Post by UniverseSeven on Mar 7, 2005 15:05:17 GMT -5
The Force of Freedom
Amr Al-Faisal
There is news coming from the US on a scandal that involves the White House press corp.
It seems that a member of the said press corp. — a man by the name of Jeff Gannon — was never actually an accredited member of the press corp.
The White House allowed this man to pose as a journalist and ask the president softball questions that allowed him to avoid the awkward questions of the real members of the press corp.
But wait! It gets better.
The White House avoided the usual accreditation procedure for Gannon by issuing him with a daily pass to the White House press corp. for two whole years. Why did they do that?
Well, Gannon, whose real name is James Guckert, has, to put it delicately, a past; and colorful one at that.
Guckert in addition to running a conservative Republican website also ran a number of pornographic websites catering to the homosexual elements in US society.
But wait! It gets even better.
Not only was Guckert a webmaster for homosexual websites, but he himself was a “male escort” which means a male prostitute.
The truly amazing thing about this messy affair is how little attention the mainstream media has given to it.
There is a palpable reluctance by a majority of the US media, print, radio or television, to treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
The deliberate and barefaced manipulation of the press by the current administration is nothing new, but this blatant, even fraudulent, case takes the cake.
And yet the pussycats in the US press have taken it with remarkable grace and good humor.
I am sure that this can only comfort the citizens of that great country to know that they are being kept well informed by their “independent and fearless” press.
At this point it would be useful to ask, can it get any better than this?
Well, my dears, it can and has.
Guckert has been a busy little bee.
He was involved in the early eighties with porn websites that specialized in recruiting military men especially from the US Marine Corp. to act as male escorts for members of the US Senate and Congress.
So the next time a bill passes through Congress or the Senate that erodes the civil liberties of Americans or gives preferential treatment to the rich amongst them at the expense of the rest, I would like you to conjure in your minds the image of a beefy Marine in tight leather shorts.
Thus endeth the lesson in democracy, American-style.
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Gannongate Swinging Open? New Move in Congress for Info
NEW YORK Gannongate may be opening a little wider soon.
For two weeks, several Democratic members of Congress have pressed the White House, the Secret Service, the Justice Department (news - web sites) and Department of Homeland Security for information about just how GOPUSA/Talon News reporter James Guckert was able to attend briefings and presidential press conferences for two years under the alias James Gannon, on behalf of an openly partisan organization. Guckert has also been linked to sex sites and a male escort operation.
Today, ranking members for House committees on Rules, Judiciary, Government Reform, Homeland Security and Ways and Means submitted a Resolution of Inquiry, which would require the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to turn over all documentation regarding Guckert's access to the White House day after day for two years.
"We cannot allow the White House to stonewall the United States Congress and the American people on an issue of such importance, said Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Every day more questions are raised and so far, the White House is not providing any answers. We intend to find out what the White House is hiding."
Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) (D-Mich) said: "We had hoped that the half dozen congressional and senate requests for information would have been sufficient. We hope that this resolution gets to the bottom of whether any processes were abused in favoring Mr. Guckert.
The resolution must be considered by the Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) within 14 legislative days and, unless blocked by the Republicans on the committee, will be put before the full House for consideration.
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=90&ncid=786&e=9&u=/ep/20050304/en_bpiep/gannongateswingingopennewmoveincongressforinfo
Amr Al-Faisal
There is news coming from the US on a scandal that involves the White House press corp.
It seems that a member of the said press corp. — a man by the name of Jeff Gannon — was never actually an accredited member of the press corp.
The White House allowed this man to pose as a journalist and ask the president softball questions that allowed him to avoid the awkward questions of the real members of the press corp.
But wait! It gets better.
The White House avoided the usual accreditation procedure for Gannon by issuing him with a daily pass to the White House press corp. for two whole years. Why did they do that?
Well, Gannon, whose real name is James Guckert, has, to put it delicately, a past; and colorful one at that.
Guckert in addition to running a conservative Republican website also ran a number of pornographic websites catering to the homosexual elements in US society.
But wait! It gets even better.
Not only was Guckert a webmaster for homosexual websites, but he himself was a “male escort” which means a male prostitute.
The truly amazing thing about this messy affair is how little attention the mainstream media has given to it.
There is a palpable reluctance by a majority of the US media, print, radio or television, to treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
The deliberate and barefaced manipulation of the press by the current administration is nothing new, but this blatant, even fraudulent, case takes the cake.
And yet the pussycats in the US press have taken it with remarkable grace and good humor.
I am sure that this can only comfort the citizens of that great country to know that they are being kept well informed by their “independent and fearless” press.
At this point it would be useful to ask, can it get any better than this?
Well, my dears, it can and has.
Guckert has been a busy little bee.
He was involved in the early eighties with porn websites that specialized in recruiting military men especially from the US Marine Corp. to act as male escorts for members of the US Senate and Congress.
So the next time a bill passes through Congress or the Senate that erodes the civil liberties of Americans or gives preferential treatment to the rich amongst them at the expense of the rest, I would like you to conjure in your minds the image of a beefy Marine in tight leather shorts.
Thus endeth the lesson in democracy, American-style.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gannongate Swinging Open? New Move in Congress for Info
NEW YORK Gannongate may be opening a little wider soon.
For two weeks, several Democratic members of Congress have pressed the White House, the Secret Service, the Justice Department (news - web sites) and Department of Homeland Security for information about just how GOPUSA/Talon News reporter James Guckert was able to attend briefings and presidential press conferences for two years under the alias James Gannon, on behalf of an openly partisan organization. Guckert has also been linked to sex sites and a male escort operation.
Today, ranking members for House committees on Rules, Judiciary, Government Reform, Homeland Security and Ways and Means submitted a Resolution of Inquiry, which would require the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to turn over all documentation regarding Guckert's access to the White House day after day for two years.
"We cannot allow the White House to stonewall the United States Congress and the American people on an issue of such importance, said Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Every day more questions are raised and so far, the White House is not providing any answers. We intend to find out what the White House is hiding."
Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) (D-Mich) said: "We had hoped that the half dozen congressional and senate requests for information would have been sufficient. We hope that this resolution gets to the bottom of whether any processes were abused in favoring Mr. Guckert.
The resolution must be considered by the Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) within 14 legislative days and, unless blocked by the Republicans on the committee, will be put before the full House for consideration.
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=90&ncid=786&e=9&u=/ep/20050304/en_bpiep/gannongateswingingopennewmoveincongressforinfo