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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Anatomy of a blackout I spent the three months preparing for a news conference scheduled for January 14, 2009. On December 10 and January 6, I flew aerial surveillance missions along the border. I then used the mission data, together with data from other missions flown over the past two years, to tell a story. The presentation given at the National Press Club was the best I have ever done. It told the story about the border that was compelling and true. It had national significance. To make sure the media and others would be there, American Border Patrol paid PR Newswire extra to use its special Homeland Security "microlist" for the press release. I called and e-mailed reporters I knew, including Jerry Seper of the Washington Times, just to make sure they would be there. Thursday morning I arose about 3 a.m to do the finishing touches on the presentation. We left the hotel about 7:30 for the 9 am conference. Traffic, made worse by vendor trucks rushing to get their stuff into D.C. before roads were closed for the inauguration, was horrible. As we drove past hundreds and hundreds of porta-potties and lines of tents set up for the Jan. 20th shindig, I worried that we wouldn't arrive on time. We did, with ten minutes to spare. The Holeman Lounge at the Press Club is very impressive (and expensive), and we had a 60" plasma TV for the presentation. We had four large posters (cost - $600) with incredible graphics. Everything was perfect as I put a stack of professionally prepared press packages on a table near the entrance We were ready. But no one came. Not one member of the press or media showed up. There were friends in the audience, but no reporters to get the story. I gave the presentation anyway and our friends agreed that the story was probably too important to be told to the public. That is why we were blacked out. (There were two black ladies present and they were very upset to learn that the government has known where drugs were being smuggled into the U.S. and could have stopped it years ago, but didn't.) I was very disappointed at the total lack of a turnout, and a little depressed – what a waste of American Border Patrol's money. But after thinking about it, I have decided it was a good investment after all. ABP had paid for airtight proof that it is being blacked out by the media. Looking back over the past year I now realize that the press blackout of ABP has been going on for some time. In January of last year I traveled to Washington, D.C. to present ABP's year-end report on the border. At one point I spent an hour with Jerry Seper in his Washington Times office. Seper told me that the paper would no doubt run a big story on American Border Patrol's work. It never happened. In fact, they never even mentioned us. In the past year ABP was visited by Radio France, a crew from Finnish Television (YLE TV), Tages Anzeiger, the German language Swiss national daily newspaper, ARD (German Radio), BFM TV from France, and TV 4 from Sweden. I took most of these people flying along the border and I have been told their stories have been running all across Europe. In the past ABP has been visited by TV crews from all over Asia. ABP is well known, it seems, everywhere but in the U.S. On September 14 the Sierra Vista Herald ran a big story about how ABP challenged DHS's border fence figures. The reporter, Jonathan Shacat, said he thought bigger papers would pick up the story. They didn't. The Herald ran a follow-up story on October 5, but no one picked that one up either. Both stories included interviews with DHS/CBP officials. Reporter Shacat told me that he had a long conversation with Angela de Rocha, public affairs officer for Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection, during which she said American Border Patrol was doing a valuable service for the American people. On October 10 ABP held a press conference in Tucson to discuss our differences with the DHS regarding the border fence. We used PR Newswire and our Arizona list to notify the media. No one came. A reporter with a Tucson TV station e-mailed me (I have the e-mail) and said he asked the station to cover the news conference, but they didn't. He couldn't explain why. After that failed press conference Sean Holsteage of the Arizona Republic e-mailed me and made arrangements to fly with ABP on its next border mission. It was all set for Nov. 10. At the last minute, he e-mailed and said his boss cancelled the trip, citing insurance issues. This was complete nonsense. Had they asked we would have told them ABP has insurance through the AOPA. And, reporters are in the business of getting into the "real world." In fact, last November reporters were injured in a hot-air balloon accident near Yuma. If reporters are assigned to fly in a hot-air balloon, a very dangerous activity, it makes no sense that one would be prohibited from flying in a fixed-wing airplane flown by an instrument-rated pilot with more than 6,000 accident-free flying hours. The evidence is very clear. The media bosses in the United States are doing everything they can to keep the truth about the border away from the American People. The absence of reporters at the National Press Club was final proof that they are very afraid of what American Border Patrol has to say. When it comes to the border, the media bosses are treating the American people like mushrooms – keeping them in the dark and feeding them manure I was disappointed about what happened in D.C., but not discouraged. In fact, I am energized in knowing that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the media fear American Border Patrol so much that they are willing to sacrifice any sense of fairness and honor to sensor us. We will find other ways to reach the American people, not only with the truth about the border, but with the truth about how they are being manipulated by the power-elite. We may be blacked out but we won't be silenced.
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#1. To: X-15 (#0)
Has Glenn pissed off any Jews recently?
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