TOTAL INFORMATION ANALYSIS

Monday, June 06, 2005

"Jeff Gannon" appeared on the show Lie Detector last Tuesday. The producers of the show took at face value Gannon's claims that he grew up as James Guckert, which were parroted during the introductory montage (not seen in the video clip linked here).

Gannon was not asked if he was born Johnny Gosch, and was not asked if he was servicing anyone in the White House in the manner described in reviews posted on his "male escort" sites.

The only question asked Gannon was if anyone in the White House wrote his questions for him. He said no, and was told he passed the test. That was it. Of course, someone trained as an intelligence operative since age 12 could beat one of these things in his sleep. And that's assuming the polygraph in question was administereed competently and honestly, which is an open question concerning this program.

First, check out some background on "Dr. Ed Gelb," the alleged "expert" who runs the polygraph on this show. From
AntiPolygraph.org 16 June 2003:

Why would one of the most prominent polygraph operators in America falsely pass himself off as a Ph.D.? Edward I. Gelb of Los Angeles isn't saying.

Since 1969, after completing training at the Backster School of Lie Detection in San Diego, Gelb claims to have conducted in excess of 30,000 polygraph examinations. Along with attorney F. Lee Bailey, Gelb appeared on a nationally syndicated television program called "Lie Detector." .... Gelb is a past president, executive director, and chairman of the board of the American Polygraph Association and in 1998 earned the association's Leonarde Keeler Award "for long and distinguished service to the polygraph profession."

Gelb has publicly claimed to hold a Ph.D. degree in psychology since at least 1996. In 1997, he represented himself as a Ph.D. to the highest court in the land -- the United States Supreme Court -- as a co-signer of the Committee of Concerned Social Scientists' amicus brief in U.S. v. Scheffer, where he is listed as "Ed Gelb, Ph.D."

But compelling evidence pieced together by discussants on the AntiPolygraph.org message board indicates that Gelb never earned a doctoral degree from any accredited university. The comprehensive Dissertation Abstracts database (the definitive worldwide collection of doctoral dissertations including over 1.6 million records dating back to 1861) includes no doctoral dissertation by an Edward Gelb.[...]


"LaSalle University" that awarded Gelb his "doctorate" turns out to be a defunct, unaccredited diploma mill in Mandeville, Louisiana that was owned and operated by one Thomas James Kirk, A.K.A. Thomas McPherson. In 1996, LaSalle was raided by the FBI, and in 1997 Kirk pled guilty to federal fraud charges. (For more on the bogus LaSalle University, see "The swim 'doctor': Credentials of nutrition adviser to U.S. women's team questioned," by Danny Robbins and Margaret Jamison, Houston Chronicle, 7 September 2000 and "Chiropractors with False credentials and diplomas" on ChiroWatch.com.)


And the "Lie Detector" program has featured blatantly bogus information before. Check out this piece from San Francisco Weekly May 25, 2005:

Going by the name Hank, I express how much, I, who-is-on-parole, would love to be on their TV show (whatever the hell that might be). Immediately the TV producer e-mails back, thrilled to hear from I, who-is-on-parole. She leaves a phone number. I, who-is-on-parole, phone her. I weave an elaborate tale involving weapons and drug charges. This pleases her. I elaborate. I have something to prove to my probation officer. He said I flunked a recent drug test, which landed me back in jail for 20 days. The producer's even more pleased....

I'm booked on Lie Detector (Tuesdays, 8 p.m.), a program on family-friendly PAX TV that has a motto: "The lie detector holds the power to reveal the truth and expose deception wherever it might be found."...

All my knowledge of the parole system comes from watching two prison documentaries on the A&E channel.
[...]

I surf my way over to SmokingGun.com and, after an extensive archives search, download David Crosby's drug and weapons arrest report, along with the paperwork for Courtney Love's assault-with-a-flashlight charge. Using Photoshop software, I combine the two, heavily utilizing the smudge tool. For consistency, I do a few rounds of enlarging and reducing the document at Kinkos. Randomly, I black out words, stating that on legal advice from my lawyer, I can't go into great detail about my weapons and drug charges. (The case is still pending.)

[...]

Then comes a photomontage, accompanied by generic speed metal music, that uses photos I sent in from what I perceive to be I, who-is-on-parole's life. These include random jpegs I found on the Web, among them a little kid playing the flute, some guy's back with the word "Santana" tattooed across it, and a street gang. (The gang members are of an ethnic group that does not include me.)

[...]

"Did you do marijuana while on probation last January?"

[Extreme close-up] "NO!"

This is true; I wasn't on probation last January.

"This test is now over. Remain still for 10 seconds please."

Then comes the cunning teaser: "When we return: Is Hank really on the straight and narrow, or is Hank really just blowing smoke?"...

After a big buildup, Rolonda slowly opens an envelope, as if this were the Academy Awards...

"Hank, the lie detector has determined ... that you ... are ... [She shakes her head] Hank, you're telling the truth!"

The music turns triumphant.

[...]

| Posted at 23:04 | PERMA-LINK |

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