and obfuscating important public health issues is really a

terrible thing and these tactics should be examined closely so

that the scientific community can develop safeguards against people using

these *propaganda* tactics and then trying to portray themselves

as scientists.

It is NOT science, what they are doing. They may use a little bit of science

for political cover, but the overwhelming

thrust of what they do is mislead and deceive.