“I defy Glenn Beck to dispute the premise of the report." -Weiner

That’s a quote from Weiner in his awful appearance on The O’Reilly Factor last night.

First of all, I thought Weiner said this report wasn’t about Glenn?  Why would he need to dispute it?  Weiner has his talking points crossed a little bit.

Of course, WeinerFacts.com has answered the substance of the Weiner report (to the extent that there is any.)  But for the benefit of Weiner, we’ll be posting all day today, destroying it all over again.

Weiner Premise #1: Goldline is a rip off/shady/evil/etc

From the NY Times:   “The Better Business Bureau, which has given Goldline an A+ rating, said Tuesday that it was standing by that. A representative of the bureau said it had recently re-reviewed Goldline in response to Mr. Weiner’s accusations and saw no reason for a change. “It’s a company with not that many complaints,” said Gary Almond, from the bureau. When compared with other companies that sell gold, “there was a remarkable difference in how each one addressed complaints,” noting that some of those other companies had F ratings.”

Weiner response: This is one fact that Weiner prepared for.  His claim?  That the Better Business Bureau might be guilty of fraud, making the not-so-subtle accusation that Goldline paid for their A+ rating.  And Glenn is the one accused of being a conspiracy theorist?

His “evidence” is a column from 18 months ago that doesn’t mention Goldline at all, is admittedly based on “unscientific searches” of the internet (much like the Weiner report), focusing mainly on restaurants in Los Angeles.  The main accusation is that a business may be stepped up in grade (ie from an A to an A+) if they pay and are accredited.

So, how much would it supposedly cost a national gold company to bribe the Better Business Bureau into giving them an A+?   6 figures?  7 figures?  Nope.  $350.  If you could buy an A+ rating for $350, wouldn’t every business do it?

Also, if this were true, and Weiner is really trying to “protect consumers” wouldn’t he be investigating the Better Business Bureau?  If this Weiner can go on national television and accuse one of America’s most trusted institutions of fraud with no evidence at all, and no repercussions from the media, we truly have a  tragic state of the Weiner media.