Friday, February 11, 2005

Gannon Talks (well, sort of..)



Jeff Gannon talks (well, sort of..)

Gannon aka Guckert is being cagey when questioned about the CIA memo.
"I answered their questions truthfully and honestly, but I would prefer not to say more. Guckert said he had recently contacted legal representation "for quite a few things," referring to the Plame case and the controversy over his White House access, but he would not elaborate. "I have always had an attorney on retainer, and now I believe I will have to put him to work."
__________________


*See William Rivers Pitt: The News Is Broken
"Once upon a time, working the White House Press Briefing Room was the crown jewel of mainstream political journalism beats. That was it; short of reporting live from under the President's desk or nailing down an interview with the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, you weren't going to get a better gig if you were a political reporter.
To hold such a position was also to be the repository for a great responsibility. If you are privileged enough to be placed there, if you have put in the time as a reporter to earn the right to be there, you are the first line of defense in the eternal struggle between the rights and well-being of the people and governments that are always willing and ready to lie, cheat and steal in our name and 'for our own good.'
Something like that might have once existed, but it is almost completely gone now. The sad and sordid tale of Jeff "Don't Call Me Guckert" Gannon" is a final nail in the coffin, as far as I am concerned."


UPDATE Feb 13:
I'm Not a Journalist, But I Play One on TV: Will Jeff Gannon Ever Meet the Press? from Mark Anderson/Poor Richard's Almanac
"This administration periodically tries to freeze out reporters who don't act like Guckert. They are trying to enforce the "Talon" code of behavior on the entire press corps.

Guckert was a plant, put there by the GOP, to help Bush and Scott McClellan avoid explaining Bush administration policy to the American people."



Rice Lied To America



Rice Lied To America

Condoleeza Rice (national security adviser) wrote a March 22, 2004 column in The Washington Post that "No al-Qaeda threat was turned over to the new administration."

Today, her outright lie to the American public has been revealed.


Dean At The Top



Democrats who supported some of Dean's rivals -- all of whom have dropped out of the race for chairman -- have adjusted to the idea of Dean at the top.

Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders



Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders

Before my father graduated from college and became an engineer for a private defense contractor, he made his living as a musician. He was in a western band called "The Santa Fe Riders".
In 1951, the band had a radio show at WKTV, Channel 2, in Utica, N.Y.

The emcee was someone I'm sure you'll recogize.
He went on to bigger (maybe better) things.
At Channel 2, Dick did many things including hosting his own country-western television program called, “Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders.” Clark even sung on it, though he one time confessed that it was “very badly” done. He was getting a little over fifty bucks a week. He got a raise to $75 when he had an offer from Syracuse’s WHEN-TV.
Clark's chores at WKTV also included playing Cactus Dick, the host of the television station's country and western music show, Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders. Besides serving as the show's announcer, Clark did some singing. "Badly," he confessed to Ralph Emery in 1992. "They used to make fun of me."