1/30/2014

26 Responses to “Greg Packer Fools Bloomberg’s Businessweek”

1. Ding!

   The Dana trying for the first comment (3e4784) — 1/30/2014 @ 8:47 am

   
   

2. Oh, yeah? Safe, two second sound bite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbjiKIKzY3c

   nk (dbc370) — 1/30/2014 @ 8:56 am

   
   

3. Sorry to threadjack, but the execrable Henry Waxman has announced his retirement from Congress at the end of this term. This is joyous news because he happens to be my Congressman. I guess he found it too difficult to fake an interest in the aerospace industry and reinvent himself as a staunch ally of defense contractors, now that his district encompassed neighborhoods dependent upon both of those. He also probably knows in his heart of heart that Dems aren’t going to retake the majority in the House, and doesn’t want to be a back-bencher any longer. He spent 40 years trying to ruin this country, so good riddance to poor rubbish (to quote Johnny Rotten).

   JVW (709bc7) — 1/30/2014 @ 9:36 am

   
   

4. Greg Packer for President!

   (and good riddance to Waxman, too. %-)

   redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/30/2014 @ 9:46 am

   
   

5. This guy has his own wikipedia page:

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Packer#cite_note-most_quoted_man-1

   Gotta love that beginning he is a retired highway maintenance worker born in 1963. He is only 50 years old and retired, gotta love those union jobs.

   TomK (760d73) — 1/30/2014 @ 10:27 am

   
   

6. It turns out that he has been featured a few times even in the New York Times:

   http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/nyregion/13trailer.html?_r=0

   The Greg Packer who has made virtually a career out of lurking where reporters are likely to show, there to be quoted and cited as the proverbial man on the street? The Greg Packer who, according to Wikipedia, has since 1994 been quoted or photographed 16 times by The Associated Press, 14 times by Newsday, 13 times by The Daily News, and on many occasions by The New York Times itself?

   Sammy Finkelman (8b8667) — 1/30/2014 @ 11:42 am

   
   

7. New York Times feature story on Grege Packer in 2003:

   http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/nyregion/long-island-everyman-masters-the-sound-bite.html

   Unlike political activists or university professors, who often advertise their professional credentials in news media guidebooks, Mr. Packer, the perfect grass-roots source, usually gets his name in the paper simply by showing up. He also has a predilection for being first in line…and manages to attend at least two news events a week by using his vacation time. According to his contract with the Township of Huntington, he says, he gets 20 vacation days, 13 sick days and 5 personal days.

   Sammy Finkelman (8b8667) — 1/30/2014 @ 11:53 am

   
   

8. June 15, 2003 Wall Street Journal profile:

   http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB105569204828218700

   On at least one occasion, Mr. Packer appeared in print through mere happenstance. The Los Angeles Times quoted a message he scrawled near the site of the World Trade Center: “Thank you to all our heroes. May God Bless America. Greg Packer. Huntington, New York, USA.” The reporter, John Goldman, had never met Mr. Packer. “He may have had clear handwriting,” Mr. Goldman says

   Sammy Finkelman (8b8667) — 1/30/2014 @ 11:56 am

   
   

9. Wikipedia talk page about the Grege Packer article.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Greg_Packer

   Discussion seems to have tapered off. The age was last modified on 20 September 2012 at 07:52.

   Sammy Finkelman (8b8667) — 1/30/2014 @ 12:07 pm

   
   

10. The same story told by two people:

    First, Greg Packer. Here is Greg Packer’s account of the incident:

    http://jimromenesko.com/2013/09/04/greg-packer-wants-to-see-his-name-in-your-newspaper/

    When I was at the Columbus Day Parade, a reporter for the New York Times showed up. When I came even close to mentioning my name, he slammed his book and walked away because word got around his office not to use me for any more interviews.”

    The reporter’s version of the story:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/nyregion/13trailer.html

    Campaign Trailer
    So Many People at a Parade, and Yet, Somehow, One Stands Out

    By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE AND DAVID W. CHEN

    Published: October 12, 2010

    Scene: Columbus Day Parade, Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. 12:15 p.m.

    A reporter walks along the parade route, in search of parade watchers who might share a thought or two on Carl P. Paladino or Andrew M. Cuomo, the Republican and Democratic nominees for governor, respectively. The reporter’s notebook is empty, begging to be filled with earthy bons mots and the blunt assessments of ordinary voters. The sounds of a brass band fill the air.

    The reporter glances north along Fifth Avenue. His eyes are drawn, as if by an irresistible force, to a man of medium height, with a mustache, wedged into the crowd behind a police barrier. The man looks directly at the reporter, smiling enthusiastically, frantically waving an “Andrew Cuomo 2010” poster, shouting the candidate’s name. Ah-hah, the reporter thinks, and strides over to the barricade.

    A few basic questions are presented: Who are you supporting for governor? What do you think of Mr. Cuomo? What do you think of Mr. Paladino?

    “I like Cuomo for governor,” the man said. “Paladino’s just a businessman.”

    The reporter begins to feel a glimmer of recollection. Does he know this man? Doesn’t the man look familiar? No matter.

    A follow-up question: What do you think of Mr. Paladino’s recent comments to the effect that children should not be taught that homosexuality is acceptable?

    “He’s a piece of work, that’s what I think,” the man answered.

    Mission accomplished. Name, spelling of name and age are requested.

    “Greg Pa——” the man begins, and then recognition strikes, like lightning on a midsummer’s day.

    Greg Packer? The Greg Packer?

    The man nods sheepishly.

    The Greg Packer, left, who has offered to newspapers far and wide pearls of everyday wisdom on topics including Pope John Paul II, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York Yankees and the publication of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”? The Greg Packer who has made virtually a career out of lurking where reporters are likely to show, there to be quoted and cited as the proverbial man on the street? The Greg Packer who, according to Wikipedia, has since 1994 been quoted or photographed 16 times by The Associated Press, 14 times by Newsday, 13 times by The Daily News, and on many occasions by The New York Times itself?

    It is.

    A groan escapes the reporter’s mouth. His notebook snaps shut. This is not the quotation he is looking for. The reporter walks on, searching —ever searching.

    Sammy Finkelman (8b8667) — 1/30/2014 @ 12:16 pm

    
    

11. I heard Greg Packer killed Vince Foster.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/30/2014 @ 1:06 pm

    
    

12. Wouldn’t it be weird if we – we? – spent a great deal of time pondering the phenomenon and critical significance of something like Satoshi Nakamoto, and in the process forgot to ponder the phenomenon and critical significance of something like Greg Packer.

    WHO IS GREG PACKER?

    Or… what?

    Leviticus (f9a067) — 1/30/2014 @ 4:03 pm

    
    

13. ==Sorry to threadjack, but the execrable Henry Waxman has announced his retirement from Congress at the end of this term. This is joyous news because he happens to be my Congressman.==

    JVW–yes, and apparently the execrable Sandra Fluke hopes to take his place in congress. Boy, who coulda seen that one coming??

    http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/sandra-fluke-strongly-considering-run-for-henry-waxman-s-seat-20140130

    elissa (625ad2) — 1/30/2014 @ 4:39 pm

    
    

14. God Forbid, but if I am ever in a perp walk, I will yell out, “Greg Packer from Huntington, NY” for the TV cameras.

    rd (8c8a6e) — 1/30/2014 @ 5:49 pm

    
    

15. His original district was represented by John Rousselot, so we’re talking kind of a seismic change,

    narciso (3fec35) — 1/30/2014 @ 5:57 pm

    
    

16. Packer, of course, is the media’s go-to guy for quotes.

    Such a laughable made-up character that illustrates the unreliability of the media runs in tandem with that same media ignoring the originally important tenet of “who, what, when, where, how and why” by casually, irresponsibly omitting in crime reports — for purely political reasons — a detailed description of a suspect or suspects.

    When I think of the MSM and ongoing trends of dysfunction promoted or enabled by the media, there’s another pseudonym that the media needs to be made a fool of. That would be an off-color one, in which “fudge” is substituted for “Greg.”

    Mark (534100) — 1/30/2014 @ 6:02 pm

    
    

17. Here you go guys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSFW8wB6DoU

    nk (dbc370) — 1/30/2014 @ 6:06 pm

    
    

18. just making friends all over;

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/01/iranian-leader-khamenei-responds-to-john-kerry-wealthy-american-statesman-should-be-punched-in-the-mouth-crushed-video/

    narciso (3fec35) — 1/30/2014 @ 6:18 pm

    
    

19. He’s pretty pathetic. The video you posted last time was very sad. He really needs a health professional.

    Amalgamated Cliff Divers, Local 157 (f7d5ba) — 1/30/2014 @ 7:48 pm

    
    

20. Wouldn’t it be weird if we – we? – spent a great deal of time pondering the phenomenon and critical significance of something like Satoshi Nakamoto, and in the process forgot to ponder the phenomenon and critical significance of something like Greg Packer.

    WHO IS GREG PACKER?

    Or… what?

    I don’t completely follow the entirety of your comment.

    I hate discussing Bitcoin because I know a guy who got thousands of them at $6 and it makes me a little envious and a lot regretful. I don’t like that feeling so I try not to think about it.

    Patterico (9c670f) — 1/30/2014 @ 9:07 pm

    
    

21. I’ll try to clarify:

    People speculate that Satoshi Nakamoto is more than one person.

    Isn’t similar speculation warranted in the case of Greg Packer?

    And if speculation as to motivation is warranted in the case of the possibly many individuals comprising the entity known as “Satoshi Nakamoto,” how much more speculation as to motivation is warranted in the case of the possibly many individuals comprising the entity known as “Greg Packer”?

    Leviticus (f9a067) — 1/31/2014 @ 10:27 am

    
    

22. .

    by clueless Big Media organizations.

    WAIT WAIT WAIT….

    Hold it…

    Are you suggesting there’s another kind??!?!?

    😀

    Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/31/2014 @ 3:55 pm

    
    

23. I heard Greg Packer killed Vince Foster.

    S’Funny. Yeah.

    We ALL know Greg Packer is the true President of the United States. He just hired Obama to play one on TV…

    Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/31/2014 @ 3:57 pm

    
    

24. Leviticus,

    Nothing against Greg Packer because he seems like an interesting guy, but isn’t one of him enough?

    DRJ (a83b8b) — 1/31/2014 @ 4:11 pm

    
    

25. “Wouldn’t it be weird if we – we? – spent a great deal of time pondering the phenomenon and critical significance of something like Satoshi Nakamoto”

    Leviticus – I had never considered pondering the significance of Satoshi Nakamoto because I had not seen the name prior to your comment. I am unlikely, however, to consider the significance of Satoshi Nakamoto in the future. I believe my time is more usefully spent pondering the significance of Keyser Soze.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/31/2014 @ 4:20 pm

    
    

26. Well Kobayashi should be considered,

    narciso (3fec35) — 1/31/2014 @ 4:25 pm