Posted on 04/30/2006 4:24:44 AM PDT by sauropod
Honor roll for tonight's FReep include: Jimmy Valentine's Brother, Mr/Mrs Mason-Dixon, bstein80, Doctor Raoul, staytrue, kristinn, tgsltakoma, angelwood, billf, sauropod, exit148, DollyCali, Wheelbarrow, bert, albion wilde, christopher lincoln, bufordp; dinasour, hellinahandcart and gunsareok.
Compared with other years, this year's WHCA FReep was no disappointment. The theme of our counterprotest this year was "Pulitzer Prizes for Treason" given that Dana Priest and others are receiving Pulitzer Prizes for reporting illegally leaked information. There were several signs that alluded to what is going on (only in America), including this brilliant one by BufordP:
This point was further reinforced by our very own Doctor Raoul appearing in front of the Washington Hilton as Boris Badanov and asking the partygoers in tuxes, wrinkled noses and furrowed brows where his Pulitzer was, since he had been working so long to help bring down America, just like them.
Kristinn used a sign to illustrate a point about what the MSM selectively chooses to emphasize. The sign had a picture of Cindy Sheehan and SGT Paul Smith on it. The sign asked, "Why are these two people notable?"
Kristinn's point was that everybody knew who Sheehan was, but very few people knew who SGT Smith was (Only Medal of Honor winner in the current action, died in battle at Baghdad Airport). Kristinn started asking partygoers this pop quiz (with a prize of a $5 Starbucks coupon as a reward for the correct answer). One fellow from the Boston Glob said he did not know who SGT Smith was. When Kristinn told him, he remarked, "Oh yeah, I wrote a story about him."
Think about this. The reporter that wrote a story about a true hero couldn't remember who he was.
There was only one winner for the evening, FoxNews' Bret Baier, who answered correctly immediately.
We saw quite a few other luminaries strolling up to the Hilton. They included Joe DiGenova and Victoria Toensing, James Rosen (FNC), David Schuster (PMSNBC), Bill Plante, Michael Barone (US News and World Report), an infobabe from ABC (could not place her name), Steve Doocy in a cab, and Julian Bond (NAA of Some CP).
I was holding a sign that showed a picture of Dan Rather and Katie Couric (with middle finger extended) and it simply said, "Different hosts, same bias. See BS." Doocy gave the thumbs up from the cab when he saw the sign. I had my camcorder along for the FReep and think I have this on tape.
When I saw Schuster crossing the street, I was trying to man the camcorder and did not ask him about his excreble reporting on Chrissy Matthews show. However, I did score a personal best when BufordP spotted Julian Bond on the opposite side of Connecticut Avenue. I had enough time to get the camcorder fired up, and when Bond reached the median strip, I asked him "Hey Julian, how's the race hustling business going?" I also told him that if we were really the right-wing Taliban, that we had a burka just his size waiting for him. I think i got this on video also.
Bond didn't respond and stonily looked the other way.
We had FReepers attending from some distance away. Here is Bert from Tennesee:
GunsareOK currently resides in very southern Virginia and came up to Dee Cee just for this event.
Staytrue did his usual stellar effort with posters for the counterprotest. Here are a couple he put together:
Danish Cartoon and Nascar
Our local yokels were in attendance as per usual. Here is Jimmy Valentine's Brother.
We had a couple of folks from Protest Warrior attend. One guy dressed up like David Gregory.
He had a lot of fun directly in front of the Hilton, greeting Our Rulers were arriving to attend the dinner.
Now, the piece de resistance' (as they say) was Doctor Raoul's brilliant idea of obtaining a bunch of large binkies for the White House Pimp Corps because they complained one day on Air Force One about the TV always being on Fox News. Here is the relevant exchange (posted on exposetheleft.com and originally attributed to The Hotline):
The "Q" making a big deal out of this is Washington Post’s White House Correspondent and frequent Countdown guest, Jim Vandehei:
Q It’s come to my attention that there’s been requests--this is a serious question--to turn these TVs onto a station other than Fox, and that those have been denied. My question would be, is there a White House policy that all government TVs have to be tuned to Fox?
MR. McCLELLAN: Never heard of any such thing. My TVs are on four different channels at all times.
Q Because you have four different TVs. But every time I’ve ever been--
MR. McCLELLAN: Every TV in the White House also has channels every--has a split screen, where they can--
Q Well, they always seem to be tuned to Fox, and there’s been requests, and these are paid for by taxpayer dollars. And my understanding is that you guys have to watch Fox on Air Force One. Is that true?
MR. McCLELLAN: First time I’ve ever heard of it. First time you’ve brought it to my attention, meaning the first time the press corps has brought it to my attention. In fact, I’ve watched other channels on here.
Q There’s one--
MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on, Jim, come on. I’ve watched other channels on here, so I don’t know where you’re hearing that. But it’s the first time anyone in the press has raised that question with me.
Q You’ve watched other channels other than Fox?
MR. McCLELLAN: On here, yes, sure.
Q I’ve never seen--they’re always turned to Fox, which a lot of people consider a Republican-leaning network.
Q Scott, is it one--on the airplane, is it one for all? I mean, if it’s tuned for Fox here, is it Fox everywhere?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that certain areas may be interconnected, but I’ll have to double-check which.
Q Is yours off, wherever you are?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the conference room, or the senior staff office, the staff office, they’re different TVs, and you can switch to different channels. I’m not sure if some of these in the back are connected to some of the others that are watching right here, right now. It doesn’t look like it to me. I’ve never known anyone that’s raised a complaint about a request from back here to watch a different channel.
Q I’m officially raising it and officially complaining about it.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I’m going to go see if we can change the channel for you. Have you called up?
Q I was the Fox victim, and I was told--the quote was, "No," when I asked for CNN.
MR. McCLELLAN: I don’t know who you talked to, so--it didn’t come to my attention. You don’t know who you talked to either?
Q Well, the magic people at the other end off the phone.
MR. McCLELLAN: The magic people at the other end of the phone. Well, I’ll see if this cabin is--
Q I was told, "We don’t watch CNN here, you can only watch Fox."
MR. McCLELLAN: As I said, it’s hard to respond to something when I don’t know who it is you talked to.
Q I used the phone back here.
MR. McCLELLAN: I find this all quite amusing, to tell you the truth. I mean, there are a lot of people on this plane that do watch that channel.
Q I’ve never been told, no. They’re such nice guys up there.
MR. McCLELLAN: First time you brought it to my attention. I’ll go see what we can do on it.
* * * *
MR. McCLELLAN: We just called up. They’re going to be changing it, at your all’s request, to the channel that you requested, which is CNN —from the press corps.
Q Thanks, Scott.
What a BUNCH of WHINERS! To institutionalize this, Doctor Raoul developed the Jim Vandenhei award. The WH Press Corps were quite taken with these:
A close up.
We oughta use these every year!
These remarks earned me a rebuke from Sauropod, who correctly noted that it's better to keep it funny at a FReep. But then he landed his "race hustling" bomb on Julian Bond, so I guess we were even.
"There was a time in my career, before I had a family..."
That would be 19-- B.C. (before children : )
Loved your report. Next best thing to being there.
I want to move to DC. CB said he's moving to DC. Maybe we can work something out- It wouldn't be anything like Hookergate. I'll bring a ho and tend his garden. ; )
Next year, everyone should wear Armani.
LOL!!
I guess that's why it's called FOX news! Yeeeowww!
I've simply run out of words to express my disgust at 90% of the MSM. Getting mad gives me heartburn, so I'll just join in with you guys and mock them with impunity.
bump for Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith
Thanks for the ping!
Great report!
I'll be adding my photos and comments in the next few days when I get the time.
It was great to meet you at the FReeps on Saturday. Thanks for coming down from OH.
Here is the After-Action Report for the WHCA Dinner and you can add your photos and comments.
I'll be adding my photos and comments in the next few days when I get the time.
Hope to see you and Wheelbarrow at some FReeps again sometime. And your dogs, Toby and Josy, are cute and great Canine-Americans. They would be welcomed to FReep with us again sometime.
When you write wonderful observations like those, you're going to have to start writing some more of the AAR's :).
I'll be adding my photos and comments in the next few days when I get the time.
It was great to FReep with you again and I enjoyed talking with you, DollyCali and all the other FReepers in the restaurant.
whoopie! thread is up. I will get my pix up maybe tonight. Just spent all morning doing the ones from the Bethesda FReep!
Thanks Bill.. after a few years of exchanging notes it was fun to meet you finally I felt badly we had to leave so early from the Hilton Post FReep Party. Long drive w/not much sleep under our belts
Again I am in awe... Amazing...
dang those are funny..ya'll ROCK. That Pulitizer Prize checklist is the best, I just copied that and sent it to all of my friends.
THANKS!!
So glad that you and Wheelbarrow got home safely. What a trooper he is!! It was great to have met the two of you!(Where were the pups during the Hilton Freep?)
Fantastic work.
You make us proud
Great report, Albion! When Nagin and I bumped, I wish I had given a BIG bump back!
About that young journalism student. At first I thought she was going to confront us and defend the MSM, but she really wanted to know why we were so against them. One of her first questions was to ask for examples of media bias, and I gave her one that was so fresh and apparent, that it gave her pause. I mentioned the headlines and radio reports of Rush Limbaugh's 'ARREST', and how a routine legal procedure was made to put Rush in a negative light with the visuals associated with the word 'arrest'. When the whole story was finally put out, all was explained, but the immediate story had done its damage. The later stories couldn't undue the damage intended. Would they have done that to 'one of theirs'? We gave her plenty of examples, and it was clear that she was learning another side to her studies.
We suggested she read "Journalistic Fraud' by Bob Kohn to see the subtle ways journalism has changed. I hope she does. It is an eye-opening book.
For the record..... she is a Fox fox.
Megan McDowell I believe. A lawyer/infobabe.
Super!
You mean this one?
Agreed. In the main you don't want to make people angry, or come off to people on the sidelines as jerks, but some people don't deserve any measure of respect. Phelps is another one.
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