In response to Mr. Geer, first of all, he does a cute debating trick of confusing terms. The original question was "who is a writer?" which he changed to "who is a journalist?. There is a big difference. Anyone can write, but not everyone can be a journalist. There are rules and ethics associated with being a journalist, such as verifying facts, using direct quotes only when directly attributible from the source, and requiring at least two sources when verifying information provided from an unknown or questionable oringinal source. These rules and ethics have certainly been diminshed in recent years through the works of self-styled "journalists", like Matt Drudge. However, true journalism, passed down to us from our precedessors, such as H.L. Mencken, is a very honorable and necessary profession. Right now, the world needs more true journalists and less journlistic poseurs who have tried to confuse tabloid-level sensationalism to be real journalism. So, Mr. Geer, your press pass is definitely denied. **********