This Passes for Reporting Today

It is hard to label any one newspaper story as the worst ever, but this one is on the short list.  The administration certainly has a state-run information agency masquerading as free press:

SPECIAL REPORTS Violent anti-Obama groups arriving in South Bend By Wayne Madsen Online Journal Contributing Writer May 1, 2009, 00:18 (WMR) — According to sources with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army, and the White House, a number of members of violent pro-life groups are streaming into South Bend in anticipation of protests during the commencement address of President Barack Obama at Notre Dame. Obama is scheduled to give his address at Notre Dame on May 17. In anticipation of Obama’s address and his being awarded an honorary degree from Notre Dame, a number of right-wing groups, including Catholic anti-abortion and anti-stem cell research groups, are ratcheting up tensions in South Bend, according to our sources. WMR has learned from FEMA sources that the city of South Bend has indicated that due to its severe financial situation, it is unable to provide the necessary police security for Obama’s speech. Notre Dame campus security has apparently accepted responsibility for Obama’s security during his visit to the campus, although primary presidential security will be in the hands of the Secret Service. What is worrying to some federal law enforcement and emergency preparedness officials is the violent groups that will be present both within South Bend and on the campus of Notre Dame during the president’s address to graduating students. And these groups are being egged on by well-financed conservative groups, including the Cardinal Newman Society and Brent Bozell’s Media Research Center. However, the real fear of federal security agencies is the rhetoric being voiced by professional troublemaker Randall Terry and perennial political candidate Alan Keyes. Terry and Keyes are both right-wing Catholics. Terry has threatened to make Obama’s speech into a “circus” and a “mud pit.” Keyes has called Obama a “radical communist” and has vowed that he and his allies are “going to stop him.” The anti-Obama rhetoric, coupled with the decision of former George W. Bush ambassador to the Vatican, Mary Ann Glendon, to refuse to share the stage with Obama to receive the university’s Laetare Medal, has alarmed those concerned with Obama’s security. Glendon has rejected the medal that was previously awarded to President John F. Kennedy and actor Martin Sheen. Newt Gingrich, a recent convert to Catholicism, is also stirring up anti-Obama feelings among Catholics who are opposed to Obama’s speech at Notre Dame. A taste of what is to come at Notre Dame was seen in anti-Obama rhetoric being stoked by Catholics upset that the Jesus “IHS” letters were covered up during Obama’s speech at Georgetown University, which is, like Notre Dame, a Catholic university. The anti-Obama activists are already suggesting that Mary’s statue on the Notre Dame campus will be covered by a tarp during Obama’s visit, further inflaming passions. WMR has learned that the official who has been put in charge of coordinating Obama’s security at Notre Dame is his deputy national security adviser, John O. Brennan, the former CIA official who helped craft the agency’s torture program for detainees and the head of the firm, The Analysis Corporation, whose State Department contract employee was discovered accessing Obama’s passport file during last year’s presidential campaign. However, the bottom line is that federal security agencies are worried that with the lack of support from the South Bend police and Indiana Republican Governor Mitch Daniel’s state police, there are real security problems surrounding Obama’s speech at Notre Dame. Obama narrowly carried Indiana over John McCain and Obama bested the GOP candidate in St. Joseph County, the county seat of which is South Bend. Many FEMA and Army officials have privately expressed the opinion that Obama should cancel his trip to Notre Dame. However, that would also be a victory for the violent anti-abortion groups that want Notre Dame to rescind its invitation to the president. Obama is reportedly furious that he was not made aware of plans to fly one of his Air Force One Boeing 747s over New York and New Jersey for a “photo op” that was classified by the Pentagon. Our sources in lower Manhattan report that the plane flew dangerously close to a number of high-rise buildings during its classified “joy ride” and panicked thousands of people on both sides of the Hudson River. If the president cannot be assured of control over his presidential aircraft, how can he be assured of his security at Notre Dame? Story developing.

This Passes for Reporting Today

It is hard to label any one newspaper story as the worst ever, but this one is on the short list.  The administration certainly has a state-run information agency masquerading as free press:

SPECIAL REPORTS Violent anti-Obama groups arriving in South Bend By Wayne Madsen Online Journal Contributing Writer May 1, 2009, 00:18 (WMR) — According to sources with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army, and the White House, a number of members of violent pro-life groups are streaming into South Bend in anticipation of protests during the commencement address of President Barack Obama at Notre Dame. Obama is scheduled to give his address at Notre Dame on May 17. In anticipation of Obama’s address and his being awarded an honorary degree from Notre Dame, a number of right-wing groups, including Catholic anti-abortion and anti-stem cell research groups, are ratcheting up tensions in South Bend, according to our sources. WMR has learned from FEMA sources that the city of South Bend has indicated that due to its severe financial situation, it is unable to provide the necessary police security for Obama’s speech. Notre Dame campus security has apparently accepted responsibility for Obama’s security during his visit to the campus, although primary presidential security will be in the hands of the Secret Service. What is worrying to some federal law enforcement and emergency preparedness officials is the violent groups that will be present both within South Bend and on the campus of Notre Dame during the president’s address to graduating students. And these groups are being egged on by well-financed conservative groups, including the Cardinal Newman Society and Brent Bozell’s Media Research Center. However, the real fear of federal security agencies is the rhetoric being voiced by professional troublemaker Randall Terry and perennial political candidate Alan Keyes. Terry and Keyes are both right-wing Catholics. Terry has threatened to make Obama’s speech into a “circus” and a “mud pit.” Keyes has called Obama a “radical communist” and has vowed that he and his allies are “going to stop him.” The anti-Obama rhetoric, coupled with the decision of former George W. Bush ambassador to the Vatican, Mary Ann Glendon, to refuse to share the stage with Obama to receive the university’s Laetare Medal, has alarmed those concerned with Obama’s security. Glendon has rejected the medal that was previously awarded to President John F. Kennedy and actor Martin Sheen. Newt Gingrich, a recent convert to Catholicism, is also stirring up anti-Obama feelings among Catholics who are opposed to Obama’s speech at Notre Dame. A taste of what is to come at Notre Dame was seen in anti-Obama rhetoric being stoked by Catholics upset that the Jesus “IHS” letters were covered up during Obama’s speech at Georgetown University, which is, like Notre Dame, a Catholic university. The anti-Obama activists are already suggesting that Mary’s statue on the Notre Dame campus will be covered by a tarp during Obama’s visit, further inflaming passions. WMR has learned that the official who has been put in charge of coordinating Obama’s security at Notre Dame is his deputy national security adviser, John O. Brennan, the former CIA official who helped craft the agency’s torture program for detainees and the head of the firm, The Analysis Corporation, whose State Department contract employee was discovered accessing Obama’s passport file during last year’s presidential campaign. However, the bottom line is that federal security agencies are worried that with the lack of support from the South Bend police and Indiana Republican Governor Mitch Daniel’s state police, there are real security problems surrounding Obama’s speech at Notre Dame. Obama narrowly carried Indiana over John McCain and Obama bested the GOP candidate in St. Joseph County, the county seat of which is South Bend. Many FEMA and Army officials have privately expressed the opinion that Obama should cancel his trip to Notre Dame. However, that would also be a victory for the violent anti-abortion groups that want Notre Dame to rescind its invitation to the president. Obama is reportedly furious that he was not made aware of plans to fly one of his Air Force One Boeing 747s over New York and New Jersey for a “photo op” that was classified by the Pentagon. Our sources in lower Manhattan report that the plane flew dangerously close to a number of high-rise buildings during its classified “joy ride” and panicked thousands of people on both sides of the Hudson River. If the president cannot be assured of control over his presidential aircraft, how can he be assured of his security at Notre Dame? Story developing.