The country is "divided" over the Schiavo case?

What part of 82% of the population sides with Michael Schiavo doesn't the media understand? I can't even believe ABC News just said this. The media has ignored the fact that while this case did provoke a nationwide debate, it provoked a debate in which the country was unified almost more than ever. That's hardly divided. And in fact, it's downright shocking how unified we are on this issue. That lone deserves extensive coverage, but there's more. How about coverage on how Congress and the President could have turned their backs on the will of 82% of the country? Read More......

Another open thread

Beautiful Thursday evening in DC. If I didn't have a cold, I'd be out having a cosmo. Read More......

Oh, you have to read this

Possibly the worst suck up interview of GannonGuckert yet:

I spoke again with Jeff Gannon this week about the Doonesbury story line and other issues pertaining to controversy surrounding him. At best, he is surviving, at worst he's more than a little fed up with being the blog world's piñata boy....

Gannon's mood turned pretty dark when I asked him about all the postings in the blog universe. "Gabe, I'm not going to respond directly to the most hurtful and blatantly wrong things said about me because I won't give credence to any of it. These people have an agenda to destroy me any way they can and I am amazed at the theories and stories people are posting."

Gannon may have a chance to set the blog world straight on a larger stage because, in a strange twist of fate, he is scheduled to be a panelist discussing bloggers and their impact at the National Press Club next week.

Gannon says there is a growing chorus of people who feel his invitation to participate should be canceled, but Gannon finds that the epitome of hypocrisy. "It's OK for Wonkette to be there but not me," says Gannon incredulously. "I was never a White House plant, I've been ripped to shreds by bloggers, and now they want to deny me a chance to say anything about it in the very heart of free speech and freedom of the press, the National Press Club. Mind-boggling."

While Gannongate has cooled a bit, it still isn't off the national radar gossip screen altogether and may heat up again very soon. "One thing I'd like to make clear Gabe is that I haven't disappeared, as so many have surmised. I'm still right here in Washington if anyone wants to find me. Also, I've had invitations to appear on Real Time with Bill Maher,

Keith Olberman's show on MSNBC and Chris Mathews' show. I'm still deciding which ones I want to do."

Gannon added his interview with Tucker Carlson a couple of weeks ago went OK, but that he sensed a haughty hostility from Carlson throughout their Q and A. As for any new job offers, Gannon says "not at the moment." Is there any "smoking gun" type information Gannon is holding back? He wouldn't answer the question.

Does Jeff Gannon/James Dale Guckert think he has a career and could Get back into the White House daily briefings? "Absolutely, Gabe." Gannon Said defiantly. "Why not?"

1. Blatantly wrong? Like what? You mean you're not a high-priced man-whore named Bulldog? You could have killed that story when I contaced you for a comment before going to press and you refused to respond.
2. Good point about Wonkette. Ass-fucking, and all.
3. As for Bill Maher, Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman. Make our day. Go before a real journalist and see how well you fare.
4. You sensed a haughty hostility from Tucker Carlson? Everyone I know who saw that interview said he kissed your ass. Good God, do you really think that all journalism, good journalism, appropriate journalism, is when people simply parrot YOUR talking points?
5. As for thinking he can walk back into the White House, I just feel sorry the guy.

Oh, and check out this conclusion from the reporter who interviewed him:

And as far as some people wondering why I have shown Jeff Gannon, in their words, " an unusual degree of sympathy", that is the wrong perspective to take on the pieces I've written about Gannon. Too bad not taking the low road indicates to some I'm showing unwarranted objectivity towards Jeff Gannon. Being fair and balanced is what distinguishes bloggers from the reporters.

Yeah, it's amazing with those savvy interview tactics you don't work for a bigger paper. Read More......

Dems Approach on Soc. Security Driving Bush Crazy

The Bush team seems to have misjudged the way the Democrats would respond to the Social Security issue. Based on past history, Bush throws out an idea, like tax cuts or education or gay marriage, and the Democrats respond with a series of policy proposals. Then, they are in the debate with him and he gets most of what he wants.

Not this time. On Social Security, the Democrats are actually being strategic by not proposing anything. That response has the White House in a tizzy. They don't know how to respond.

Yesterday, in Iowa, Bush practically begged the Democrats to act like they used to:

President Bush suggested Wednesday that lawmakers who oppose his proposal for a Social Security overhaul could face political problems as a result.

"To answer the question of the skeptics, we do have a serious problem," Bush said in an interview aired on WMT AM radio here and on WHO NewsRadio in Des Moines. Bush conducted the interview at a local diner, the Spring House Family Restaurant. "Now is the time to fix it, and I think there is a political price for not getting involved in the process."

Bush added: "I think there is a political price for saying, `It's not a problem, I'm going to stay away from the table.'"

In his Social Security travels, Bush has aimed to emphasize the positive and appear the model of bipartisanship - promising Democrats there will be no political retribution for bringing forward any idea to fix the system and arguing that the matter is too important to be the subject of partisan bickering.

The problem he has is that he is hanging out there all by himself on this one. And, the only one paying a political price is Bush. This issue, along with Schiavo, is causing his approval numbers to tank. Even the Reverend Moon's paper had to acknowledge as much.

There really is no reason for the Democrats to play with Bush on this. Besides, when they do, he only screws them anyway. Read More......

Open thread

La la la Read More......

Sieg Heil, Washington Post

Apparently it is now unhealthy in our democracy to criticize our leaders, so says the Washington Post, our new Minister of Propaganda.

A horrifying editorial from the Washington Post about those who criticize the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz to head up the World Bank. "People who care about this institution and its mission -- as many of Mr. Wolfowitz's detractors do -- should think carefully before they damage it by attacking its new boss," the Post opines.

Think carefully? What is that, a threat? You gonna send George Will after us with a poison-tipped umbrella in the middle of the night and smash all our storefront windows? What kind of absurdly unAmerican, McCarthyite kind of comment is that coming from a newspaper, let alone a major paper? That kind of language is dangerous from a government - and we've gotten plenty of it from the Bush administration trying to silence critics, lest they be giving aid and comfort to our enemies - but coming from a newspaper, that is downright pathetic. Has the mainstream media gotten this bad?

This only goes to prove, yet again, how far to the right - fascist right, literally - the Washington Post editorial board has gone. Someone at that paper needs to be fired, or sent to Gitmo where he can fulfill his dreams abusing some dark people. Read More......

CNN: Pope Takes a turn for the worse

CNN has interrupted their non-stop Terri Schiavo coverage to report that the Pope has taken a turn for the worse. Apparently, he has some kind of infection which is causing a high fever. The latest news is the he has received the "last rites." Looks like it is all Pope all the time now.

Boy, this is a big day for cable news. Read More......

The National Press Club, right about now...

Read More......

Conservative federal judge blasts Congress over "Terri's Law"

Gee, sounds like someone isn't in the mood for Tom DeLay to become King of America. Read More......

OMG: Reporter, editor, accuse GannonGuckert of plagiarism, outraged that National Press Club would invite him to speak

That sound you hear is the clock ticking off the seconds before the National Press Club is forced to admit they made a massive mistake. Raw Story has the goods:

A Massachusetts newspaper reporter and her then-editor have accused former White House correspondent 'Jeff Gannon' of plagiarizing an article at which the reporter was the only media witness, RAW STORY has learned.

The alleged plagiarism was discovered by blogger Ron Brynaert, who has tracked other plagiarism by Gannon and various Talon News correspondents at his blog, WhyAreWeBackInIraq.

An Jun. 17, 2003 article published by Jim Guckert, who wrote under the pen name Jeff Gannon, contains numerous identical quotes and turns of phrase to an written by Melissa Beecher for the Waltham Daily News Tribune five days earlier. A comparison of the two articles compiled by Brynaert follows....

Guckert did not respond to two email requests for comment....

"...[W]hen direct quotes are used without attribution it’s not acceptable. Good reporters don’t do that. It’s upsetting to see that a nationally-recognized personality would." [said Melissa Beecher of the Waltham Daily News Tribune, the reporter alleging that GannonGuckert plagiarized her work.]

....[Beecher's then-editor, Richard] Lodge was startled to hear that Guckert would be a panelist at the National Press Club next week.

“He’s not a journalist," Lodge remarked. "And he misrepresented to anyone reading that website that this was his work, and it was not his work, plain and simple.”

....Beecher was similarly aghast that Gannon would be considered for a panel at the Press Club.

“When I attend those conferences and I’ve been to many, you always think the person behind the desk that you’re learning from has qualifications that put them there," Beecher added. "It’s just disturbing that a person who is accused of doing what he did is now teaching the next generation of young reporters. Or fostering a dialogue between professionals in this business.”

“That’s just upsetting to real journalists that someone who does a copy and paste job has that title, or can be in the same circle that a lot of us pay our dues to be in,” she added. “I know reporters who paid their dues for years and years to even be considered as a White House correspondent, never mind making up your own news company and walking in.”

Read More......

Tom DeLay threatens judges, lawyers, and Michael Schiavo following Terri Schiavo's death

From ThinkProgress, our favorite think tank:

DeLay Goes Off The Deep End

DeLay just released this statement:

Mrs. Schiavo’s death is a moral poverty and a legal tragedy. This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today. Today we grieve, we pray, and we hope to God this fate never befalls another. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schindlers and with Terri Schiavo’s friends in this time of deep sorrow.

Make no mistake about it: Tom DeLay, our Majority Leader, is now threatening judges, doctors and Terri Schiavo’s husband.

Gee, Mr. DeLay, why don't we just give all the crazy people guns and maps to the judges', lawyers', and Michael Schiavo's homes? With the people who have already tried to put hits on the judges and Michael Schiavo, and the recent attacks on judges and their families, are you this much of a moron, or do you really want violence? Read More......

National Press Club bans public from GannonGuckert panel discussion

Gee, embarrassed about something? I know it's been years since we've had hookers on 15th street, but come on guys, we're all grown ups, and we've already seen him naked (just look further on down this page). And does anyone else find it ironic that a panel about whether non-credentialed media (such as bloggers) are journalists is now banning non-credentialed media? And perhaps the biggest irony, under these rules Guckert wouldn't be allowed to attend his own panel! The "old boys" are circling the wagons.

The new description of the panel:

Who is a Journalist?
NPC Professional Event
April 8, 2005 9:30 AM
Open to NPC members and credentialed media only.

Read More......

Cheney son-in-law takes position at Homeland Security

Son-in-law Philip Perry has been nominated for the position of general counsel at Homeland Security. He will join his wife Elizabeth, who works under Condi. Read More......

Bush makes statement on Schiavo's Death

At 11:30 a.m., CNN had Bush on live making a statement on the death of Terri Schiavo. Okay, took him five days to mention the 10 people killed in the Minnesota shooting last week. But, he uses the first opportunity to jump in front of cameras to talk about Schiavo. Never mentions any individual member of the military killed in action, but, boy, he has to mourn Terri by name publicly. Read More......

Terri Schiavo Died This Morning

ABC News reports that Terri Schiavo died this morning. Read More......

Well that was fun

Sorry about that - the blog just fitzed out for several hours. Somehow all the html code got messed up - the < and > parts of the tags changed magically into their computer code counterparts, messing everything up. Very weird. Republishing the blog now - we're back.

Hey, someone out there sent me some code for converting my email address into code so as to help avoid spam. Can you send it again? It too disappeared when the site went weird. Read More......

Love Without Borders meets Bigotry Without Borders

Peace in the Middle East? Hardly, but religious leaders from three faiths all joined together to deliver a united front of hatred in Jerusalem. American wingnut Rev. Leo Giovinetti has been the behind-the-scenes organizer of the group of so-called religious leaders who want to stop the planned WorldPride festival from being held in Jerusalem in August. Read More......

Laura the women's right activist

Uh huh, she's a real lightning bolt. Thank heavens she knows the script and tosses out the classic "democracy" and "freedom" at the right moments. Oh that crazy feminist, she is without a doubt the leading force in the women's rights movement, well known for her, uh, hmmm, well...did you know she is a teacher? Well, OK, at least she taught for two years about twenty years ago.

I don't know if I would be bragging about a five hour stopever that has been in the works for a couple of years but at least she visited Afghanistan, unlike Bushie. Either way, the MSM is lapping up this crap regardless of how irrelevant or staged it all was but that's pretty much what they do best. Read More......

GOP positioning next election issue - voter fraud

Apparently the debate over photo IDs at the voting booth has spread well beyond Georgia and now is going on in Indiana, Wisconsin and probably elsewhere. While I find the debate offensive, I also cannot believe that the Democrats have somehow allowed the GOP to take the upper hand on the election fraud issue. After the last two presidential elections I viewed election fraud as a strong issue to push. There are a lot of Democratic voters who feel like their votes did not count and yet it is the GOP who talks about voter fraud.

Maybe I just need to give it time because Dean only arrived recently but c'mon, this issue should not be controlled by the GOP. Read More......

Last open thread until Paris wakes up

Gnite

PS I had to post this again, it's just too damn funny. Kudos to Truthout. Follow the link, there are even more.

Read More......

Hannity calls Cong. Jim Moran (D-VA) an a-hole, and more

What a nice Christian boy he is. Read More......

GannonGuckert does another interview

I wouldn't normally link to yet another interview of the same old same old, but this time, in addition to the same old lines over and over again, he does say something new:

LLP: Others say you knew about the beginning of Iraqi Freedom 2 hours before the rest of the public/press knew. Is this true? Please describe the events that occurred surrounding the beginning of the war. Where were you when you found out about it? Who was with you? Who did you report it to? What did you do in the 12 hours following the beginning of the campaign?

JG: One person (Dotty Lynch of CBS) says this and she is wrong. I have good instincts and I detect some professional jealousy here. Was the start of the war a big surprise? Well it was to Terry Moran of ABC who ignored hints from the White House that something "big" was going to happen that night. He went home and his network had to put a producer on the air to cover the most important story of the year.

Ok, that's interesting. How does GG know that the White House was hinting that "something big" was going to happen the night of the war? Did GG receive that hint as well, even though he never got an FBI background check?

Possible Lawsuits

LLP: In published statements, you've indicated you might sue people. Why would you sue? Who would you sue? Could you sue for libel or slander?

JG: My team of lawyers is handling this. Someone needs to be held responsible for the purposeful harm to my reputation based on rumor, innuendo and falsehoods.

LLP: I asked if you could sue for libel or slander specifically-do you feel you have been defamed in print media, televised media?

JG: Yes. My lawyers believe that some of the things published and broadcast about me are actionable. We are currently examining course to pursue, if any

LLP: Since Talon News did not fire you and you are writing a book destined to make money off this scandal, how are you going to demonstrate you lost anything of monetary value?

JG: I'm paying my lawyers to worry about that.

Yawn. The truth is an absolute defense. So what falsehoods is he talking about? And I'd love to see GG finally have to speak under oath where perjury gets you jail time.

LLP: You refused to answer two questions in the last interview because they were "hypothetical." I believe I was asking your opinion-not if they applied to you. Please take this opportunity to share your beliefs, even if it is a hypothetical, on the Republican Party, the Conservatives and any possible issues that are irreconcilable.

Again, none of the questions are hypothetical-you do not have to be gay to answer them.

How would you reconcile homosexuality with conservative beliefs? Do you see a conflict?

JG: I don't see any conflict at all. Conservatives believe in equal rights, not special rights. Radical gay activists have a rigid agenda and demand fealty to it. Liberals do the same thing to Blacks and Hispanics who don't walk in lockstep with the Left.

Equal rights, not special rights. Radical gay activists. Yeah, he's not anti-gay at all. Read More......

"Operation Resurrection" - state militia leaders reportedly were ready to "rescue" Terri Schiavo

Good God. Read More......

Open thread

Obviously, I have press club on the brain. Feel free to chat about other things too. Read More......

Jayson Blair not invited to National Press Club but GannonGuckert is?

Gee, not one, but TWO panels on Jayson Blair, the NYT plagiarist and liar, at the National Press Club, and NOT ONCE was Blair himself invited to speak on those panesl. I guess you only get invited to speak at the National Press Club if you're accused of plagiarism AND you're a man-whore:

SUBJECT: National Press Club holds a discussion on "Preference or Prejudice? Jayson Blair and Minorities in the Newsroom..."

LOCATION: National Press Club, Zenger Room, 14th and F Street NW, Washington, D.C. -- June 30, 2003

PARTICIPANTS: Sandra Birdiett, Wayne State University; Mercedes de Uriarte, University of Texas; Catalina Camia, Asian American Journalists Association and Ruby Baily, Detroit Free Press

And then this second event:

HEADLINE: Scandal Involving Former New York Times Reporter Jayson Blair to be Discussed at National Press Club

BODY:
News Advisory:

WHAT:
In "When Journalists Lie: Earning Back the Community's Trust," a cooperative effort between the Newseum and the National Press Club's Professional Affairs Committee, panelists will discuss the recent cases of fabrication and plagiarism involving former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair and the issues regarding newsrooms' diversity that this scandal has raised.

WHO:
Hedrick Smith (moderator), executive producer and correspondent, Hedrick Smith Productions
-- Geneva Overholser, professor, Missouri School of Journalism
-- Jeffrey Dvorkin, ombudsman, National Public Radio
-- Mike Getler, ombudsman, The Washington Post
-- Walter Middlebrook, recruiter, Newsday
-- William McGowan, journalist and author of "Coloring the News: How Political Correctness Has Corrupted American Journalism"
-- Alice Bonner, professor of journalism, University of Maryland

WHEN:
Wednesday, June 4, 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:
National Press Club

Read More......

RUMOR: Jeb Bush is calling out the Florida National Guard to get Schiavo

There's a discussion on a Yahoo bulletin board about rumors that Jeb Bush has called up the Florida National Guard to intervene in the Schiavo case tonight. I wouldn't normally post this, since it's unsubstantiated, but in view of the intense interest in the Schiavo story, and the fact that the Miami Herald reported last week that Jeb Bush sent the authorities to nab Schiavo last Thursday - and it almost ended in a shoot out - Bush has put this issue into play. It's worth a journalist at least investigating, and the way we get it investigated, is to put it out there.

Again, this entire rumor could be bogus. But since Jeb Bush DID send out the troops secretly last week, it's worth just putting this out there.

The discussion is here. Read More......

Wonder what the National Press Club's policy is on plagiarists...

From Atrios.

By the way, what is a journalist?


(This is a real photo from "Bulldog's" escort Web site, live on the Internet. The photo was in a larger section of photos used to entice clients to hire him.) Read More......

Open thread

Have at it Read More......

BillMon weighs in on Natl Press Club GannonGuckert fiasco

BillMon.org hits the nail on the head. I also love this photo he put up:

This is from BillMon.org:

No, Guckert is on the panel for the same reason Wonkette is: anal sex. Jeff gets paid to give it and Anna Marie gets paid to talk about it, and the "bottoms" at the National Press Club get paid to . . . well, you know. How anal sex got to be THE ticket to blogging fame and fortune (instead of a giant bottle of Astroglide) I don't fully understand....

But Anna Marie, at least, can write -- a good three or four paragraphs worth when she really gets going. Guckert, on the other hand, needs to get it through his head that his most valuable job skills are on the other end of his torso. And if he's counting on getting by on his notoriety as the world's only conservative gay prostitute journalist with a blog, he'd better watch out -- that's a niche market that could easily be overrun by competitors. For all Jeff knows, Wonkette's owner may already be trolling the second and third-tier talk show hosts, looking for prospects. Some of the guys in the RNC press office might decide to get in on the action, too. After all, when it comes to blogging -- not to mention anal sex -- the barriers to entry are relatively low. There's always a prettier face . . . or whatever . . . willing to take on the established brand names.

Seriously, though, the fact that we're all talking about this ridiculous panel session only shows that Bill Bennett didn't know the half of it when he wrote The Death of Outrage. The idea that a guy who posted naked pictures of himself pissing on the Internet -- and became famous for it -- would be invited to get up in front of an audience at the National Press Club to discuss journalism and blogging with a woman who has made anal sex her signature riff . . . well, The Death of Shame, Intelligence, Good Taste and Sanity makes a better title.

What's next? An interactive NPC panel session on masturbation? A guest lecture on bestiality and blogging? A press conference by the North American Man Boy Love Association? No, wait, the House isn't in session this week.

I hate to sound like a prude here, but this is one of those moments when I start to think the fundamentalist gizmos might just be right. Maybe these ARE the end times -- or at least that point in the movie Westworld where the Roman robot slaves all run amok and start slaughtering the paying orgiasts . . . Read More......

I'm melting, I'm melting... Yes, more on Tom DeLay's imminent self-combustion

From MSNBC Read More......

Best. Photo. Ever.

I'm not gonna steal it. Just click and check it out. Read More......

Open thread

Anything newsworthy? Read More......

Call the Natl Press Club and reserve a spot at the GannonGuckert panel

It could prove useful for us to have a good number of those spots reserved for folks like us. Call the NPC's phone message hotline at (202) 662-7501 and leave a message saying:

- You're a member of the public attending the "Who Is a Journalist?" event, open to the public, on April 8, 2005
- You want one ticket.
- Your name.
- Your phone number.

They won't call to confirm your reservation. In order to have them call to confirm you got the reservation, call this number: 202.662.7500

It helps if you're in the DC area, but even if you're not, it still could prove useful. More to come :-)

PS As part of our continuing series on "Who is a journalist?"

Read More......

Great new ad about Tom DeLay

From Campaign for America's Future Read More......

Spitzer has fresh red meat on Wall Street

Gee, who would have guessed that AIG was going to come out with bad news? Yes, another improper accounting scandal that is going to keep Eliot Spitzer in the limelight leading up to the NY Gov election. At least somebody out there is taking on this never-ending string of cooked books. Read More......

Open thread

Cool about Dear Mary :-) Read More......

"Dear Mary" gets a plug from the NY Times

Today's NY Times has an article about Mary Cheney's ONE MILLION DOLLAR book deal. Yes, ONE MILLION DOLLARS to tell her "inside" story. John had his take on this whole thing yesterday.

The Times piece did give a plug to www.DearMary.com:

Gay men and lesbians organized "Dear Mary" letter-writing campaigns imploring her to denounce President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

For the record, "Dear Mary" was organized that campaign was our own John Aravosis. He -- like John Kerry -- was roundly criticized for talking about Mary's so-called private life even though she was a professional lesbian who was also one of the managers of the most homophobic campaigns ever. Now, that private life is worth ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Mary is the new Million Dollar Baby.

While I would never pay money for a book written by Mary Cheney and promoted by Mary Matalin, I will want to know how many times she uses the words "gay" or "lesbian." (I actually heard of one author who managed to write a book about their life and never, ever used those words.) And, it will be fun to see if she acknowledges all her other gay pals on the Bush/Cheney campaign. Read More......

EU showing signs of having a spine, prepare for sanctions against Mugabe

The EU often reminds me of the Dem's because all too often they never really do anything and only give mild lip service. Although they are preparing to level sanctions against Mugabe, I somehow cannot forget their shameless exception just a few years ago when they provided Mugabe with a brief window to come to France for a conference. I also have to wonder what kind of sanctions they can really threaten because Zimbabwe is already pretty much shut off from the EU and US. This is a country that is starving its people to death and which used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa. It's time the EU and US puts pressure on fellow African countries who continue to coddle Mugabe.

I am also glad to see the US speaking out against what is happening there but had to laugh when I read the US State Department complaint about Zimbabwe:

"the manipulation of the media, the lack of independent outside observers, the tilting of the playing field in favor of the government..."

Now why does that all sound familiar? Heck, sounds like a bit of jealousy considering what we have witnessed in recent years. Read More......

Like a broken record, thousands more Social Security details lost

Another loss of personal information with Social Security numbers. With all of the recent losses of personal information such as this case at UC Berkeley and just a week or so ago at Boston College, not to mention the other cases where ths information was mistakenly sold, why are consumers not receiving more protections? It is so easy for a consumer to receive negative credit ratings due to such information being abused, why is it taking so long for us to receive proper protection? Why are organizations not forced to properly protect this data? In this Berkeley case, it was on a laptop computer. What the hell kind of protection is that?

This is a serious problem that has not just popped up out of nowhere. It's been around for a while but just has not received much press coverage. We are probably only seeing action in DC because a few politicians lost their own private information because otherwise they would let consumers hang out forever. Read More......

Annan skips past another mess

So far it is looking likely that Kofi Annan will be able to make it through the food-for-oil scandal just as he managed to move beyond his negligence in Rwanda. I have no doubt whatsoever that the US knew what was happening during the food-for-oil debacle and I would like to see some balance by the MSM, pointing out the Americans who also profited from that program but it is high time Kofi Annan moved on. There is a big difference between being "cleared of any wrongdoing" and insufficient evidence and it is high time we start demanding more from the UN and Annan. The wingnuts in Congress must be loving this because Annan just keeps giving them more and more ammunition to work with these days. If Annan gives a damn about the UN, he ought to step down. Read More......

National drug companies accused of gay-bashing

From 365gay.com

The largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the country - among them the major makers of HIV/AIDS drugs - are the main sponsors of an attack ad that slams the ARP over Social Security by attempting to link the AARP to same-sex marriage.

The ads were produced for USA Next, a public advocacy group whose members have been linked to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that challenged the war record of last November's Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry....

"I have no reason to believe that this attempt to scapegoat GLBT individuals reflects the views of PhRMA's member companies," said Rep. Frank. "But since PhRMA has helped pay for this advertising by USA Next, we think it is appropriate to ask them to repudiate this act and to take steps to prevent its repetition."

Among the members of PhRMA are 3M Pharmaceuticals, Abbott Laboratories, Bayer Corporation, Biogen. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GE Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Procter & Gamble.

"Degrading millions of gay and lesbian families is a sad way for any person or organization to get their message out," said Chuck Wolfe, president & CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute.

Read More......

Open thread

Heading towards bedtime. Though for some reporters, this is the hour they only begin to start working. Read More......

This is just cool

Spongy tissue found in dinosaur bone. Read More......

Because God has a sense of humor

And yes, this is for real:

Read More......

If we were to have protests outside the National Press Club, what would the signs say?

Just having some fun ruminating here. Get creative. Read More......

Open thread

Have at it Read More......

National Press Club refuses to balance GannonGuckert panel discussion

The National Press Club's latest buffoonery? Adding another blogger, who has nothing to do with the GannonGuckert controversy, to panel and someone from USA Today. Uh, ok. That's nice. Maybe they'll add the Easter Bunny too, since it would have about as much relevance to our concerns as the folks they're adding now.

We stated, quite clearly, that a panel with GannonGuckert about GannonGuckert should have someone on it who was a key player and key blogger dealing with GannonGuckert and who has the opposite point of view of GannonGuckert. That could involve someone from DailyKos, Atrios, World O Crap, AMERICAblog, Media Matters, and I'm sure other blogs that now slip my mind who were all heavily involved in the breaking and covering the controversy.

Why do we ask this? Because, quite clearly, either GannonGuckert is on the panel to talk about his case or he shouldn't be there at all. If he's NOT there to talk about his case and how it relates to blogging and the media, then is he there simply because he's an expert on blogging? No, because he's not a blogger.


(This is a photo from his male escort Web site.)

Is he there as a journalist expert on topics not involving his controversy? No, because he's no such expert, and questionably not even a journalist. He's clearly there to represent his point of view on his controversy. And the National Press Club is clearly not interesting in having anybody represent the other side of this controversy, or they'd have invited someone key to the other side.

Imagine a hypothetical scenario in which the National Press Club has a panel about the 2004 presidential election. They invite the Bush folks, a bunch of journalists and bloggers who have nothing to do with the election, and then they refuse to invite the Kerry folks. The Press Club would have us believe this is okay since the Bush folks, or the unrelated bloggers and journalists would represent the Kerry point of view. The Press Club might even tell us "we're not having the panel to debate WHO SHOULD HAVE WON the 2004 election, we're simply doing it to discuss lots of issues surrounding the election, so it doesn't matter if we have both sides." Right, and in discussing the 2004 election you thought the Bush point of view and the middleman's point of view were both relevant, but didn't think it would be relevant to invite someone representing, and having insight on, the other side of the very issue the entire panel is about.

This isn't about me. They could have invited anyone from any of the blogs I mentioned above - all blogs that were key to covering the GannonGuckert story. Instead, they didn't invite a soul. And to add insult to injury, they actually chose today to invite another blogger to the event - showing that they HAD space to invite someone actually relevant to the GannonGuckert story, they had space to rectify the glaring bias of their panel - but they chose not to.

But hey, the mainstream media never was interested in covering the GannonGuckert story as news, so is it any surprise that they're still not willing to give the story a fair shake now? And they wonder why we don't like them.

For more background on this story... Read More......

Falwell's on a ventilator

CNN is reporting that Jerry Falwell is in critical condition and on a ventilator suffering from viral pneumonia.

Note to the Falwell people: Don't ask Tom DeLay what to do with someone on a ventilator. You might not like the answer. He only helps with feeding tubes. Read More......

Jesse Jackson descends on the Schiavo family!

Just when you thought there was no more room for any more whores, Jesse Jackson steps in. CNN just reported that he's weighing in on behalf of the parents - and get this - they wanted him there because they thought all the religious right reps were skewing the national polls against them. Yeah, so some whore like Jackson is gonna help? Gag me.

And lest we forget:

Jesse Jackson: Gay marriage rights are not civil rights
Christopher Curtis, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Tuesday, February 17, 2004 / 06:50 PM Read More......

Poor private Mary Cheney is now writing a half-million dollar book

Well that was quick. Six months ago she was an innocent private wallflower, now she's hawking her name for half a million bucks.

Gee, mainstream media, didn't we tell you so? Didn't we inform you that in 2002 Mary was selling photo ops at gay Republican fundraisers for $500 a pop (i.e., pay Mary 500 bucks and she'll let you snap a photo with her)? But no, the MSM fell for the "Mary is a private citizen, how DARE you ask any questions about her?" line.

Now we know that what the Cheneys REALLY meant was "how dare you ask any questions about her and not pay half a million bucks first." I guess they always knew what Mary was, they were just haggling over the price.

My favorite line in a second story on the topic is Mary Matalin's incredibly self-loathing comment, so apropros for a book by Mary.

Interviewed in a New York Times article last August about Ms. Cheney, Ms. Matalin was quoted as saying, "There are other reasons to be politically active besides your sexual orientation. That is not her raison d'etre."

Gee, you think?

(PS Next thing you know the GOP will try to make money off of Terri Schiavo. Oh yeah...) Read More......