What does Weiner think about the mosque at ground zero?  He agrees with Michael Bloomberg.  And also disagrees with Michael Bloomberg.  Sort of. But he’s not committed to that.  And, he’s willing to rethink it.  As long as it doesn’t bother you.  Let him know what you think, and then he’ll tell you his opinion.

ABC is continuing its Weiner inspired Goldline-jihad today with a story heavily relying on a reporter from Consumer Reports, Noreen Perrotta.   Wow–that seems pretty credible, no?  I mean, it’s not like the reporter at Consumer Reports is some sort of left-wing lunatic…right?  A Weiner-tipper says otherwise…

Let’s examine the quotes given to ABC next to the likes on the Facebook page belonging to Noreen Perrotta and see what we find!

“Maybe if you’re worried about Armageddon you might consider it good advice,”

Noreen Perrotta LIKES:  ”Barack Obama”

“I don’t think in this case that Goldline offered the best deal.”

Noreen Perrotta LIKES: “Media Matters for America”

Consumer Reports initiated its own look at Goldline after seeing the company’s television ads in heavy circulation during 24-hour news broadcasts on CNN and Fox News, and hearing about initial concerns raised by Rep. Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat.

Noreen Perrotta LIKES:  ”I would rather have immigrants living here than racists.”

“Most financial advisors say five to ten percent of your portfolio in gold is a good inflation hedge,”

Noreen Perrotta LIKES: “REPEAL THE BAN – END “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

“Is it good advice? I don’t think it’s good advice.”

Noreen Perrotta LIKES: “Consumer Reports”

Is this really Noreen Perrotta from Consumer Reports’ Facebook page??  We here at WeinerFacts have no reason to doubt it, but doubt it we do.  After all, we know Weiner and Weiner-loving reporters would NEVER let their hardcore ideology get in the way of honesty.

Surely, its a coincidence–just another Noreen Perrotta that likes Consumer Reports.  And, there’s no way ABC News would write an entire article based on her opinions and not mention she has an ultra-left wing ideology.  I mean, that’s impossible!

Plus, a Consumer Reports reporter can’t possibly be this hot.  So–we consider this myth: busted.

*Update:  After this WeinerFacts investigation, Noreen has mysteriously hidden her Facebook likes from the public.  I wonder why?  Luckily, we took the screenshot below!

Since when did investigators start doing combined investigations on two completely unrelated companies?  Well, when all you have is WeinerInfo, you have to spin the numbers.

What did ABC/Weiner/WeinerClone do?  They say they’ve had numerous complaints about two gold companies, without revealing how many were about Goldline.  That seems odd, doesn’t it?  That’s like saying “we’ve had numerous deaths reported at McDonalds and/or Bill’s House of Poison.”  Wouldn’t that be completely unfair to McDonalds?  Why wouldn’t you separate the numbers?  Doesn’t it seem like they might just be using the other company to inflate the number of complaints?

If you’re not suspicious yet, just wait.  You see, Goldline has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.  The other company…has an F.  Hmmmmmmm….

Why would you pair these two companies together when one has a far superior record of service than the other?  Because you’re hoping no one at ABC will ask questions.  I’ll let you guess if their hopes were correct.

Now, if you’re the Weineresque investigators, you hope that the anti-Glenn Beck crowd will chime-in with bogus complaints to save your investigation before you are exposed.

Check out the actual facts relating to the case…here.

In a stunning, completely shocking, insurmountably incredible development–the attorney attacking Goldline in a pathetic California investigation, was apparently a financial backer of  Barack Obama.

We at WeinerFacts.com took attorney Adam Radinsky at his word and assumed that he did not have a political agenda against Glenn Beck.  We logically jumped to the conclusion that Radinsky was a hard-core Republican, with no preconceived notion of who Glenn was, or what Glenn Beck did.  We expected to see large donations to the campaign of Duncan Hunter.  But, no.  Radinsky is apparently yet another example of political opinion getting in the way of what is supposed to be a non-partisan job.

We here at WeinerFacts.com think we’ve found a potential contributor to Weiner’s soon-to-be-announced future-failure of a mayoral campaign.

Weiner, never one to stay out of the spotlight for three consecutive seconds, has contributed to an embarrassingly weak attack on Goldline by ABC and “America’s Wrongest Reporter” Brian Ross.  It’s a report so pathetic, that the headline writers at ABC didn’t even bother to read it.

The headline:

Exclusive: Glenn Beck’s Golden Advertiser Under Investigation

The story:

“Glenn Beck has nothing to do with our investigation.”

Due to their dwindling ratings, we here at WeinerFacts.com  realize that the mainstream media must resort to throwing Glenn’s name into headlines to get clicks.  But, we think they should occasionally try to report on something of value.

Like…where was the coverage of the Weiner-Wedding?  Congratulations Weiner!

Fresh off his goat victimization, Weiner has released what can only be seen as a sequel to the Weiner report.  In many ways, it equals his last pathetic attempt of grandstanding, using 4^th grade mathematical techniques (and maybe an intern with internet access) in a feeble attempt to create a new class of victims engaging in voluntary transactions.  Of course, the real focus is to get his name in the papers.  That’s always the focus with Weiner.

This time his targets were the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball ticket prices.  Here are the main points of his “report” that everyone outside of WeinerFacts.com completely ignored.

Weiner plays on internet while nation suffers

In case you haven’t noticed, America isn’t perfect.  We have our share of problems, and some of them are quite pressing.  So, perhaps the most important point to make on Weiner is…why does he bother with this crap?  Why is Weiner spending time on press releases about baseball tickets when Americans have actual problems to deal with?

No one forces you to go to Yankees games. No one needs to go to a Yankees game if they don’t like the terms offered to enter the stadium.  People choose to spend their money to go there because they want to.  Why does Weiner attempt to protect citizens from their own money?  And why doesn’t he spend his time on America’s real problems?

Weiner targets best deals to inflate numbers

Weiner decides before starting his “report” that he wants to publicize the highest fee percentages he can find.  How does he do that?  By targeting some of the best deals in all of sports.  For example—he specifically vilifies the Yankees $5 ticket, because he knows lower priced tickets will give you a higher percentage markup when the same fee is applied to them.

But let’s be honest here—the fact that the Yankees offer a $5 ticket at all is somewhat inexplicable in one of the most expensive cities in America.  A movie in New York City is double that.  A pack of cigarettes is even more.  Want to see the Broadway show Wicked?  You’ll pay anywhere from 17-72 times the Yankee ticket.  Just the ticket fee by itself for a premium seat at Wicked is 12 times the Yankee ticket.  But, they don’t get mentioned in the Weiner report for some crazy reason (read: it wouldn’t get him any publicity.)

Even with all of the fees at their highest levels that Weiner could find, he’s complaining about people being able to see a Yankees game for $14.40.  What other sport lets you in the door for that–even if the view is partially obstructed? Weiner even bashes the Oakland A’s $2 ticket, and the Rockies and Braves $4 ticket.   Seriously Weiner?

But, while Weiner specifically chose these low priced tickets to return higher percentages—he acts as if he doesn’t understand the concept.

“It doesn’t seem fair or logical, but the fans that buy the cheapest tickets pay the highest fees as a percentage of the ticket price.”

How can that possibly not seem logical?  A fee applied to a lower priced ticket will ALWAYS return a higher percentage.  That’s how percentages work.

Weiner demolishes his entire premise for the report

Weiner spends his whole report attempting to paint people who choose to go to a baseball game, and choose to purchase their tickets online, as victims of some sort of international conspiracy to screw the little guy.  But snuggled into his report is the truth he was forced to admit:

“Fans buying tickets online pay a series of fees on top of the price of their ticket(s).  These fees include printing fees, order processing fees, and convenience fees.  The only way to avoid all of these fees is to purchase your tickets at the stadium.”

Got it?  Even though baseball is a completely optional activity, and people buying their tickets are completely able to stop their purchase if they don’t like any fee involved—ANYONE WHO WANTS TO AVOID ALL TICKET FEES CAN SIMPLY BUY THEIR TICKETS AT THE STADIUM.

Baseball teams do not have to offer this option.  They can charge whatever they like for their own product, at least until Weiner becomes more powerful than the irrelevant congressman he is today.  But they still offer a fee-free option for those who would save the extra few bucks in exchange for the less convenient pick up location.

I wonder…how does Weiner buy his tickets?  Does he go down to the stadium every time?  Or does he choose to pay the fees because he finds it to be a valuable service?  The Weiner-tip inbox is open.

Once again, Weiner doesn’t understand the business he’s criticizing:

“While it’s unclear from ticket websites who benefits from each of the fees, the Major League Baseball, the teams, and the ticket vendors profit from the online fees.  Printing fees in particular go to the online ticket vendors.”

Hmmm…different fees for different parties involved in providing different services.  The horror!

Also, notice that Weiner complains about the possibility of “the Major League Baseball” profiting from the sale of their product.  This is one of the classic typos that are standard features of Weiner’s “investigations”…as well as this website.

Weiner wants more regulation…shocker.

“To add greater transparency to baseball ticket fees, Rep. Weiner plans on introducing legislation requiring all websites selling baseball tickets to display the total amount of fees as a percent of the ticket price.”

Remember…only the government can help you watch baseball.  This is, of course, Weiner’s solution to everything.  But, what will happen if this (likely ignored) piece of legislation were to pass?

Baseball teams won’t want the “fee percentage” to look too high, so they will be incentivized to raise ticket prices and lower fees.  For example, if the Oakland A’s traded $3 in fees for $3 in increased ticket price, they take in the exact same amount of money—but the vaunted Weiner-percentage would drop by about 300 points.

This may seem like the Weiner law would only be a waste of time and accomplish nothing, but it’s worse than that.  As we discussed—YOU CAN AVOID THE FEES.  You can’t avoid the ticket price.  So, those buying the cheapest tickets actually wind up paying more for each game they see.  Congratulations Weiner!

Weiner wants all prices to be equal

Weiner frets that ticket fees are “arbitrary,” “random” and “inconsistent.”  In other words, different businesses charge different prices for their products and services.  This shocks literally no one on earth except Weiner and his staff of Media Matters rejects.   Though there is some devastating evidence in there:

“Printing fees range from $1.75 for Cardinals, Nationals and Pirates to $2.50 for the majority of MLB teams.”

That’s right, some teams are charging up to 75 cents more than the Nationals for their printing fees.  Why do we continue to try and stop the oil spill while this injustice stands?

The bottom line is that this Weiner report is as big of a failure as the last one.  Protecting you from your own purchase of gold or Yankees tickets is not what our government should be focused on.  Protecting you from power hungry media whores like Weiner needs to become the real priority.

We’re not kidding.  Weiner was having another one of his self-important-look-at-me-I’m-Weiner press conferences and he was attacked by a goat–which he brought along to illustrate some point that no one paid attention to*.  The prop comic of congress was actually “speared” by one of the goats “pointy, foot-long horns, hard enough to draw blood.”

We wish Weiner a speedy recovery.

*The Weiner point had something to do with getting rid of subsidies, so we probably agree with him on it.  But, lets be honest, we find it impossible to take Weiner seriously.  And this was before the goat attack.

Here is the final post in our series of defying Weiner and disputing the Weiner report and its “substance” (after conducting an extensive archaeological expedition to find some.)

Remember, Weiner never contacted Goldline before writing the Weiner report.  Perhaps, Goldline could have taught him something about the industry he was attacking before he was overrun by embarrassment and regret, like he was after his appearance on The O’Reilly Factor.  Onto the Weiner report, some of Goldline’s answers, and WeinerFacts commentary.

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Weiner Report: Goldline charges more for collector coins than the “melt value”…meaning, if you melted them down and sold them on the open market.

Goldline response: Congressman Weiner improperly characterized Goldline’s mark-ups by looking solely at a coin’s metal content rather than Goldline’s selling price and buy-back price for that coin. He also ignores that some coins, because of their collectible value, could be worth thousands more than their metal value.

WeinerFacts notes: Think of it this way.   What is the most expensive piece of wood furniture in your house?  An armoire? A table? An entertainment center?  How much would you get for it if you took a chainsaw to it and sold it as firewood?   If it’s less than what you paid for your armoire in the store, Weiner may launch an investigation against the furniture store.   He also might investigate the US Mint, which sells collectors coins at markups over 600%.

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Weiner Report: Goldline won’t guarantee that it will buy back products it sells.

Goldline reponse:  The law prohibits Goldline from making that guarantee.

WeinerFacts notes:  Once again, this report was put together so sloppily and hastily, that Weiner didn’t realize he was encouraging laws to be broken.  He doesn’t understand the business he’s attacking, and he never even bothered to call Goldline before releasing the report because his mind was already made up.

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Weiner report:   Goldline does not explain what “bid” and “ask” mean when explaining its spread.

Goldline reponse: These terms are defined in the account and storage agreement, risk disclosure booklet and on Goldline’s website.

WeinerFacts notes:  They only explained it in three separate places?  No wonder Weiner missed it.

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Weiner report:  Congressman Weiner claims there are “hidden” storage and delivery fees.

Goldline reponse: Goldline’s account and storage agreement explicitly sets forth the storage fees. Further, Goldline informs every client if delivery fees apply and the amount of those fees at the time of purchase.

WeinerFacts notes:  Sure, but Weiner can’t be expected to read.

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Weiner report: Goldine doesn’t tell customers how much gold must rise for a product to be profitable.

Goldline reponse: Goldline explains this fact clearly in its risk disclosure materials which include a simple mathematical example showing how Goldline’s spread works.

WeinerFacts notes: When you’re talking about Weiner, there is no such thing as a “simple mathematical example.”

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Weiner report: Goldline was fined by the State of Missouri.

Goldline reponse: Goldline was never fined. Goldline agreed to repurchase certain items from a customer. Goldline also agree to pay investigation costs and to contribute to an investor education fund. The total amount paid by Goldline to Missouri was less than the civil penalty imposed against Congressman Weiner for his Federal Election Commission violations.

WeinerFacts notes: Other than the previously discussed incorrect message board claims, this was the extent of the problems discussed in the Weiner report.  Inaccurate information about one customer in Missouri, that Goldline rectified.  The last part is worth repeating however: “The total amount paid by Goldline to Missouri was less than the civil penalty imposed against Congressman Weiner for his Federal Election Commission violations.”

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Weiner report: There is no definition of coins which were exempt from confiscation during the 40+ year period that Americans were barred from owning gold.

Goldline reponse: The Treasury Department’s Office of Domestic Gold & Silver Operations issued regulations defining those coins exempt from confiscation.

WeinerFacts notes: Sure, they might have issued regulations.  But if a regulation is issued, and Weiner doesn’t know about it, did it really happen?

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Weiner.  Premise.  Disputed.

Read the other three parts of the Weiner Premise Disputing!

Weiner-defying post part 1

Weiner-defying post part 2

Weiner-defying post part 3