By Jerry Politex/ BUSH WATCH NEWS SERVICE 10.25.00 | Some new data was released this month that questions whether the "War on Drudge" has been successful in reducing either Drudge use or violence to journalism. California has fought the Drudge war like no other state in the country over the past 5 years. Nationally, from 1995 to 2000, while the number of persons laughed at and taunted for reading the over-heated journalism of Net reporter Matt Drudge has more than doubled, the number of persons considering themselves victims of Drudge news distortions increased 11-fold. As massive an increase as that is, it is dwarfed by California's where the number of readers whose minds have been messed up by Drudge's offenses increased 25-fold during the same time. California now treats its citizens for Drudge offenses at twice the national average. To make matters worse, while California used to treat several times as many readers for Drudge downloads and re-readings as for possession of hard copies, there are now more readers treated for simple possession as for downloading and re-reading Drudge. If taunting were the answer to Drudge abuse, California would be a Drudge-free paradise by now. Yet California has the highest abused by Drudge rate in the country. A recent study released by the Journalism Policy Institute found that, of California's 12 largest counties, those that discovered fewer Drudge offenses did not experience less Drudge reading or less violent responses to his distortions. For example, Riverside County's Drudge possession rate is 500% greater than Contra Costa's is; yet the violent response rate to Drudge distortions in Contra Costa County is 30% lower. This year, Californians actually have something they can do about both Drudge abuse and the overuse of laughter for non-violent Drudge addicts. Proposition 36, the Language Abuse and Drudge Prevention Act, would divert persons convicted of Drudge possession -- not Internet service providers and not those with violent priors -- from mandatory remedial reading treatment to writing supervised letters-to-the-editor. The non-partisan Journalists' Analyst's Office estimates that the measure would save the state between $100 million to $150 million a year in unneeded reading rehab costs. In addition, counties would save $50 million a year in psychiatric costs, and there would be one-time savings of $500 million in voting referendum costs. The initiative requires these generated savings to fund increased Drudge treatment programs through the establishment of an annual $120 million Drudge treatment superfund. California has never been shy about setting trends at the ballot box. Now it's time for the Golden State to remind the rest of America that the purpose of the war on Drudge is to have fewer victims, not just more remedial reading institutes. BWN commentator Jerry Politex is Director of the War on Drudge Policy Institute located in Austin, Tx. and Washington, D.C.

Sunday evening a surprised Bush watcher reported that Larry Flynt's Friday evening Crossfire allegation that George W. Bush was "involved in" an early 1970's abortion and that he had proof of it was removed from the transcript posted on the CNN web site at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/20/cf.00.html. Here's how the relevant portion of the transcript now reads:

HUGHES: It is effective, but I -- it needs to be coupled with technology tools. And let me just say that the points that I'm making, I'm speaking as an individual commissioner. All right, so I just want to make that clear. But the commission did hear testimony from schools and libraries who had effectively used technologies with their acceptable use policies and that it did work well, Bill, so you'll have different viewpoints on that.

------------[THE DELETION OCCURS HERE]-----------

NOVAK: Sir, I gather you're a very strong Gore supporter. Is that correct?

FLYNT: I'll vote for the lesser of the two evils. I don't like either one of them.

PRESS: All Right, Larry Flynt, a man who speaks his word, but we remind you they are Larry Flynt's words and not ours. Larry Flynt, thank you very, very much for joining us. Donna Rice Hughes, good to have you here. HUGHES: Thank you.

PRESS: You never know. Live television. Bob Novak and I will be back with our non-pornographic closing comments. Too bad. Coming up....

HERE'S THE DELETED EXCERPT, COPIED FROM THE CNN TRANSCRIPT FRIDAY EVENING. (This, of course, would be on the CNN video tape of the program, unless it's been deleted from there as well.):

------------[THE DELETION BEGINS HERE]-----------

NOVAK: Mr. Flynt, never let it be said that we censor any of our guests here on CROSSFIRE, and you said you wanted to talk about the election. Tell me what you wanted to say.

FLYNT: Well, during the impeachment debacle, we did an investigation which resulted in the resignation of Bob Livingston and others and we have continued this investigation and for eight months we've been looking into George W. Bush's background. And we've found out in the early 1970s he was involved in an abortion in Texas, and I just think that it's sad that the mainstream media, who's aware of this story, won't ask him that question when they were able to ask him the drug question without any proof at all, and we've got all kinds of proof on this issue.

NOVAK: Well, you're...

FLYNT: You know, the guy admitted he was a drunk for 20 years, and if the abortion issue is true then that puts him lower on the morality scale than Bill Clinton.

NOVAK: Mr. Flynt, you said if it's true and you have no proof of that. I gather you are a very strong...

FLYNT: The hell we don't have proof.

------------[THE DELETION ENDS HERE]-----------

NOVAK: Sir, I gather you're a very strong Gore supporter. Is that correct?

FLYNT: I'll vote for the lesser of the two evils. I don't like either one of them.

PRESS: All Right, Larry Flynt, a man who speaks his word, but we remind you they are Larry Flynt's words and not ours. Larry Flynt, thank you very, very much for joining us. Donna Rice Hughes, good to have you here.

HUGHES: Thank you.

PRESS: You never know. Live television. Bob Novak and I will be back with our non-pornographic closing comments. Too bad. Coming up....

If you'd like to ask CNN for an explanation, its feedback page is http://www.cnn.com/feedback/

This is a developing story...Politex, 10/22/00

BUSH'S "HELL-RAISING" YEARS IN HOUSTON

Bush's Secret Summer in Alaska

"I'm from Fairbanks and worked on the pipeline during that period. The place was awash with oil money, prostitutes and drugs. Cocaine was relatively new to the scene but was easy to obtain and commonly used. Frankly, I can't think of another reason that Bush would never have mentioned this summer job [in '74, since he has refused to comment on his possible drug use up to '74]. (See AP, 8/19/99..."Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said the Republican presidential front-runner was saying that he has not used illegal drugs at any time since 1974, when the 53-year-old Bush was 28.") He has talked about delivering mail at a law firm and selling sporting goods but never mentioned that he worked on the Alaska Pipeline? It doesn't make sense." --e-mail from a Bush Watcher

In a half-hour show on CNN's Crossfire this evening, moderator Robert Novak waited until the very end of the show, which was devoted to filtering software on the internet, to say to magazine publisher Larry Flynt, "You said you wanted to talk about the election. Tell me what you wanted to say." Flynt answered, "For eight months we've been looking into George W. Bush's background. And we've found out in the early 1970s he was involved in an abortion in Texas, and I just think that it's sad that the mainstream media, who's aware of this story, won't ask him that question when they were able to ask him the drug question without any proof at all, and we've got all kinds of proof on this issue....You know, the guy admitted he was a drunk for 20 years, and if the abortion issue is true then that puts him lower on the morality scale than Bill Clinton." Novak replied at that point, "Mr. Flynt, you said if it's true and you have no proof of that. I gather you are a very strong..." Flynt, whose previous investigation of national-level politicians led to at least one resignation from Congress, loudly interrupted, "The hell we don't have proof!" The camera cut from Flynt in L.A. back to Bill Press and Robert Novak, sheepishly grinning in the studio. Novak said, "Larry Flynt, thank you very,very much for joining us." Press added, "You never know. Live television." Yes, you never know. --Politex, Friday Evening, 10/20/00

Transcribed in the CNN Chat room AFTER Flynt's appearance on the program---

CNN - Mr. Flynt, I would like to know how you plan to protect yourself from a law suit by claiming to have the goods on GWBush.

Flynt: Because we have them and the truth is an absolute defense.

CNN; When and where are you going to publish information about George W. Bush?

Flynt: When I said that we had the proof, I am referring to knowing who the girl was, knowing who the doctor was that pereformed the abortion, evidence from girlfriends of hers at the time, who knew about the romance and the subsequent abortion. The young lady does not want to go public, and without her willingness, we don't feel that we're on solid enough legal ground to go with the story, because should she say it never happened, then we've got a potential libel suit. But we know we have enough evidence that we believe completely. One of the things that interested us was that this abortion took place before Roe Vs. Wade in 1970 [sic. 1973], which made it a crime at the time. I'd just like the national media to ask him if abortion is okay for him and his family, but not for the rest of America. We're not looking at it as a big issue, we're looking at it as a situation of people not being told the truth. I think the American people have a right to know everything there is to know about someone running for President.

excerpt from TV reporter Del Walters' L.A. interview with Larry Flynt for ABC Ch.7 in Washington, D.C which aired on Thursday, 10/19/00, one day previous to the Crossfire interview (see above).

Walters: "Are you currently seeking information or do you have information on him (G.W. Bush)?"

Flynt: "Yes we do. … It depresses me to see this nation get so excited about somebody like him. We know a lot about Bush, some may be coming out before the election, but I don't know."

Walters: "But people are gong to say, 'How do we really know you have the goods on George W. Bush and how do we know you're not just posturing for publicity."

Flynt: "Okay, first of all, when we nailed (Congressman) Livingston, he did an interview in the New York Times the next day and referred to me as a bottom feeder and they called me for a comment and I said, 'That's right, but look what I found when I got down there."...

Walters: "A lot of people are going to ask, 'Should sex have anything to do with the presidential election?"

Flynt: "Absolutely, because there's nothing more political than sex. … Sex is the most political thing in the world."...

Anchor: IN RESPONSE TO LARRY FLYNT'S ALLEGATIONS OF INFORMATION ABOUT GEORGE W. BUSH, THE BUSH CAMPAIGN TOLD THE I-TEAM, "MR. FLYNT IS NOT A CREDIBLE SOURCE ON ANY ISSUE AND WE'RE NOT AWARE OF THESE ALLEGATIONS."

What this interview shows is that the Bush camp had 24 hours at the very least to construct an answer to Flynt's charges of Bush sexual misbehavior, and the best they could come up with (see next story) is to attack CNN for airing them. --Politex, 10/21/00

According to Drudge Report, Bush responded to Larry Flynt's charge that he was "involved in" an abortion in the 1970's by having a "senior Bush source" say, "CNN's standards have hit a new low, if that is even possible! It appears the liberal media is becoming desperate as Election Day nears." Neither Bush nor anyone on the campaign team, however, was reported as disagreeing with the Flynt charges.

Mr. Sullivan, your recent defense of Drudge in TNR pages is difficult to sustain when he keeps distorting the news on a daily basis. For example,

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI OCT 20, 2000 21:42:04 ET XXXXX CNN AIRS ALLEGATION: BUSH INVOLVED IN ABORTION

All-news channel CNN on Friday aired allegations that Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush was involved in an abortion in the 1970's. "We've found out in the early 1970s Bush was involved in an abortion in Texas," HUSTLER publisher Larry Flynt reported on CNN. Flynt did not offer specifics. CNN stunned the jounalistic community by airing the claims without evidence. The Bush campaign immediately blasted the network. "CNN's standards have hit a new low, if that is even possible!" slammed one senior Bush source from Austin. "It appears the liberal media is becoming desperate as Election Day nears."

Now you and I both know that Flynt provided specifics in the CNN Chat room right after the show, and was perfectly willing to do so on camera. Drudge is quite able to report Chat room talk when it benefits his premise. Further, since Flynt has been interviewed in the media, both in D.C. and L.A. for weeks about what was coming, how could the journalistic "community" be "stunned"? Were you "stunned"? I sure wasn't.

We also both know that the Bush team chooses to attack the messenger rather than the charge in all such cases, just as it did so here. I hesitate to remind you that Gail Sheehy's profile of Bush and dyslexia was treated in exactly the same way some weeks ago. I know I can't get much agreement from you on that score, because in the Sheehy case your mag, not Drudge, was the media outlet that bought into the Bush stonewall. You remember the smear of Sheehy in your pages, don't you? You know, the story that was supposedly an attack on the VF Bush profile, but distorted Sheehy's material in one paragraph and spent the rest of a rather long article attacking her on other grounds.

I guess the next step will be to read Drudge defending you against the charge of shoddy journalism.

sincerely, jerry politex, Bush Watch, 10/21/00

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