A somewhat good question from Gannon

[BurtWorm]

Criticism of my work and my journalistic background is fair game, but the intensive scrutiny into my personal life, especially things from the past have startled many in the journalistic community. Now Democrats in Congress are demanding that the White House do more thorough investigation into the personal lives and sexual histories of reporters. Is this what they want, to give the Bush administration a mandate to make this kind of information relevant to the vetting process for journalists? What kind of reaction would there have been if the White House has announced such a plan two months ago?


http://jeffgannon.com/Column%20archive/fear_and_loathing_in_the_press_r.htm

I question the bit about Dems in Congress "demanding that the WH do more thorough investigation" into the sex lives of reporters, of course, and I doubt many journalists are even interested in what Gannongate represents. But where is the line drawn between the public's right to know who these media figures are and their right to privacy? Why is Gannon's private life fair game as opposed to Judith Miller's or Robert Novak's? What if it had been the White House ejecting Gannon or another journalist because it had learned of his secret life as a male escort?

Just food for thought.

[cyberpj]

1. A misdirection ---- what we want to know is HOW and WHO

HOW he got the daily passes and WHO gave them to him.

[amazona]

2. yes known participants in criminal activity should be vetted

Prostitution is against the law. It is not suddenly legal because you are a highly paid gay male prostitute instead of a poorly paid female streetwalker. A person who gains much or most of their income from illegal activity is susceptible to blackmail and extortion, and should not be anywhere near a sitting president for sound security reasons.

Next question?

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[BurtWorm]

10. Now that we know he's a prostitute and a faker as a journalist

why know more?

There seems to be a perverse dynamic going on on both sides. Jeff the attention whore pseudo-whines about getting attention while lefty Jeffwatchers, who claim they're only interested because he set himself up to make them interested, can't get enough of interest in Jeff. It's a voyeur-exhibitionist dynamic. I wonder if you all realize that.

[Bethany Rockafella]

19. Yes, a lot of us are very interested in Jeff. We can't get enough of him.

Those pics on the internet is what did it for me.:9

[BurtWorm]

21. Hurray for honesty!

He's not my cup of tea frankly. Too moronic looking around the pointy head and beady eyes. But to each his or her own!

:toast:

[Bethany Rockafella]

23. Actually, I was being more silly than honest.

But Gannon isn't a bad looking guy, I'll be honest about that. I'm not picky. Unfortunately he's not partial to women.:-)

[formerrepuke]

3. Prostitution is illegal -and immoral, in most circles- even liberal ones..

..regardless of the sexual orientation of the individuals involved.

[suziedemocrat]

15. I know, I'm sick of this! Prostitution is not just a person's "sex life"

That's like a bank robber telling people not to discuss his "private financial matters." Or a cannibal telling people not to discuss his "eating habits".

What people are discussing is his CRIMINAL BACKGROUND!!!! Of course - Republicans think crimes are only crimes when they are committed by Democrats. Look at all the Rush apologists!!!

[kiki]

18. Lol, "eating habits"

That's good funny.

[Fridays Child]

4. Nobody was ever one little bit interested in your personal life, Jeff.

It's your professional life that presents a problem.

[kainah]

5. why is Gannon's private life fair game?

Why is Gannon's private life fair game as opposed to Judith Miller's or Robert Novak's?

He made it fair game when he posted nude photos of himself on the Internet and used a public medium to solicit "dates." He made his "private life" fair game by no longer maintaining any semblance of "privacy" in it.

[flyarm]

11. gannon made his life subject to investigation

when he got access to the white house when he has an outstanding tax judgment against himself and was given a press pass into the white house..i would venture to say no other sitting journalist has an outstanding tax judgement!! that alone is reason for investigation!!

fly

[libertypirate]

6. Dude check the timeline....

He was a whore in the White House before he was a reporter and went to his seminar. Thus it's not a good question it really just CYA Bullshit, that hides the fact that he was credentialed into the Whitehouse before he learned how to fake being a journalist.

Facts and past get faded you can make them anything you want them to be.

[flyarm]

12. matter of fact at the press thing this weekend gannon said

he was trying to get into the white house long before he finally got the pass..well we all know gannon started getting into the white house before he so called worked for talon news..in fact talon news did not exist when gannon started getting access and entre' into the white house press briefing room..so he is blowing more of his cover every time he talks...of course he said he couldnt remember how long before he got access he attempted to get into the white house..but he stated he tried for some time before he ever got access..that he never gave up...gave up what i ask you?? he was not a reporter and didnt work for a media company!!

so was he committing fraud for the period " he was trying " to get in saying he was a journalist??
this guy is nothing but a fraud..and he should be investigated and if he lied to get close to the pres we better darn sure find out..could the next one who does it be a member of al queada??

or any terrorist group...

oh yes give me a press pass..no i am not a journalist ..no i dont work for any media outlet...just let me in ..i want in!!

what fools people can be to believe any of this crap!

fly

[Salviati]

7. Why is his case fair game?

One: IMO a more thorough investigation of Gannons professional life as a "journalist" should have been enough to deny him a press pass, so the fact that he was given one daily for over two years makes one wonder why, and by whom.

Secondly, as far as I know, prostitution is illegal in D.C along with most of the rest of the country. When your personal behavior starts violating the law, it becomes fair game. (Issues regarding the fairness of laws, e.g. sodomy laws, is a different matter, but I think that most people wouldn't classify laws against prostitution in this class...)

[LdyGuique]

8. He has always covered up the reality of his "past" --

No one else posted the photos or registered the domains -- He did. As for past, I consider that something down a decade or two ago to be in one's misguided "past" -- not something from a year ago.

Just as anything posted online has a chance of being recoverable by someone in the future, it's wise to maintain a certain element of decorum in how one behaves.

UUNET was archived by Deja Vu, which then sold it to Google -- everything posted online within UUNET Newsgroups is theorectically still available. Google caches website pages as part of its search engine offering -- hence why some of Gannon's stuff was viewable, even after he'd removed his website. As noted elsewhere on DU today, the Library of Congress' Minerva project is archiving website, especially those with interactive content.

True, we can always change our "nick" or pseudonym and walk away from our past, but many have maintained a particular pseudonym across many registrations on many sites over the years -- it has become our own unique persona and not something we've give up lightly. I'm LdyGuique all across the net. A Google search will bring up multiple hits that all tie to some site where I've registered or been active. Just as in real life, my full name is absolutely unique; so, is my online nick unique (unless someone else decides that they like it and uses it to register somewhere I don't go). But, for the most part, it represents me.

Just as the word banal contains anal, Gannon has a long way to go to being a worthy media member or journalist. He has yet to learn to write under any of this nicks nor to express unique and original opinions. Until then, his past will haunt him, whether it's banal or anal.

[DulceDecorum]

9. There are naked pictures of Dubya, Poppy, Babs,

and just about everyone who attended an Ivy league college before the 60s.
They are called "posture pictures."
Hilary and Bill were photographed naked too.

Nobody is dragging these pictures out and no-one is going after these people.
But then again, none of them has rented their crotch either to others of the same gender
while simultaneously claiming to be involved in the US military which maintains that anti-homosexual policy.

By the way,
I do not recall Heidi Fleiss getting any consideration for her privacy. The media was in her face.
Furthermore, everyone knows that rightwing mediawhores such as Judith Miller and Robert Novak do not have sexual relationships with humans. They do however, experience Reilly intimate encounters with loofahs and falafel which occasionaly result in broken hips.

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. I "think" the issue is the "male prostitute"

who got into the WH press room under a false name. Prostitution is illegal and he isn't a REAL journalist. (Judith Miller and Novak are) The question IS...How did a male prostitute, with a bogus ID, who had several porn web sites get into the WH press room and was able to be called on by the president and Scott McClellan...NUMEROUS times, to ask questions? I'm sure there are reporters in there who are NEVER called on to ask a question. Why Gannon?

Why is he all of a sudden concerned about privacy rights? Patriot Act, anyone??? I'm sure Mr. Repuke Gannon was all for that nasty piece of legislation. Why is he so concerned about giving Bush a mandate on this? He supports the idiot-in-chief. Mr. Gannon is too selective in doling out "rights", IMCPO. Now that this concerns HIM, he cares. Too bad.

[BurtWorm]

16. Someday, it might be a crusading leftist in the press room

who gets outed with a dirty "secret." Would you be as interested in the question of how he or she got in there?

Double standards in politics are often a two-way street, sad to say.

[Bethany Rockafella]

22. Actually, I would.

A rose is a rose is a rose.

[DURHAM D]

14. Ganon - who cares.

I watched that panel thing from the National Press Club. Gannon is not too bright. In fact, he was down right boring.

His 15 minutes should be long over.

[BurtWorm]

17. I agree with you.

He's a clown and attention whore who is loving every second of his overlong time under the spotlight. I think the only people who will be truly interested in buyinh the book he's threatening to write are conspiracy theorists on DU, who won't believe a word he says anyway! (And why should they? He's a proven liar!)

[earth mom]

20. Sounds like Gannon believes his own lies...

has he been brainwashed/mind controlled or is he a pathological liar? :shrug: