orbis quintus

For those of you already following this story on the Daily Kos, i apologize, but it feels necessary to repost why the story of this fake reporter operating under a false identity is important:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From: The DailyKos Diarists
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
Contact : Brian Kelly at nybri2@yahoo.com
RE: The Jeff Gannon Controversy – A Primer for the Press or Beginners
_____________________

Feb. 10, 2005 – An unprecedented coalition of citizen DailyKos Diarists have recently investigated and uncovered important details regarding Talon News reporter, James “J.D.” Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon). These details, along with other information reported by Media Matters and other blog sites, have led to Mr. Guckert’s resignation from his position as Washington Bureau Chief for Talon News yesterday amid a flurry of controversy.

Prompted by a Jan. 26 report by MediaMatters.org regarding Guckert’s “softball” questions to White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and President Bush, members of DailyKos, an online community, began investigating the matter.

The information discovered by this investigation was in the public domain, readily available to anyone with internet access. Much of the information was derived from Guckert’s own sites which he published himself on the internet, or from comments he himself posted on various sites.

In his Talon News profile, Guckert claimed he had a degree in Education from the “Pennsylvania State University System.” His only journalistic “experience” was attendance at the Leadership Institute Broadcast Journalism School. The Leadership Institute describes its mission as increasing “the number and effectiveness of conservative public policy leaders” and to “place conservative leaders in the public policy process.” Guckert’s “training” at the Leadership Institute was a two-day seminar, tuition for which was $50.

Despite his lack of journalistic experience, Guckert used an assumed name and was granted access to the elite White House Press Corps. His application for a press pass to the House and Senate galleries was rejected because Talon News shares ownership with GOPUSA.com and did not meet press pass standards. Yet somehow he was still given a daily press pass to White House Briefings for over two years.

In a press briefing on Feb. 10th, White House Press Secretary McClellan claimed that Guckert was granted White House access because he “showed that he was representing a news organization that published regularly.” (emphasis added).

However, Talon News came into existence on March 29, 2003. It was granted White House Press Corps access just four days (approx. 96 hours) later. During that four-day time period, Talon News published a total of nine “stories.”

During briefings, Guckert’s questions frequently revealed not only his conservative bias, but also a possible coordination with White House Press Secretary McClellan. Guckert’s questions were frequently leading, unabashedly partisan, and at times inflammatory. Moreover, Guckert apparently had unprecedented access, and even claimed at one point to be “entertaining the Prime Minister of Great Britain.”

The researchers at DailyKos discovered another issue that suggested close coordination with the administration. According to the Washington Post, Guckert may have had access to a leaked internal CIA memo which revealed the identity of Ambassador Joe Wilson’s wife, then an undercover CIA operative. In fact, because of his possible tie to the leak, Guckert was one of a small number to be subpoenaed to testify in the federal grand jury investigation into the matter.

The Guckert incident is part of a larger story involving attempts on the administration’s part to “plant” friendly commentators and journalists in the media to advance their political agenda. In the last month, investigations have revealed that in addition to having an illegitimate conservative “reporter” in its Press Corps:

* The Bush Administration paid conservative commentator Armstrong Williams $240,000 to advocate the No Child Left Behind Act , even though previous to the payments, he was publicly critical of the policy. Williams has since admitted that “there are others” paid by the government to promote its agenda.

* The Bush Administration also paid conservative commentator Maggie Gallagher, who claims no credentials as a marriage expert, to promote its traditional marriage agenda.

Recently, in a letter to President Bush, Representative Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28) demanded an explanation, writing that “‘Mr. Gannon’ is a Republican political operative, uses a false name, has phony or questionable journalistic credentials, is known for plagiarizing much of the `news’ he reports, and according to several web reports, may have ties to the promotion of the prostitution of military personnel.” Rep. Slaughter asked the President to answer the critical question: “why the individual known as `Mr. Gannon’ was repeatedly cleared by your staff to join the legitimate White House press corps?”

Additionally, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) has written a letter to White House Press Secretary McClellan, asking for the immediate release of all documents relating to Guckert’s credentials. Senator Lautenberg, echoing the sentiment of many concerned citizens, has asked for an explanation of “how Mr. Guckert/Gannon passed muster for White House press credentials.”

DailyKos is an online community, with over 40,000 members. Membership is free, and the site is one of the web’s most popular political websites, with an average 470,000 hits per day. The research was conducted and this statement was released by DailyKos Diarists, not officially associated with Markos Moulitsas, but working with his full support.

This is the Washington Post article that i believe is referenced. The most important part of this seems to be that the White House knew who Guckert/Gannon really was, that he had no legitimate press credentials, yet apparently showed him classified documents in an effort to destroy the career of Valerie Plame in retribution against Joe Wilson. It’s obviously not ethical. Now the question must be answered, is this legal?

Josh Marshall is very cautious in this, even though he pursued the Plame story for ages. He points to this blog, which i have not been reading.

An earthquake of 3.9 to 4.2 magnitude struck northeastern Arkansas at 8:05 AM (betcha this is EST since this is from CNN story.) New Madrid fault line is overdue. That Wikipedia entry claims that there’s a 90% probability of a 6.0 or greater quake will hit before 2040. As seismically active as the earth has been lately, i’m more than a little nervous, especially currently living only a few blocks from the Mississippi River.

This is the eyewitness account by John James Audubon, the great quake from the winter of 1811-12 that formed Reelfoot Lake:

I never can forget the effects of one of the slighter shocks which took place when I was at a friend’s house, where I had gone to enjoy the merriment that, in our western country, attends a wedding. The ceremony being performed, supper over, and he fiddles tuned, dancing became the order of the moment. This was merrily followed up to a late hour, when the party etired to rest. We were in what is called, with great propriety, a Log-house, one of large dimensions, and solidly constructed. The owner was a physician, and in one corner were not only his lancets, tourniquets, amputating-knives, and other sanguinary apparatus, but all the drugs which he employed for the relief of his patients, arranged in jars and phials of different sizes. These had some days before made a narrow escape from destruction, but had been fortunately preserved by closing the doors of the cases in which they were contained.

As I have said, we had all retired to rest, some to dream of sighs and smiles, and others to sink into oblivion. Morning was fast approaching, when the rumbling noise that precedes the earthquake began so loudly, as to waken and alarm the whole party, and drive them out of bed in the greatest consternation. The scene which ensued it is impossible for me to describe, and it would require the humorous pencil of Cruickshank to do justice to it. Fear knows no restraints. Every person, old and young, filled with alarm at the creaking of the log-house, and apprehending instant destruction, rushed wildly out to the grass enclosure fronting the building. The full moon was slowly descending from her throne, covered at times by clouds that rolled heavily along, as if to conceal from her view the scenes of terror which prevailed on the earth below. On the grassplat we all met, in such condition as rendered it next to impossible to discriminate any of the party, all huddled together in a state of almost perfect nudity. The earth waved like a field of corn before the breeze: the birds left their perches, and flew about not knowing whither; and the Doctor, recollecting the danger of his gallipots, ran to his shop-room, to prevent their dancing off the shelves to the floor. Never for a moment did he think of closing the doors, but spreading his arms, jumped about the front of the cases, pushing back here and there the falling jars; with so little success, however, that before the shock was over, he had lost nearly all he possessed.

The shock at length ceased, and the frightened females, now sensible of their dishabille, fled to their several apartments. The earthquakes produced more serious consequences in other places. Near New Madrid, and for some distance on the Mississippi, the earth was rent asunder in several places, one or two islands sunk for ever, and the inhabitants fled in dismay towards the eastern shores.

115 million year old monotreme fossil has been found in southeast Australia. What’s peculiar about this find seems to be that it might split the group of mammals that bear live young, which include both marsupials and placental mammals, even further apart. This new monotreme fossil suggests that marsupials split off from monotremes first, then placental mammals split from monotremes later. The current theory was that they split off together, from a common monotreme ancestor 140 million years ago. The name of this monotreme species is Teinolophos trusleri.

Once again, it was a blind download, but it was a compilation from a period that i’ve been interested in. I couldn’t find a damned thing on So Young But So Cold: Underground French Music 1977-1983, until good old Stylus came through for me.

(Hypothetical) Prophets “Person to Person” Doesn’t this presage Black Box Recorder rather well? I dont’ think this one even qualifies as a real French band, as according to this site, it seems that the (Hypothetical) Prophets were the creation of Karel Beer, who was in British pirate radio in the ’60s, and in a prog-rock band called Bachdenkel for ten years before he became the (Hypothtical) Prophets.

Metal Boys “Carnival” It’s so daft that i’m really into it, as i can imagine some teens sitting aroudn their bedroom with a synth and a tape recorder coming up with this, even though it turns out the Metal Boys were another incarnation of a band that i have yet to hear, but have read of, Métal Urbain, who weren’t exactly kids.

Originally i wanted to post some songs from the album Product Perfect by a band called Fashion, but i just couldn’t get into it. One moment it sound like pub rock, the next like Clash doing faux-reggae, and then Elvis Costello B-sides. It just was too characterless.

Update: ZB pointed out that another member of the (hypothetical) prophets was Bernard Szajner.
His official site : http://www.szajner.net/