W's Softballs and Gay Porn Sites

[Nbadan]

Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Holy crap
by John in DC - 2/8/2005 07:03:51 PM

Update: He just resigned.


Let me say again, holy crap.

The blogosphere has dug up some really really really creepy stuff about that pseudo-reporter with the pseudonym who the White House lets ask all the softball questions about their briefings. His pseudonym is Jeff Gannon, and well, the folks at DailyKos, and Eschaton, have been doing a little digging around on him.

It's a long and sordid tale, but let me give it to you in a nutshell. Mr. Gannon's home page is JeffGannon.com. Well, JeffGannon.com is owned by a person and company that owns the following Web addresses as well:

Hotmilitarystud.com
Militaryescorts.com
Militaryescortsm4m.com

And for those of you who are really straight or really clueless, "m4m" is a gay online term for men who are looking to have sex with other men, and "escort" means prostitute. And being a military escort is also against the Uniform Code of Military Justice in at least two different ways, if not more.

Now, I'm not one to judge how folks like to get their jollies (assuming no children are involved and it's consensual), but then again, I don't suck up to the family values agenda like Mr. Gannon does. I've been through Gannon's archives, and it's a horrendous accumulation of religious right suck-up pieces on gay issues. Some are concerned that perhaps it's not fair to hit him with the gay card, if he is gay. Well, take a look at some of the stories from Gannon's Talon News Service: here, here, here Talon is promoting "ex-gays," defending Bush on gay marriage, and Gannon himself writing a story defending Santorum on his man-dog-sex commments about gays. There are lots more, you get the picture.

Oh, and speaking of pictures, they found photos too.

The big issue here is whether the White House has been knowingly opening its doors to a pseudonymous male hustler (or pimp) so he'll pose softball questions to the president. If that's the case here - and in all fairness, we still need to hear from Gannon - it's not just creepy, it's outrageous and an incredible violation of the country's trust, and just as importantly, White House security. Do these people do a background check on anyone?

Just go and read it all for yourself.

America blogspot (http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/02/holy-crap_08.html)

Family values at work, for the GOP.

[Nbadan]

Jeff Gannon

A Voice of the New Media

The voice goes silent.

Because of the attention being paid to me I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News. In consideration of the welfare of me and my family I have decided to return to private life.

Thank you to all those who supported me.

JeffGannon.com (http://www.jeffgannon.com/)

:rolleyes Now he starts caring about his family.

[Useruser666]

There is no chance in the world that two people have the same name.

[Nbadan]

2/9/2005

Congresswoman calls for investigation into White House ‘reporter’ linked to escort sites
Filed under: General— site admin @ 2:25 pm Email This

Rep. Slaughter Calls on President Bush to Explain Emerging White House Briefing Room Scandal

Washington, DC - Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28), long time champion of media reform and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Rules, sent a letter to President George W. Bush today asking him to explain how discredited “reporter” Jeff Gannon was credentialed as a member of the legitimate media by the White House.

The letter follows


Wednesday, February 9, 2005

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

In light of the mounting evidence that your Administration has, on several occasions, paid members of the media to advocate in favor of Administration policies, I feel compelled to ask you to address a matter brought to my attention by the Niagara Falls Reporter (article attached), a local newspaper in my district, regarding James “JD” Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon) of Talon News.

According to several credible reports, “Mr. Gannon” has been repeatedly credentialed as a member of the White House press corps by your office and has been regularly called upon in White House press briefings by your Press Secretary Scott McClellan, despite the fact evidence shows that “Mr. Gannon” is a Republican political operative, uses a false name, has phony or questionable journalistic credentials, is known for plagiarizing much of the “news” he reports, and according to several web reports, may have ties to the promotion of the prostitution of military personnel.

Several weeks ago when it was revealed that radio/TV host Armstrong Williams had received payment from your Administration in exchange for his vocal support of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative, I was stunned. For years now I have been leading the fight in Congress for fairness and accountability in the media; the Williams revelation only underscored the need for a media that has integrity, is balanced and expresses the local interests and concerns of its consumers.

Since that time, two more members of the media have been found to have received money from your Administration in exchange for their vocal, yet undisclosed support of Administration policies.

And just this morning we have learned that “Mr. Gannon” has resigned his post at the, so called, Talon News amid growing concerns over his controversial background and falsified qualifications. In fact, it appears that “Mr. Gannon’s” presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your Administration.

Mr. President, I am sure we both agree the White House press corps is an honored institution in America that should be beyond the scope of partisan meddling, and that a free and independent media is the cornerstone of our success as a democracy. Likewise, I am sure we can both agree the American people have the right to expect that journalists who question their President everyday are experienced, independent, and perhaps most importantly, unbiased in their approach.

I was already concerned about what appears to be an organized campaign to mask partisan propaganda as legitimate news by your Administration. That we have now learned this same type of deception is occurring inside the White House briefing room itself is even more disturbing.

That is why I am asking you to please explain to the Congress and to the American people how and why the individual known as “Mr. Gannon” was repeatedly cleared by your staff to join the legitimate White House press corps?

Mr. President, your Administration has driven the so-called “values” debate in this country. But the most important value for those of us in public service should always be honesty and integrity, particularly when considering the manner in which we conduct our affairs of state.

I would appreciate your prompt response on this matter.

Respectfully,

/LMS

Louise M. Slaughter

Ranking Member, House Committee on Rules

Raw Story.com (http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=48)

[SPARKY]

Yet more inside the beltway fodder for partisan nutjobs.

[Useruser666]

So a guy that was given a press pass to the White house last year, has supposed connections to a company that holds the domains for a few adult sites?

[exstatic]

Damn! Now where's Dubyah going to get his little hustlers at? :lmao

User, it was a bit more than "some guy with a press pass". This guy was obviously being fed questions to ask by the administration, softball questions, I might add. They don't just pick random journalists to call on. They have handpicked folks that they call on regularly. He was one of them. That implies some sort of relationship with the WH press corps/press secretary.

As for holding domains for adults sites, I tend not to care about those things...right up to the point where there is a relationship with an administration that rode in on the coattails of "family values" and regularly beats others over the head with said values. Seems a touch hypocritical, dontcha think?

[SpursWoman]

So a guy that was given a press pass to the White house last year, has supposed connections to a company that holds the domains for a few adult sites?


And that makes them W's sites. How can you not see that? :lol

[Useruser666]

Damn! Now where's Dubyah going to get his little hustlers at? :lmao

User, it was a bit more than "some guy with a press pass". This guy was obviously being fed questions to ask by the administration, softball questions, I might add. They don't just pick random journalists to call on. They have handpicked folks that they call on regularly. He was one of them. That implies some sort of relationship with the WH press corps/press secretary.

As for holding domains for adults sites, I tend not to care about those things...right up to the point where there is a relationship with an administration that rode in on the coattails of "family values" and regularly beats others over the head with said values. Seems a touch hypocritical, dontcha think?

Uh, so everyone that has a White house press pass has a inproper relationship with the administration?

[exstatic]

Uh, no. Everyone doesn't get called on. He obviously has/had some sort of relationship with the WH, proper, improper, whatever. The sticking point is that he doesn't conform to their "family values" nauseating shit, and it makes them look hypocritical for dealing with this guy.

[Spurminator]

Maybe they don't know every detail about him.

Another crisis averted.

It must be hard to pretend to give a shit about stuff like this. I applaud the effort though.

[exstatic]

Maybe they don't know every detail about him.
One would think that after 9-11, some care and detail would be taken as to who gets into the White House. Pretty weak excuse.

[Useruser666]

So are you saying he broke the law and was a danger or posed a security risk?

[exstatic]

I'm not saying anything of the sort. Spurminator is saying that the Whitehouse apparently doesn't research who comes in the damn door, and doesn't care.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

You know, I really think y'all are going way too far overboard and making some huge reaches on this, but what's new for the resident liberals.

And now, for a little social commentary. I think it's hilariously hypocritical that those of you on the left, the side that screams for equity, same sex marriages, etc., are trying to smear W.'s name because him and his staff allowed what could possibly be a gay reporter to attend WH briefings.

I mean fuck, if they denied this guy and someone got ahold of the fact Bush denied a person with an (apparent) background like this, you'd be all over his ass for not seperating church from state and in effect "bashing" gays and alternative lifestyles.

But I guess all's fair and hypocritical in the eyes of the left.

[SPARKY]

Hey maybe the same thing happened to the president from 1993-2001 and before that.

[exstatic]

You know, I really think y'all are going way too far overboard and making some huge reaches on this, but what's new for the resident liberals.
Newt Gingrich and his backbenchers started all of this in the 80s and carried it well into the 90s. Don't cry now because the mud is being slung towards your side of the aisle.


And now, for a little social commentary. I think it's hilariously hypocritical that those of you on the left, the side that screams for equity, same sex marriages, etc., are trying to smear W.'s name because him and his staff allowed what could possibly be a gay reporter to attend WH briefings.
His orientation, whether true or not, is only a point because not only was he allowed into the briefings, he was some sort of insider, being fed questions by an administration that can only gently be described as homophobic. No one cares, Aggie, but to us it's funny. You might have to look that one up.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Wow gee ex, tell me more. I guess it'd be funnier if I wasn't living in reality, and not some fictional place where a traitor who turned his back on his country was my party's best political hope, not to mention where flakes like Dan represent the mainstream in my party.

[exstatic]

I guess it'd be funnier if I wasn't living in reality, and not some fictional place where a traitor who turned his back on his country was my party's best political hope

I know that you like to think that everyone who thinks Bush is a tool is a Democrat, but I am a Libertarian. Let me clear that up, too. I actually VOTED Libertarian this time. You Republicans like to say that the Democrats have strayed from their roots, but I can hardly recognize the Drunken Democrat spending, life meddling fools wearing the elephant pins these days.

[Nbadan]

And that makes them W's sites. How can you not see that?

If War Churchill can be spun as a intellectual, elitest liberal by right-wing pundits then Jeff Gannon is clearly a backward, hypocritical traditionalist. Guilty by thought association.

[Nbadan]

You know, I really think y'all are going way too far overboard and making some huge reaches on this, but what's new for the resident liberals

This from the guy who practically led the rally cry to publicly casterate Dan Rather for over-zealous reporting.

:lol

The hypocrisy is over-whelming.

[Useruser666]

So there is proof that he works for the Bush administration?

So if he is not a criminal or a security risk why should he not be allowed to be at the press conferences?

[SPARKY]

Hey maybe most people don't give a damn about trivial shit like the subject of this thread.

Depending upon the team either something is insignificant or not. Either its perjury in a sexual harassment lawsuit or its 'just about a blowjob.'

I'd say the 'blowjob' standard applies in this case, both as analogy and probably, well, literally.

It's no surprise why so many Americans choose not to participate in the political process.

[Spurminator]

One would think that after 9-11, some care and detail would be taken as to who gets into the White House. Pretty weak excuse.

I'm sure he had his background thoroughly checked. And I'm sure whoever did the background check (and it probably wasn't George or Laura Bush) probably didn't deem it necessary to raise the Terror Alert level.

[IcemanCometh]

Fake journalist with fake name from fake news service gets to question a fake president


and now hes expendable and resigns from his fake job

[Nbadan]

Sounds to me like this is another case of Payola reporting by the WH with a really sic twist...either way, this story has legs...


Online Reporter Quits After Liberals' Expose

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 10, 2005; Page C01

The conservative reporter who asked President Bush a loaded question at a news conference last month resigned yesterday after liberal bloggers uncovered his real name and raised questions about his background.

Jeff Gannon, who had been writing for the Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA, is actually James Dale Guckert, 47, and has been linked to online domain addresses with sexually provocative names. He has been under scrutiny since asking Bush how he could work with Senate Democratic leaders "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality." The information about Gannon was posted on the liberal sites Daily Kos, Atrios and World o' Crap.

Gannon posted included a brief explanation of his departure on his Web site. (Jeffgannon.com)


Under the headline "A Voice of the New Media: The Voice Goes Silent," Gannon wrote on his personal Web page that because of the attention "I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News" and that he is quitting "in consideration of the welfare of me and my family." Gannon added in a brief interview that "my family has been victimized" and that he wanted to "put some separation between Talon News and the White House."

Gannon's resignation highlights the no-holds-barred atmosphere of the Web, which both enabled him to function as a reporter -- his stories appeared on a site founded by Texas Republican activist Bobby Eberle -- and produced a swarm of critics determined to expose him.

more--->

Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12640-2005Feb9.html)

Well, chalk another one up for liberal bloggers!! :hat

[Useruser666]

So what is the problem here?

[Nbadan]

http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/06/60/80/image_1380606.gif

[Useruser666]

So what is the problem? I'm sorry, what can be PROVEN to be the problem?

[Nbadan]

"As the Iraq war raged and as the truth surrounding the forged documents that claimed Saddam attempted to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger emerged, a website and news organization came into being... Talon News (March 29, 2003)... owned by GOPUSA.com. Within days `Jeff Gannon', a man with no journalism experience secured White House briefing room press credentials (April 3, 2003).

As the hunt for the supposed WMDs kept going to no avail, Ambassador Joseph Wilson wrote a NYTimes Op-Ed entitled "What I didn't find in Africa" (July 6, 2003). On July 7, 2003 the White House retracted their Niger claim, which was their sole admission to date that the justification for war was not accurate

Jeff Gannon was planted by the administration to disseminate their talking points unfettered by any journalism ethics or investigation shortly after the Iraq war, when the failure to find WMDs was becoming apparent. He became incredibly useful in L'Affaire Plame to continue to push the dual stories that a) Plame's name was already common knowledge and therefore `outing' her was not a crime and b) to continue to help discredit the CIA and Wilson."

Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/9/191334/0754)

Wilson has said Rove was the original leak..rumours are 60 cia assets died cuz of the "leak"..but when crime pays it keeps a payin...

[Nbadan]

The Sean Hannity-Jeff Gannon-Dan Rather memo connection..


HANNITY: Now, Jeff Gannon, who is a terrific Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for Talon News, actually shot me an e-mail today, and he's about to break a story in an exclusive about these CBS documents.

Gee, Sean it sucks when they have you on tape. I wonder who leaked Gannon the 'allegedly' fake Dan Rather document story?

[SPARKY]

That sounds like something awfully serious if it actually meant anything.

[SPARKY]

W's Softballs and Gay Porn Sites

The subject of this thread is kinda funny if you think about it.

[Nbadan]

Taxes are for little people...

Ex-Delawarean didn't pay $20,700 over three years


<snip>

"The former Wilmington resident who gained notoriety asking softball questions at White House press conferences has an outstanding tax bill from the state of Delaware.

James D. Guckert, who reported under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, failed to pay Delaware more than $20,700 in personal state income tax from 1991 through 1994, according to documents filed in Superior Court in Wilmington.

State Division of Revenue Director Patrick Carter said the assessment has not yet been satisfied.

"When it rains, it pours," Guckert said Friday from his Washington home. He would not comment further.

According to court records, Guckert owed $9,484 in taxes; $7,697.69 in fines and $3,560.71 in interest."

Delaware Online (http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/02/12discreditedrepo.html)

http://www.horkulated.com/images/articles/20050210131602920_1.jpg

[Useruser666]

So Dan, you again prove nothing and then change the subject. At best, you can only say the Whitehouse has poor standards for choosing press pass recipients.

[IcemanCometh]

if you cannot see the problem with this, then maybe you're the problem. if you notice the usual repulican yes men of yonivore and neocon are strangely absent from this thread

[Nbadan]

if you cannot see the problem with this, then maybe you're the problem. if you notice the usual repulican yes men of yonivore and neocon are strangely absent from this thread

I'm sure Useruser666 would find the fault in this if it was Presidient Clinton or his administration responsible instead of Monsenior Bush.

[Useruser666]

I'm sure Useruser666 would find the fault in this if it was Presidient Clinton or his administration responsible instead of Monsenior Bush.

Speculate all you want. That's all you do anyways. "If it were Clinton then you would be defending him." See how dumb that sounds. You have proof of what? A guy that got a White House press pass has registered some internet domains that sound like they could be used for porno sites? Pluheese! Atleast come up with some fake documents or something.

[Nbadan]

Speculate all you want. That's all you do anyways. "If it were Clinton then you would be defending him." See how dumb that sounds. You have proof of what? A guy that got a White House press pass has registered some internet domains that sound like they could be used for porno sites? Pluheese! Atleast come up with some fake documents or something.

:lol

This boy is in such denial that he thinks that web sites with the names..

Hotmilitarystud.com
Militaryescorts.com
Militaryescortsm4m.com

Could be anything but a 'gay' (see I said the word, and I'm still hetro-sexual) porno site.

SW must be having her fun with this one.

[Useruser666]

:lol

This boy is in such denial that he thinks that web sites with the names..

Hotmilitarystud.com
Militaryescorts.com
Militaryescortsm4m.com

Could be anything but a 'gay' (see I said the word, and I'm still hetro-sexual) porno site.

SW must be having her fun with this one.

Are they porno sites? Have they every been porno sites? Then STFU! So who cares if the guy registered them. What does that prove or even mean? I'll tell you what, a whole lot of nothing.

[Nbadan]

The guy was prostituting himself online...


Democratic senators have cooled to an inquiry into the disgraced reporter with ties to prostitution who may have been given classified information relating to CIA agent, RAW STORY has learned.

Part of the reason, Senate aides say, was the revelation that the reporter who wrote under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon had in fact sought to prostitute himself online.

One senator, Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), may still join the push by Democratic members in the House who are calling for all records relating to how the conservative reporter got such apparent high-level access to the White House, the president and information relating to the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Alex Firmusis, Sen. Lautenberg’s press secretary, said the senator was still debating his next move. The senator requested all documents relating to Gannon’s credentialing on Friday, but has made no statement regarding the reporter’s apparent access to information regarding the CIA agent or how a prostitute got access to the president.

Rawstory (http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=81)

Jeff Gannon may have been hired to seduce any high level Dems he possibly could. At the same time he put up some gay/porno sites on the INTERNET and Karl Rove gave him access to the press conferences and briefings - plus handed him obviously scripted questions. Bush and Scotty called on Gannon regularly for months - knowing that finally someone on the Dem side was going to get suspicious and start investigating.

Also, knowing that Demo would go nuts when they found the gay/porn connection.

Is Rove waiting patiently now while we drive the story to the heights of outrage, demanding documents through FOIA requests, demanding hearings, etc.

And did some Dem Senators get a whiff of what's at the end of this rainbow?

[Nbadan]

NEW YORK James D. Guckert, the former White House reporter who's been accused of everything from asking partisan questions to being a male prostitute, is no longer speaking to the press, claiming it does not help his cause, he told E&P this morning.

"I talked to attorneys, and I am no longer talking to anyone anymore," said Guckert, who has used the alias Jeff Gannon. "It doesn’t seem to clarify anything any longer. Everything I say, people start a new conspiracy theory. I am not going to answer any more questions. It seems to distract from what is really going on."

That approach is a shift from Guckert's activities in the past week, when he has appeared on CNN and National Public Radio and allowed several other news organizations, including E&P, to interview him.

Guckert, who says he is 47, said he was not planning any specific legal action related to recent events but had contacted an attorney just in case. "It's always good to have an attorney hanging around," he told E&P. "I'm not expecting anything, I am just listening to good advice."


More of "Gannon" not denying any of it to be found at...

Editor and Publisher (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000800287)

[SpursWoman]

SW must be having her fun with this one.



Why's that?

[Nbadan]

Why's that?

Honestly honey, most couples play liberally with whips, chains, and butt plugs.

[Useruser666]

Dan, you are full of it. So what does any of this mean? What has Bush done now? You are running around like Bush was giving this guy WMD for blowjobs or something.

[SpursWoman]

Honestly honey, most couples play liberally with whips, chains, and butt plugs.


I don't worry much about other peoples' sex lives, I'm much too focused on my own. :)

[JohnnyMarzetti]

Excellent post/story from The Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/15/11242/9184) pointing out that if this shit went down during the Clinton years, ALL HELL would've broken loose in DC.

Aren't actions like this(buying journalists to promote policy, manipulating
intelligence to support covert agendas, 'creating journalists that like you'),
all the type things that should be cause for Impeachment?

Sounds worse than lying about a blowjob.

http://i5.ebayimg.com/01/i/03/65/e3/19_1_b.JPG

[Spurminator]

(buying journalists to promote policy, manipulating
intelligence to support covert agendas, 'creating journalists that like you')

Those things would be cause for concern, if any of them happened.

As it is, the only problem here is that he didn't have a background check. And while the White House should definitely be held responsible for that, it seems that you guys want to read more into it than is there. Once again, Bush haters have created a laughable and easily debunkable conspiracy theory out of a legitimate concern that may never get discussed because it's being overshadowed by idiocy.

[JohnnyMarzetti]

Well, I think more was read into a blowjob than what was there so I guess Clinton haters created a laughable but impeachable conspiracy and the way Bush is getting a free pass proves to me that the so called "liberal media" is nothing but a freakin' myth.

The Constitution says public officials can be impeached if they commit "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

There is no ambiguity. This was bribery. Too bad the Dems are too much of freakin pansies to ever formally impeach Bush. Then again, he'd never get convicted anyway. To bring to trial, the House must have a majority vote in favor. And to convict, the Senate must have a 2/3 vote in favor.

But god damn I wish the Dems would at least make a stand, and at least make an accusation!

[Spurminator]

I'm not talking about Clinton's perjury case, I'm talking about this one.

Show me a payment by the White House... hell, even someone linked to the President more directly than simply being a Republican... and we'll talk bribery.

You're no better than the Clinton Haters if this is your idea of an impeachable offense. Why would you want to stoop to that level if it's so offensive to you?

[Nbadan]

Those things would be cause for concern, if any of them happened.

As it is, the only problem here is that he didn't have a background check. And while the White House should definitely be held responsible for that, it seems that you guys want to read more into it than is there. Once again, Bush haters have created a laughable and easily debunkable conspiracy theory out of a legitimate concern that may never get discussed because it's being overshadowed by idiocy.

First of all, the reason its not being more widely discussed is because it has largely been ignored by the MSM who have a lot to lose if Gannon turns out to be a another W.H. payola reporter. It's not just the credibility of Talon News that is at risk here, its the credibility of the MSM as a whole, and how so many MS reporters we are coming to find, are willing to whore themselves to the administration.

Jeff Gannon was wasn't just a independent reporter who was lucky enough to get regular day passes to important WH briefings, and regularly called upon by Scotty and W when they needed a softball question the most as Sperminator would have us believe. Fact is, there was nothing real about Gannon. His name wasn't real, his credentials sure as hell weren't real, his reporting wasn't real. He works directly for a big-time Republican lobbyists who has regularly been tied by bloggers to desiminating right-wing propaganda through various news sources under his control.

The whole pimping himself on the net just gives this story a angle that should be irrestible to the MSM, but have we seen nearly a peep from the whores?

[Useruser666]

Dan, you are so incredibly full of it! If any media outlet had any proof of ANYTHING they would be running into the streets shouting at the top of their lungs for all to hear. Do you actually believe they are trying to cover something up? If you do, you are either a fool, or much more blinded by your hatred than I thought was possible. You complaining that the MSM (as you love to say) is covering this up is like the Lakers of old complaining about the refs. It's total BS!.

Marzetti, what the hell are you talking about? Calling for Bush's impeachment? For what? What did he do? Bring some evidence over from the world you live in to the real one before you go calling for someone's head. As it stands right now, all that anyone knows is that a reporter that recieved a White House press pass has used a fake name and registered a few domains for web sites that have titles that seem to be adult themed. Whoopty-doo!!! What ridiculous conspiracy is involved here? Oh yeah, Bush is gay right? He is Osama's gay lover? They had a fight and that's what caused 9/11? He's exchanging press passes for sex with men? PFFFFFTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!

The reason Clinton was impeached was not for his recieving a blow job in the White House. He was impeached for LYING UNDER OATH! It was a stupid mistake, by he still lied under oath. He should just have admitted it and then there would be nothing to it.

Ok guys! Here's your chance! Post some real evidence of wrong doing. I'd like to see it. Since no one can even tell me what Bush did that was wrong, maybe some real and actual evidence would clear it up for me.

[SpursWoman]

Bush should be impeached because someone on his staff didn't do their homework?

WTF is that? :lmao :lmao




If that's how it works, my kids' teachers should be in deep shit right about now... :fro

[Spurminator]

Jeff Gannon was wasn't just a independent reporter who was lucky enough to get regular day passes to important WH briefings, and regularly called upon by Scotty and W when they needed a softball question the most as Sperminator would have us believe.

The only thing that I would "have us believe" is what we actually know to be true. Conjecture is fun, but it's useless.

[JohnnyMarzetti]

How all you conservative Dubya lovers cannot see how wrong this is is beyond me. You guys would be screaming all kinds of BS if Clinton had done this.

Sean Hannity and Rush Limpballs have quoted this idiot as reputable source and he's nothing but a porno freak.

[Spurminator]

It is wrong. But for reasons that you guys are glossing over so you can pleasure yourselves with the possibility of something more diabolical.

[Useruser666]

How all you conservative Dubya lovers cannot see how wrong this is is beyond me. You guys would be screaming all kinds of BS if Clinton had done this.

Sean Hannity and Rush Limpballs have quoted this idiot as reputable source and he's nothing but a porno freak.

What I find so funny, is how you can quote all of these "conservative media" outlets. I don't ever listen to political TV or radio shows.

Again, provide some proof here. You have nothing because there is nothing.

[JoeChalupa]

I'm getting slow. I saw this story on the news this morning and how this guy got to do his thing is beyond me.
But I thought I heard the White House admit they knew his real name and he was more or less planted to ask questions that would make Bush look good.
An embarrassment in the least.

[Useruser666]

I'm getting slow. I saw this story on the news this morning and how this guy got to do his thing is beyond me.
But I thought I heard the White House admit they knew his real name and he was more or less planted to ask questions that would make Bush look good.
An embarrassment in the least.

An embarrassment in the most. Dan would have you believe that the guy is Osama or something.

[JoeChalupa]

I don't think anything wrong was done other than using bad judgement.

[SpursWoman]

I don't think anything wrong was done other than using bad judgement.


No more, no less.


Does anyone really think the Bush Administration is the only people to EVER do this? That they invented the concept?

Puh-leeze.

It seems ridiculous and yeah, I'd be embarrassed to get busted at it too....but my only concern would be Bush's (and other's) safety by not being extra-careful about who they are letting inside the White House.

[exstatic]

but my only concern would be Bush's (and other's) safety by not being extra-careful about who they are letting inside the White House.

The only threat to Bush's safety is condom or no condom. If Jeffrey was at the WH every day, as suggested, he was a little closer than a press briefing. More like a de-briefing. :lol

[Useruser666]

:lol What bullshit! The only circle jerking that is going on is by the people in this thread that shoot their wad at every wild accusation and conspiracy theory.

[exstatic]

Not so wild, User. Mainstream Canada press has him hitting on Scott Reid, assistant to Canada's PM. These rumors keep popping up. If you'd like to read the dialogue of the "incomplete pass", type the following into Google. There are some blogs and Canadian news outlets.

bush canada scott pretty face

[Nbadan]

Liberal’ Media Silent About Guckert Saga
by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal—or merely unafraid to be called liberal—the saga of Mr. Guckert’s short, strange, quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.

The intrinsic media interest of the Guckert/Gannon story should be obvious to anyone who has followed his tale, which touches on hot topics from the homosexual underground and the investigation into the outing of C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame to the political power of the Internet. But our supposedly liberal media becomes quite squeamish when reporting anything that might humiliate the Bush White House and the Republican Party.

Until very recently, Mr. Guckert served as the White House correspondent for Talon News, a Web site owned and operated by a group of Texas Republican activists who also run a highly partisan site called GOPUSA.com. Mr. Guckert resigned from his Talon job after liberal bloggers exposed his ties to Web sites promoting homosexual prostitution. On Valentine’s Day, AmericaBlog.org posted new evidence indicating that Mr. Guckert not only constructed those gay-play-for-pay sites, but worked as a male escort himself—and continued to do so until he got his first White House press pass in 2003.

Using his "Jeff Gannon" alias, Mr. Guckert soon became a familiar face in the briefing room, where White House press secretary Scott McClellan would call on him as "Jeff." No doubt Mr. McClellan welcomed his mushy-soft, Democrat-baiting questions.

George W. Bush called on him during his most recent press conference—a signal honor for a reporter from an obscure Internet publication, and quite a surprise to the dozens of actual reporters bypassed by Mr. Bush on Jan. 26.

Mr. Guckert’s archived writings suddenly disappeared from the Talon News Web site, but several of his greatest works have been preserved by the watchdogs at MediaMatters.org. They show that he had no journalistic purpose, let alone experience. His copy featured long passages lifted directly from White House press releases. Last year, during the Internet frenzy over Senator John Kerry’s "intern girlfriend," he falsely wrote that the young woman had "taped an interview with one of the major television networks at Christmas substantiating the alleged affair."

He also made a curious cameo appearance in the Valerie Plame controversy. In late 2003, Mr. Guckert called former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. During that interview, the Talon correspondent mentioned a C.I.A. document that supposedly showed Ms. Plame had dispatched Mr. Wilson, her husband, on a government mission to Niger to investigate rumored Iraqi uranium purchases. That allegation was meant to discredit the former ambassador, who had exposed White House intelligence abuses. Administration leaks to the press about Ms. Plame’s C.I.A. work are currently under investigation by a special prosecutor.

What Mr. Guckert seems to have been is not a journalist but a Republican dirty trickster. He was schooled at the Leadership Institute—an outfit run by veteran right-wing operative and Republican National Committee member Morton Blackwell. (It was Mr. Blackwell who distributed those cute "purple heart" Band-aids mocking Mr. Kerry’s war wounds at the Republican convention last summer.) His former employers at Talon News include leading Republican fund-raisers and former officials of the Texas Republican Party who have been active in partisan affairs for the past two decades.

How did this character obtain a coveted place in the White House? What did the White House press staff know about him? How does his story fit within the larger scandal of payola punditry, with federal funds subsidizing Republican propagandists in the press corps? Did someone in the Bush administration give him a classified document?

Such questions are evidently of little concern to our liberal media outlets, whose leading lights prefer to deliver prim lectures about the unwarranted invasion of Mr. Guckert’s private affairs and his victimization for his conservative views. In fact, everything known about him comes from material he posted on public Web sites, but that’s beside the point.

Imagine the media explosion if a male escort had been discovered operating as a correspondent in the Clinton White House. Imagine that he was paid by an outfit owned by Arkansas Democrats and had been trained in journalism by James Carville. Imagine that this gentleman had been cultivated and called upon by Mike McCurry or Joe Lockhart—or by President Clinton himself. Imagine that this "journalist" had smeared a Republican Presidential candidate and had previously claimed access to classified documents in a national-security scandal.

Then imagine the constant screaming on radio, on television, on Capitol Hill, in the Washington press corps—and listen to the placid mumbling of the "liberal" media now

Observer (http://www.observer.com/pages/conason.asp)

[willie]

Apparently the far right does not have the market cornered on sheer stupidity.

[Useruser666]

So the guys a phoney? Good riddance then.

[sbsquared]

That there is even a hint that President Bush is a closet homosexual is not only downright ridiculous - it is highly offensive!

[Useruser666]

It doesn't even matter, if that's the issue trying to be made, then so what.

[Nbadan]

Apparently the far right does not have the market cornered on sheer stupidity.

Apparently, this post should be included in my Irony Post from a couple of days ago.

:lol

[Nbadan]

That there is even a hint that President Bush is a closet homosexual is not only downright ridiculous - it is highly offensive!

However, it was OK to speculate about all sorts of misgivings about President Clinton without any proof, right? The accusations against Clinton were true conspiracy theories because they were based largely on right-wing fantasy. The Gannon affair has been largely based on highly researched evidence and the adminstrations own admissions.

[Nbadan]

It doesn't even matter, if that's the issue trying to be made, then so what.

Hey dumbass. This is a intelligence failure of the highest degree by a administration that supposedly prides itself on it's ability of protect our national interests.

[Useruser666]

I don't care about Clinton. You still have no proof of anything more than what I stated earlier. A security failure that he is a terrorist? That he planned to kill the president? So he is a fishy character, does he even have a criminal history?

[exstatic]

That there is even a hint that President Bush is a closet homosexual is not only downright ridiculous - it is highly offensive!

Boy, are you ever naieve. :lol Rumors of man love have dogged W since his college days. It's WAY more than just this incident. Maybe that's why GOP cake boy Rick Perry was picked to succeed him. It's always good to have a couple of switch hitters back to back in your lineup. :lmao

Smoke -------> Fire

[willie]

Am I the only one who really doesn't care one way or the other, but finds themselves pitying those who do?

[Nbadan]

Am I the only one who really doesn't care one way or the other, but finds themselves pitying those who do?

Eh, it's the same ole Republican spin. Act like it doesn't matter. Play the situation down, no matter the contradictory physical evidence. Avoid talking about it, and label those who do bother to talk about it 'liberal' conspiracy nuts.

Your gonna have to come up with a better angle than this.

[willie]

Seeing as how I'm not a Republican and I told you how I see it kindly put a sock in it. Most normal folks don't really give a damn about stuff like this and it does distract attention from issues which do matter.

[Bandit2981]

your government having a seemingly organized propaganda structure doesnt bother you?

[willie]

Not really. You should get out more.

[Nbadan]

issues which do matter.

:rolleyes

Yeah, like Michael Jackson, right?

[exstatic]

I don't care who or what Bush fucks, Matt. I just think it's funny that he duped all of those bible toting, church going folks into going out and voting for his cake boy self. The irony is truly astounding. :lol

[willie]

So where are we at now? Bush is gay and Rick Perry is gay. How old are you people? Seriously.

[Bandit2981]

the gay thing isnt the issue, its the lying and propaganda mouthpieces that are popping up all over

[willie]

Not Michael Jackson more like the deficit, Iraq, whatever ends up happening to Social Security, etc

[willie]

I thought lying about sex wasn't supposed to matter.

[Nbadan]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


WHITE HOUSE SCRAMBLES TO EXPLAIN
FAKE REPORTER IN ITS PRESS CORPS

Feb.17, 2005 -Internet researchers have uncovered new evidence that contradicts the Bush Administration's claims about James Guckert, a Republican activist allegedly involved in criminal activities and linked to an incident involving a major breach of national security. Guckert, operating as "Jeff Gannon," was granted daily access to White House press briefings for more than two years as a "reporter" for Talon News.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan stated that Guckert was granted access in part because he was affiliated with a news organization that "publishes regularly." But yesterday, bloggers discovered video footage suggesting this standard was not applied to Guckert.
Video footage of a Feb. 25, 2003 White House press briefing shows Guckert, apparently unaffiliated with any news organization, asking former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer a question. It is unclear why Guckert was granted any pass at this time, since the Internet-based Talon News did not register its domain name until March 29, 2003.

Maureen Dowd, a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the New York Times, reported today she was denied press credentials at the start of the Bush administration in 2001. Yet Guckert, whose only journalistic training was derived from a $50 weekend seminar, was repeatedly granted access.

Despite calls from Congress for the White House to disclose its standards for entrance to the briefing room, the Bush administration has yet to reveal its credentialing standards or details surrounding the scandal, including: specific dates when Guckert was admitted to the briefing room, how many passes he was issued, as well as how he cleared a Secret Service background check while owing the state of Delaware over $20,000 in back taxes (penalties and interest) and possibly engaging in prostitution, as revealed by Americablog.org.

Guckert has also been implicated in a leak of federal classified information that revealed the identity of CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame. Revealing the identity of an undercover agent is a federal crime.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has insisted that President Bush will do anything he can to assist the Plame investigation. But the White House has not answered questions about the role of Guckert in the Plame investigation or his inexplicable access to White House Press Corps briefings

Brian Kelly at [email protected]
Member, DailyKos.com

[Useruser666]

So you have a story from a liberal media source making accusations against a conservative media member?

Gee, the guy might be a homosexual. He might have a phoney background. He may owe some back taxes. Maybe the White House knew all of that, and simply used him as a plant. That still means nothing.

[JohnnyMarzetti]

It is not the legality issue that is the problem.
You conservative bible-thumpers cry about morals and then when Bush's cronies are caught being decietful and knowingly gave this idiot press credentials you all say "so what"?

But you cried bloody murder just because Bill didn't want to admit he got some head in the oval office, which isn't illegal you know.

You are such hypocrites. :cuss

[SpursWoman]

But you cried bloody murder just because Bill didn't want to admit he got some head in the oval office, which isn't illegal you know.

You did hear that he lied under oath, right? That's also known as perjury...which IS illegal. I couldn't have given a damn less if the whole DNC was sucking his dick in the oval office.

I haven't heard of anything actually illegal taking place here yet. Something potentially a great cause for concern, but not illegal.

[JoeChalupa]

But honestly..was it necessary to spend all those millions of your precious tax dollars to find out that he lied about a blow job?

Sorry, but I think it was a great waste of time and money that could have been better spent. But that is just my view on things.

But yes, Bill should have just said, "yeah, she sucked me, now go fuck yourselves." :)

[Useruser666]

But honestly..was it necessary to spend all those millions of your precious tax dollars to find out that he lied about a blow job?

Sorry, but I think it was a great waste of time and money that could have been better spent. But that is just my view on things.

But yes, Bill should have just said, "yeah, she sucked me, now go fuck yourselves." :)

I agree with you Joe. It was a waste and nothing really came of it for either party. Well maybe one person! :lol

[SpursWoman]

Sorry, but I think it was a great waste of time and money that could have been better spent. But that is just my view on things.

But yes, Bill should have just said, "yeah, she sucked me, now go fuck yourselves." :)


I most definitely agree. :lol :lol



To the same degree I believe this situation has been blown completely out of proportion.

(pun intended? :nerd :lol)

[JoeChalupa]

I agree too. Let's move on to more important things, what ever those may be.

[dcole50]

how can you say this is not a scandal? fake reporters? what a joke.

[SpursWoman]

Yes, that is far more important than Social Security, Iraq...etc.

[Nbadan]

Bill Maher on Jeff Gannon (Very Funny!!)

The boyfriend in The White House (http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/billmaher021805gannon.html)

[Useruser666]

Bill Maher on Jeff Gannon (Very Funny!!)

The boyfriend in The White House (http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/billmaher021805gannon.html)

Are gay people funny to you Dan?

[Nbadan]

Get this, Jeff Gannon, a.k.a. Jeff Guckert, is considering sueing the 'liberal' bloggers who exposed his scam...


Feb. 28 issue - Jeff Gannon is considering suing liberal interest groups, bloggers and others for a "political assassination" that drove him from his job as a reporter for a conservative news outfit called Talon News, he told NEWSWEEK. Gannon, whose real name is James Guckert, singled out Media Matters—a "well-funded" liberal group headed by longtime "attack dog" David Brock. ("Everything we wrote about him came from the public record," Brock replied.)

more...

MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6999385/site/newsweek)

I can't wait for the questioning at the discovery process and the list of supeonas.

Yeah, like this will happen!!

[Nbadan]

Daily Kos
Gay Facts And Fantasies In Propagannon Research
by padraig pearse
Sat Feb 19th, 2005


Lots of well-meaning Kos's are reluctant to explore the gay aspects of this story for fear that it unfairly targets people because of their sexuality and distracts from the "real" issues.

My hope here is to help narrow the discussion along lines of probability as narrowed by an experienced perspective.

As a seasoned gay man of a certain age I'd like to examine some of the facts that have been unearthed and to infer these facts' larger meaning from the perspective of a gay "insider". And I can tell you, from the amount of hand-wringing over the horror of lefty bloggers making a big deal over poor Jeff's former, and, overlapping career, that they are terrified that the extent of Bush's intimate Gay network will be exposed.

Given their monstrous treatment of our nation's Gays, they deserve it. Having ridden to electoral victory by unleashing the worst homophobic bigotry we've seen in decades, it is fit and just that this maelstrom of hate turns against them. I'm sure they know the Bible quote?: "He who sows the wind, reaps the whirlwind"?. In an earthier version I've heard the same principal expressed as "He who stirs the shit, gets to eat it."

But the Gay network may also provide substantial clues as to the Dirty Tricks department of Team Bush. I think it likely there is huge overlap.

REPUBLICANS AND THEIR GAY UNDERWORLD

That many Gay Republicans should prefer the closety games of the 1950s over the open Gay culture that arose out of the post Stonewall era should come as no surprise. They are reactionaries after all. In fact, I know Gay men of a certain age and income who routinely excoriate "the fags" while nonetheless indulging appetites and behaviors that would leave Margaret Sperling's head spinning. But since the lights are out in their orgy rooms, good Republicans are happy to just overlook and pretend not to see. It is the public avowal of affection that makes them crazy over the gay marriage issue. To compare Gay marriage to a perversion, as right next to bestiality is on the face of it insane. Gay people seeking to have stable monogamous relationships accepted into their families and their communities are, in key respects, far more conservative and traditional than the many gays in the republican party who scuttle around in the shadows, procuring illicit sex and using sites like MilitaryEscortM4M.com.

I have been with my partner 25 years this summer and I personally am sick and tired of being told that my only option is to have a lavender marriage with an understanding lesbian or a loveless marriage with an unsuspecting woman while trolling public toilets and internet chat rooms on the side. You tell me which of these is the more honorable?

GANNON, GAY PROSTITUTION AND THE WHITE HOUSE

While it might seem thrilling to imagine that Gannon found a sponsor through his website the chances of that are actually next to nil. Far more likely is that he met his sponsor in a more refined setting. In New York there is a piano bar on the East Side that fancies itself a bit of a British gentlemen's club. The place is filled with older men of means and younger men on the make. Prostitution is never mentioned. For a young gay to quote an hourly rate would be a fatal error. In this refined atmosphere we're not talking about by the hour rent-boys but long-term investments: what I've always called mortgage boys.

The young men on the make are not teenagers. They are reasonably well educated and well groomed; in their late 20s, 30s, even 40s and are all hoping to find an older gentlemen who might "mentor" them.

The reason why $$$ is never discussed is because the true value of the John's fantasy is that this isn't just tawdry or naughty but that there is some sort of relationship developing. Somewhere along the line there'll be college "fees", medical bills, a car, a cruise, a fortnight in Aspen or the Hamptons. Or, of course, a job. You get the picture.

Anyway, if this was the ruse under which Gannon scored his Sugar Daddy, the Daddy may never have known about the websites and the hooking. Gannon might (as the fantasy required) have similarly fed him a long story. Didn't Gannon once say he had been living off "savings" - That sounds like a perfectly good way to disguise an illicit cash flow and may well have been the perfect line to feed his sugar daddy. It helped create the impression that Gannon really is one of the boys, one of the club. Well bred, wants to write, has savings or a trust fund. Sound political views. Bingo.

If Gannon really was working the circuit I'm sure he sought to hide his side-line in the Flesh trade and that, in that scenario, his "mentor" may not have known. My short hand reading says - possibly Eberle told Rove or McClellan that Gannon was cool and -wosh - he's in. Everyone knows that these types of events have a front stage and a backstage - we should see if a Jeff Gannon or a JD Guckert is signed in anywhere else in the White House or the Eisenhower Building (Isn't that what the Old Executive Offices are now called? I haven't been to DC in decades)

Once it all seems doable and Gannon seems to be fitting in, OR because the Press Room needs this added layer of subterfuge, Talon News is born.

BOB EBERLE, PAUL DICKERSON and GOPUSA

When NBC ran an item on Gannon the other evening they cut in a snip of stock footage of Bob Eberle talking about his political action group, GOPUSA. While I know that Bob Eberle is married (who isn't wink-wink) I couldn't help but hear my gaydar ring a bit when I saw him.

Interestingly it has since been reported that Texas Republicans are distancing themselves from Eberle with almost universal declarations that no one knew him. This, in itself, suggests they know something about the relationship between Eberle and Gannon and are running scared from it. http://nashuaadvocate.blogspot.com/2005/02/texas-republ...

There is a photo of born-again Bobby on a recent GOPUSA posting - March 24, 2004 http://www.gopusa.com/company/welcome_moa.shtml
Bob Eberle writes: "Thanks also goes out to Paul Dickerson, Charlie Weldon, and Terri Hillhouse of the GOPUSA team for their valuable insights".

This, largely overlooked, diary from FOYA (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/18/224553/157 ) noted that while the last two names are formerly affiliated with GOPUSA) that Dickerson was a mystery and so a long list of URLS referring to Dickerson where cited. Some of them were interesting to me in ways that FOYA might not have gleaned.

The list shows that Dickerson was a Bush Ranger in 2004, raising over 200k for the re-election campaign. Two of them are largely gossip items placing Dickerson in the center of prominent Texas Republicans. One introduces Dickerson at a Houston fundraiser for Bush and notes how he brought a "client" with him - I quote:


Paul Dickerson is an example. Only 33, Dickerson is a Houston lawyer and he is not well known. But he is highly valuable to the Bush campaign, one of 187 "Rangers" who have each raised at least $200,000. He is one of many fresh faces behind Mr. Bush's financial operation, which has minted scores of new fund-raisers and molded them into the most effective money machine in presidential campaign history.

At Bush's fund-raising visit to Houston on March 10, for example, Dickerson, brought Michael Ames, an investment banker he hopes to entice to do business with his law firm.

"I ask clients to come along, instead of bringing some sweet young thing," he said. "As a young associate, I want to make a partner." Ames, who gushed about the high-powered event at the Hilton Americas, said he wanted to work with Dickerson, who clearly scored points at the reception.

Dickerson told reporters that he can enhance his career by mixing colleagues and would-be clients with his campaign connections, even though he insisted, "that wasn't my motivation getting started." Ironically, Dickerson said he has yet to offer up his own money to the campaign, but his willingness to put in hundreds of hours and thousands of phone calls transformed him over the last year into a six-figure fund-raiser, one of the most valuable commodities in politics.

There's a lot of interest in that seemingly innocuous bit of filler. The "only" 33 Dickerson is clearly unmarried as the only option to bringing a "client" he cites is "bringing some sweet young thing" (he doesn't say "my wife", does he?)

In fact, the whole thing sounds like a boilerplate closet-case cover and I suspect the reporter was tipping her hand by telling us that his "client", Michael Ames "gushed" - a long time euphemism for an effeminate man. (Her use of the word "entice" to describe Dickerson's ambitions towards Ames is also telling) (Actually these four paragraphs are telling in a lot of ways - but not for today)

AND WAIT - when we look at another one of the links so thoughtfully dug out by FOYA we find this - another social column - this time in the Houston Chronicle-http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/features/shodg...
covering a huge White House Party for about 700 Texas loyalists. Here we find Dickerson (of the old Bush family linked law office of Haynes and Boone) partnered, again, with another man, one Rex Lamb. A quick google search shows us that Rex is president of the Houston Young Republicans. While it may only be a coincidence that their names are fused together, I suspect that Dickerson's companion would have been mentioned - had he had one other than Mr Lamb, and that the same would apply for Rex Lamb. In short, columns of this type are usually very keen to get the pairings right and to not give offense by naming only one half of a couple. On top of that, the etiquette of naming gay couples is usually discreet enough so that it could be read as just happenstance. It could, of course, just be happenstance but the very ambiguity of it is telling.

So, what can we infer from this? Let's add one other factoid about Dickerson touched on in the item quoted above - He's a new face, someone who, like Bob Eberle himself appears to have played a much lower key role in the party prior to 2000.

My inference? Well, I think we've touched on a Hot Potato issue, that, in fact, Gannon's indiscretion is running the risk of exposing the entire Velvet Mafia of Texas that rallied behind Bush's election strategy. As a "new" member of the Bush team wouldn't it be logical to think that he'd been brought on board by campaign manager, Ken Mehlman?

So, in essence, far from having knowingly sponsored a rent boy, I think they've all been taken for a loop - winking eyes through short-hand conversations and just assumed that Gannon's bona fides were in order. As of today, the whole chain of command is terrified that this thing might spin out of their control

GOPUSA AS ROVIAN FRONT GROUP

What is interesting in tracing the origins of GOPUSA is that Bobby Eberle appears to equivocate about when his organization actually began. Although he most often cites 9-11 as a key to the inspiration to go big time, other reports suggest that GOPUSA was, in fact, founded, in Texas, in 1999. The lead here suggests a strong possibility that Rove needed a "front" group to act as a propaganda arm of the campaign and that the far better connected (though even more dubious financially) Bruce Eberle agreed to help create GOPUSA for his (brother? Cousin? Nephew? - has anyone solved this yet?) Bobby to oversee, or front for.

Is the confusion because GOPUSA was actually created before Bob Eberle had anything much to do with it? That he, too, had been brought on board?

That GOPUSA and TALON news were not just some simple little advocacy group seems highlighted by their role in the South Dakota campaign, of which we already know quite a lot and has been well-documented by SusanG and others.

In summary for today, my hypothesis is that under the able scrutiny of Karl Rove, members of Texas's closety gay underground were brought in to similarly create a dirty tricks arm of the campaign. Most members of GOPUSA probably had no know idea that any of this was happening. That was desirable. The secret leveraged world of gays and espionage neatly overlap. Indeed, gays and networks of gays have long been a staple in the clandestine world for those very reasons.

While it is possible that Gannon's cover may have been deeper, that, indeed, the whole MilitaryStudM4M.com was itself a black op entrapment scam should not be discounted, I think it unlikely that they would have allowed Gannon to cross over. On the contrary, I suspect that they are all flabbergasted and blaming Bobby for having ever brought Gannon in on the scheme.

My estimation is that a network of Texas Gays have been instrumental in Bush's rise to power and that a few of them just got very sloppy in a way that risks outing all of them. That's the reason why there's been this whole attempt to frame the issue as being about Gannon's personal life - they know perfectly well it's their OWN personal lives that that they're trying to protect.

AGAIN, IT'S NOT GANNON'S PERSONAL LIFE - IT'S THEIR OWN.

Blackmail is a subtle art and is often used by those nearest to us. I'm not talking about "emotional" blackmail in the pop psychology sense but something more nuanced. In a secretive culture, like the gay underworld - that I wish could finally disappear altogether - blackmail isn't as crass as open extortion, the threats are often unspoken. In fact, pressure can be applied in even apparently friendly ways as lovers, ex-lovers, or friends yield simply to accommodate and protect everyone.

Three days ago I spoke with a contemporary of mine, who'd been a regular at CBGB's and places like the 9th Circle who had become a staunch Republican. Although he lives in DC we met in one of the old 70s landmarks we'd each known 30 years ago as he was visiting New York for a few days. (He was keen to tell me about the Constitution Ball he attended this year.) When I asked him just what all this was about, all these secret gays - the whole pack of them - he gave me one of those looks that says "Girl, this says it all" and said, in a whispered tone, "Karl Rove."

He refused to elaborate. As he was off-the-record I'll keep his name off the main dairy for the moment until I speak with him again. I don't think he's near as well connected as he'd like to be but I take it - on face value - as a fair estimate of the gossip current in DC `s gay watering holes.

Given the astonishing number of alleged CLOSETED gays in key White House/RNC positions and in their MEDIA outlets it really baffles me how they get away with the amount of malicious and damaging gay baiting they do.

On a closing note, I think that until we find where the money for all these shenanigans came from (and GANNON/TALON seems the first to possibly derive from laundered money or slush funds. - (IMPORTANT POINT!!!) The others -Williams, Gallagher et alia - were all receiving merely misappropriated funds! LOL

My suggestion, if we're looking for slush funds, is go for the off shore ENRON accounts? Get every lunch receipt, every bus ticket, every memo available to the public domain. I'm sure you'll find BILLIONS of dollars were being siphoned off into secret slush fund accounts that are occasionally kicking back into TEAM BUSH operations. This could well be one of them.

A good job would be to see what links any of these B-list characters from Texas have with Enron and might have been privy, even signatories, to those mysterious off shore accounts - Bob Eberle, Paul Dickerson, Ken Mehlman, Dan Gurlie, Jay Banning, Scott McClellan, Karl Rove, Rick Perry, George W Bush.....it might just lead somewhere.

REMEMBER In all likelihood the first few times Gannon was in the Press Room (which does have a separate entrance, doesn't it?) he was already in the White House. Has anyone the know-how to access sign-in sheets at the Building's various entrances?

I hope I haven't gone on too long. I just felt that the amount of speculation about the gay side of the story was going too far from what the reality might truly be. I merely wished to lend my own perspective on the speculation and attempt to focus it all in a more forensic manner.

I think the issues are important. The gay angle is but one of several that need to be unearthed.

Believe me, at some point there will be considerable overlap and, possibly, immolation.

~snip~

DailyKos (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/19/204254/937)

[Useruser666]

Seems like all your info comes from one source Dan......

[Nbadan]

Gannon/Guckert/Yonivore has gone from 'reporting about the news to being the news' (his own words, trust me).


Gannon/Guckert Met Kerry at WH Reporters' Bash, Hopes to Go Again

By Joe Strupp

Published: February 22, 2005 12:55 PM ET


NEW YORK At previous galas he says he managed to meet Sen. John Kerry and Al Franken. But will James Guckert's recent notoriety as a partisan White House reporter who used a fake name, among other alleged activities, keep him out of this year's White House Correspondents Dinner?

Guckert, a.k.a. Jeff Gannon, doesn’t think so.

<snip>


Although Guckert said no one had asked him to be their guest at the 2005 White House Correspondents dinner, scheduled for April 30, he believes his recent fame will make him a potential guest. "There is still time," he said, noting that the dinner had often prompted attention because of some controversial guests in the past, such as Monica Lewinsky. "There is always someone there trying to make news," he added. "Maybe this year it is going to be me.

Editor and Publisher (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000809375)

I wonder if Tucker Carlson still has $1200 handy?

[Useruser666]

Come on Dan, just tell him you want to go to the dance!

[Nbadan]

The Corporate media strikes again...


Ordinarily, revelations that a former male prostitute, using an alias (Jeff Gannon) and working for a phony news organization, was ushered into the White House -- without undergoing a full-blown security background check -- in order to pose softball questions to administration officials would qualify as news by any recent Beltway standard. Yet as of Thursday, ABC News, which produces "Good Morning America," "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings," "Nightline," "This Week," "20/20" and "Primetime Live," has not reported one word about the three-week-running scandal. Neither has CBS News ("The Early Show," "The CBS Evening News," "60 Minutes," "60 Minutes Wednesday" and "Face the Nation"). NBC and its entire family of morning, evening and weekend news programs have addressed the story only three times. Asked about the lack of coverage, a spokesperson for ABC did not return calls seeking comment, while a CBS spokeswoman said executives were unavailable to discuss the network's coverage [...]
Meanwhile on the newsstands, through Thursday, there had been no meaningful coverage in USA Today or in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Detroit Free Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer, San Francisco Chronicle, Indianapolis Star, Denver Post, Oakland Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer, to name a few that have effectively boycotted the White House press office scandal. Leo Wolinsky, deputy managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, says the Times is running its first Guckert story on Friday, focusing on the guidelines for securing White House press passes [...]

As for the editorial pages, it's curious that the nation's five largest papers, all pillars of the media establishment (the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today), have been silent on the Guckert saga -- especially when dailies in more out-of-the-way places such as Tulsa, Okla.; Bangor, Maine; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Augusta County, Va.; and Pensacola, Fla., have all deemed the story troubling enough to require attention, as noted by Media Matters for America, a liberal advocacy group that first raised questions about Guckert and Talon News.

Salon (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/02/25/gannon_coverage/index.html)

[Nbadan]

Gannon's to the Right of Me

The infamous ex-White House reporter James Guckert (a.k.a. Jeff Gannon) fights fire with fire, reactivating his Web site and starting a blog. Among other things, he claims that those "sexy pictures" on the Web, "said to be of me," are leaving many of his critics "tingling."


By Greg Mitchell

(February 24, 2005) -- Ten days ago, James Guckert told E&P he was through talking to the press, and now he won’t shut up. He’s even suggesting that some of his critics are “tingling” from viewing “sexy pictures” of him on the Web.

<snip>

He denounces those who found “sexy pictures” of him on the Web, which inspired “rumors and conspiracy theories.” Forget for a moment that Guckert has now refused, on half a dozen occasions (including three interviews with E&P), to deny his part in the sex-escort trade. Here he says, “Based on some of the emails I’ve received, many of these people were conflicted with hatred for my politics and tingling they experienced while viewing pictures said to be me.”

He also thanks God for his “career as a reporter” and the fact that he was “further blessed to become a White House correspondent.”

Then there’s this gem: “If I had been a liberal reporter with the salacious past now attributed to me, I would be the Grand Marshall of the next Gay Pride Parade as well as a media darling, able to give softball interviews.” Well, he is an expert on softball questions, that’s for sure.

But I have a feeling that if he'd been a liberal reporter, he would have been skewered by Fox News and branded “The Hapless Hooker” by the New York Post, two outlets largely silent about Gannongate so far.

Editor and Publisher (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10008174 53)

Is that tingling or nausea?

[Useruser666]

Am I hot or not?

:lol