What does Jeff Gannon mean?

[warch]

The propaganda machine is impressive. Who let him in? Anyone else find this bizzare tale interesting?

sorry! I should add some linkage: but it wont work Ack. Frank Rich's NYT article
"The White House Stages its 'Daily Show" is what I wanted to link.

[Happy Monkey]

What I find most interesting is that, of all the meaningful and dangerous deceptions to come out of the modern Republican party, this one gets the media attention. Hey, look! SEX IS INVOLVED!

But, hey, the Republicans didn't seem to care that what they "got" Clinton on was a lie about a BJ, so whatever.

[warch]

The sex thing is the laugh, but what's really bizarre is this un-vetted, non-journalist, probable criminal, with all sorts of GOP ties, using a fake name is granted face to face, broadcast access to Bush and the press secretary is claiming ignorance, innocence. And is one more added to an impressive MO of media fakes, and buys.

So who granted, facilitated this yahoo's White House access for the past 2 years? And what is the role of the free press anyway? And who is the free press anymore? What level of propaganda is acceptable? When is it illegal?

And then there is Valerie Plame, dangling out there.

[iamthewalrus109]

This proganda/plant issue is nothing new. Although the Bush admin, is going a bit far, this type of thing has been going on for eons. It's alarming to some degree especially when you think of the CIA's infiltration into many news organiztions in the 50's and 60's. If you listen to the Nixon tapes, not just the popular Watergate related ones, you see many examples of planted stories and journalists, like Bob Novak, who were "friendly" to the adminstration. The whole sex aspect could be due to some sort of blackmail, Gannon, could be more than just a paid journalist.

-Walrus

[warch]

Like Novak, he's been linked to the Plame leak. More than propaganda about policy or politics, does this start to reveal a real national security threat? In terms of scandaldom, is he, as some have suggested, the equivalent of a watergate burgler-flunky?

[iamthewalrus109]

I see your point Warch, but in this envrionment it will be tough to sniff out the scandal and have it stick. But if you look at the recent rash of talk-radio pundits, and other journalists that have now been known to be taking money from the Bush admin., there may be a illegal money trail around somewhere, tracing to something more sinister.

-Walrus

[warch]

follow the slime trail....

[Griff]

Rich

For the scandals to stick some folks would need to cross the aisle. They may not have any governing principles left but the Repugnants are loyal... or wicked scared of stepping out of line.

[Griff]

Justin has an article on the whole thing. I think this is as good a time as any to remind everyone that this war was officially about nonexistant WMDs. All the bull crap about democracy may have been on the insiders agenda but it was definitely not the main sales pitch made to the American people.

[warch]

I keep hoping for some sort of check to help start balancing this amazingly secretive, manipulative, powerful executive branch. Journalist,... Judge,... Representative,...anyone????

[richlevy]

How this happened is a mystery that has yet to be solved. "Jeff" has now quit Talon News not because he and it have been exposed as fakes but because of other embarrassing blogosphere revelations linking him to sites like hotmilitarystud.com and to an apparently promising career as an X-rated $200-per-hour "escort." If Mr. Guckert, the author of Talon News exclusives like "Kerry Could Become First Gay President," is yet another link in the boundless network of homophobic Republican closet cases, that's not without interest. But it shouldn't distract from the real question - that is, the real news - of how this fake newsman might be connected to a White House propaganda machine that grows curiouser by the day. Though Mr. McClellan told Editor & Publisher magazine that he didn't know until recently that Mr. Guckert was using an alias, Bruce Bartlett, a White House veteran of the Reagan-Bush I era, wrote on the nonpartisan journalism Web site Romenesko, that "if Gannon was using an alias, the White House staff had to be involved in maintaining his cover." (Otherwise, it would be a rather amazing post-9/11 security breach.)

Well, the good news is that at least Bush believes in "Don't ask, don't tell". :p

So far, the conservative talking-heads consist of a homophobic gay male escort, an Asian-American apologist for Japanese internments, various 'family-focused' multiple divorcees.

It's nice to know that all Osama Bin Laden has to do to get access to the White House is shave his beard and get press credentials from GOP-TV. Has the White House become so starved for ass-kissing press willing to suspend disbelief that they are trolling West Hollywood for recruits?

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Originally Posted by Griff

Rich

For the scandals to stick some folks would need to cross the aisle. They may not have any governing principles left but the Repugnants are loyal... or wicked scared of stepping out of line.

The Republicans are indifferent and loath to involve themselves in anything that might become a scandal to their party. Nothing new there. I am rather impressed by the continued nonchalance of the American people, however. I think we have come to expect nothing but the worst from those in high office, and those in high office are happy to meet this expectation.

[xoxoxoBruce]

[Troubleshooter]

One has to wonder how someone with such easily refutable credentials was able to get within pistol distance of the president

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

One has to wonder how someone with such easily refutable credentials was able to get within pistol distance of the president

Well, there is THAT small ray of sunshine!