Of course, neither one are in the control of the WH.

Your comment is spot on, Bluestocking, except for one point: I think Jeff Gannon/James Guckert was moonlighting as a “journalist,” while working as a gay hooker. Also, Secret Service logs indicate that he was visiting the WH even before Talon News was created.

**********************

BULL. The White House may not have gone quite so far as to have White House staffers pose as reporters at press briefings (at least not as far as we know!) — but it’s by no means a secret that they’ve come damn close to doing that! The White House spins its own public relations nearly as hard as FEMA, and everyone knows it — so this is clearly a case of “Do as I say, not as I do”.

Anyone else remember James Guckert AKA Jeff Gannon — the pseudo-reporter from “Talon News” (did they actually exist?) who was later revealed to be moonlighting as a gay male prostitute? It’s never been satisfactorily explained just how Gannon managed to get a press pass despite the fact that he had virtually no journalistic credentials and that an official pass requires a background check, but one is inclined to suspect that he had a connection on the inside even though it may not have been authorized by the White House as such. However, even from the very beginning of GWB’s first term, journalists have been complaining that the White House has shown distinct favoritism towards certain journalists and prejudice against others based on the perceived tendency to be supportive of GWB’s policies or inclined to be confrontational — reporters have told stories of being exiled to the very back rows of the press room and consistently ignored when they try to ask questions, or of being denied admittance outright. That may not be quite as bad as using people posing as reporters, but it’s only one rung down the ladder from that. It’s also a well-established fact that the White House — or at the very least, “over-zealous staffers” (although it’s hard to imagine that they were doing this entirely of their own accord without tacit permission from the administration) — have denied people entry to GWB’s public appearances for political reasons. Again, it may not be quite as bad as outright fake journalism but let’s be real — it’s not as far removed from that as the White House would like us to think. Someone who steals $50 may point to someone who steals $500 and denounce him as a thief and a criminal — but that does nothing to expunge his own crime or change the fact that he himself is also a thief. It’s hypocrisy, pure and simple (if not jealousy over the fact that they didn’t think of it first!) — but then again, to expect anything else from a politician of any stamp, never mind this particular administration, is expecting too much.

What a stupid question. Doesn’t everyone know that no one in Bush’s administration is responsible for anything?

That goes for Mitch McConnell — Day 14 since he lied to a news reporter on camera about his role in the smear job of the Frost family. No apology from McConnell. No firing of his communication director who sent the email about the Frosts to the press.

And of course, no one will lose their job because they set up a fake FEMA press conference on 10/23. Responsibility??? What were we thinking?

Well, golly, Mis Molly, glad to hear that. Now that you’ve set them straight, and they’ve apologised, I’m sure they won’t do that again.

Ummmm … just one question: Shouldn’t it have occured to someone beforehand that this was an incredibly boneheaded and dishonest thing to do and that they shouldn’t be doing it? I mean, must have been quite a few in on the plan, no? And not a one of them said, “Now waidaminnit! Stop! WTF you think you’re doing???”

What kind of people do you have working there, anyway?!?!?

My kingdom. My kingdom for a sapient press crops…

Cheers,

Poor Sheller, proving him/her-self absolutely wrong again. Unlike you, sweetie (not), we remember phony reporter/gay hooker Jeff Gannon’s softball questions at WH press conferences.

In any case, whether the White House had knowledge of this fiasco or not, FEMA should spend more time on production and less time on marketing.

Comment by BARTLEBEE — October 26, 2007 @ 5:01 pm

You type the funniest things sometimes. :)

Comment by Newsflash — October 26, 2007 @ 4:39 pm

We can’t tolerate that. It’s a second-tier school with 3rd-tier faculty, 4th-tier students, and a 5th tier football team. Dana Perino would have flunked out.

Comment by Sheller of the Clams — October 26, 2007 @ 4:10 pm

Bullshit. You’ve obviously not caught any of Bush’s staged “town hall” meetings.

For the details, see:
“FEMA, CDC and Bush’s Potemkin Presidency.”

Wow, I was taught that democrats (”progressives”) are supposedly the ones for tolerance. Given such harrassing comments towards Mrs. Perino, so much for that empty banner.

What’s the “intolerance” here, d’ya think? That peple here have a bug up their a$$ about being lied to and taken for fools? That they think that there ought to be some responsibility in gummint? What is it, ya think, that is such intolerable “intolerance”?

Cheers,

Comment by Newsflash — October 26, 2007 @ 4:39 pm

Hello, and prepare to take a beating here. We don’t tolerate dishonesty, hypocrisy, or stupidity. Dana Perino isn’t just profoundly dishonest, she is criminally dishonest. She has more than earned our contempt.