Good afternoon, all.
And so, the hunt for conspiracy continues in Watkinsville.
Over the weekend, I received a righteously indignant message from Lee in Watkinsville. It read: Is there a reason your paper does not print all the news? Millions of Americans know all the news because of the internet. The news below would be printed on the front page if this involved George Bush and you know it. So does millions of Americans! Please start printing all the news and your paper will be a true newspaper.
Zing. Score one against the liberal mainstream media elite.
Lee refers to a story circulating right-wing blogs that Leon Panetta’s daughter, Linda, is in bed with Central and South American dictators. And that’s just not the kind of behavior Lee from Watkinsville can stand in his leaders.
As proof, Lee offers up photo of Ms. Panetta with Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega and Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Although this text varies on the different versions of this story I have received, the general message circulating closely resembles this. It reads:
This is Linda Panetta the daughter of Leon Panetta, who was recently named by Barack Obama to be the new CIA director.
Linda is a supporter of all the anti-American regimes in this Hemisphere. Here she is with Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega, two sworn enemies of the United States. She is a radical anti-American activist who wants to close the School of the Americas , considers that American soldiers are criminals and is against any aid to the government of Colombia, our main ally in the region.
I wonder if any of her activities will come up during her father's confirmation hearings.
No wonder Lee got so worked up. “Millions of Americans know all the news because of the internet,” he told me. “Is there a reason your paper does not print all the news?” he begged.
Yes, Lee, there is a reason. We like to stick as close to facts as possible.
Lee in Watkinsville is correct that Linda Panetta, a photojournalist who covers Latin America for a Website few people read, is a member of the left-wing group, School of Americas Watch. According to her bio:
(Her) work focuses on cultural, environmental and human rights, with a particular emphasis on conflict zones, including: Guatemala and Nicaragua (late 1980s-2007); Mexico (Chiapas and Oaxaca), Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, El Salvador, Colombia (Putumayo, Barranca, Choco), Afghanistan (2002), Iraq (2003/2004), Palestine (2006 / 2008). …
Linda is the founder of Optical Realities Photography, the grassroots human rights organization SOA Watch/NE, and coordinator of the Jean Donovan Community Peace Center, which hosts the Mariposa Outreach Project, a mentoring program which supports survivors of torture and their families.
She is the producer and director of the award winning documentary "An Insider Speaks Out!", which highlights the abuses of the military training facility, the School of the Americas (SOA).
Linda's photos have been widely published in books, magazines, and newspapers and have been aired on several networks. Her photos have been exhibited throughout the US, Canada and Europe. She also does extensive lecturing using her slides to educate others about the implications of U.S. foreign policy and the realities of war.
Why, that’s just the sort of woman Lee from Watkinsville and his friends on The Right don’t want related to anyone sitting in D.C. Republicans would never be related to such far-left crazies.
Only problem with Lee’s argument (and the argument of the “millions” of others who know the truth), Linda Panetta is not CIA Director Leon Panetta’s daughter. Or niece. Or sister. Or relation of any sort. Leon Panetta has three sons and no daughters. Linda Panetta’s father is dead.
In fact, this rumor has been circulating right-wing blogs for months, and was shot down soon afterward, but I guess only part of the news filtered down to Watkinsville. Millions may know the “news” from the Internet, but I’m afraid it’s no truer than the Bigfoot or UFO information also readily found there.
I wrote Lee from Watkinsville back with this info, but I have yet to hear back. Maybe he’s out buying a little more tin foil.
Funny, I have a feeling even the truth in this case might not stop his quest for conspiracy. Good luck, Lee.
* * *
Take five minutes out of your day to join Executive Editor Jason Winders here each morning. Stand up and be counted.
- Jason Winders's blog
- Login or register to post comments