Posted on 07/10/2009 1:55:00 AM PDT by Zakeet
John Cook of the gossip website Gawker discovered that the White House press elite partied down with President Obama on ahem, Independence Day:
Reporters from roughly 30 television networks, newspapers, magazines, and web sites celebrated the Fourth of July with Barack Obama at the White House last weekend. Why didn't you know that? Because they were sworn to secrecy.We reported yesterday that Politico's Mike Allen was spotted milling about as a guest at the White House's "backyard bash" by the pool reporter, who was allowed into the event for 40 minutes and kept in a pen before being ushered out. When Allen quoted from the pool report in his Playbook column the next day, he deleted a reference to his own name and didn't bother to tell his readers that he was actually at the party.
Well, he wasn't alone. Gawker has learned that the White House gave tickets to virtually every major news organization that covers the president—the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, ABC News, NBC News, CNN, CBS News, and so on, about 30 in all. The reporters were invited to attend on the following condition:
"You are being invited to attend this event as a guest. Blogging, Twittering or otherwise reporting on this event is not permitted. If you feel that you cannot agree to abide by these ground rules, please don't claim a ticket."That's right: Much of the White House press corps spent the Fourth schmoozing with White House staffers, catching performances by the Foo Fighters and Jimmy Fallon, and watching the fireworks from the most exclusive vantage point in the D.C. metro area, all off the record—not to mention off-the-Facebook and off-the-Twitter.
These are the same people who just a week ago were whining in the press briefing about Obama's malicious and dastardly attempts to "control the press." (Well, not the self-same people—we're not sure if Chip Reid and Helen Thomas, the primary antagonists in that exchange, were in attendance.)
Even if you weren't a fan of Obama (or a fan of picnics, or the Foo Fighters), an ambitious reporter might take the tickets just to get some off-the-record schmoozing in with people they'd like to line up as sources. It would be nice to know which ones who daily pledge to uphold the "people's right to know" attended and accepted the pledges of secrecy.
bad to the bone.
No surprise here! The pimps of the election industry attended a BBQ to celebrate their election victory!
And they can rooh' naeesh!!
FWIW, Major Garrett on twitter said he was NOT part of the Hussein festival.
Why didn't you know that? Because they were sworn to secrecy.
OK... I don’t have an actual translator... I just found it on an irish website
One of the reasons the press hated the Bush family in the White House, iirc, was that they did not think the parties would be ‘any good’ compared to the Clintons’. Besides, if the press people “weren’t there” they could not see/report on who else showed up (as if they would).
This is partly because they fear losing their access, but more so because as in the Clinton years, the media see a kindred spirit in the White House. They loved it when a Baby Boomer was President, but now having a hardcore leftist is beyond their wildest dreams and they'll do anything they can to help him and help themselves.
google translator doesn’t have Irish or Gaelic? man!
LOL - it’s Arabic...Iraqi dialect. :)
That did not translate on the google thing
Did someone say that Fox was not there?
I'd get banned for translating it here. :)
Excellent.
That says it all.
Scary, isn’t it?
Thanks.
I thought Zero was in Russia last weekend?
No secret can be kept by that many people. Obama knows that.
It’s an obvious attempt to discredit the press, but why? That is the question. They are already a discredit to themslves. A pack of leeches who spread Obama’s lies as being biblical truth’s.
Why would anyone try to swear this many people who are known for their absolute lack of integrity to any oath of secrecy.
There has to be an ulterior motive.
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