Why was Jeff Gannon (Jeff Guckert) spending so much time at the Bush White House?

Back in 2005, I was intrigued when the story broke that a fake reporter supposedly named "Jeff Gannon" somehow got access for White House press briefings. His real name turned out to be Jeff Guckert, and he had no credentials as a reporter. He didn't even qualify for a press pass. Really strange stuff. Actually, the story got much much stranger:

Investigative bloggers at Daily Kos and AmericaBlog.org discovered that Guckert owned male escort sites, and was himself a male prostitute.

I just ran across this 2005 Raw Story piece that goes into a lot more detail about Guckert/Gannon. Not only did he not belong at the White House at all, but it turns out that he was almost always there.

[D]ocuments obtained by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) through a Freedom of Information Act request, reveal Guckert had remarkable access to the White House . . . Guckert made more than 200 appearances at the White House during his two-year tenure with the fledging conservative websites GOPUSA and Talon News, attending 155 of 196 White House press briefings. He had little to no previous journalism experience, previously worked as a male escort, and was refused a congressional press pass.

If you read this Raw Story story, you'll be amazed at the many anomalies regarding Gluckert's White House visits. According to the linked Wikipedia and Raw Story articles:

The Secret Service Records appear to show that he checked in, but never checked out on many occasions, and visited the White House on several days during which no press conference or other press events were held.

You'll see all of the data regarding Gluckert's many visits at Raw Story. I don't remember this story (of the extent of Gluckert's White House access) ever getting covered by the mainstream media. I'll end with a question. It seems as though a huge percentage of gay bashers are conflicted closet gays. It was also clear that there were a LOT of gay-bashers in the Bush White House. To connect the dots, it would appear from Gluckert's real profession and his extensive White House access that he was visiting the White House to provide sexual services to someone who also spent a lot of time at the White House. So who was it that Gluckert was spending so much time with at the White House. Which of the Bush Administration anti-gay bigots was spending so much time with Gluckert? And one more question: Whenever a politician takes a strong anti-gay stand, shouldn't we immediately and automatically remove them from political office and require them to go to therapy so that they can work out their conflictedness regarding their sexual attractions toward members of the same sex?

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The crack in the wall of AIPAC

Just maybe, attitudes of Americans are changing regarding Israeli policy regarding the Palestinian people. A debate has begun to surface in Congress, small but significant. Consider this excerpt from this Truthout article byIra Chernus:

"The fact that there is any debate at all on this issue in Congress marks a sea change in Washington." . . .

"What the hell do they want from me?" Netanyahu reportedly complained after his talk with Obama. In the weeks and months ahead, we can expect a growing chorus in the US Congress to echo the changing views of American Jews and answer: We want you to heed the president's call to stop settlement construction completely, comply with international law, and open the door to serious negotiations with the Palestinians toward a two-state solution. Every time that answer is heard publicly, it widens the crack in AIPAC's wall and brings us closer to the day when that wall, inevitably, crumbles.

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What Americans owe on their credit cards

What do Americans owe on their credit cards? A huge aggregate amount that constitutes a ticking time bomb that could further devastate the economy. Here are the details, from Consumeraffairs.com:

Average bankcard borrower debt, defined as the aggregate balance on all bank-issued credit cards for an individual bankcard borrower, inched upward nationally 0.82 percent to $5,776 from the previous quarter's $5,729, and 4.09 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008. The highest state average bankcard debt remains in Alaska at $7,476, followed by Tennessee at $6,869 and Nevada at $6,677.

This is per individual bankcard borrower. For the average debt of a married couple, then, double the average amount. The same site reports that the number of consumers who are three or more months behind on their credit card payments is up 11 percent over the same period from 2008.

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Alleyway Church, a short photoessay.

Columbus has a certain type of neighborhood layout. Near the city, we don't live in cul-de-sac'd, freshly built ranch homes that every other Ohio suburbanite inhabits. We live in cracking, ancient buildings on narrow streets, which garages packed, unattached into narrower alleys. Every street therefore has its own alleyed sub-street, a little afterthought that lets you see the more personal details of the inhabitants- the rusted patio furniture, the cornhole sets, the stacks of beer cans being picked over mid-day by local homeless. I was strolling through one of these alleys this Sunday, taking in the back yard details of the many local homes, when I found something really peculiar:

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