Change You Can Believe In: Change.Gov Changes Required America Serves Post

Change.gov:
Website Makes Changes in its
"America Serves" Post




Attempts to discredit those reporting on the story Made

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Yesterday, DBKP published a story about the Obama website, Change.gov. [Barack Obama: Compulsory Service REQUIRED of Middle, High School, College Students] The Obama website announced that middle school, high school and college students would be required to perform community service.

The Heritage Foundation, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, Stop the ACLU and others also commented on the announcement from the "Office of the President-Elect". (There is no such office officially, but the Obama campaign has had a love affair with officialibilia it just can't seem to break.)

After the change was made at Change.gov, comments appeared below our story which cast aspersions on DBKP's credibility. Of course, these comments may have come from well-meaning people who only saw the second posting at Change.gov--after the original drew unwanted attention.

But, they may not have.

In less than 60 minutes, four comments all appeared which called into question DBKP's credibility and which cited the now-changed wording at Change.gov. We have not checked, but the feeling is that this did not happen by change chance.

For the record, we publish the "before" and "after" screenshots from Change.gov: the original post and the changed post.

Many thanks to Gateway Pundit [Change... Obama Announces Creation Of His Marxist Youth Corps ] for the "before" screenshot of the Change.gov post. GP remembered a cardinal rule from the election: screenshot everything when dealing with the Obama campaign. Things have an unpleasant habit of disappearing from the web, once the public is made aware of them.

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What "America Serves" looked like yesterday at Change.gov.

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What "America Serves" looks like today on Change.gov.

Change.org's post after changes were made:

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This would be less disturbing if the changes were made quietly. That would indicate the Obama campaign is sensitive to public perceptions of its plans.

The fact that a sort of "Internet rapid deployment" force appeared leaving comments seeking to discredit our original post does nothing to comfort those who were inclined to give the new president-elect any benefit of the doubt.

It appears that the Obama Bunch wants to govern in the same manner in which it campaigned. Yesterday, we were inclined to discount that.

Today, we are much less inclined to feel that way.


by Mondo Frazier
image: gecko and fly

Obama Internet Savvy: Anti-Palin YouTube Video Linked to Obama

Obama Campaign's Internet Savviness
Savvy = Dirty Tricks
Anti-Palin YouTube Video Only the latest Instance





Barack Obama has proved that he is the most Internet savvy of the two major candidates--if using the Internet to shut down criticism and spread slander is the measuring stick.


First came the Obamabots, shutting down blogs who criticized the candidate that PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass) insist was "selected, not elected". [Google, Blogger, Obama: Obamanation Shut Down My Blog!]

Next, spam attacks. [Blog Shutdowns: Spam Attack from IPs Assigned to barackobama.com].

Hope, Change, & Lies: Orchestrated “Grassroots” Smear Campaigns & the People that Run Them

Then, a YouTube video is posted by "amateurs" that is traced back to a PR firm with ties to Obama. [Also: Bloggers sniff out anti-Palin astroturf campaign– and the cover up begins].

As soon as The Jawa Report released its post linking the PR firm to the slanderous Palin videos, the videos disappear from YouTube and the account is closed, ala John Edwards' Rielle Hunter-produced webisodes.

From "Hope, Change, & Lies: Orchestrated “Grassroots” Smear Campaigns & the People that Run Them":

It is also likely that the PR firm was paid by outside sources to run the smear campaign. While not conclusive, evidence suggests a link to the Barack Obama campaign. Namely:

* Evidence suggests that a YouTube video with false claims about Palin was uploaded and promoted by members of a professional PR firm.

* The family that runs the PR firm has extensive ties to the Democratic Party, the netroots, and are staunch Obama supporters.

* Evidence suggests that the firm engaged in a concerted effort to distribute the video in such a way that it would appear to have gone viral on its own. Yet this effort took place on company time.

* Evidence suggests that these distribution efforts included actions by at least one employee of the firm who is unconnected with the family running the company.

* The voice-over artist used in this supposedly amateur video is a professional.

* This same voice-over artist has worked extensively with David Axelrod's firm, which has a history of engaging in phony grassroots efforts, otherwise known as "astroturfing."

* David Axelrod is Barack Obama's chief media strategist.

* The same voice-over artist has worked directly for the Barack Obama campaign.

The Obama campaign is Internet savvy. This would have been completely overlooked by the investigative geniuses in the MSM. Readers will recall the MSM were the "news" organizations that averted their collective eyes for ten months on the John Edwards Scandal.

The MSM then conducted an eleven day, 24/7 SlopNewsFest, where "reporters" and pundits interviewed each other about why the story wasn't reported for ten months. The hand-wringing-palooza included plenty of references to "professionalism", "ethics" and "judgment"--none of them sourced.

Big Media, then satisfied it had thoroughly covered itself not covering the story, promptly fell back asleep--with the exception of ABC News.

Jawa's Report reads like a novel. This may be the best thing you read all week--which is saying something at a time when news comes fast, furious and faster.

Dr. Shackleford also hands out plaudits to bloggers who joined in the investigative effort:

Thanks to Jane & Stable Hand who did a lot of the Googling on this one, the Jawa team for input, and our legal division for extensive advice. Also thanks to Dan Riehl and Ace for input and help with drafts; and Patterico for putting together the bullet point summary.

It's likely the NY Times won't have anything about this: it's too busy with its 53rd daily anti-Palin article linking Bristol Palin's boyfriend to tooth decay.

Ditto for the Left Blogosphere: they're occupied publishing family pictures taken from Palin's private emails and ginning up reasons why that's important.

Thank heavens for the blogosphere: where those with computers and an Internet connection may stay informed.

One more sign of the Obama campaign's Internet attack tactics:

The Obama campaign has put some major time and money behind causing trouble on conservative blogs. The idea is to have Obama supporters disguise themselves as conservatives and then bring us down with their faux concerns.

Remember, our own Smellybeef? He arrived over the weekend pretending to be a McCain campaign worker from Wisconsin and expressed concerned over the direction of the McCain campaign, worried that certain McCain decisions proved “the wheels were coming off” our chances.

Every time that an Obama supporter is tied to a dirty trick--whether it's publishing Sarah Palin's private emails, shutting down blogs critical of Obama or pushing out a slick PR firm-produced video under the guise of an amateur--Barack Obama decries it.

And then, they continue.

Once might be a surprise; twice, a coincidence; more than twice, it's a pattern.

Our prediction: This won't the last you hear from a campaign that seems intent on attacking the Internet messengers who carry the wrong message.


by Mondo
image: RidesAPaleHorse