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I shared with you earlier an email exchange between myself and NBC 26 reporter Kristoffer Engebretson (Kris Engebretson, the new Joe Friday of Green Bay: ‘Just the facts, ma’am’). I can’t believe this guy continues to try and debate this with me!

Here’s his latest installment in an increasingly more ludicrous conversation (note how he loses his professional cool and starts getting vindictive):

Do your research and check with the organizers, it is not a listening session or a debate, it is a rally. People on the left have been holding these same type of rallies. Your angle on this event is not a story.

If this was a listening session or a debate, it might be a story, but I still wouldn’t think it would qualify. There is nothing wrong with either side telling supporters to go out and show your support for any event. However, it was a story nationally, when the networks discovered information from groups telling supporters to disrupt the meetings.
That was a story.

And why don’t you ask Fox news why they cancelled their interview with you. I’m sure you would love that producers response.

Kristoffer Engebretson
NBC 26 Reporter

lol! I almost feel like a bully on the playground; this man is clearly not equipped to debate on any intellectual level. My response:

Kristoffer,

I am not a reporter, I am a private citizen. Researching stories is not my job, it’s yours; but we all know from your history of investigating that no research is required to back up your angle on a story; if a google search and a screen shot are evidence enough, the Organizing for America email should be as well. I have no angle on this event; all I have is what Organizing for America has told me in their email blast. Again (and this time I’ve highlighted the key terms enforcing my impression, since those points seem to be eluding your sharp journalistic instincts): ” He’ll be talking to constituents and gathering feedback on the need for reform. Whether you ask a question or show your support with a sign, attending this event is a powerful way to show where you stand and thank those in Congress who are fighting for reform.”

And, again, I agree with you that this is not a story, anymore than the story on me was. I just figured that if you were able to turn my story into a breathless expose, you’d have plenty of material to work with here.

Feel free to investigate the Fox news story; I’d love to see them cover this baby from beginning to end. I doubt you’d receive the same accolades from them that you received from Rachel Maddow. Please let us all know what you find out.

Heather Blish
Just a Mom From Down the Street

Let’s see if he can resist the temptation to further expose himself as the biased hack that he is.

Update: he couldn’t resist. Here’s Engebretson’s last (?) stand:

Again, feel free to contact the Fox News producer to find out why they cancelled their plans to put you on camera.

Kristoffer Engebretson
NBC 26 Reporter

My response?

That’s all you got left? Okay, I’m officially bored with this conversation.

May I suggest that instead of spending your morning engaging in a debate with a housewife about whether a story qualifies as a story, you may want to get out there and find out why Congressman Kagen’s office is still refusing to confirm that he will be at this event today, even though the email I received confirms that he will. Now that sounds like a story. Here, I’ll even throw you a bone: here’s some audio of Kagen completely dodging the question during an interview with a reporter on Monday: http://partyofknow.org/2009/08/24/answer-the-question-dude/

That’s a good start for you. Start investigating. Get some sunshine. It’s a beautiful day!

Read the comments under his video. Hendricks is getting butchered by the same ignorant leftist haters that amused themselves for two weeks by calling me every epithet in the English language and threatening me in ways I can’t even publish. Drown out the hate with support; leave a comment on the video and thank him for standing up to tyranny.

Check out the entertaining email exchange I had with Kristoffer Engebretson, who had the unmitigated gall to lecture me on journalism and what constitutes a story. Evidently, his idea of what constitutes the story has changed dramatically since he decided that an ex-Republican housewife expressing her thoughts at a “listening session” was the makings of a big expose on Republican plants.

Last night I received this email invitation from President Obama’s “Organizing for America” (a mailing list that I stunningly have not been removed from since I was recently outed as a Republican town hall plant):

Heather –

I wanted to send you an urgent invitation to an important health care event with Rep. Steve Kagen tomorrow, Wednesday, August 26th.

He’ll be talking to constituents and gathering feedback on the need for reform. Whether you ask a question or show your support with a sign, attending this event is a powerful way to show where you stand and thank those in Congress who are fighting for reform.

I hope you can join us. Here are the details:

What: Health Care Event with
Rep. Steve Kagen

Where: UW Green Bay – Phoenix Room
2420 Nicolet Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311

When: Wednesday, August 26th
Arrival Time: 5:00 p.m.
Start Time: 6:00 p.m.

RSVP

Please arrive as early as possible to the event, and make sure that the most powerful voices in this debate are those calling for real reform, not angrily clamoring for the status quo.

RSVP here:

http://wi.barackobama.com/GreenBayTH

Thanks,

Dan

Dan Grandone
Wisconsin State Director
Organizing for America

P.S. — Before the event, please print off a flyer to display and make sure that your support is visible.

Assuming Kristoffer Engebretson would find evidence of people being influenced to attend these events (the only question he had for me, and one he repeated 6 times in hopes that my answer in the negative would change), I forwarded him the email, adding “Here you go, Kristoffer. You’ve got your story; I’ll look forward to seeing how you expose all the plants at this event tomorrow…”

My sarcasm is obvious, which is why I was so surprised that he responded. His response, however, is even more surprising:

Heather,
It’s a rally for pro health care reform and pro public option. This is not a listening session. There will be no question and answer format. There will only be speakers.
The people who will be there (from both sides) will be voicing how they feel loud and clear. And I know people from both sides will be going, check out our story from today.

By the way, an email asking people to show their support is not a story. Emails like this on both sides of this issue have been going out since the begining of the debate. It’s a way of letting people know what’s going on.

But if you have any concrete evidence showing the liberals are paying people to come or are trying to sabotage the event, please let me know. That would be a story.

Kristoffer Engebretson
NBC 26 Reporter

I couldn’t resist straightening him out on the facts. Again. (Why do I keep finding myself in the position of having to teach this journalist the basics of journalism?):

Kristoffer,

Nowhere in the “Organizing for America” invitation does it say anything about a “rally”. What it does clearly state: “He’ll be talking to constituents and gathering feedback on the need for reform. Whether you ask a question or show your support with a sign, attending this event is a powerful way to show where you stand and thank those in Congress who are fighting for reform.” Sound like a listening session to me. What’s interesting to me is how you know that it is a rally, and that there will be no question and answer format. I’d also love to have you explain how the Congressman plans to gather feedback when “there will only be speakers.”

And don’t you dare lecture me on journalism and what qualifies as a story. You’re right, emails like this are not a story; they’re nothing more than American Democracy at work. An ex-Republican housewife designing websites out of her home and networking online with potential clients wasn’t a story either, but you used spit and duct tape to patch together one Google search performed by another news crew, one screen shot, a portion of a private conversation between myself and a member of that other news crew, and my response to a question that was never aired, and made it a story anyway.

Now I’m actually handing you proof of a situation where people are being “influenced” to go (you remember that question? After all, you asked me that 6 times), and now all of the sudden you’re telling me it’s not a story.

Stunning. But then, you’re not one to allow the facts to get in the way, are you?

Heather Blish
Just a Mom From Down the Street

I’ll let you know if he responds.

Update: he did, and it’s a hoot! Read the second installment here.

“President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday the deficit appears on track to hit $1 trillion soon. Speaking to reporters after meeting with top economic aides, Mr. Obama said: “Potentially we’ve got trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working on.” — Associated Press, Jan. 6

Actually, the deficit is on track to hit $1.2 trillion this year, but what’s $200 billion among friends?

Seriously, what is it? To the average person, a number that big probably doesn’t mean much. At some point long before the hundred-billion-dollar mark, large numbers simply become figures on the page, well beyond human scale and intuitive understanding. And yet as discussion about the economy and the impressive numbers that come along with it continue to dominate the news, it may be more important than ever to try to understand. Is a $700 billion financial-industry bailout a lot? Is a $775 billion economic-stimulus package enough? (See the worst business deals of 2008.)

But that similarity trips us up when it comes time to imagine how those figures translate to the real world, where three more zeros make all the difference. “My favorite way to think of it is in terms of seconds,” says David Schwartz, a children’s book author whose How Much Is a Million? tries to wrap young minds around the concept. “One million seconds comes out to be about 11½ days. A billion seconds is 32 years. And a trillion seconds is 32,000 years. I like to say that I have a pretty good idea what I’ll be doing a million seconds from now, no idea what I’ll be doing a billion seconds from now, and an excellent idea of what I’ll be doing a trillion seconds from now.”" Source: How to Understand a Trillion-Dollar Deficit – TIME

So based on today’s report released by the New York Times (U.S. Raises Estimate for 10-Year Deficit to $9 Trillion), if you spent one dollar every second, it would take you 288,000 years to spend the equivalent to the projected government deficit. Still too abstract? How about spending $1000 every second for the next 288 years?

Conservative blogger Berry Laker took hack reporter Kristoffer Engebretson to task after viewing this video released on Thursday by Rebecca Kleefisch:

Berry responds:

“Could we have a new definition in the Wisconsin politics? With some help from dictionary.com

Eng-e-bret-soned ?
[ing-a-brett-suned] – (I had to throw the Brett in there)
.
1. a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive listeners about a mother with child at a congressional listening session?
2. something intended or serving to convey a false impression and still claim no bias in story?
3. an inaccurate or false news report that will gain fame to any reporter even if no follow up or fact check of any said story is needed or done?
4. the false use or accusations pertaining to people attending congressional listening sessions with such words as “hijacked, “operative”, “opponents being planted, “hecklers”, “not affiliated with any party”?
5. Crossing fingers, legs, arms eyes when stating, ” I have to be objective”?
6. When all else fails, use the old, “my boss sent me there to find a plant” excuse?

Anyone want to add to the possible definition?” Source: Berry Laker: Engebretsoned

I’ve got another one, Berry. How about:

6. A bottom-feeding invertebrate, easily recognized by its trail of slime and the distinct odor of old, rotting copies of the National Enquirer. Feeds off the flesh of unsuspecting citizens with real jobs and the occasional civic involvement.

Also, my husband suggested a synonym for the verb form: “blish-whacked”.

Anyone else care to offer anymore definitions?

This brilliant letter is making the rounds on the internet:

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Everything Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950s, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let’s just end it on friendly terms.. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

The Separation Agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don’t like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.

You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.

Since you hate guns and war, we’ll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O’Donnell.

We’ll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We’ll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO’s and rednecks.

We’ll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we’ll retain the right to
invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we’ll help provide them security.

We’ll keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam,
Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain.

You can also have the U.N., but we will no longer be paying the bill.

We’ll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We’ll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.

We’ll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I’m sure you’ll be happy to substitute Imagine, I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.

We’ll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot.

Since it often so offends you, we’ll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Sincerely,
AMERICA

(John J. Wall
Law Student and an American)

Thank you, John J. Wall…

Hats off to Michelle Malkin for bringing this gem to our attention today:

Is this some Chicago phrase I don’t know about?

Is it just a nonsensical scatalogical reference?

Is this the teleprompter’s fault?

Maybe it’s some sort of SEIU code phrase?

Or is it a Hawaiian thing?

Can someone clue the unwashed masses in, please?

Via The Hill:

President Obama is betting on a more successful September than August, when it comes to his bid for healthcare reform.

At an online forum on healthcare held Thursday at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Obama drew on his own political experience to predict better fortunes next month.

“There’s something about August going into September where everyone in Washington gets all ‘wee-weed’ up,” the president said.

Wha-what?

Frankly, Michelle, I’m relieved. Clearly, this explains the whole town hall uproar. Everybody’s just getting all wee-weed up over the healthcare bill (perhaps if the debate had happened in, say, mid-January, this whole misunderstanding would’ve just blown right over without all these messy protests). The good news is, it’ll all be over in September, just in time for football season (when the astroturf becomes astroweed, h/t Jerry Bader).