I'm writing a letter to a local paper in a state I used to live in. I used to have a number of Op-Ed type letters published on numerous occassions, and also ran a guest column and figured if anyone
run the letter I want to send, it'd be them. So please take a read over this, critisize it, edit it, help me get my facts straight.
On top of that, since this story doesn't seem to be getting the coverage it should and it really needs to be pushed, perhaps using this, or something else (I'm only novicely articulate at times), a form letter of some degree outlying the various points but concise enough that it could fit in either an Op-Ed section, or a guest column, could be drawn up and available for other dKos'ers to submit to their own local news agencies and journalism outlets.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Bill Clinton, while President of the United States, had a little interlude with one Monica Lewinsky. Something happened between the two, he got caught, and the Republicans (remember Ken Starr?) went to town. They called it such a horrific offense that a President could have committed such an act in the White House, let alone within his own personal life.
Fast forward to 2000 and the Bush win. Bush spoke of the sanctity of marriage and that the institution of marriage needs to be protected by enacting legislature defining marriage as an act soley between a man and a woman. It was certainly framed the proper way. Definitly not 'against gays', of which I have nothing against to begin with. But people still cried foul. If not marriage, how about civil unions?
Sorry, no.
It has been suggested that this Administration is anti-gay. Well, personally, I can't verify that but I find it very ironic given the latest story that's NOT getting the coverage it should.
Enter Jeff Gannon/Jim Guckert. There's two points to this story right now and one of them is being distorted and the other ignored. The story being distorted is that this Gannon/Guckert character is a fake journalist with a $50 2-day 'journalism' course credential, who works for a right-wing conservative news agency, Talon News, which is a wing of GOPUsa. This man, for the last two years has been receiving 'soft' passes to the White House Press Corps under an assumed name, and throwing softball questions to the President, and also to Jim McClennan, White House Press Secretary. During in internet (blogosphere) investigation, it was also turned out that Gannon/Guckert owned (after saying they were for a client) a number of gay and escort websites, which prominently featured Mr. Gannon/Guckert himself as one of the models. These pictures were very graphic and included pictures of this man posing naked, masturbating, and also urinating.
Did I mention this man also defaulted on $20,000 dollars in back taxes?
To get into the White House Press Corps, there are a few qualifications one must pass.
A. You must be a credentialed journalist.
B. You must work for a recognized news agency.
C. You must pass even a cursory background check.
How this man was admitted into the Press Corps without passing any of these is beyond me. The sad part is that the people who discovered all this information are being labeled un-American, terrorists, and harmful to both society and people's reputations. It's a shame all this information was found legally, and on the internet from readily available sources, although some digging was necessary. Call it what you want but I call it investigative journalism. It's what ANY reporter would do when trying to find the truth in ANY situation.
The sad part, though, is that the angle of him being singled out by these activist, left-wing, 'terrorists' is what's making the rounds, the news agency interviews (Wolf Blitzer), etc.
The part that is NOT being emphasized is:
A. How a man with no real credentials was allowed access, to within a few feet, of the President (at times). Given the huge increase in security post-9/11, one must wonder how such a man, going by, of all things, a pseudo-name, achieves that.
B. This man's connection with Valerie Plame. Remember her? She was the CIA agent who was outed during our pre-cursor to Iraq in which fake intelligence stated that Iraq was trying to achieve yellow-cake uranium from Niger. Mr. Gannon/Guckert has portrayed that he has seen some memo that outed Mrs. Plame and for that, he needs to be summoned to a Grand Jury and his information on the outing of this CIA agent needs to be investigated.
The real story here is how this man gained access to the White House. Who let him in? Someone must have surely known who he really was. And what's his connection to Valerie Plame?
Sadly though, this angle is been brushed over, forgotten, swept under the carpet.
Forget the hypocrisy that is the Republicans crying foul over Clinton and Monica, and then granting this gay, fake journalist-prostitute unfettered access to the Press Corps.
The real story is who gave him the access and what is his connection with Valerie Plame?