LA-Times prints AmericaBlog's op-ed on GannonGuckert coverage

[BigBearJohn]

By John Aravosis

Bloggers uncover that someone working as a reporter in the West Wing is also advertising himself as a $200-an-hour gay escort — someone whose name, a year earlier, had appeared in the U.S. attorney's subpoena of White House documents during the investigation of the Valerie Plame-CIA scandal.

The mainstream media, including the Los Angeles Times, remains largely silent. Why?

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-tent6mar06,1,435809.story?coll=la-util-op-ed

[Randi_Listener]

1. That fucker should just concede.

It's an embarassment now. The shit has gotten stale in the goddamn white house.

[Nothing Without Hope]

2. This is excellent - many will see it in that venue

Interesting that they chose to publish it. Are they CYAing for suppressing the story? I wonder. Do you have an opinion on this?

[yorkdane]

4. I was wondering the same thing

and do you think other major papers will finally begin digging for the facts?

Will at AmericaBlog.com posted a good comment that I have partially quoted below:

"...Senator Thune's office defends gay prostitution as simply "someone's personal life...

John's stories always have that one classic line that breaks it down.

Even if one were to put aside all of the other real news aspects of this fool Guckert, ...it is ok to be a gay prostitute, that is not morally wrong with them, but if gay people make a lifelong committment to each other with a vow in front of God and everybody, well that's just an abomination that we need to change the Constitution over. God Bless America indeed.
Will"

Exactly - The repukes have essentially stated if not by their comments than by their silence that is it acceptable to be a gay prostitute, i.e. someone's personal life is no one else's business but it is not ok for a gay couple to enter into a committed union. How hypocritical is that? Not to mention that prostitution is illegal!

[Nothing Without Hope]

11. I think one psychological factor is that Guckert claimed to be ONLY a top

Whatever primitive psychological niche homophobia comes from -- and it had to be there in at least latent form or the Cartel and its fundie allies would not have been so successful at whipping it up -- it seems to relate to the idea of a duality of identification: either you are the penetrator and therefore in the dominant class or you are the penetrated and therefore in a "victim" class. That's the way it worked with the ancient Greeks too, and I imagine in the prisons today -- if you are always the top, you are part of the dominant, manly group. In fact, psychologically, men like this often do not consider themselves gay at all -- just ask those prisoners. I looked over Guckert's web sites when this first came out, and the constant emphasis that he was manly, strong, ALWAYS a top, from the marines, a military man, dominant. I think this is one reason -- in addition to the obvious hypocritical suppression -- that Guckert got by as well as he did and continues to ring far fewer anti-gay bells among the homophobes than might be expected.

[understandinglife]

3. "In truth, they (LAT) are failing to speak truth to power."

Excellent concluding sentence.

Peace.

[tommcintyre]

5. Virtual press conference with AmericaBlog's John Aravosis on Gannon here:

Archived here:
http://whiterosesociety.org/Blogcall.html

Last week, John Aravosis was the first blogger featured on a BlogCall.

What is a BlogCall?
BlogCall is a regular conference call hosted by progressive and Democratic "bloggers" to discuss exposes of Republican and rightwing crimes and scandals that deserve national media attention. Each BlogCall features a progressive or Democratic "blogger" who has broken a major expose.

This Tuesday, the BlogCall's subject will be the Clinton Curtis vote rigging scandal.

More info here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x339274

[rocktivity]

6. "An experimental column

in which the Los Angeles Times invites outside critics to slap around a newspaper whose editorial endorsed TWO candidates for mayor."

An EXPERIMENTAL column? Since when is trying to get at the truth the stuff that journalistic experiments are made of? Is this the Moonie Times' idea of being fair and balanced? I suppose we could be a little grateful considering the source. But I thought writing like this is what the op-ed and letters-to-the-editor sections of a newspaper are for.

:headbang:
rocknation

[intheflow]

7. Aravosis got it right on the money.

The MSM seem to be afraid that if they say anything critically substantial about Guckert they will be labeled as anti-gay hypocrites. Instead of doing their job reporting news, then, they are abdicating the discussion to be framed entirely by the RW and the WH. In their fear they don't seem to see their own complicity in the continuation of corruption. Very sad, indeed.

[bpilgrim]

8. WOW!

they certainly deserve it :toast:

peace

[BigBearJohn]

9. These are frightening times we live in but are too damn busy to know it.

[realFedUp]

10. An e-mail from Doyle McManus on this topic

I have had it with the non-coverage on
all the ties that G/G had...Rather's story
on Bush AWOL, Daschle, Plame etc not including
the security breach and knowledge of the WH
of a Republican plant in the press corps.
So I am posting this e-mail...
and the following sorry response I got from Doyle.
I doubt I will get responses in the future but WTF.

I sent an e-mail to Doyle McManus, Washington
bureau chief for the LA Times on 2/24/05 asking
why the Times hadn't published anything on
G/G...

My e-mail:

Dear Doyle,

So..now House and Senate Dems have requested
an investigation on Gannon/Guckert and still
not a word in the LA Times...are you just
hoping this will go away or do you have someone
investigating into stuff the bloggers don't
have access to...like following the money trail?

More on GG...
http://www.freep.com/voices/editorials/eguckert23e_20050223.htm

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/02/worldnetdaily-savages-gannonguckert.
html

http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGBTXP7TI5E.html

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/02/breaking-news-top-house-judiciary-an
d.html

His reply:

"It's simpler, and dumber, than that.
A media reporter in LA told us about 10 days ago that he'd handle the story.
Then he decided he didn't want to do it after all. But he didn't tell us that.
So we're trying to pick the ball up here, this week.
It's not an evil plot. It's simple incompetence.
Best wishes
Doyle"

[Tiggeroshii]

12. I just hope the story breaks from sources with LAT kinda credibility..

I hope, but I have my doubts =\

[realFedUp]

13. Welcome to DU

well...they are good at getting Pulitzers
but it's usually for the stories that take
6 or so months to research. I doubt they
are working on G/G this way.

[autorank]

14. Give the LA Times shit for this. Link to "LAT Reders Representative.

The Times is full of shit. Here's the link:

http://www.latimes.com/services/site/la-comment-readersrep,0,1452515.htmlstory?coll=la-mininav-opinion

You might point out that this is really stupid: Ignore a story, many stories, then let the originator of the story complain one time about lack of coverage; then continue to ignore the story. They are evil.

[atldem]

17. Sent a comment.

Everyone should. They need to know that people are paying attention to this.

[DearAbby]

15. Excellent article John....THUMBS UP

:thumbsup:

[dandrhesse]

16. But why is it still on the op-ed page? It seems that's the only place

to find any real news these days, because only the seasoned journalists that can take the heat still speak their minds. There pieces often have more factual content then the front page stories, what a disgrace.

[ClintonTyree]

19. The front page is reserved for REAL news...................

Michael Jackson's trial, the Pope's health, ramming Social Security Piratization down our throats.

You'll only find stories like these where avid news-hounds dare to tread, the editorial pages. If it's not on the front page, the comics or the sports page, it's pretty much lost to Joe Sixpack.

[ClintonTyree]

18. Now THERE'S something that needed to be said!

Great letter. Has the LA Times responded? I'll be waiting to read their response. Maybe I shouldn't hold my breath :boring: huh?

I'm rather surprised they printed it in the first place, it doesn't exactly paint them in a flattering light.

[Synnical]

20. Arab News Coverage

When I did a google search earlier today for Gannon/Guckert, saw the LAT piece and just above it a link to Arab News and a story titled, "The Force of Freedom", which reviews the story and bemoans the lack of mainstream news coverage. Nothing really new there, except the ending paragraphs:

Guckert has been a busy little bee.

He was involved in the early eighties with porn websites that specialized in recruiting military men especially from the US Marine Corp. to act as male escorts for members of the US Senate and Congress.

So the next time a bill passes through Congress or the Senate that erodes the civil liberties of Americans or gives preferential treatment to the rich amongst them at the expense of the rest, I would like you to conjure in your minds the image of a beefy Marine in tight leather shorts.

Now, this looks to me to be mostly a case of bad reporting - websites didn't really come into existence for most of us until the mid-90's. But, the part about recruiting male escorts for the Senate and Congress - that's news to me. I know it's been speculated about, but does the Arab News have evidence that we haven't heard yet? Note: I have no idea how credible Arab News is.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=60060&d=7&m=3&y=2005

[reichstag911]

21. My LTTE on this...

...was published in today's LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-gannon8.1mar08,0,7416275,print.story?coll=la-news-comment-letters

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce: