DISTRACTING THE MARK (Using Armstrong Williams to distract from Rathergate)

American Roulette ^ | 1/13/05

[Brian Mosely]

A POST WRITTEN BY A FORMER CASINO CHEATING COLLEAGUE OF MINE (see explanation from me, Richard, below):

One of the essential requirements of a good scam is to distract as much critical attention as possible away from your fraudulent acts before, during, and after you initiate them.

Readers of Richard’s book will know that he consistently included strategic distractions as key ingredients to his various scams (something I continue to do). In casinos, distractions are perpetrated through various means such as disguises, drunk routines, purposeful accidents, the frenetic action of multiple collusive players and, of course, the most valuable distraction of them all, a sexy woman positioned to draw lusty eyes. Anything getting your mark to look the other way will do.

One thing about all distractions is that their presentation must be timed perfectly to further the overall fraud. Too early or too late and the intended distraction becomes useless or even destructive. You see, an obvious distractive move can tip off an attentive and watchful eye to your true fraudulent motivation.

Well, I’m writing to tell you of a beautifully laid out, well-timed, distraction move in a scam completely outside of the casino realm. If you watched tv or read a newspaper in the past several days, you already saw it. But you probably did not even recognize it: The Armstrong Williams payment for media coverage controversy.

In the opinion of this con-artist, one of the biggest scams perpetrated on the public in the last year was the CBS memo scandal, in which political partisans and the establishment media tried to get by with manufacturing a story to further their own ends. They did so consistent with an established BIAS and in conjunction with the Kerry campaign.

But they got caught. What did they do then, exactly what I would do, exactly what anyone above the age of three would naturally do, try to divert attention, point the finger at someone else’s wrongdoing. Hence, they resurrected a part of an old story, the Education Department & Ketchum Public Relations scandal.

Back in October, just after the CBS memo scandal was broken by bloggers, completely outside of the traditional media, the contract between Ketchum and The Education Department first came under scrutiny. It was the subject of widely publicized news reports in the traditional media .

Given the fact that the Freedom of Information Act had been invoked in relation to the Ketchum/Education Department contracts back in October, why did it take three months for the Armstrong Williams mess to come out? Because the elite media and their friends at the People for the American Way knew a storm was brewing over the CBS scandal. They held on to the Armstrong Williams story, sat on it, until it served a useful purpose for their associates in the established media at CBS. Through USA Today the story was disclosed a mere one business day before the CBS internal investigation was released, the timing for which media insiders surely knew quite well. By doing so they rationalized turning attention away from the CBS scandal.

Some will say I’m a paranoid. I answer I am just a con man who spotted a good scam going down. I’m pointing it out to you. Perhaps someone else will follow up on it much like bloggers did with the initial CBS memo scandal.

Best,
XXXX XXXXXXX

Richard here:
I promised my former casino cheating colleague that I would post the previous entry. Although I couldn’t care less about politics, he does make very valid points about the operation of a quality scam. Whether or not the public is currently being played by the Armstrong Williams flap, I trust my colleague’s senses when it comes to spotting elements of a scam. His sixth sense ability to understand the subtleties of a good swindle have been proven to me consistently. Having dedicated as many years as he and I have to inventing, developing and implementing confidence schemes we’ve both developed an innate sense of when scams are being perpetrated. His entry makes me think that perhaps I will post some of my suspicions about the various mind games played upon the public.

[WOSG]

"The Timing Is Suspicious"

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

They held on to the Armstrong Williams story, sat on it, until it served a useful purpose for their associates in the established media at CBS. Through USA Today the story was disclosed a mere one business day before the CBS internal investigation was released, the timing for which media insiders surely knew quite well. By doing so they rationalized turning attention away from the CBS scandal.

"The Timing Is Suspicious"

The thing is, journalism is constantly on the lookout for a mole hill to make a mountain out of.

Consider the Rodney King video; as a whole the tape shows someone resisting arrest and ultimately being subdued by the police who, in the circumstances not entirely surprisingly, then belabored him. Did journalists show the exculpatory portion of the tape? Initially they did - but they quickly edited the tape down to the bad news story that would attract an audience - "police brutality."

That's an extreme example of course, but if journalism had its way it would not be. Even within the CBS report debate itself, journalists have assayed to tax "bloggers" for not all being 100% accurate in their speculations on Rathergate. Journalists build themselves up by tearing down people and institutions upon whom/which we-the-people depend.

Journalists exist to critize. Criticize Republicans.

Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate