Oprah gives everyone in her audience a new car

[Cocoa]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/091304_ap_ns_oprah.html

<snip>

Making sure the audience was kept in suspense, Winfrey opened the show by calling eleven audience members onto the stage. She gave each of them a car -- a Pontiac G-Six.

She then had gift boxes distributed to the rest of the audience and said one of the boxes contained keys to a 12th car. But when the audience members opened the boxes, each had a set of keys.

Audience members screamed and many began crying as Winfrey yelled "everybody gets a car!"

The audience then ran out to the parking lot at Harpo Studios to check out their new G-Sixes.

[eyesroll]

1. I hope everyone in the audience has several thousand dollars

handy, or has decent enough credit for a loan.

Those cars count as income, and get taxed.

[GOPisEvil]

4. I'd just sell my current car and use that money to pay the taxes.

:D

[eyesroll]

9. Perhaps...

Prizes like this, though, are mixed blessings for many people. They end up having to sell them, or they get a nasty surprise April 15.

[RodneyCK2]

33. Exactly. I think most of them end up on Ebay or something.

It use to be, back in the Gong-Show days, that they demanded the tax money before they gave them the prizes, not sure about now.

[Gothic Sponge]

94. Exactly

HGTV gives away a "Dream House" every year, but nobody can afford the taxes. Everyone sells their Dream House.

[Dookus]

95. The taxes in this case are paid

by Pontiac

[Dukkha]

116. I knew someone who got on The Price is Right

She went all the way to win the showcase
afterwords they immediately gave her the option to give back half her gifts for Luxury Tax

The people on Wheel of Fortune in the 80's REALLY got screwed.
They would win a round, by shoddy gifts with inflated prices, then get stuck paying taxes on the amounts listed on the show, not the actual retail price.

Game shows are like Vegas. They're the house and they never lose.

[papau]

I like both the gift - and the PR that GM will get via the gift- a win-win

Invoice
$18,918
List Price
$20,675

3.5-liter OHV V6 making 200 horsepower and featuring electronic throttle control. Endowed with a high-output, 3.9-liter V6 making 240 horsepower through variable valve timing, the G6 GTP arrives in the middle of the 2005 model year. For 2006, the standard motor in the SE model will be a 2.4-liter DOHC Ecotec four-cylinder engine producing 170 horsepower. With curb weights starting around 3,400 pounds, this four banger might have its work cut out for it.

A four-speed automatic comes standard on SE and GT for 2005, featuring manually interactive shifting on the GT and driving the front wheels on both versions. The GTP will feature this transmission also, but will offer the option of a six-speed manual to delight true enthusiasts.

The Pontiac G6 is equipped with a long 112.3-inch wheelbase for exemplary ride and handling characteristics, helped in large part by the MacPherson strut front and four-link rear independent suspension. Variable-assist electric steering guides the way, and meaty four-wheel-disc brakes haul the G6 down from speed. Pontiac G6 GT models get traction control and ABS as part of the price of entry. Standard on the SE are 16-inch wheels. GT and GTP versions have 17-inch rims, with 18-inch alloys optional on the GTP.<snip>

[2Design]

102. a sexy little car there

[soothsayer]

81. article sez she will pay the taxes! n/t

[miss_kitty]

85. "she will pay the taxes!" holy crap! now THAT is awesome!

[GOPisEvil]

2. Holy crap!

That was mighty nice of her.

[takumi]

3. Awesome!

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

5. I would rather Oprah pay for my way to college ...

Thats just me . I could have a car but with no job or no where to go .

But heck yeah I would be HAPPY if I were one of those audience members ...

[Democat]

92. Read the rest of the article - she gave out some college money too

In other segments on the show, taped Thursday, Winfrey surprised a 20-year-old girl who had spent years in foster care and homeless shelters with a four-year college scholarship, a makeover and $10,000 in clothes. And a family with eight foster children who were going to be kicked out of their house were given $130,000 to buy and repair the home.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040913/ap_on_en_tv/people_oprah_s_surprise

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

156. I saw the show ...

I stick by my point though ... only because I can't drive LOL :)

I saw the segment where she gave the 20 year old the four year scholarship and when she gave the family with eight foster children $130,000 . I cried during both segments . I commend Oprah for giving back so much .

[Bombtrack]

6. That's really dumb. There are millions of people in this country who are

more deserving and way more in need of a new car than freaking middle class trophy wife/soccer mom type Operah audience members. 90 percent of them probably had to walk past their own cars which are probably from 2000 or later to see their new cars.

Send a correspondent through greater Chicago to interview single moms driving '87 festivas with bad mufflers, or some poor teenager/young person walking/biking to work to save up for one.

[Dookus]

15. c'mon

when people start finding fault with random acts of outrageous generosity, things are seriously wrong. If she'd done nothing at all, nobody would fault her. But she does something generous, and then people jump on her? damn...

[Bombtrack]

21. It's not an "outrageous act of random generosity" She's a billioniare

who probably didn't even have to pay for the cars which got advirtising from her giving them away. It's called means based logic.

[Dookus]

24. I just disagree

she didn't have to do it, and if she hadn't, nobody would've said boo.

But to somehow FAULT her because it wasn't generous enough or didn't target the right people is silly.

Anybody who gives anything away can ALWAYS find somebody more deserving, or could probably give more - we don't fault them for that.

I think this is the height of jealousy and pettiness to complain over this.

[DubyaSux]

45. Sheesh...

Is it me, or do some people here on DU thrive on negativity?

Some can't find the good in anything through the fog of their negative attitudes. And not just this. Bill Gates gives away billions of dollars that any other corporate prick would just pocket, and he gets abused. Gates has given more for AIDS research than most COUNTRIES, but he gets abused as hell on here. Just like Oprah.

I hope my life never gets to the point where finding fault is a way of life and a perpetual mental state.

There is plenty wrong with this world. But there is plenty of good as well. Some people just can't see it.

[miss_kitty]

49. uh there are a lot of positive posts on this thread

it's good to have a mix of opinions-it brings life to discussion and debate, and as long as we remain cool, realise that someone else's opinion is not a threat to our own, why not? this thread would be no where near as interesting if it were all "Yeah! Cool! Wow! :)

[soothsayer]

82. I'm with you! Even Jesus smacked down Judas for similar logic

if I recall correctly from Jesus Christ Superstar

[Moochy]

139. Random Acts of PR

RANDOM ACTS of KINDNESS (as seen by dookus)

A Phone Call, sometime in 2004:
some guy from Oprah Show: hey want to get some cars on the oprah show?
some guy2 from Pontiac: Lets call her people up and find out?

an excerpt from "Moochy: Petty Small And Mean", an unpublished e-zine of petty observations about media idols and the sheep who love them.

[miss_kitty]

142. don't be so hard on yourself moochy!

:)

[Moochy]

144. Oprah Show Topics: Learning to Love Billionaries

Don't worry Oprah says she has a show coming up about a place that will help folks like me who think that billionaires are parasites. It's called a re-education camp and they say lots of other nice democrats will be there too.

Bye for Now!

[cjbuchanan]

40. Please provide proof

Can you please provide some proof that the members in her audience were as you described.

[Bombtrack]

Anyone who knows anything knows who watches Oprah

And who goes to sit in her audience.

[cjbuchanan]

52. So you have no facts

Unless you provide proof, it is nothing but your opinion.

But thanks for trying to insult me.

[Bombtrack]

64. thank you captain obvious

I never disputed what I was offering was an opinion

[cjbuchanan]

76. Okay

Then what was that whole"Anyone who knows anything knows who watches Oprah And who goes to sit in her audience" thing.

You seem to be saying that the people in her audience do not deserve the cars because they are "...freaking middle class trophy wife/soccer mom type." You state this as fact, not opinion. Then you make the statement above about anyone who knows anything knows who watches Oprah. Again, you make it sound as if someone who does not know who sits in an Oprah audience, knows nothing. As if the fact is that her audience is as you say. All this time, you provide no demographic data or any other information to back up your claims.

So I ask you to provide such information and you say that it is just your opinion.

Seems to me, and this is my opinion, that your statements do not gel.

Best wishes to you and yours.

[Bombtrack]

98. Actually I used the word "probably",which you neglected to include in your

dumb attack on my opinion.

[Dookus]

99. and you were probably

100% wrong in your assessment.

[miss_kitty]

100. no, as we now know, bombtrack was ACTUALLY

100% wrong in his/her assumptions about the giveaway. that's ok. sometimes, when people make assumptions that are this incorrect, they learn to do research the next time to save themselves extreme embarrassment and total public humilation. let's hope this lesson sticks. :hi:

[cjbuchanan]

106. Actually, you did not.

"That's really dumb. There are millions of people in this country who are more deserving and way more in need of a new car than freaking middle class trophy wife/soccer mom type Operah audience members."

No probably to be found. You did use probably in the next sentence, but if you noticed, I was not talking about that sentence.

By the by, I find it really interesting that you see someone asking you to provide proof as an attack.

Oh, as I am sure you are now aware, the audience members were people who needed cars, not "...freaking middle class trophy wife/soccer mom type Operah audience members(.)" Does this change your "opinion"?

Hope you are having a wonderful day.

[Missy Vixen]

72. Have you read the news accounts of this morning's show?

>more deserving and way more in need of a new car than freaking middle class trophy wife/soccer mom type Operah audience<

Evidently, today's audience members were selected purposely because they desperately needed a working vehicle. The news article I just read stated that at least one member of the audience and her husband's vehicles had a combined total of 400,000 miles on them, for instance.

Oprah isn't perfect, but I admire her for her dedication to literacy and to charitable giving. I would love to be in the position to give away a brand new car to someone who desperately needed one.

Good for her for using her money to "pay it forward".

Julie

[miss_kitty]

86. i was going to post earlier

they vet audiences for the give-aways. no one who got a ticket off her, or her staff or friends or even friends off friends would have gotten in...she told how careful they are for her Oprah's favorite things shows...while i didn't have the facts at hand to dispute the 'soccer mom' theory, i knew she would not have given, willy-nilly cars to say, Lexus drivers...
thanks for supplying the info, Julie

[Misunderestimator]

108. Oh please... are we really going to disparage someone for being

generous? She gives PLENTY to charities, and she has plenty more to do spontaneous things like this. I think it's great. There's always something better to be done with money.

For example... I could stop my monthly contribution to DU and give it to the Kerry campaign instead. What on earth would that accomplish? I already give to the Kerry campaign and my contributions to other entities do not decrease my contributions to those "more worthy."

Spread the wealth I say! GO OPRAH! :yourock:

[Scout]

160. they looked specifically for people who needed new cars....

and then lied to them to get them in the audience. Those people DID need new cars...

[arwalden]

7. That Oprah! Always Trying To Out-Do Ellen...

[Lavender Brown]

16. She's threatened by the impending success of the Tony Danza show

this is just a publicity stunt.

[miss_kitty]

59. next thing ya know

she'll dump stedman and start dating women!

[Misunderestimator]

109. Well... It would be ABOUT TIME!

just my humble opinion

[Lavender Brown]

8. This reminds me of the SNL skit

where Oprah keeps giving people gifts and their heads start to explode.

[Cocoa]

14. that was hilarious

when they showed Tina Fey wetting her pants, I nearly did too. :-)

[sundog]

104. lmao -- I saw that -- I was laughing so hard I was crying

:hi:

[BigMcLargehuge]

10. Okay, what the hell is a Pontiac G-Six?

I've googled and all I get are vaccuum cleaners. Can someone post a pic?

[GOPisEvil]

13. Here ya go.

http://www.pontiac.com/g6/index.jsp?brand=home&pagename=home

[BigMcLargehuge]

17. many thanks :)

looks sort of like a Saturn.. I wonder if they share parts.

[snooper2]

18. Here it is, MSRP starting at 21,300

http://www.pontiac.com/g6/index.jsp?brand=home&pagename=home

[terrya]

11. Can you imagine being that freaking rich?

I sure can't. Just beyond my comprehension.

[pagerbear]

29. Terry, honey, you don't think Oprah paid for those cars, do you?

Surely GM provided them as advertising/publicity.

[miss_kitty]

51. but she is RICH ENOUGH to get Pontiac to do that

Money=Power

:)

[Moochy]

145. RICHEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD

It's Avarice Right? or is it Greed? I forget... one of those is required to be the RICHEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD isnt it?

Oh well maybe she's just lucky, and saintly too. I'm sorry..
your probably right, It's all good. Shop on America! PS buy Pontiac & Oprah living (tm) products.

This horribly sticky meme brought to you by the clever marketing folks Pontiac or Orpah.com.

[miss_kitty]

146. your jealousy is so sad, dude

you are the one that keeps repeting it. i guess P------ and O---- succeeded. i'm sure they thank you for the power.

[Moochy]

147. Go Oprah! woo!

Last.... word.... ever, and not a single personal attack against
the "dude" and Oprah Cheerleader, mille_chatte. not one?

and yet I've been put on the couch, analyzed, accused of analyzing, defining, and projecting.. whew it's been a busy night guys..
how much do I owe you? I have medicare...

thanks for a useless bunch of brain matter on a BILLIONAIRES PR stunt.

thanks.

We've made a breakthrough doc chatte...
I secretly want to be a daytime talkshow phenomenon worth billions.
WOW and im petty small and mean!! because I dont Like Oprah, whatever crap she throws at her sheep-audience.

GO OPRAH

[miss_kitty]

150. like i said...you keep bringing her up

and you started the analysis thing

and you are still projecting

and thanks for the power!:hi:

[ropi]

12. there's a special place for Oprah

May the universe, god, the spirit, etc..bless Oprah Winfrey. She's an example of a true spiritual person. It's too bad that dyed-in-the-wool evangelists and xians do not learn from this example.

[Bombtrack]

22. in hell?

You didn't specify. As I pointed out in my earlier post it's pretty sad that noone sees the stupidity of her choice who to help.

[ropi]

25. lol

nah..not in hell... Oprah gives from the heart and with kindness...I hope that there is a big universal heart that returns the love to her.

[Dookus]

26. your previous post was full

of assumptions you haven't proven. Why do you presume they're All well-off soccer moms? Tickets are free. Anybody can go.

But then, why the hell does it matter? Oprah gives away more EVERY MONTH than most people do in a lifetime.

[Bombtrack]

48. She's also worth 20 thousand times the average adult. At least

hello. Just like she should be expected to pay a higher percent of income, she shouldn't be worshipped because she throws gifts at her frigging yenta audience members that are probably subsidized by the company that gets advertising from her giving those items away on her show ANYWAY.

[JI7]

58. i don't think Oprah complains about having to pay taxes

and oprah earned what she has.

[Bombtrack]

63. I wasn't disputing either of those things

I was pointing out stupid a point (or non-point) it was to say she gives way more away than the average person when she's one of the richest people in the world.

You're supposed to give more than the average person to charity when you have that much money.

[JI7]

65. just her name is worth a lot

people would get more from having her promote things than just her giving money away. so by associating her name with good causes she helps .

[RivetJoint]

34. Wahhhhhh! There's ice in my iced-tea!

My ice cream's too cold...

[WindRavenX]

78. whatever dude

So you may not like her choice in generosity. The important thing is that she is at least generous in spirit, even if it is expressed in a manner that you personally wish was in different form.
Not many people have her generous nature to begin with.

[miss_kitty]

88. well when it's your money

you can make all the wise decisions on charity Oprah you feel failed to make...:)

[Cheswick2.0]

103. an audience of people who needed cars, a homelss girl and a foster home?

Damn her.

[sundog]

105. lol

[Misunderestimator]

110. Jeez man... what really is your issue with Oprah's generosity?

At the very least, she is serving as an example to everyone who watches her show to be generous insofar as they are able. Do you not see THAT angle at least?

[Dancer]

31. Spirit speaks....or is it Oprah speaking?

I gave myself some time to see if I wanted to stick by my initial reaction, and I decided to accept it: No matter how nice it appears, this is an action of the ego.

Imagination may have revealed a better way for her to put her material resources in service to humanity.

A mystic said: "When someone comes to you for bread, do not give them a stone."

I wish you well, Oprah. Namaste!

[redqueen]

68. What a lovely way of saying this

Namaste. :)

[miss_kitty]

89. apparently these people came for nothing

and got bread...if you'll note in the posts that came AFTER yours, these people in her audience all desperately needed vehicles...so while it appears nice, it IS nice, and she does put her resources to use for the betterment of humanity. if you are unaware of that, it is hardly for you to judge her actions.

I wish you well, Dancer. Namaste! :)

[Mixxster]

90. An action of ego?

"When someone comes to you for bread, do not give them a stone."

Did you read post #72 above? These people needed car, Oprah gave them a car.

JulieRB wrote:
Evidently, today's audience members were selected purposely because they desperately needed a working vehicle. The news article I just read stated that at least one member of the audience and her husband's vehicles had a combined total of 400,000 miles on them, for instance.

[Misunderestimator]

111. Damn that Oprah... What a selfish human being...

trying to set an example of generosity, and actually improving many people's lives in the process... The SHAME of it all! :eyes:

[miss_kitty]

19. something like that would so screw my benefits

plus it's a pontiac-i'm not a fan....i'd have to not accept it. so glad i missed being in the audience-but if that's what she does for season 19-what the HELL will she do NEXT september?

[LynneSin]

54. I'd accept it and then trade it in for a car I really wanted

Who would turn down $25,000

:shrug:

[miss_kitty]

57. i would have to...

or lose medicaid, medicare, section 8, my $10 a month in food stamps...
On Edit: these Fab guvmint benefits are a double-edged sword

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

66. They stop if someone gives you a gift??? That's f'd up! (nt)

[LynneSin]

77. wait, you can't win any prizes or you'd lose your benefits

that's just damn fucked up! I mean, basically these cars were a prize, no one should be penalized for winning a prize!

[miss_kitty]

84. it's taxable as income

many bingo playas have been rudely awakened by that. Any income gift or earned or found $$ has to be reported.

i could possibly lose section 8 because the value of that car plus the 10k or so i get from SS might be more than 1/2 the median income for my area-i was told that is the way section 8 works. i'd only lose the food stamps for the month, but i think my med stuff would be seriously messed up. so like i said, glad i was not in the audience for that one :)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

20. It's a nice gesture. There's no need to over-analyze.

Are there more deserving people? Sure. That doesn't make it any less of a good act though.

[specimenfred1984]

23. A Newwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Carrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

That's so cheesy, crass...wait a minute, I'll just get the thesaurus:

bawdy, boorish, cheap, common, crass, crude, foul, gross, gruff, immodest, incult, indelicate, inelegant, loutish, low, lowbred, obscene, off-color, offensive, raffish, raunchy, raw, ribald, rough, roughneck, scatological, smutty, tacky, uncivil, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unrefined, vulgar, vulgarian.

A new Pontiac WOW! I can just see all the people melting with greedy glee as they've just received a piece of crap that'll break down in 2 years. "Oh thank you rich person for sharing some of your awesome wealth with me"!

Am I being a hypocrite? Nah, I'd take the car too and sell if immediately while it still had the "it's an Oprah car" value and I'd thank Oprah for the sentiment.

[Senior citizen]

27. Now if everyone in that audience will "Pay It Forward"

there will be some serious do-gooding goin' on.

[Misunderestimator]

112. Exactly... and even if it's only a few...

I know that I would be inspired to do so... as I would hope most people would. And those who cannot may remember it someday when they can. How can such an act of generosity be so hopelessly misconstrued by some.

Pay it Forward... :thumbsup:

[miss_kitty]

28. i love Oprah!

she sponsors a couple hundred young men to go to school at Hillman. and she probably helps many more we don't know about. she started the 'Angel Network' thing (OK, i dislike that name) which she gives lots to, and others give to and she helps fund schooling out of that. she does all sorts of positive things. and as a huge cynic myself, i salute her!
:)

[Dookus]

30. Plus

going to Africa last year to distribute 50,000 gifts for children, and pledging many millions to build schools and fight AIDS.

[miss_kitty]

32. yeah, i just didn't want to pile it on and oversell her. n/t :)

[redqueen]

70. Now *THAT*...

THAT made me love her.

Too many people don't even want to think about the situation there... and she went and felt their pain... I can't even imagine how hard that would be... to meet those children, fall in love with them, then leave them there.

No one person, no matter how rich, can save the whole world.

[Shananigans]

128. I liked Oprah before, but the Africa thing got me...

I'm sold. Oprah has the power and goodwill to do many great things, but to do what she did for those children in Africa. It's priceless. I've been there and seen some of the desolation and conditions they live in. What she did can potentially turn their whole lives around.

OPRAH ROCKS!

Out of the three people I would like to meet in my lifetime, Oprah is on the list.

[EEgrad2003]

39. It's not Hillman

Hillman was a fictitious college on the Cosby Show and A Different World. She donates to Morehouse and Spellman, but they always get a bulk of donations as opposed to other HBCU's anyway. I think it's cool of what she's doing, but, I also think she could help out other causes too. But, I mean, it's whatever's close to your heart. If these causes move her donate, more power to her.

[miss_kitty]

47. sorry-i have-that hillman-spellman mix-up all the time now, thanks to Cos

and i hate making mistakes...i should have googled first...what an ass i am...self-:spank:

[EEgrad2003]

60. it's cool...

Hillman lead to a lot of people wanting to go to an HBCU. I Can't be too mad at that.

[miss_kitty]

62. thanks! :) n/t

[JI7]

35. i thought she was going to get married

and that was what it was about. but it did seem too obvious.

the car thing is nice , a nice surprise. i will watch today to see what the reaction is.

[RandomKoolzip]

36. Now if only she'd take a couple of her billions and set up a liberal think

tank to rival the AEI or Olin Institute or Scaife's projects.....It's about time some of these rich entertainment industry liberals start putting their money where their mouths are and quit wasting it on puny acts of self-reflexive "charity" such as this.

[RivetJoint]

38. And you know how much Oprah gives to charity?

Maybe she DOES put her money where her mouth is, and this was over and above the huge sums she gives to charity every year.

[RandomKoolzip]

46. Fixing the symptoms, not the cause.

Mellon, Scaife, et al. were willing to lose tens of millions (and they did) by setting up their various Institutes and Foundations in the seventies; only now are these Institutions paying off dividends to the conservative movement.

You can throw money to charity all you like; against the efforts of the media organs of the conservative movement, almost all acts of charity are pissing in the ocean. By paying people such as Coulter, Buchanan, Hannity, etc. to appear incessantly in the media, promoting ideas that forty years ago would have been thought of as fascistic, Scaife's enterprises have acheived the previously-thought impossible: making the conservative m,ovement appear legitimate (brainwashing). Now that the conservatives have control of all three branches of govt., putting more and more people out of work, defiling the environment, deregulating oil corporations, etc., the fruits of those gains are obvious. We need someone on the liberal side to wield the same kind of power. Someone like Oprah or Soros creating his own AEI to put liberal views in the media, we might actually be able to move the country back to the center withinjg the next twenty years.

[2Design]

37. Oprah is really generous - One of God's angels

I love the way Oprah gives so much back.

she is always so giving to her audiences and others around the world

So many people with money do only for themselves, she does for so many others

I read some of the negative responses here and was surprized. I wonder how much any of these people give or have given or are the catalyst to giving.

I don't care if it was oprahs money or not. She helps to make it happen.

I had a discounts for busch garden tickets for family or friends for august. So I tapped two people in line and brought them in as my guests with discount. They save $28. And she said may you be blessed.Not my money but I was able to make that happen by reaching out. Oprah does that all the time. It feels so good

So two days later I went to ballgame, and as I went up to buy a ticket, the ticket taker yells out, do you need a ticket - yes I did. I had been told there was standing room only for the game. Well, someone had an extra ticket and left it at the front gate. I laughed and thought of the lady two days earlier and knew I had been blessed.

These are the things Oprah does. I don't even care what others attribute her motives too - most of those thoughts reflect more on the person saying them than on Oprah.

I like that she tries to make things happen for others and does not forget her roots. Even her doing jury duty. She is part of the community process.

Paul Newman does very generous things with his money too. His are more quiet since he is not a TALK show host.

I have been quite impressed with Oprah since I have finally gotten to see some of her shows in the last two years.

[miss_kitty]

42. and people need to see others giving

not US of course but i am sure with her public gestures of kindness, she has moved others to give, and you really don't know what she does privately. and she hits celebs up to give to her angel network. kids give money to it and she shows them how their few pennies go together with others help in ways no one person could do.

bottom line: it's her money. she can do with it want she wants, and yeah i know, she prolly didn't give any of her money for these cars. but i see her doing a lot more good with her money than say, dick cheney or george bush do with theirs...or OURS

[2Design]

55. funny you bring up cheney and BushCo....most rethugs

don't believe in giving to anyone who is not already rich. They give huge sums to campaign to enrich themselves.

Oprah may enrich her 'ego' as some try to say - but she is also enriching others ego too and passing along positive energy and hope.

I do think her giving does set an example for others to give and she allows a path for other celebrities to give and others to give.

Her africa trip. She knows she can't change all their lives but as she said she never forgot the nun bring presents that one day. It gave her hope. That is all she can offer. She can not save everyone.

She really takes the energy of money and time and uses it in a way to further the good for others.

So people may sell the car and get something else. But they have that energy to exchange now.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

41. The same Oprah that was "pimping up" Arnold last fall???

She has officially gone over the top now.

Why doesn't she give that money to "The Angel Network"???

:eyes:

Once a mediawhore, always a mediawhore!

:argh:

[miss_kitty]

43. yeah i hated that and i skip a lot of her stuff

but i can't think of anyone in the world i agree 100% with all the time, either. :D

[2Design]

61. Maria is her friend - she happens to be married to arnold

Maria's father started Head start and I believe Peace Corp. I felt this was done because of Maria.

I am sure I would not like everything about everyone on this message board. I know that for sure by seeing the negative comments people have written about someone who gives so much back to the community - albeit in her own style - but she is giving.

If more people gave - no matter what their style of giving - this would help change the world.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

71. Regardless of whether Maria was her friend or who Sgt Shriver was...

It was nevertheless giving a candidate running for governor free air time to a national audience (and that probably includes a constituency who would not see him at other venues or shows). I would have had a lot more respect for her if she'd also allowed Davis or Bustamante to put their case to the people in the interests of fairness and equal time.

After all, she gave * and Gore equal time in election 2000. An adherence to the same principle here would have been good

Look, I personally don't take to Oprah and I don't always agree with her but I recognize she is a very generous and giving person who I think genuinely thrives on doing good things and making people happy. And I commend her for that -we need more billionaires with the compassion and commitment that Oprah has to making a better world.

And for all my complaining about Oprah's treatment of Ah-nuld (which I nevertheless think was wrong), she did refuse *'s request that she go to Afghanistan and do a fluff piece on him. And she does donate generously to liberal causes

[2Design]

83. Is this thread on an RNC site......

Did Davis or Bustamante ask her?

I am absolutely amazed how many hateful remarks have been in this thread toward someone who does so much good.

I feel like I am at the RNC hatefest.

This womans good works out weigh anything else she may do

And I am sure many of us have done things for our friends that we would not do for someone else.

[smirkymonkey]

132. Maybe she could buy Maria a sandwich?

...sorry, couldn't help it. :evilgrin:

[JI7]

44. she wasn't "pimping" him, she had him on because he is a "movie star"

she would have done the same if barbara streisand or some other liberal or democratic celeb decided to run for political office and wanted to come on her show.

she has them on because they are famous, not because of politics. oprah has been pretty neutral as far as expressing political opinions. even when she had on bill clinton the show was predictable as many oprah shows are in that it focused on his personal relationships and faults. she didn't attack him for any policy things.

she focused it on a personal relationship thing and how he got through things and other typical oprah stuff. this is what her show is mostly about. other things they talked about were similar such as growing up with an abusive step father .

[Bombtrack]

50. she also took that dumb bitch Omarosa's side in implying racism on that

chick from the apprentice that Omarosa slandered.

Not that that's really important in the scheme of things. It just shows people should be annoyed by Oprah at minimum, much less put her up on a diefied pedistal.

I realize that some may think people hating her is a liberal/conservative thing. But I don't think so. I certainly don't buy into the right-wing arguments against her. They're mostly full of crap and stupid non points. There are a ton of liberals who don't like her and a ton of conservative republican types who do. I don't hate her, not even close, but I do think there are enough annoying things about her that the level of adulation many give her is rediculous.

[EEgrad2003]

56. She also had on Michael Moore...

and gave him the exposure he may not have received for "Bowling for Columbine". Not that Michael Moore wasn't well known then, but I remember people that I knew that weren't into politics and documentaries wanting to see "Bowling for Columbine" because of the exposure Oprah gave him.

[Mixxster]

96. "Why doesn't she give that money to 'The Angel Network'???"

Let's see, she donates at least 10% of her income to charity, plus covers ALL administrative costs for the Angel Network. 100% of any contribution made to the Angel Network goes to worthy causes. How many other charities can say that? Very few.

But, of course, it's never enough. Some people simply can't focus on the positive Oprah does, they must degrade her for what they perceive as negative. I was unhappy that she gave Arnold a platform last year but she's been close friends with Maria for 25+ years; it's her show and it was a choice she made. I didn't like it but did that obliterate all the good she does? Of course not. Well, it shouldn't, but it obviously does for some people.

[LynneSin]

53. Will Dick Cheney be factoring these new cars into the GNP

:shrug:

[ronnykmarshall]

67. Another story about the car give away.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=7&u=/ap/20040913/ap_on_en_tv/people_oprah_s_surprise

It states that all the audience memebers were selected from letter from relatives. They were all in need of new cars.

[Dookus]

69. also

"In other segments on the show, Winfrey surprised a 20-year-old girl who had spent years in foster care and homeless shelters with a four-year college scholarship, a makeover and $10,000 in clothes. And a family with eight foster children who were going to be kicked out of the house they were renting were given $130,000 to buy and repair the home. "


But I guess she's just an ego-driven selfish bitch. Some people....

edit; I hope Bombtrack takes note of this. So much for giving away cars to middle-class soccer moms. See what happens when you make rash judgments without knowing the facts? You make a fool of yourself.

[redqueen]

73. Awww, Dookus

Don't be too hard on 'im... living in this ugly world takes its toll on people. I'll just be glad there's confirmation that all is not what you might start out expecting it to be. Sometimes it's far better.

Plus, she did have Arnold on during the 'oust the farly elected Dem gov of CA' period. That probably turned a lot of people into default-Oprah-haters all by itself.

:hi:

[Dookus]

74. Yes, she had Arnold on

she's also had Clinton, Michael Moore and other "lefties" on. She is NOT a political reporter - she does a talk show. She got a big movie star who was running for governor on her show. I don't fault her for that - if *I* had a talk show, I'd want Arnold on.

I just get pissed off when people get slammed for doing good things. There are plenty of billionaires in the world, and few of them use their time and money to do the things Oprah does. Why slam her for it?

[redqueen]

75. I chalk it up as reflex

or 'kneejerking', if you will. I see a lot of that on here... sometimes right in the mirror. :)

I assume that if the person had the big picture, they'd see the light.

[medeak]

79. THANK GAWD DOOKUS!

was reading all and wondering if ANYONE bothered to read the link....talk about ADD!

[ronnykmarshall]

80. That Oprah ....

the face of evil! :silly:

[miss_kitty]

91. Dookus, i am glad you pointed that out

i teared up reading this...i like you. and your little dog too!

[2Design]

101. that was so cool all the things she help make happen for these

people
I thought it was great that she did so much for those people

That couple in Ny with ALL those foster children....it was even better to see the impact she had on her neighbors - the neighbors wanted her to stay and be there with those kids....

how many neighborhoods say - not in my backyard to troubled kids - she must be a really stupendous person -

I had a neighbor once who gave a lot and she had so little - many gave to her - it was great to help her

[Christof]

87. Well that was nice of her.

Too bad there aren't any other rich persons like her around. :(

The world would be a much better place.

[Beetwasher]

93. Damn! Say What You Want About Oprah

But that's pretty impressive, I must admit. I've never been a big fan, but it does seem like her hearts in the right place.

[UrbScotty]

97. OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH

OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!

[samplegirl]

107. Ratings gimmick!

She didnt pay for these cars. They were donated by Pontiac.
Good for her ratings and a promotional for G.M.
I really didnt care for this..............this would of been much
more a success story had these cars gone to people who truly were
in need.
So I say 2thumbs down to both!!!!!

[Misunderestimator]

113. I would suggest going back and reading the posts in this thread...

so you would understand that the audience members were chosen because they were in need of a car.

[miss_kitty]

114. they were all truly in need. So what if she gets something back?

was anyone harmed by it? hey! she got a bunch of dangerous, pollution-spewing deathtraps off the road. These were not 'random recipients'.
her action of getting that many new cars for people who would not have otherwise purchased a new car, gave a little bump to the people that worked in that US auto plant.

several ppl earlier in the thread posted links to the stories that give the background..

so you are also against her giving that throw-away homeless girl a great bunch of treats and topping it off by obtaining all expenses paid schooling? at a 4 year university of her choice? what a bitch that Ms Winfrey is.

oh and buying that foster family their home? positively mercenary.

Oprah-One Woman Axis of Evil

/sarcasm.

[Missy Vixen]

120. I watched Oprah today for the first time in a long, long time

>oh and buying that foster family their home? positively mercenary<

I had the blues. Bad.

I say "had the blues" because I had myself a good cry over that Oprah episode today, and I feel much better.

I loved the lady named Celestine who was one of the first to get a car. All she wanted was to go to the "Oprah" show. Well, she did, and she got a car, too!

I LOVED the four-year full ride scholarship for the young girl whose own family was sending her back to the streets. I'm not sure I'd have her kind of courage. She got through school and now she's going to the university of her choice. She'll get an education, she'll get out of there, and she will be a major success. She's going to do something amazing with her life. As Will Pitt would say, "bank it".

I was sobbing from sheer happiness when the foster mother of 42(!) was pulled out of her rental house and presented with a $100,000 check to buy the house outright. Good for her and good for her neighbor, who truly seemed to care about her and about the kids she cares for.

There is nothing nicer than watching people who fight and struggle every day to even keep going have something wonderful happen to them. I hope something wonderful happens to every DU'er who needs a miracle.

Julie

[miss_kitty]

130. so you know i was being ultra sarcastic in answer to whatever

the 2 thumbs down person was saying....

[Missy Vixen]

159. I knew that you were being sarcastic

Damn that Oprah Winfrey for caring! Damn her! :mad:

Julie

[Dookus]

115. what a petty

and ignorant position.

[Moochy]

121. Oprah.com

As rich as Oprah is, how can still be considered an examplary person? I guess that I'm just too skeptical of anyone with that
much money.

Obviously this was a promotional trick, A fine public display of charity the likes of which Rockefeller would have been proud.

She does seem to make the women-folk cry alot, and her audience
seems to like that.

Richest Woman on the Planet or some such title?

[miss_kitty]

124. what's your point, then?

[Moochy]

126. My point?

It's a good thing for all those who were in the audience,
AND
its a cheap promotional gimmick.

Wow its two things at once!!

[miss_kitty]

135. impressive

not :)

[Dookus]

129. yeah she's rich

she earned her money. She grew up dirt poor. She didn't steal her money, she didn't rape the environment to get it, she didn't exploit the poor to get it. She earned it.

Is there anything pettier than hating people simply because they succeed?

[Moochy]

131. Dont be a Opr4H H8R!

"Is there anything pettier than hating people simply because they succeed."

I don't know is there? Maybe practicing media hero-worship is
petty, maybe hero-bashing is petty.

Now if those Free Pontiac's were all Subaru WRXs.. we might have a deal.

[Dookus]

133. what celebrity worship?

what a bullshit observation. People are simply acknowledging that she did a nice thing.

I still think it's supremely silly to hate Oprah because she's rich. It's petty, small and mean.

[Moochy]

136. I'm going to quit the team, you dont like my band

She did a nice thing. Great! it's *also* a bullshit pr stunt.
Wow it can be both things? How can it be so??

Who's hating Oprah?

I swear some of you e-prigs are really easily offended.
YOU DONT LIKE MY FAVORITE BAND? OMG I'm going to quit the team!

[miss_kitty]

140. YOU DON'T LIKE MY FAVORITE BAND? OMG I'm going to quit the team!

no one is stopping you-please-you are obviously offended we don't agree with you, and no one wants you to feel you have to stay. all your projecting of your feelings on to us is very pathetic...stop humiliating yourself!

and quit trying to define people around here. you don't have the skills or expertise to do that kind of analysis, and you certainly don't have the power to offend most the people here.

[Dookus]

149. I'm not easily offended

you're just being offensive. For no discernible reason.

You don't like rich people. OK, noted. You have an irrational prejudice. A lot of people do. It's just rare to find someone so damned proud of it.

[Moochy]

151. Irrational Prejudice against Wealthy People

Especially in this greedy society where people like her can do a cheap stunt like this and gain the goodwill of optimistic folks who are willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

I'm proud of hating CEO's who make 40x the salary of their lowest-paid workers. What about you?

Do you think she makes 40x as much as her lowest paid worker?

Is that relevant to her acts of charity? For me, yes. For others no.

I guess I'll go back *underground* to where the other billionaire
haters are at. Sheesh..

[Dookus]

158. Nope

I'm not proud of irrational hatreds. Why would I be?

I do know that Oprah personally gives away more money per year than you're likely to earn in your sad, bitter lifetime.

[miss_kitty]

138. so it appears your attitude is down to your

avarice and envy. no one wrote Oprah a letter for you. sad.

maybe you'll be mature enough one day to realise a couple things:

1) no matter how bad things are for you, someone else who is better off than you will get stuff you actually deserve;

2) you will get stuff other people deserve more than you;

3) admiring someone for doing something that improves the lives of others is not necessarily hero-worship. and if it is, how does the enjoyment of others affect your life or the lives of others adversely?

[Moochy]

141. Get behind Thee OPRAH

Maybe not, maybe I'll just keep posting threads to shake up indignant
prigs who try to stifle dissent by attackin others opinions as
Vices.

Avaraice Envy?

Holy Fire and Brimstone !!

Get behind thee satan!


welcome to ignore? maybe it will be mutual and we can save DU some
bandwidth/time/money

PS the WRX comment was a joke, I wouldnt want a P.o.S. Pontiac
car if it was free.

[miss_kitty]

143. well i wouldn't want a pontiac either, but

i don't begrudge them doing some pr besides crashing them in movies (which, imho is what i would do with a pontiac) but-if all you can afford is a crate, what's wrong with a rich and powerful woman putting her power to work for 'good' and getting you a car? you know, a lot of other ppl on this thread thought oprah was full of shit, which is fine with me. but they did not turn it into a personal attack on other members. YOU are the one not handling dissent well, and the fact you need to ignore is proof of that.

and it's 'Avarice', not 'Avaraice'

[qanda]

117. I don't think I've ever seen DU more petty than this thread...

I watched the show and it was a wonderful thing for her to do. There should be more people willing to give like that, but I see from this thread where it would get them-- people questioning their motives and calling them egomaniacs. :shrug:

[miss_kitty]

119. i thought the thread was mainly upbeat on Oprah

i think also a lot of the people who criticized her did so because they jumped to conclusions, and didn't bother to do research. and hey! i haven't seen any comment deleted here by a mod, so while people were critical contrary to what you and i may believe, they maintained a manner civil enough to stay on the board. so far, anyway.

[Moochy]

127. Oprah Magazine

If I get a magazine named Moochy, you have every right to
call me an egomaniac :-)

[Dookus]

134. When

"moochy" becomes a valuable brand, go right ahead.

Petty, small and mean.

[Moochy]

137. Petty Small And Mean??

Sorry that I offended your daytime TV sensiblities.

It's all crap anyways to drive Kleenex sales.

Whatever.

[Dookus]

148. I didn't watch the show

and in fact, I almost never watch her show. I've probably seen it five times in my life.

But you hate her because she's rich, which is about the stupidest reason to hate someone I've ever heard.


Maybe if you write to her, YOU can get something. Then you won't be so jealous.

[Moochy]

152. cheer on.

Cheer on Apologist for billionaires, cheer on.

[JI7]

153. Oprah earned her money, she had it tough growing up

[miss_kitty]

154. again moochy, thanks for the power

it's nice to know my opinions are so important to you, you are all over them like white on rice. :D

[Moochy]

155. Pontiac's Interior

Mmmm White Rice. White Rice Power. Now I'm just shamelessly upping my post count.

BTW What kind of interior did these Pontiac's have do you happen to have any PDF's perhaps?

[sleipnir]

118. How dare she provide happiness!!

The insult to our populace has begun, someone has decided to deride a gift.

May the profits be reaped by all of you who sow such contempt and ridicule. Enough should be enough, that's not good for some it would appear. A sick day, indeed, the air is ripe with vile.

[Dookus]

122. no kidding

it's insane.

it's like if I give 10 bucks to a homeless person, attacking me because there's a NEEDIER homeless person on the next block, and I should've given 20 bucks.

[Moochy]

125. air is ripe with vile ?

"A pox on thy village ye detestable vermyne of DU-berg!! I'll give my 500 Pontiac G6's to FreeRepublic.com's users!!!"

... and the kind Good Princess Oprah rode away into the sunset,
on her very large white unicorn.

<roll credits>

Sorry that last post when read out of context seemed to be
a bit medieval. :-)

[DS1]

123. TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA!

:shrug:

[JSJ]

157. opie's a tout for the establishment...

...and how do all the innumerable audiences opie's had over the years feel about not getting a car? Truly a cynical and insecure gesture on Opie's part.

[Senior citizen]

161. The scholarship was good.

The house was good -- I watched the show and the woman who got the house was truly upset because she didn't know in advance and her hair wasn't done, but she really needed it for those foster kids.

I know all the people were selected because they really needed cars, and quite possibly they had old gas guzzlers, so new cars might save on gas. But we are fighting a war for gas. And I really don't like cars because they pollute the air (not just the exhaust--there are microparticles of rubber and metal that wear off the tires and brakes and get into people's lungs).

Basically, the concept that material things solve problems is flawed. This country is full of psychologists and psychiatrists who charge $200.00 an hour and up and don't take Medic-Aid, so the only people who can see them are well off. That means that just being wealthy doesn't necessarily mean you're happy.

But Oprah instills in people a feeling that it is good to give to others. That alone, IMHO, is a ticket to Heaven. When you look at the message of selfishness and greed that is propagated by the current misadministration, having someone like Oprah on TV is a flat out rebuke to the pukes.