Catch 'O The Day

by digby

Susie Madrak made an absolutely excellent catch :

You find the darndest things on Craigslist, don’t you?

Looks like the The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is putting together another scare piece (remember “I.O.U.S.A.”?) to use in their latest attempt to kill Medicare and Social Security.

Are they ever. Here's the ad:

A New York City Production Company is looking for participants for a documentary web series about the financial issues facing everyday people. We are interviewing real people, not actors, talking about their lives, experiences, and thoughts about one or more of the major issues facing Americans today.

We are looking to cover stories from as many different ethnicities and political viewpoints as possible. Whatever your age, background, or income, if you have an interesting story, we'd love to hear from you.

Since this is documentary journalism we can not by law compensate the interviewees but we will pay for travel and food. The shoot should take a few hours and we will do our best to schedule around your convenience.

You will be helping other people by telling your story. Other Americans who feel alienated and hopeless will gain comfort by knowing they are not alone. And together we can make a difference in the future of our country and for our children.

The videos are for The Peter G Peterson Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan, organization whose only mission is to educate the American people about the country's financial situation and incite them to take action on their behalf.

You don't have to be a political expert to participate. We just want to know your personal story.

The topics are:

1. The Healthcare System - What it does to the participants and the need for reform in a way that works.
2. The Tax System - How complicated and unfair it is.
3. Social Security and Medicare - What will happen to the younger generations once the Entitlements go broke.
4. The Federal Government's Financial Situation - 11 trillion in National Debt with no plans to balance the budget and pay it back.
5. Our own personal financial issues - High school loans, credit card debt and mortgage rates are crippling Americans.

Some of the possible "stories" we're looking for:

A person who can't pay their mortgage or their taxes
A recent college graduate with credit card debt and student loans.
A young family adjusting to the costs involved in raising children.
A person with serious healthcare expenses.
A small business owner who would like to provide healthcare but can't.
A person who has been or is being audited due to a mistake by their accountant or not knowing how to file taxes properly.
Anyone who is infuriated by these issues.

Please remember, the types listed above are only possible guidelines. If you have an interesting story about your financial struggles, we'd love to hear from you!

The series will premiere on prominent websites with potential TV airings.

If interested, please send an email with your name, contact info, and a brief description of your your situation to John at casting@dynamiccontentproductions.com. We will be shooting in Philadelphia mid to late January so time is of the essence.


Check out that agenda. It's more than just Social Security and Medicare. Peterson and company are obviously going after health care reform too. And they are conflating the current economic problems with government debt and trying to gin up some kind of anti-tax fever among people for whom taxes are the least of their problems.

And they have the nerve to call this "documentary journalism." But then that's no surprise. After all, the Washington Post is running their slanted garbage as "news" these days too. They have a billion dollars to spend and they are going to spend it on all kinds of dishonest crap like this to brainwash the .public into supporting their plan to destroy the safety net. It's powerful stuff, especially if the mainstream news media persists in seeing these people as unbiased watchdogs instead of wealth protecting con artists. It would be helpful if the Democrats in congress and the administration treated these people like the political propagandists they are as well. (Of course, that assumes they aren't actually sympathetic with Peterson 's goals ...)


Be sure to read Susie's entire post. Her commentary is priceless. She lives in Philly. Maybe some locals can get together and "participate" in this production.

Update: Susie is running a fundraiser today as it happens. If you have a couple of extra bucks she could use it. There's nobody out there with as much sass and sense as Susie--- even when the unemployment and COBRA is running out. She's one of the good guys.

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