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Unfairness and Inaccuracy in
Media, The Propaganda-Apologists Continue to Shill For Jeff/Jim
Gannon/Guckert
- By Anthony Wade
-
- February 28, 2005
www.OpEdNews.com
- Now that Jeff Gannon has returned to brag about how the left
hunted him down, it was expected that the apologists for this
whore would start coming out of the woodwork to defend the
indefensible. People from the far right, the administration, and
the mainstream media all have a stake in downplaying this story.
In order for that to work, they need to convince you that this is
somehow a partisan story and that poor Jeff/Jim is the hapless
victim of the mean-spirited lefties.
-
- Cliff Kincaid is one such writer who has come to the defense
of Jeff Gannon/Jim Guckert. Clearly shilling for the
administration, Kincaid maintains his blog on the Accuracy in the
Media (AIM) website. This is a cheap imitation of the Fairness and
Accuracy in Reporting organization, which is in the business of
real activism. AIM tries it’s best to appear to be FAIR, but in
the end it is clearly a partisan enterprise, engaged in the
business of disinformation.
-
- Kincaid has written more than one piece already, serving as an
apologist for the administration and Gannon. In his pieces he has
defended Gannon and ridiculed the blogosphere. He has portrayed
Gannon as the victim and the new media as the relentless villain.
This is nonsense.
-
- On February 11, 2005, Kincaid posted his article entitled,
“The Destruction of Jeff Gannon”.
It can be found here.
-
- In it we have the following observations by Kincaid in
italics, followed by my analysis:
-
- “They have taken the scalp of an on-line conservative
journalist by the name of Jeff Gannon, who was virtually unknown
until about three weeks ago. His crimes were that he was too
pro-Republican, attended White House briefings, and asked
questions unfair to Democrats.”
-
- Mr. Kincaid wastes no time in identifying himself as a whore
for the administration. The first point is that Gannon was NOT a
journalist; he played one in the White House press pool. He
actually had no training in journalism, no history in journalism,
and worked for a fake news agency that was actually a front for
the GOP. The fact that Kincaid ignores these facts reveals his
true agenda. Secondly, his crime was not that he asked questions
unfair to democrats, that is highly arrogant of Kincaid to suggest
so. Here is the actual question he asked, OF OUR PRESIDENT:
-
- “Senate Democratic leaders have
painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. [Senate Minority
Leader] Harry Reid [D-NV] was talking about soup lines. And
[Senator] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] was talking about the economy
being on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath they say
that Social Security is rock solid and there's no crisis there.
How are you going to work -- you've said you are going to reach
out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who
seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"
-
- I would ask Mr. Kincaid to try and defend this question
keeping in mind the following facts:
-
- 1) Harry Reid never talked about soup lines.
- 2) Hillary Clinton never said the economy was on the verge of
collapse.
- 3) Gannon actually heard these lies on the Rush Limbaugh show,
where Rush was making a joke.
- 4) Gannon did not realize they were jokes, so he packaged them
and asked the President of the United States a question containing
these two lies.
- 5) Regardless of the lies, this is not even a real question,
as it is rhetorical in nature, designed only to serve up a
tee-ball to Bush.
-
- No, the fact is that this question is indefensible. Kincaid
knows it, but hopes that by avoiding the particulars, he can
convince some that Gannon was just a poor little victim. Not
satisfied with this distortion, Kincaid continues:
-
- “A massive left-wing investigation of Gannon’s personal and
business affairs was launched and was said to reveal that he was
associated with some homosexual-sounding website addresses”
-
- There was no massive investigation. In fact, someone came
forward and gave Gannon up, just like that. Kincaid also tries to
downplay the associations. Gannon was not just “associated” with
the websites; he hosted them and paid for them. The names were
like “militarystud.com” but the real story was that when Gannon
was asked about them by Wolf “fluff-piece” Blitzer, he responded
that he opened these sites for a client and that the sites were
never hosted. The next day, the person came forward with the proof
that not only did Jeff open the sites, he hosted them and they
contained over 40 naked pictures of himself, as he apparently was
prostituting himself, for up to $1,200 per weekend and he liked to
be called “Bulldog”.
-
- “The Gannon “scandal” would be laughable, were it not for
the fact that Gannon’s personal privacy has been invaded”
-
- Excuse me, are you serious? Gannon had invaded the White House
press pool for two years, without any credentials, asked softball
questions designed only to help out the administration, and you do
not think his personal life is relevant? What about the $20,000
plus that he owes the government in back taxes; is that relevant?
Bulldog’s life became exposed because he still had ACTIVE web
sites where he was still illegally selling himself as a male
hooker. Can you imagine the outrage if this was the Clinton White
House? Who does Kincaid think he is fooling? To hear Kincaid tell
it, someone in the vast left-wing conspiracy took spread-eagle
naked pictures of Jeff, unbeknownst to him, posted them on
multiple websites and forced him into male prostitution. Where is
the accountability? The media or the blogs did nothing but report
the truth. Maybe Kincaid has forgotten what the truth looks like.
-
- “The campaign against Gannon demonstrates the paranoid
mentality and mean-spirited nature of the political left.”
-
- I am getting tired of having to continue to point out to the
whores of this media, but this story is not about Gannon, or any
campaign against him. It is about a government that does not think
twice about buying your opinion. There is nothing “mean-spirited”
about it. If Bulldog goes on to have a fantastic career in the
military-stud business, I will be very happy for him, as long as
he stops pretending to be a journalist and polluting our country.
-
- “Despite all the innuendo and controversy, the fact remains
that Gannon had done some excellent political stories on a wide
range of subjects, including the CIA and former Senate Democratic
Leader Tom Daschle. Gannon could have survived the charge of
having a conservative bias but when his personal life and family
became targets, he decided to call it quits”
-
- The fact actually remains that Gannon has been exposed as a
plagiarist who has lifted verbatim portions of GOP press releases
because he had difficulty writing original pieces. There are
serious questions as to the role he played in the Daschle
unseating as it appears that he was a fake reporter, working for a
fake blog at the time. I might add that if his work was so good,
then his buddy Eberle would not have scrubbed the Talon site of
ALL of his articles. His coverage of the CIA calls into question
how he obtained a secret memo regarding the outing of a covert CIA
operative, a felony. Now, Kincaid is right, Gannon could have
survived the charge of being biased, but it was far more than
that. Don’t hand me the “his family was targeted” nonsense. If
Kincaid had any proof of this, other than the word of the
proverbial liar, Gannon, he should REPORT it. The fact that he
does not only continues to reveal his agenda and the truth is not
on that agenda.
-
- “It all started when Gannon’s writings were “exposed” for
having too many statements taken directly out of White House press
releases. Gannon apparently believed that covering the White House
meant that he should actually report, in long and complete
sentences, what the White House actually said on various public
policy issues. He was also accused of tossing softball questions
to White House spokesman Scott McClellan and the President
himself.”
-
- No Cliff, pimp your lies somewhere else. Jeff actually lifted
the entire sentences verbatim and passed them off as his own. That
is plagiarism, period. I would expect a reporter involved in
fairness in media to know the difference. To hear this continuous
apology for unethical behavior is disgusting. Lastly, Jeff is not
“accused” of tossing softball questions, that is exactly what he
did. I have several examples but let’s use this one:
-
- “I'd like to comment on the angry
mob that surrounded Karl Rove's house on Sunday. They chanted and
pounded on the windows until the D.C. police and Secret Service
were called in. The protest was organized by the National People's
Action Coalition, whose members receive taxpayer funds, as well as
financial support from groups including Theresa Heinz Kerry's
Tides Foundation.”
-
- This is not a journalistic question Cliff, not only that, it
is rife with lies and innuendo. That is entirely the point. Stop
apologizing for him.
-
- “Was Gannon a Bush plant? Was he secretly on the White
House payroll? The conspiracy theories were fed by the fact that
Jeff Gannon wasn’t his real name; he used a professional name
because he didn’t like the sound of his real name - James Guckert.”
-
- Here we have it at last; Cliff Kincaid has now lied for Jeff
Gannon. The truth is that when asked by Blitzer about using a
pseudonym, Gannon replied that he used the fake name because Jim
Guckert was “too difficult to pronounce.” He never said anything
about not liking the sound of his name. The reality is that since
his defense with Blitzer, myself and other writers have skewered
Blitzer for allowing such a ridiculous answer for using the fake
name. Apparently, Guckert must have agreed so now his apologists
are pretending he “didn’t like the sound” of his name.
-
- “The left’s whole focus is wrong in this case,” Eberle told
AIM. “This is a private company owned by me, with no ties to the
Republican Party. We’re on no one’s payroll, except what I choose
to pay people.” Eberle has been running Talon News and GOPUSA for
over four years. They send out news and commentary and “the
conservative message” to about half-a-million subscribers a day.”
-
- Sure, and I have some “gay-sounding” websites to sell you.
C’mon Cliff, do you honestly believe that an organization named
GOPUSA, run by a Texas boy such as Eberle, who personally thanked
Karl Rove on his website for his “guidance” is non-partisan? The
truth is that no one ever said that these organizations were
connected to Bush, only that they worked together for what they
believed in. Did you expect to find that Bush was the co-owner of
the organization? Stop lying.
-
- Kincaid wraps up this shill piece with:
-
- “So the case against Gannon boils down to being too
pro-Republican, writing stories with a conservative slant, and
being linked to conduct, homosexuality, that is accepted and
celebrated by those who were going after Gannon in the first
place. The standard of the liberal thought police is evidently
that someone’s private life should be protected - except when the
accused is a conservative. The old media and their new found
friends in the left-wing blogging community will stop at nothing
to maintain their political power.”
-
- No Cliff. What your article boils down to is you are now
exposed as an apologist for state-controlled media. You do not
represent what is fair or accurate. You have sold out for this
administration and thrown away whatever journalistic credibility
you may have had. I will review again what this story is about.
-
- This story is about the truth. It is about what can be
believed in the media. The facts are these:
-
- Jeff Gannon lied about who he was.
-
- Jeff Gannon had on his Talon News website resume that he
“graduated” from the journalism Leadership Institute. This turned
out to be a two-day seminar about how to write anti-liberal
pieces.
-
- Jeff Gannon was denied a hard pass because Talon News was not
considered a real news agency and was too connected to a political
partisan operation.
-
- Undeterred, Gannon received a day-pass, for two years.
-
- These day-passes were not designed for the way Gannon used
them. They were designed for out-of town reporters who needed
access for a day.
-
- Each day he got a pass; he signed in as Jim Guckert, but was
called on by Scott McClellan as “Jeff”.
-
- For two years, Gannon would serve as an emergency outlet for
McClellan, serving up the most biased, ridiculous questions,
removing any doubt that he was not a journalist. Again, it has
nothing to do with party, just about truth. Comparing him to Helen
Thomas is asinine, period. Thomas may have been an administration
critic but she was still asking journalistic questions. If she
began asking questions about why Bush was a butt-head, I would
agree that she was Gannoning-it. Conversely, if Gannon was asking
a conservative question that had merit, we would not be having
this conversation.
-
- Finally, he asked such a horrific question, this time to the
president himself, that people took notice.
-
- That question contained untruths in it that Gannon gleaned
from a Rush Limbaugh joke, but he could not discern the truth.
-
- Questions were asked, and it turned out that Gannon was
Guckert and that he had been involved with some racy-homosexual
websites.
-
- Gannon stepped down from the media attention, claiming his
personal life was under attack.
-
- In an interview with Wolf Blitzer Gannon stated he changed his
name because Guckert was too difficult to pronounce, a foolish
assertion.
-
- In the same interview he claimed the websites were never
hosted and he did the work for a “client.”
-
- The following day, Gannon is exposed again as a liar as a
witness comes forth to verify that Gannon did host the sites and
that there are over 40 naked pictures of Jeff “Bulldog” Gannon, as
he tried to sell his sexual services as a male hooker, at $1,200
per weekend. Bulldog likes to be on top.
-
- Suddenly, people line up on two sides of this story. On one is
the old media and conservative base which actually tries to make
this story personal to Gannon and not be about how this man got
access to the press pool for two years. They portray Gannon as the
victim. On the other side, people line up for the truth, saying
that shills and whores have no place in the White House press
pool.
-
- Other odds and ends have Gannon gaining access to a secret
memo about the outing of CIA operative, Valerie Plame, a felony.
He also had sources that revealed to him hours before anyone else
knew when we were bombing Iraq as well as other sensitive
governmental matters. Lastly, there is the fact that Gannon was
allowed into his first conference, before Talon News was even in
“business.”
-
- This is a serious story. It reveals deep problems within this
administration. It reveals that someone made a conscious decision,
day after day, to let a man with no credentials, $20,000 in back
taxes owed, and an open male prostitute into the White House to
ask blatantly partisan “questions”. People like Cliff Kincaid want
you to think this is about a man who was conservative asking
conservative questions but that is nonsense. In order for Cliff to
get you to look past the obvious problems this story presents for
this administration, he has to convince you that it is about
party. It is not. It is about a whore in the White House providing
propaganda for the president and his administration. Any fair or
accurate assessment of this situation would have to conclude that.
Anyone trying to convince you that it is the male hooker that is
the victim, has been exposed as whore themselves.
-
Anthony Wade, a
contributing writer to
opednews.com, is dedicated to educating the populace to the lies
and abuses of the government. He is a 37-year-old independent writer
from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple
websites. A Christian progressive and professional Rehabilitation
Counselor working with the poor and disabled, Mr. Wade believes that
you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies
and excess.
Anthony Wade’s
Archive:
http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm
Email
Anthony:
takebacktheus@gmail.com
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