| christian grantham | |||
| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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April 06, 2005
GAY.com's recent ad campaign has us focusing on America coming together for random hook-ups. I bet this wasn't what they had in mind.
"Once I met him I was so scared," the boy testified about his first meeting with Bruce Wernick, then 43. "He kind of persuaded me into wanting to do things."Wernick, now 47, of Valley Stream, is accused of sodomizing the boy, who was 15 then, in his family's home. Wernick is charged with doing the same to two other underage boys, as well as downloading, saving and sharing child pornography through his computer. Wernick faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted.
During cross-examination, Wernick's attorney, Bruce Barket of Garden City, attempted to engender sympathy for his client by painting the teenager, now 19, as a willing participant in the encounter.
Barket asked him to explain an e-mail he wrote Wernick after the two met on gay.com in 2001 that stated: "I hope we can meet also!!! I want to learn a lot of things."
"What you were referring to there was sexual matters, yes?" Barket asked.
"Yes," the teen said.
[He persuaded me, teen boy tells jury - Newsday - 04-07-05]
also read: Another GAY.com Chat Murder?
filed under: Media
April 01, 2005
Not that you need to be reminded what a bafoon and partisan tool FOX's Sean Hannity is, but here is Hannity's special reminder of that very point straight from his own mouth.
In this audio, compliments of Oliver Willis, Hannity accidentally forgets he's being recorded as he also accidentally forgets his own blathering about civility in American politics.
Click here for the audio clip.
The subject of his attack is Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who Hannity calls a "jerk" and an "asshole" adding "I hate these people. You have no idea." Hannity's ire and deep rooted partisan hatred was stoked by Moran's audacity to want to talk about Medicare.
filed under: Media
March 30, 2005
Mary Cheney is writing a book, presumably about life as a political target. I hope Mary explains what part of "family values" the Republican Party hoped to portray in this 2004 Republican National Convention Cheney family photo where both her and her partner were hidden backstage from public view.
Let's be honest. It wasn't Democrats that forced Mary and her partner to be excluded from posing with her own family at the 2004 Republican National Convention. It was the party's radical evangelical base and the party's divisive platform that targeted Mary Cheney and continues to divide gays and lesbians from our families, our churches and our country.
I hope Mary talks about how it feels to see her party target her by pandering to its demonizing evangelical base while targeting the United States Constitution with disgraceful discriminatory amendments.
I hope Mary talks about the values the Republican Party ought to aspire to and challenges those radical voices whose divisive agenda is strangling the Republican Party.
Vice President Cheney's youngest daughter loathed being a gay GOP "poster girl" or known as his "lesbian daughter" in last year's presidential race.But, with a memoir coming out next year, it can't hurt.
Mary Cheney, 35, on Tuesday signed with Bush strategist Mary Matalin's conservative imprint at Simon & Schuster to pen a book on being "a political target for the other side," she said in a statement.
Besides memories of working on her dad's campaigns since age 8, the former Coors executive will finally respond to Democratic nominee John Kerry, who raised her homosexuality.
"She never wanted to be the poster girl ... for gay issues," Matalin said. "She doesn't exist to be the lesbian daughter of the vice president."
[Cheney's gay daughter to write book on being `political target' - Journal Gazette - 03-30-05]
filed under: Media
March 29, 2005
Gay activist Michael Rogers, of Blogactive.com, continues to target critics in an ongoing saga of an online jihad within the blogosphere.
This time the target was LimeShurbet.com, a blog whose site was taken down overnight by the site's commercial service provider. According to sources, LimeShurbert had taken GayPatriot's "WANTED: GAY TERRORISTS" post and created his own "wanted poster" targeting Michael Rogers and John Aravosis (Americablog). Rogers alerted the service provider which then shut the site down.
Here is a message from LimeShurbet.com's blog author, Robert Shurbet:
I will be back, content intact one way or another. Michael Rogers has tried to silence a voice of dissent. He will fail.
UPDATE 3:16PM - Robert Shurbert posted the following on Haloscan:
Show your support for GayPatriot by placing the "WANTED" banner from my sidebar on your blog.GayPatriot deserves to have his voice heard! All gay conservatives have a voice that needs to be heard too! The gay community is not a "liberals only" club any more than the Republican party is for "straights only." It is high-time gay conservatives and those that support them speak out against the terrorist tactics employed by Michael Rogers!
Don't let Michael Rogers silence a voice of opposition. He can try to silence one - he cannot silence many.
[Robert - Haloscan - 03.29.05 - 1:29 pm]
UPDATE 10:32PM - Robert Shurbet's "WANTED: GAY TERRORIST" poster featuring Michael Rogers of Blogactive.com is making the rounds by many free speech advocates. These are just a few sites that have posted the poster.
This was sent to Robert Shurbet from Hosting Matters.
Content cannot be defamation by definition unless it can be shown that the content is inherently and deliberately untrue. In your particular case, a simple google of “michael rogers gay” brought me to an article by The Independent (UK) about the very bullet points you have listed in the graphic, with quotes from him related to that subject. Further searches reveal other stories by regular journalistic outlets as well, with and without quotes. Suggesting people email him to voice their opinion of his actions is also not an actionable offense, since a look at his own site has links for email to the addresses you have listed - since he is inviting contact via email, and lists available addresses, your posting of them poses no violation of any of our policies or of any statutes. It is your opinion that his actions are as you describe them, and people are free to agree or disagree as they see fit, and post their own opinions, if they’d like to do so. In addition, there is nothing in your graphic that urges any violence against anyone - it reads, in fact, more like the sort of online boycott calls that go around from time to time. Therefore, we would take no action related to complaints by the individual about this item on your page other than to suggest he take it up with you.Regards,
Abuse Investigations
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com
[Hosting DOES Matter - Lime Shurbet - 03-29-05]
filed under: Free Speech
, Media
March 28, 2005
GayPatriot, the anonymous gay Republican blogger, has officially signed off. In a statement, no explanation was given. With GayPatriot's permission, I am now able to recount the real story.
On Friday, GayPatriot posted "WANTED: GAY TERRORISTS" in which he identified gay activists and bloggers John Aravosis (Americablog) and Michael Rogers (BlogActive) as terrorists.
Wanted for crimes against the gay community. Wanted for repeatedly conducting outing witch hunts against gays who do not believe in radical liberal anti-American ideals. For repeated violations of privacy of gay Americans. For conducting systematic civil liberties attacks on gay Americans.WANTED! Let's do something about these gay terrorists who have infected our community with their hatred and self-loathing bigotry of gay Americans who wish to live their lives in peace.
[WANTED: GAY TERRORISTS - GayPatriot - 03-25-05]
As many of you know, Rogers is the host and agent of a widely publicized "outing campaign" at BlogActive.com targeting closeted gay Republicans. One of the most notable results of this campaign was the dramatic retirement of a Republican Virginia Congressman, Ed Schrock. The most recent outing was that of Ken Mehlman, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Whatever you believe about the practice, it is difficult to ignore the political impact the campaign has had over the past year.
According to GayPatriot, who is also a client of mine, Michael Rogers called GayPatriot's place of employment on Friday immediately following the post above and spoke to GayPatriot's secretary and boss. GayPatriot had no idea Rogers would go to such measures and shared with me that both he and his secretary were very upset by the calls but that his boss was understanding.
Later on that day, Rogers personally called me and recounted much of the same account, adding that he had also called the police and is working with the authorities on the matter. Rogers expressed feeling threatened by the post and compared it to posts by anti-abortionists who posted the names of doctors performing them.
Rogers also said he asked GayPatriot to remove the post and replace it with a post about non-violence or he would launch a national boycott of GayPatriot's corporate employer and pursue any and all avenues necessary to protect himself. By the time Rogers had called, GayPatriot had already made the decision to remove the post and also remove GayPatriot from the blogosphere.
GayPatriot was silenced.
GayPatriotWest, a co-writer on the blog, will continue to bring a voice to conservative gay Republicans. While I personally have the opposite political ideology, I value healthy debate and the precious right of free speech in America. I am proud of serving a diversity of opinions online. I also understand that free speech isn't free of consequences. I am also sad to see this unfold.
As someone who has been the victim of passionate protests and death threats for public advocacy, I try not to question people's sense of concern for their safety. Rogers has every right to involve authorities in the matter and let them determine whether Rogers is in any danger. But I do question Rogers' choice to go beyond the work of authorities to ensure his safety by calling GayPatriot's place of employment.
If Rogers is genuinely concerned for his safety, any lawyer or authority investigating the matter would have advised him not to have called an alleged perpetrator's place of employment. That action alone shows the exact opposite of fear for safety. Rogers is not shy about calling offices, as the Washington Blade's Chris Crain noted the other day.
As the Blade reported last August, those on Capitol Hill in Rogers' crosshairs say they and their offices were subjected to as many as 20 phone calls a day, badgering office staff with details about closeted gays working there. Blade staffers are no strangers to these multiple, harassing phone calls. That's certainly not journalism, and it's not even activism. It's borderline stalking; and it ought to stop.
[GOP chief admits to being closeted - Washington Blade - 03-24-05]
Crain, the editor of the Window Media gay newspaper empire, is at the center of a controversy over allegedly thwarting his paper's reporting on recent outings of prominent gay Republicans.
Current and former staff members of the nation’s largest gay newspaper chain say the company’s top editor thwarted efforts to run a story reporting now-Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman was gay, RAW STORY has learned. The editor denies killing the story.These staffers assert that the part-owner and chief editor for the company’s five newspapers including The Washington Blade, Chris Crain, refused to print an article regarding the sexual orientation of the then-campaign manager for President Bush’s reelection campaign.
[Staff: Editor of Washington gay paper thwarted story outing RNC chair Mehlman; Editor asserts he was offered Schrock tapes - RawStory - 03-25-05]
GayPatriot formed specifically in response to Rogers and his website and became a venue for criticism of outing Republicans. GayPatriot is currently in counsel with attorneys over this entire matter.
filed under: Free Speech
, Media
March 23, 2005
Charting PlanetOut's decline over the past few months to today's dramatic drop. The stock (LGBT - NASDAQ) is trading pennies from it's 52 week low. What's going on at the nation's only publicly traded LGBT company?
Also read: GAY.com Unleashes Controversial Ad Campaign
filed under: Media
March 21, 2005
Oh, those good old days when we used to just murder loud-mouthed gays!
Bill O'Reilly on the March 15 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor:O'REILLY: You know, the Founding Fathers didn't write anything into the Constitution about gay marriage. Because back then, if you were gay, they hung you.
So -- you couldn't get married 'cause they put you in the rack. You know, if you were runnin' around wearing a chartreuse hat, you were in lots of trouble. So, we didn't even have to worry about these people gettin' married because if they come out of their closet in the log cabin -- somebody'll shoot them in the head. So, there really wasn't an issue back in the Founding Fathers.
[Fox News hosts muse about gay rights - Media Matters - 03-17-05]
filed under: Media
March 13, 2005
EchoDitto Podcast is up. Terrance and I chat about the common sense of the lurking silent majority, or something. Terrance appeals to the silent majority to take a look at the ongoing investigation into the murder of Rashawn Brazell.
filed under: Media
March 11, 2005
I forgot how I came across her blog today, but here's Rosie O'Donnell's blog.
*the unedited rantings of a fat 42 year old menopausal ex -talk show host * -married mother of four- read at your own risk - my spelling sux (add * ocd * adhd * lmnop * suv * dvd * y not me)
[Formerly Rosie]
I wonder what Dan Rather's blog description would say?
filed under: Media
March 11, 2005
Kudos to former Newsday Health & Science writer Laurie Garrett for having the courage to kick the corporate thugs in the teeth on the way out the door, not because she could, but because she's 100% correct.
Ever since the Chandler Family plucked Mark Willes from General Foods, placing him at the helm of Times Mirror with a mandate to destroy the institutions in ways that would boost dividends, journalism has suffered at Newsday. The pain of the last year actually began a decade ago: the sad arc of greed has finally hit bottom. The leaders of Times Mirror and Tribune have proven to be mirrors of a general trend in the media world: They serve their stockholders first, Wall St. second and somewhere far down the list comes service to newspaper readerships. In 1996 I personally confronted Willes on that point, and he publicly confirmed that the new regime was one in which even the number of newspapers sold was irrelevant, so long as stock returns continued to rise.The deterioration we experienced at Newsday was hardly unique. All across America news organizations have been devoured by massive corporations, and allegiance to stockholders, the drive for higher share prices, and push for larger dividend returns trumps everything that the grunts in the newsrooms consider their missions. Long gone are the days of fast-talking, whiskey-swilling Murray Kempton peers eloquently filling columns with daily dish on government scandals, mobsters and police corruption. The sort of in-your- face challenge that the Fourth Estate once posed for politicians has been replaced by mud-slinging, lies and, where it ought not be, timidity. When I started out in journalism the newsrooms were still full of old guys with blue collar backgrounds who got genuinely indignant when the Governor lied or somebody turned off the heat on a poor person's apartment in mid-January. They cussed and yelled their ways through the day, took an occasional sly snort from a bottle in the bottom drawer of their desk and bit into news stories like packs of wild dogs, never letting go until they'd found and told the truth. If they hadn't been reporters most of those guys would have been cops or firefighters. It was just that way.
[Letter To Colleagues - Laurie Garrett - (word doc)]
filed under: Media
March 10, 2005
Earlier today, I visited EchoDitto and recorded a Podcast with Terrance Heath (RepublicofT.com) on EchoRadio that was mostly about how blogging is changing politics. It was kinda ironic sharing the elevator with Joe Trippi, who helped challenge political communication and messaging with the dynamic medium of blogs.
I'll post a link to the audio once it's available, but for now, go ahead and check out episode 14 with Garrett Graff, the first blogger to be credentialed for White House Press. Garrett was also there, doing whatever they do at EchoDitto. CNSnews did a very unflattering piece on him, but you can also read his blog at fishbowldc, a blog about the media... and I guess blogs.
filed under: Media
March 10, 2005
Two Cheap Bastards (aka Brent Hartinger & Michael Jensen) over at AfterEllen raise an important question about the challenges facing gay television channels.
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is pretty much black programming as if it was created by white supremacists. It’s an endless stream of videos and sitcoms featuring the crudest of African American stereotypes: gangstas, pimps, and whores. And there’s something more than a little ironic about a minority network that uses a geographic loophole so it can pay its stand-up comics a sub-standard wage.As for the Latino network Telemundo, it has an endless stream of oversexed latinos ripping off their clothes and falling into bed with each other.
Does all this mean that any future gay network is doomed to traffic in the most obvious of gay stereotypes? Cher concerts? An obsession with chiseled pecs, plastic surgery, and penis size? Lots of talk shows with Carson Kressley wannabes being bitchy?
[The Big Gay Picture - AfterEllen - 03-10-05]
filed under: Media
March 09, 2005
They couldn't have come at a better time. While America is embroiled in an all out battle over civil rights for gays and lesbians, the nation's leading online trick stop for gay men, Gay.com, asks Americans to "come together," if you know what I mean.
The ads literally hit the streets just as the Washington state Supreme Court began considering whether same-sex couples should be able to wed. In other words, to be accepted.
Now I'm not saying that every image of a gay union ought to be Plain Jane and Joan or Jack and Gil and their apple-cheeked tots shopping Home Depot for kitchen supplies.
Besides, even a non-threatening image such as theirs would never convert those fearful folks who insist that only church-wed moms and dads deserve to be families.
Leathered-up Dykes on Bikes and gay men in cheekless jeans are all part of the human parade as well as the Gay Pride parade, as far as I'm concerned.
But bedrock issues like the basic human right to marry, the right to raise kids and visit a same-sex partner in the hospital, to inherit property and file joint taxes are currently on the block for a lot of our neighbors, co-workers and relatives. So why risk incendiary ads that look like throwbacks to the hoary old stereotype that being gay is all about sex?
[Are sexy ads the best way to achieve gay acceptance? - Seattle Post Intelligencer - 03-09-05]
At a time when it's stock price isn't doing well, there are reports of trouble in the online personals market, Gay.com chat rooms are mentioned in several gay murder cases, and HIV and syphilis infection rates are soaring among gay men, the controversy over the ads seems to draw even more attention to the lucrative business of facilitating quick sexual hook-ups for gay men. But hey, that's Gay.com's bread and butter.
filed under: Media
March 08, 2005
You can now watch the 28 minutes episode of "Postcards from Buster" that the Bush Administration's new Education Secretary Margaret Spellings sought to censor.
Check out what the Bush Administration found so objectionable that they demanded the episode be defunded of federal grants for its objectionable content, and take action on Family Pride's website through their "Virtual Rally on Washington".
Also check out the 30 second commercial spot by the United Church of Christ that NBC and CBS refuse to air due to its controversial message of hope and inclusion. Here is an excerpt from a post by the United Church of Christ as to why they bought an ad (to the right) with "over 50 of the top blogs."
I believe this is the next great revolution in journalism. In the tradition of this nation’s earliest pamphleteers, bloggers are sharing news and information as a mark of a truly free society, not as something that can be controlled and manipulated by multi-national corporations.So when we started to consider the next round of advertising, blogs seemed like a obvious choice. True to form, CBS and NBC again rejected our ad. While we will continue our campaign to pressure the FCC to enforce the public interest obligations of broadcasters, we are not going to let the networks stop us from getting our message to the public. It seemed only natural to embrace the blogs to get the message out since the blogs helped bring our message to light in December.
So starting today and for the next several weeks, we are running our ad on over 50 of the top blogs. I hope that our message, “No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome at the United Church of Christ” resonates on the blogs and helps get the word out to both the traditional media and the public at large.
[When the Old Media said NO the Blogs said YES - United Church of Christ - 03-08-05]
filed under: Free Speech
, Media
March 07, 2005
Ever since I saw him at a gay youth gathering on Dupont Circle, I knew... or at least I hoped. He's so serious, and he so needs a hug.
Actually, Anderson has only really been out in that he gracefully lives his life while never bothering to claim he’s straight. The child of complicated parents and a product of fame, class, and some darkness, he’s evolved into a fascinating paradox who’s reportorially fearless about everything but himself.
Sexuality-wise, he’s performed a delicate high-wire dance that most of the media have helped provide the silent accompaniment for (though the same scribes are not so timid about reporting on Christiane Amanpour’s marriage or Soledad O’Brien’s twins). Lengthy profiles have been written about Anderson that take pains to not mention anything romantic—but this ultrapolite routine makes the loosey-goosier press so antsy that in ’03, Metrosource magazine jumped the gun and called Anderson “openly gay.” (“He is? I guess now he is!” I responded at the time in my Village Voice column.) And last year, when a CNN.com transcript said he’d referred on the air to something gay as “we,” it prompted a blogging fury of sheer glee, until CNN pointed out that it was "he" and the world saddened.
[Anderson Cooper - OUT.com - 03-07-05]
filed under: Media
February 27, 2005
Chuck Pennacchio's campaign for Senator Rick Sanorum's U.S. Senate seat is a great example of how campaigns are addressing bloggers as media outlets. (links to audio are available on Pennacchio's website)
The night of our national BlogAd buy (Thursday), Chuck held a conference call with about 10 Pennsylvania bloggers about the race, how we win it, and his vision for the future. It was an open-forum Q&A. Below are some of the exchanges between the candidate and bloggers in .mp3 format.1.) Candidate Introduction - LINK (1.34 Mb - 2:56)
2.) Professional Experience - LINK (1.64 Mb - 3:46)
3.) First Bill Chuck Would Introduce in the Senate - LINK (421Kb - :53)
4.) Netroots - Grassroots - Organization - LINK (1.37 Mb - 3:00)
5.) Choice - LINK (1 Mb - 2:11)
6.) Middle East & Bush Arrogance - LINK (653 Kb - 1:53)Here are a few reactions from bloggers who participated on the conference call: Check em out.
a.) Young Philly Politics
b.) Urban Democracy
c.) Festers PlaceThe calls are something that will happen with regularity throughout the campaign. That is another reason it is important for you to sign up with us on the We are organizing now, both online and offline. Please join us in that effort. We cannot rest while Rick Santorum criss-crosses in the opening salvo of his re-election campaign.
[Bloggers Conference Call - Chuck Pennacchio For United States Senate 2006 - 02-27-05]
filed under: Media
February 27, 2005
I haven't been paying too much attention because it's about sex, or I'm writing a book, or something.
ON GANNON-GUCKERT: I haven't written about it because I agree completely with Glenn. The substantive case against Gannon is trivial; the irrelevant case against him (the one that's fueled this story) is that he's gay, has allegedly been (or still may be) a prostitute, and may not agree with everything the gay left believes (although I agree with David Corn that the evidence that Gannon has written anything even remotely "anti-gay" is laughable). The real scandal is the blatant use of homophobic rhetoric by the self-appointed Savonarolas of homo-left-wingery. It's an Animal Farm moment: the difference between a fanatic on the gay left and a fanatic on the religious right is harder and harder to discern. Just ask yourself: if a Catholic conservative blogger had found out that a liberal-leaning pseudo-pundit/reporter was a gay sex worker, had outed the guy as gay and a "hooker," published pictures of the guy naked, and demanded a response from a Democratic administration, do you think gay rights groups would be silent? They'd rightly be outraged. But the left can get away with anything, can't they? Especially homophobia.
[On Gannon-Guckert - Andrew Sullivan - 02-25-05]
Glenn Reynold's disdain for reporting about people's private sex life is not only selective, it's misguided. Isn't it ironic how some conservatives prefer digging in people's private sex lives (John Kerry / Bill Clinton) while most liberals limit their talk to what other people make widely available to the general public?
Glenn Reynolds, February 13, 2005: "I also agree with Kurtz that it was the stuff about Gannon's personal life that led to his resignation, and that there's something rather sleazy about that. Backstage or not, targeting parts of people's lives that don't have to do with the story -- like, say, Eason Jordan's love life -- seems inappropriate to me, and likely to lend support to the bloggers-as-lynch-mob caricature."Glenn Reynolds, February 16, 2004:
"THE KERRY INFIDELITY STORY seemed to die down over the weekend, but this report says that it may come back: "A woman who claims she had an affair with presidential hopeful John Kerry has taped a kiss-and-tell interview with a U.S. TV network, it was revealed last night. " (Via Timothy Perry)."
I'm not sure what part of James Dale Guckert's resume he'd prefer the White House Secret Service and American press not care about, but it seems to me a great deal of liberal media prefer the White House have slighty higher standards. Leave it to Reynolds and other conservatives to urge us to reconsider.
That said, it's hard to discount Andrew Sullivan's personal point of reference on Animal Farm moments at the hands of the "self-appointed Savonarolas of homo-left-wingery."
According to GAYBC Radio, Sullivan, who is HIV+, placed profiles at Bareback City and AOL expressing his interest in meeting partners for bareback sex. GAYBC verified that the profiles were Sullivan's by having two people meet him through those profiles.GAYBC attempted to contact Sullivan during a recent broadcast to respond, and while they were discussing the matter on air, the profiles suddenly disappeared. Fortunately, a number of people saved them while they were still up, and they are mirrored on this site.
[Andrew Sullivan's Barebacking Sites - MilkyLoads]
At the advice of his attorney, Jeff Gannon has launched a blog for his adoring conservative fans and other rubber-neckers.
I'm baaaaaaaack. If you thought I was going to slink away - then you don't know much about me. Someone still has to battle the Left and now that I've emerged from the crucible, I'm stronger than before.
[Bruised but not broken - Jeff Gannon]
filed under: Media
February 24, 2005
If James Dale Guckert truly has a lawyer, what lawyer in their right mind would allow their client to continue to make a fool of himself day after day in the media? When can we hear the voice of the attorney advising Guckert to sue for "political assassination," of is James Dale Guckert officially "divorced from reality?"
Media Whore
James Guckert (aka Jeff Gannon) is angling for an invite to the gala White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in April, saying his recent notoriety qualifies him as a great guest. "There is still time," he told Editor & Publisher this week. "There is always someone there trying to make news. Maybe this year it is going to be me." He also revealed that he's trying to line up paid speaking gigs, telling the trade mag: "There are people who are definitely interested in some of my behind-the-scenes work in the press room."Low Standards
Yes, this is the same guy who, after being linked to gay escort sites a couple of weeks ago, posted on JeffGannon.com: "In consideration of the welfare of me and my family I have decided to return to private life."
[C'mon, Just a Few More Minutes of Fame? - Washington Post - 02-24-05]
Gannon: "I asked to come. They allowed me to come. And apparently there isn't a very high threshold as far as somebody's personal life to gain access."National Security
[‘I asked to come. They allowed me to come’ - MSNBC - 02-24-05]
As Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., pointed out during a meeting with The Chronicle editorial board Wednesday, the Guckert case, at a minimum, suggests "sheer, friggin' incompetence,'' in terms of White House security. Biden said Congress should investigate this potential breach of security, but he acknowledged such a probe would never occur with Republicans in control of the House and Senate.Congressional HeatIt's hard to say which is worse: That the White House had no idea who it was allowing to be within shouting distance of the president -- or that it knew exactly who Jeff Gannon was and why he was there.
[Who Is Jeff Gannon? - San Francisco Chronicle - 02-24-05]
Two leaders of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee want the federal prosecutor investigating the Valeria Plame case to subpoena a personal journal of controversial White House reporter James Guckert, following Editor & Publisher's disclosure yesterday that Guckert claims he kept the journal for the past two years."It is clear that a primary obstacle to the ... investigation is uncovering a precise chronology of when, and to whom, classified information was leaked," Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), one of those seeking the subpoena, told E&P. "The revelation by Editor & Publisher that Mr. Guckert kept contemporaneous records of his 'reporting' activities could well be a major step forward in developing such a chronology."
In addition, E&P has confirmed an report on The Raw Story that Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) is circulating a letter among his colleagues that asks President Bush to launch an investigation into how Guckert, who writes under the byline “Jeff Gannon,” gained access to White House press briefings over two years despite having no journalism background and using a false name.
[Both Houses of Congress Get Involved in 'Gannon' Case - Editor & Publisher - 02-23-05]
filed under: Media
, Political Subterfuge
February 22, 2005
If you still have lingering doubts about whether or not I am the anonymous gay Republican blogger, GayPatriot, maybe tomorrow's interview on Sirius OutQ will resolve that.
Also, tomorrow I'll be in Arlington at a very cool company formed by Howard Dean's core 2004 Presidential Campaign, EchoDitto. I'll be there with Democratic candidate for VA's 13th district, Bruce Roemmelt, as he's interviewed by an old friend of mine, Terrance Heath, on EchoRadio. More about Bruce tomorrow!
filed under: Media
February 22, 2005
The first rule of successful persuasive communication: target your own people, first.
RUSSIA
Russia's Defense Ministry has launched experimental broadcasts of a new TV channel intended to boost military prestige and counter negative reports of hazing, desertions and corruption in the armed forces, its creators said Monday.AMERICAThe new channel -- Zvezda or "Star" -- is aimed at developing "the feeling of national pride among its citizens ... a feeling of responsibility for Russia's fate and pride for the nation's great historic past and belief in its future," producers said in a news release.
[Russia Launches 'Patriotic' TV Channel - AP - 02-22-05]
EchoStar's Dish Network satellite TV service announced it is now offering the Pentagon Channel to its more than 11 million viewers. Programming will be distributed 24 hours a day, seven days a week as part of Dish Network's public interest channels. This means the programming will be provided at no cost to customers."We appreciate Dish Network's decision to carry the new Pentagon Channel on their satellite TV system," said Defense Department spokesman Larry Di Rita. "Their support helps us fulfill our mission of providing timely military news and information to the U.S. armed forces."
[Dish Network Brings Pentagon Channel to Millions of Subscribers - Defense Link - 02-10-05]
filed under: Media
February 22, 2005
It doesn't really matter what the consumer thinks. It's what the advertisers think.
- Increasingly, advertisers see online advertising delivering measurable results that maximize the power of their ad buys.
- Calls to action in online advertising are precisely targeted and acted upon in a manner print cannot deliver.
- Online views and visitor action is precisely measured, not a game of divination from print circulation.
- Technology is increasingly allowing us to synch our news or wirelessly receive it.
- Bloggers are slowly rendering the influence of weekly newspapers obsolete.
NEW YORK In a lengthy article titled "Hard News: Daily Papers Face Unprecedented Competition," Frank Ahrens of the Washington Post on Sunday sketched an exceedingly unpleasant future for the print newspaper as we know it.Or as he said in his lead: "The venerable newspaper is in trouble."
But he noted that the industry was not standing still, but rather "struggling to remake itself." Some of the efforts: creating news sections, beefing up Web sites, conducting surveys to find out what readers want, spinning off free papers.
[Is Print Dead? 'The Washington Post' Ponders It - Editor & Publisher - 02-22-05]
filed under: Media
February 21, 2005
If that's so, what's radical right-winger Joseph Farrah, editor and CEO of WorldNetDaily.com, doing trying "to reach McClellan, Mehlman and Gurley for comment " on whether or not they are gay?
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan
In a report based on an unnamed source, Raw Story reported McClellan visited a homosexual bar March 19, 1995. Another anonymous source was quoted as saying McClellan regularly frequented Austin, Texas, "gay clubs." McClellan is an Austin native. His mother, Carolyn Keeton Strayhorn, former mayor of Austin is controller of the state of Texas and considered a contender for the governorship.RNC Chair Ken Mehlman
[Homosexual press hot to 'out' Bush figures - Worldnetdaily - 02-21-05]
Rogers also revealed that Ken Mehlman, chair of the Republican National Committee, is gay."GOP National Field Director Dan Gurley
[Homosexual press hot to 'out' Bush figures - Worldnetdaily - 02-21-05]
According to Raw Story's Byrne, Gurley acknowledged in a phone interview last September that he is "gay." In response to a later story by Byrne last November, that Gurley "solicited unprotected sex and multiple sex partners in an online profile at Gay.com," Gurley reportedly conceded that he had a profile in his America Online screenname – that same screenname as appeared in the Gay.com profile.
[Homosexual press hot to 'out' Bush figures - Worldnetdaily - 02-21-05]
filed under: Media
February 18, 2005
Sturtle is only a quarter of the way there with the whole Grantham/Gannon/Guckert/Gaypatriot connection. He just might completely get the scoop that will launch his blog into official stardom. I'm so almost busted!
Curiously enough, the owner of GayPatriot.org, "C. M. Grantham," has the same contact phone number as Outlet Radio, which lists a "Christian Grantham" on its masthead. Mr. Grantham's articles feature a byline that states he "was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD"--not exactly the sort of credentials you'd expect from the owner of a site that claims to be "the blog home for the more than one million gay [sic] and lesbians who support President Bush" and which "ravishes the Left and has fun doing it!"After digging a little more, it seems Grantham's positions on Outlet Radio and on his personal website are a fair bit more liberal than his posts to GayPatriot.org. (In fact, he doesn't even identify himself on the latter, but it's safe to assume that he's the poster who calls himself Gay Patriot and who has the same email addy as "C.M. Grantham," the registrar of the site.) Still, that's all fine. I mean, I was on the debate team in high school--I appreciate someone who can argue both sides of the coin.
But what's strange about all this is that when Grantham refers to Gannon's former employer, Talon News, in his GayPatriot post, he uses scare quotes, implying a highly skeptical opinion of Talon. Is he not paying attention? Does he not realize that he's advertising (the banner's a little too prominent to be just link swap) on the website of one of Talon's only subscribers?
[Obviously, I Have Too Much Time On My Hands - Sturtle - 02-18-05]
filed under: Media
February 18, 2005
After saying he will no longer speak to media... he's baaaaaaaaaack! What will James Dale Guckert reveal? (via Americablog)
Asked this afternoon about reports that he was scheduled to appear on the Anderson Cooper's CNN show tonight, he denied it strongly. One hour later, a CNN spokesman told E&P, "He's taping it right now.""My side of the story has been poorly reported," said Guckert, the former Talon News reporter who resigned last week amid criticism that he asked partisan questions. "One of the frustrating parts has been that everyone has been willing to say things and not make the effort to speak with me. ...
"There are a lot of people out there left hanging and bewildered by this," he told E&P. "I need to speak to a couple of issues. I need to talk about my relationship with the White House and whether I was a plant or not -- that needs to be brought out."
[5 Days Later, Guckert's Tells E&P He'll Talk Again, Apparently on CNN - Editor & Publisher - 02-18-05]
filed under: Media
, Political Subterfuge
February 17, 2005
PlanetOut's spin on their 4th quarter financials wasn't enough today to convince investors to ignore their losses. PlanetOut lost $1.35 (13%) today. Ouch! Can anyone out there explain the investor/stockholder response?
San Francisco Web portal PlanetOut Inc. said Wednesday it lost $475,000 on $25 million in revenue in 2004, compared with a loss of $752,000 on revenue of $19.1 million in 2003. For the fourth quarter ended December, PlanetOut (Nasdaq: LGBT) reported a loss of $30,000, compared with a profit of $517,000 in the same quarter a year ago.
The company said a "non-recurring" charge of $601,000 associated with its initial public offering affected the loss in the most-recent quarter.
Advertising sales grew from $4.6 million in 2003 to $6.5 million in 2004, the company said.
[PlanetOut's revenue rises, loss falls - SF Business Times - 02-16-05]
filed under: Media
February 16, 2005
I can't understand this. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that "Jeff Gannon" was allowed access to the White House Press Briefing room because "he represented a news organization that published regularly."
Here is a picture of "Jeff Gannon" in the White House Press Briefing room a month before his employer, Talon News, ever existed much less published a single story.
Who did James Dale Guckert work for prior to Talon News? So far as we know, he freelanced as a prostitute. But who did he tell the White House he was working for on February 28, 2003, and did "Jeff Gannon" represent "a news organization that published regularly?"
How did a high-priced hooker gain daily access to the White House for over two years under the guise of a "journalist" and then obtain a highly confidential intelligence memo?
"He, like anyone else, showed that he was representing a news organization that published regularly, and so he was cleared two years ago to receive daily passes, just like many others are."
[White House Press Briefing - Scott McClellan - 02-10-05]
also read: DailyKos, Atrios, Intelligence Squad #95
filed under: Media
, Political Subterfuge
February 14, 2005
In my opinion, the personal life of James Dale Guckert (a.k.a. Jeff Gannon) would be an irrelevant sidebar for tabloid blogs, but there is a problem leaving it there. Guckert's media credentials prior to Talon News appear to be limited to gay porn and other online sex services. If conservative news agencies dismiss the professional credentials of its reporters and commentators, and ask the American public to do the same, what's left of American media?
Presumably, conservative news agencies have standards and want the American people to trust that they are sending Washington correspondents to the White House with a credible journalistic background. Thankfully, Guckert quit his White House correspondent job, but the arguments made by some conservatives that Guckert should have the right to keep his media credentials private in the wake of his short career defy professionalism.
Either Guckert lied to Talon News about his qualifications, or Talon News has the kind of standards from which conservatives should publicly distance themselves. Conservatives ought to care which it is.
What are standards? After becoming familiar with Guckert's resume and services, it was difficult for some conservative colleagues, like commentator Sean Hannity, to believe Guckert was anything other than "a terrific Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for Talon News." Still some conservative bloggers found selective reasoning the best way to avoid Guckert's choice to publicize his sexual media credentials on the Internet (via Blogoland).
Glenn Reynolds, February 13, 2005:
"I also agree with Kurtz that it was the stuff about Gannon's personal life that led to his resignation, and that there's something rather sleazy about that. Backstage or not, targeting parts of people's lives that don't have to do with the story -- like, say, Eason Jordan's love life -- seems inappropriate to me, and likely to lend support to the bloggers-as-lynch-mob caricature."Glenn Reynolds, February 16, 2004:
"THE KERRY INFIDELITY STORY seemed to die down over the weekend, but this report says that it may come back: "A woman who claims she had an affair with presidential hopeful John Kerry has taped a kiss-and-tell interview with a U.S. TV network, it was revealed last night. " (Via Timothy Perry)."
filed under: Media
, Political Subterfuge
February 14, 2005
The New York Times is reporting that the man at the center of a possible new strain of HIV met some of his victims through an "unnamed web site."
It was much the same at other sites. For example, the new strain of the virus, which one Web log labeled "H.I.V. 2.0," attracted little interest at Gay.com. The site, which maintains more than four million dating profiles and has about 30,000 users online at any given time, manages dozens of chat rooms. An academic study that surveyed about 3,000 of the site's users in 2002 found that 84 percent had met sex partners online, and that these users were 6 percent more likely to have unprotected anal sex than those who met their partners offline.At Gay.com, the topic of AIDS rarely came up. In one of the Brooklyn discussions yesterday, about 50 men lurked and flirted, offering opportunities to meet, as advertisements for gay video sites repeatedly interrupted. In more than three hours of online conversation, the new strain of H.I.V. was not mentioned once.
[Gay Users of Internet Play Down Concerns Over New Strain of AIDS - New York Times - 02-14-05]
filed under: Media
February 10, 2005
Seeking to clarify Scott McClellan's "understanding," Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has a request.
"I am writing to request that you immediately release documents to my office relating to the White House press credentials of James D. Guckert, a.k.a. "Jeff Gannon." Specifically, I am seeking documentation related to the question of which name Mr. Guckert/Gannon used when applying for credentials, and which name was on the official White House press credentials he received," wrote Lautenberg."As you may know, Mr. Guckert/Gannon was denied a Congressional press pass because he could not show that he wrote for a valid news organization. Given the fact that he was denied Congressional credentials, I seek your explanation of how Mr. Guckert/Gannon passed muster for White House press credentials," Lautenberg wrote.
[Lautenberg Requests All Documents From White House Relating to Discredited "Journalist" James D. Guckert, A.K.A. Jeff Gannon - Senator Lautenberg - 02-10-05]
filed under: Media
, Political Subterfuge
February 10, 2005
As someone who had both hard passes to the West Wing and executive offices of the White House, as well as a very long record of day passes to the White House later as a consultant, I can also confirm Bruce Bartlett's account of White House security. That said, serious questions remain unanswered.
- Who in the White House waived White House security and provided cover for a fake journalist using fradulent credentials to get near the President of the United States?
- Who provided a confidential intelligence memo to this fake journalist who used it to then smear Joe Wilson for challenging fradulent claims that intelligence on Iraq's purchase of "yellow cake" was definitive?
From BRUCE BARTLETT: Having worked in the White House, I can assure everyone that not only would it be impossible to get a White House pass using an alias, it is impossible even to get past the gate for an appointment using an alias. Thorough FBI background checks are required for the former and a picture ID is necessary for the latter. Therefore, if Gannon was using an alias, White House staff had to be involved in maintaining his cover.
[WH helped Gannon maintain his cover, he says - Bruce Bartlett - 02-10-05]
While John Aravosis at Americablog has done a great job piecing together "Jeff Gannon's" past, I have to avidly disagree with what he views as the most important issue here.
"The issue here is whether someone with connections to male prostitution was given unfettered access to the White House and copies of internal CIA documents. For a family val