Originally published February 6 2009
Associated Press Kills Michael Phelps Bong Story, Questions Whether Marijuana Was Being Smoked at All
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) Following his admission that he was caught smoking a bong, Michael Phelps has now learned he's been dropped from Kellogg's as a sponsor. When his sponsorship contract runs out at the end of the month, it won't be renewed by Kellogg's, according to a source that spoke to CNBC earlier today (http://www.cnbc.com/id/29041954).
But the Associated Press killed their story on the matter, and for approximately two minutes, the following message appeared on Google News, which hosts AP content:
Kill BC-Phelps-Kellogg. Phelps has not acknowledged smoking marijuana or inhaling from a marijuana pipe.
You can view the screen capture of this AP kill message here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/gallery/articles/...
Hold the presses for a minute: Is it the really position of the Associated Press that Michael Phelps was smoking a bong, but there wasn't any marijuana in it?
Who's high now?
Journalists as apologists
Has the U.S. press become such a band of pussyfoots that they don't dare say that Phelps was smoking marijuana in that bong? I guess I was right when I said in my previous comment that we might hear people saying it wasn't a bong at all, but rather a "new age musical instrument" that Phelps was simply tuning.
Can you imagine the outcry if Obama were caught smoking a bong? Or Bush? Or Jay Leno? So why does Phelps get a free pass on bong smoking?
I'll tell ya why: Olympian worship complex.
This Olympian worship complex causes people to apologize for the behavior of anyone wearing gold medals, and it has also drained the courage out of Reuters, which printed the following text today, daring not to state Phelps was smoking marijuana: "...Olympic champion Michael Phelps, who was photographed inhaling from a pipe used for smoking marijuana... the glass pipe... was generally used to smoke the drug..." (http://uk.reuters.com/article/olympicsNews/i...)
Note carefully, however, that nowhere did Reuters actually say Phelps was smoking marijuana. Of course, some observers will point out that Phelps never actually admitted to smoking marijuana either, but c'mon people, get real here! Do you really think Phelps was burning up a pack of Camels in that bong? Or maybe he was just inhaling candlestick smoke, huh?
This backing off of the Phelps story demonstrates how the mainstream media has become a cabal of spineless apologists who allow technicalities to interfere with basic common sense. Of course Phelps was smoking marijuana! It would be weirder if he wasn't! If Phelps was smoking marijuana, then he's pretty much like a lot of other twenty-year-olds partying away their health in college. But if he's smoking up crumpled paper or cigarettes in there, that would make quite strange...
In any case, I've actually taken a non-conformist view on Phelps' bong use, questioning why everyone seems to get so upset at Phelps snorting up a little weed when it's far more worrisome that he's taking money to promote junk food and fast food to kids. (http://www.naturalnews.com/025489.html) I don't care that Phelps is smoking marijuana in a private party. In doing that, he's not hurting anyone other than himself. But when he allows his celebrity status to be used to promote junk foods to children, he's potentially harming millions of people, and that's highly irresponsible.
Once again, the mainstream media has lost its mind by seeing no problem at all with Phelps' promotion of junk foods to children while, at the same time, jumping all over him for smoking from a bong yet carefully tip-toeing around the issue of whether or not there was actually marijuana in it. If they claim there was no marijuana in the bong, then what is the media all upset about in the first place?
I so dearly wish George Carlin were still alive today. He'd have a slammin' good standup routine to put all this in perspective for the feeble minded.
Tell you what: Go buy a bong, crumble up some cigarettes, light 'em up and stand on any street corner smoking that bong. I'm willing to bet you'll be arrested within minutes. And what will you be arrested for? "Smoking marijuana," of course!
I think someone should introduce a line of marijuana-free bongs called Phelps Bongs that only work with tobacco leaves, not marijuana leaves. They can come with tiny gold medals around their glass stems, just to remind users that they're all winners!
The bottom line in all this, of course, is that if you're famous enough, the mainstream media will apologize FOR YOU. Party on!
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