A Deafening Silence on Air America

Air America–or Air Scamerica, or Air Enron–is engulfed in scandal. It now appears clear that the far-left radio network obtained critical funding by misappropriating money earmarked for poor children and Alzheimer’s victims from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, a nonprofit organization. For the latest, read Hugh Hewitt’s interview of Michelle Malkin on Hugh’s show last night; Radio Blogger (Hugh’s producer, Duane Patterson) has the transcript.
Hugh and Michelle have both been delving into the scandal. Hugh has tried to contact members of the Gloria Wise board of directors; all declined to appear on his show, and one said that all inquiries are being directed to a Manhattan public relations firm. That’s rather curious–where does a nonprofit that is now defunct, having been fleeced by Air America, get the money to hire an expensive PR firm so its board members won’t have to answer questions? Michelle’s new column, which will be out tomorrow morning and is available now on the web, sums up the facts known so far and wonders why “leaders” like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have been silent.
Of course, they’re not the only ones. The New York Times has yet to print a single word about the scandal; when the Times last covered Air America, it was to promote Al Franken as a Senate candidate. Normally, one might expect the Times to be interested in this kind of story. In today’s paper, for example, the Times covers a much more boring controversy in which Westchester County’s District Attorney is being pressed to reimburse the county for the expense of after-hours security. The story is a yawner. The DA has a legitimate argument that she needs 24-hour security because of her job; there are no falsified reports or conflicting stories; no one is stealing money from poor children or Alzheimer’s victims; and no one is funding a controversial political and commercial enterprise. Yet the Times finds the story newsworthy, while ignoring Air Enron, which is also taking place in its own back yard. Why? Well, maybe because it’s because the Westchester DA is a Republican, Jeanine Pirro, who is interested in higher office. Or maybe it’s because no hard work–like actually carrying out an investigation–was necessary; all the Times had to do was quote Democratic Party spokesmen.
Or maybe both.

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