Chime in if you remember how the "press" in this country pushed for war

[senseandsensibility]

And if you do, how did it affect you?

I remember it in real time. It was frightening and disgusting after the disbelief wore off. It changed me forever. I will never watch CNN or network news again. I don't believe them. I am much more cynical than I used to be. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it was the end of my innocence.

But seriously, if you lived through it, it WAS dramatic. It is almost impossible to exaggerate the horror of it.

War pushers were allowed to hold forth endlessly with no challenge whatsover. War protests with millions of people were ignored. People who tried to speak out lost their jobs.

And now that we have been proven right, not a peep. Of course. It's not like the "press" is going to critique itself in any meaningful way. So it's up to us who were there. We should never let it be forgotten.

[Lars39]

1. Felt like I was being gaslighted.

Yes, very frightening....especially talking with those that saw nothing whatsoever wrong with it, even after being told the facts.

[elehhhhna]

3. we were being gaslighted

it was kafkaesqe scary

[HowHasItComeToThis]

76. ANYTHING TO SELL PAPERS OR GET VIEWERS

[joeunderdog]

129. No. The papers sold the war. The KEY moment for GWB's invasion

was when he pushed past Bipartisan opposition (80+%) to change FCC rules on Media Consolidation as his first fight in office. Not at all by accident. This was part of the plan of selling the war they planned on from the pages of PNAC.

This War plan was built long before Bush hit office. It had nothing to do with WMD's. Nothing. And Media consolidation was such an important and successful part of the operation that it has been the backbone of the RW agenda ever since. They now own the media which they use to strangle the truth and create the message. The question is, why is Obama allowing it to continue unopposed in the FCC.

ps--It's no coincidence that the FCC thing also happened to be the last gasp of bipartisan support on just about anything.

[senseandsensibility]

6. You're right. The anger I felt at the media was horrible.

But I was also extremely disillusioned by average people (not even rightwingers) who just went along with it all.

[bhikkhu]

38. I canceled my cable, and haven't watched network news again to this day

Bastards.

And its still hard to get over the bulk of people who went along with it. Hopefully, lesson well learned and we don't have to do that crap again in my lifetime!

[CrispyQ]

96. I think everyone I know came to think of me as a left wing loon,

because I was so against both wars. I lost three friends & had a serious rift with some family members. You are right - it wasn't just right wingers.

[lark]

118. So true

I never will forget the day little shrubbie gave his speech at the site of the WTC. My mother called me right afterwards and said "bet you are glad Bush is president now, aren't you?" I was totally flabbergasted, she really meant it! In her Faux colored world, everyone was now so glad he was president and the whole nation united behind him. She absolutely could not believe it when I told her my dislike had only grown. He did nothing to prevent 9/11, even though he had warning. His own cabinet refused to fly on regular airplanes because of the threat, so they believed it that much, but not enough to do anything else other than protect themselves. As usual with that crew, they get theirs and f*** the rest!

Yes, it was a totally nightmarish time. I screamed, ranted and raved at the Dems complicit rollover to the jerk. I marched, wrote letters and felt like most of the world just had it's head buried deep in the mire and would not pay any attention to truth.

There's really nothing in Hubris that is news, it was all out there back then, just ignored in the massive tsunami of drumming up a war.

[MotherPetrie]

2. It was surreal

[Voice for Peace]

32. that was my sense as well.. as if a fog had descended over the land

[senseandsensibility]

48. Surreal is the perfect word.

Until that point, I never believed that something like that could happen in our country. It almost had a dreamlike quality, and I kept expecting to wake up. But I never did, and I won't be that naive again.

[reformist2]

126. It was the military-media complex in full control, and it was scary.

[DCBob]

4. Absolutely..

I think it was simply a bottom line thing.. warmonger news got more viewers, thus more ads, thus more dollars.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. I lost any trust in the system

Last edited Tue Feb 19, 2013, 09:21 PM - Edit history (1)

Period...that easy. I vote, but it is going on to get along. Don't expect pols to do the right thing.

Oh and now that I work in media, I am even more cynical. Don't get me started.

[wiggs]

9. EXACTLY why even dem leaders don't do the right thing when

given the chance.

There are many in media and politics who aren't willing to upset the apple cart, rotten though the apples may be. We're supposed to be the leader of the free world...the greatest country on earth, ever....an example for the developing world...etc.. There must be tremendous reluctance behind the closed doors of DC, of boardrooms, and media outlets to point out the HUGE mistakes and fundamental flaws of our country. The investment in a brand and trillions at stake must make it so. They must think our country's image is so bound to rightiousness, destiny, god's will, the world's best interests, the bright goodness of democracy, etc that pointing out flaws tarnishes not just the image but the basic structure and strength of the country.

Losing trust...losing belief....this is what happens when myths tumble and hard truths are learned. We went to war...WAR...where hundreds of thousands died--based on lies. How can a healthy democracy do that? Our election system is geared as much toward manipulation as it is fairness and transparency. How would it be if the whole world realized this? Most of our wealthy representatives are outright purchased by those with power and money. Our Justices are politicized. How does rlsing wealth inequality square with the American Dream?

Too many people have too much of a stake in an Image....an illusion....must have been cheaper to create the illusion and keep it going than address the basic problems. That's where we are the last 30 years....creating a false 'reality' to replace truth and analysis.

[The Wizard]

29. Agreed (NT)

[2naSalit]

61. It wasn't that "they hate us for our freedom"

per se... it was and still is that they hate us for this kind of shit. This was just the largest of our endeavors that took place on our national stage. We've been manipulating the governments of many a smaller nation for a looong time.

I knew this would happen the day the SCOTUS decided that W was gonna be our emperor. Remember what he said within two months of taking over in DC, &quot heh) This would be so much easier if they just went and made me emperor." Never forget that. It was all preplanned, stealing the elections, the war, the PATRIOT Act... all of it before the election cycle even started for 2000.

Illusion indeed. It was also voter complacency that helped most of all. When Clinton was elected, only 52% of eligible voters actually did vote. It wasn't much better in 2000. I was nearing the end of my MPA program in college when W was "decided" on and I knew we would be at war in at least one country in the middle East by the end of the first year, I just didn't know how they would go about making it happen. Exactly one month after I graduated, 9/11 happened and I knew that we were in for recessions, depressions and long-term, ongoing wars. I made that prediction to the whole PoliSci Dept. and they all looked at me warily and suspiciously but every prof that was there when I said it came back and agreed that I was right on by the end of 2003.

Obama wasn't supposed to win, according to the neocons, and so they are willing to destroy our world to punish us for his two term presidency. We've got a long, hard row to hoe for the foreseeable future. I don't see anything that might indicate political change for the better during the rest of my lifetime, just hope I don't have many decades left.

[dreamnightwind]

83. Absolutely right on!

"It wasn't that "they hate us for our freedom per se... it was and still is that they hate us for this kind of shit. This was just the largest of our endeavors that took place on our national stage. We've been manipulating the governments of many a smaller nation for a looong time."

That really says it for me. And our country has never done the honest self-reflection necessary to come to terms with this. It's framed as weakness, or terrorist sympathy, if you even try. So we continue on down this militaristic road, killing the bad guys (mostly just pissed off brown people who resent our actions), creating more and more of them along the way, and never considering how our own interventions got us into this mess.

The other point I would make is of course that we're not very free at all in this country. Plenty of countries have more freedom than we do, and no first-world nations have a higher percentage of their people in prison. Not much freedom in that.

[CrispyQ]

98. This: "our country has never done the honest self-reflection"

OBL said people should read William Blum, & here's a good place to start for the average American who hasn't a clue why so many hate us.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/US_Interventions_WBlumZ.html

And here's a good story about Blum when OBL mentioned his book.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/20/AR2006012001971.html

[dreamnightwind]

104. Nice links. I have read a little Blum in the past,

but hadn't seen the WaPo article. For anyone not wanting to read it, here's a taste:

"In a chapter called "Why Do Terrorists Keep Picking on the United States?" Blum lists as possible reasons everything from support of Middle East dictators, including the Shah of Iran and Saudi rulers, to occupying military bases in the region, to favoring the Israelis over the Palestinians. "

...

"When it is pointed out that terrorists target innocent civilians, which is not U.S. policy, he replies that U.S. tactics in Iraq have led to the deaths of thousands of civilians. "We bomb homes and these people have families, and the U.S. refuses to apologize for these civilian deaths," Blum said. "The absence of concern makes their actions almost equal to a deliberate targeting of civilians." "

I had expected more of this kind of thinking and analysis after 9/11. Unfortunately, we just went on a self-righteous rampage to kill all the bad guys. Looks like we'll be doing that for awhile, since we refuse to question our own policies and actions.

[appal_jack]

7. NPR played its part.

NPR played its part in the build-up to war. Juan Williams & a whole coterie of chickenhawks and right-wingers had nearly unlimited time, while what few anti-war perspectives and speakers allowed on-air got the shortest possible times and the most dismissive of questions.

While I still donate to the local (folk/jazz/bluegrass/acoustic/jam/alternative) music-centered NPR station (WNCW of Spindale, NC - worth your support too!), the Iraq War pretty much marked the end of my donations to NPR 'news' stations.

-app

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. I no longer give to NPR, period

[senseandsensibility]

17. I remember this well. I used to listen to NPR during my lunch break and that

show, what was it called? I'm blanking out. I think the host was named Neil Conan or something like that. Anyway...I listened to it for months in disbelief. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The war cheerleading was worse than Fox. I stopped donating too. At least with Fox, you know what you are getting. NPR really abused their reputation and has a lot to answer for.

[Magleetis]

106. I will never support NPR again

I was a fan of NPR, I thought they were different. Now I know better.

[KansDem]

121. I gave up on NPR during the election of 2000

...when Cokie Roberts "reported" on the Bush "charm offensive." She told about how, if elected, Bush would go to DC and get things done with his "charm."

Oh, and he also like to give out nicknames and more Americans wanted to have a beer with him than Al Gore...

[appal_jack]

135. True, they favored the (s)election of B*sh rather unabashedly. n/t

[Blanks]

8. What I specifically remember...

Is that with just a tiny amount of research you could find that every news organization had a weapons manufacturing arm.

There's no way that should have been allowed to happen.

[yardwork]

23. Very good point. All the "news" companies have weapons manufacturing divisions.

We don't have an independent news media in this country. Unfortunately a lot of people are still in denial about that.

[xtraxritical]

103. I worked for a defense contractor at the time, it was awful.

Most RepubliCONs are chicken hawk shills for the MIC, most Democrats in Congress have actually served. Please vote lying RepubliCONs out.

[TwilightGardener]

10. My husband was in the military, so I knew it would affect us--but I wasn't certain that

it was wrong. We both just had an uneasy feeling that it was not a good idea, and wondered, what about Afghanistan? How are we going to fight two wars?

[MichiganVote]

12. They took journalism and stuffed it into a Die Hard puff piece

Every tank shot
Every gun shot
Every "imbeded" shot

totally intended to entertain the american public, might makes right

They made soldiers into happy go lucky GI Joes/Janes. It was both tragic and hilariously funny. It totally fit the bill for the most stupid people in this country.

[ljm2002]

13. I will never forget it...

...they were acting like f***ing cheerleaders for the invasion.

It was early in my tenure at a new job where nearly everyone was conservative. I think I was one of two, out of 35 or so people, who were liberals.

I tried to tell one of my coworkers, Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. Didn't matter to him. I told him that the "shock and awe" bombing would kill civilians in Baghdad. His response was, Saddam Hussein should not use civilians as a human shield. When I pointed out to him that this was f***ing Baghdad, a huge city, and a lot of people simply live there, he said then they need to leave. I told him I'd been around during the Vietnam debacle, and that once you loose the dogs of war, you have NO idea what forces you will unleash. He just shrugged.

Well here we are, a disastrous war that lasted 10 long years, and cost us trillions. I wonder if he's watching Hubris now. I wonder if he thinks he was had. I doubt it.

It's a crime how our media manipulates people into seeing issues in a certain way. Certainly there were many of us who knew better, who demonstrated in the streets to make our views known. For all the good it did.

[Cha]

77. To me that were acting like f****** Pimps for the Invasion.. like

there was money to made if they could sell it.

Cheney said they would welcome us as liberators and throw flowers.. there were some writers who thought it would be a "cakewalk"

[forestpath]

14. That's why I call the Washington Post the Bushington Post.

[OutNow]

15. Yes I remember the war fever

I lived in Texas at the time and the war talk was 24/7. The national media, the local radio stations, not just the RW talkers but local morning drive and evening sports talk was war war war. I remember when Andy Rooney (60 Minutes) did a short rant at the end of the show - basically common sense watch out this drive to war is dangerous - and the national press was all for getting him fired or worse.

There were glimmers of hope. Our Austin area antiwar movement was holding larger and larger rallies. Our great Congressman Lloyd Doggett came out against the war and spoke at our rally the week before the war started. Joan Baez held a scheduled concert in Austin. She got right into the spirit of the movement for peace, to standing ovations. Finally someone (could anyone NOT know that Joan Baez is and always has been a peace-nik?) started to heckle her. She stopped and asked the loudmouth if he was a Republican. When he replied in the affirmative, Joan told him that for once he was in the minority and was welcome to leave. The place went crazy.

It was a very rough time to be a liberal in Texas.

[kairos12]

16. I remember Tweety gushing over Shrub's strut on the Mission Accomplished carrier.

Never forgave him for that.

[senseandsensibility]

19. Along with Howard Fineman.

They can not be considered as serious journalists after that display.

[samplegirl]

92. I have never forgot how much

Tweety told the American people "We need someone strong on Terror" cheerleading his ass off for Bush's second term.

[Octafish]

18. Even the local sports station was 24/7 pro war.

One former Detroit Lions quarterback talked about the chicken-livered peace protesters on-air during his show with a former Detroit Tigers great and the local sports schlub. They made me sick. From 2003:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x450232

[yardwork]

20. Oh yes. And, like you, I stopped watching TV.

I remember a day in March 2003 when I had picked up my kids from school. It had become obvious that Bush was really going to invade Iraq. I started to try to explain this to my kids. I said that when I was their age we had been involved in a war and when it ended I had hoped that that would never happen to our country again. And then I suddenly burst into tears and had to pull over.

[Arugula Latte]

21. I remember at an anti-Bush, anti-war protest I got interviewed by a local TV station

and the fucker "reporter" intentionally edited my words and distorted them to make it seem like I was in FAVOR of both. I was shaking with rage when I saw that. You won't be surprised to hear that it was a Fox affiliate.

[classof56]

22. I was heartsick. I stood on a street corner over and over in protest.

I recall Bill O'Reilly dismissively saying, "It'll be over in two weeks". I told everyone I could what a horrible thing was about to happen. My words fell on deaf ears. Bush was a hero, I was told. God told him to go to war. Once "liberated", the Iraq oil fields would pick up the tab for the war. Lies abounded.

I was heartsick. I still am.

[Jackpine Radical]

24. Fucken right I remember. I was out in the antiwar protests

& very aware that we were getting NO media coverage.

I had also been in the Vietnam War protests in Madison in the late 60's & early 70's. Back in those days we'd go down to the bar after a hard day of hellraising and breathing pepper gas & watch ourselves on TV. The contrast between, say, 1969 and 2003 was very dramatic.

In the Old Days, the voice-overs were all about what savages we were, but the video showed how many of us there were.

The Cabal learned from that experience, so they made damn sure there was no coverage. Just like they learned from Vietnam not to how the carnage of war.

[senseandsensibility]

25. Thanks for that perspective.

I remember the coverage of Vietnam as a child. It wasn't positive by any means, but it was frequent. The size of the crowds was shown endlessly. Good point about not showing the carnage as well.

[Jackpine Radical]

31. It was the graphic images of the war that turned the public off

as much as anything.

I remember that when I was in the hospital post-surgery ward a network camera crew came through filming us wounded for the nightly news.

[senseandsensibility]

35. Thanks for your service.

I honor all veterans regardless of whether I approve of the war, and most DUers do, too. You have really earned the right to speak out.

[Jackpine Radical]

37. I was shot over there and clubbed over here.

I consider the latter to be the more honorable service.

[KoKo]

116. So true.... !

[The Wizard]

26. Subserviant cheer leaders

for the cartel.

[Hawaiianlight]

27. Collective insanity reigned

Americans were divided into two camps and forced to make an inescapable choice. You either supported this obviously immoral and unnecessary use of force or you sided with the "enemy". I kept thinking of Goebbels testifying to the ease of selling war to the public. The important lessons of Vietnam seemed to be forgotten by most. Until the war conspirers, corrupt banking firms, and those involved in unethical political chicanery are exposed and proper justice is delivered, it safe to say we will get fooled again.

[xtraxritical]

105. We should have listened to Hans Blix and let him finish his job.

[sarchasm]

28. Germany 1935

I realized how decent German's may have felt like strangers in their own country.

[JI7]

30. you just have to go back to last election, or even current Benghazi BS being pushed by Wingnuts

to see what a shitty fucking job they do on reporting things.

there aren't always 2 or more sides to everything that should be given equal consideration. facts matter and you should call out the lies, misinformation etc.

[JNelson6563]

33. Navy Seals rawk!1!

I thought that moment provided by Katie Couric summed it up pretty well. It was sickening, sycophantic and a crime against humanity.

Julie

[Ian David]

34. The only one pushing back was Phil Donahue, and they fired him. n/t

[senseandsensibility]

43. Anyone remember how horrible tweety was to Phil Donahue

right before they fired him? There's a reason why many of us still can't trust him. That and his gushing over ** in his flightsuit.

[Ian David]

45. This was the moment that changed Chris Matthews for the better...

I think that until that moment, Tweety had no idea what a douchebag he was.

[senseandsensibility]

46. You may be right.

I always got the idea that prior to that he only read mainstream newspapers, and had no idea the leftwing was angry at him. Still, he was a creep.

[BuelahWitch]

36. I totally remember it

They've all got blood on their hands.

[SaveAmerica]

39. Remember it, reacted the same way. It was the beginning of the new me

[VPStoltz]

40. And the ultimate irony is...

that this was the ONE time the TeaBaggers believed the so called "liberal press."
Amazing how we can even still exist as a country.

[KauaiK]

41. At the time of the run-up to the Iraq invasion....

my cousin and I discussed this ad nausea. I have never read the Wall St Journal b/c it was owned by Dow Jones; DJ would never print or report anything that would be detrimental to its financial well being. At the run-up to the Iraq Disaster there a wealth of information available all of it counter to the Bush Administrations talking points and ALL of it ignored by the mainstream media.

The most egregious is the printed photograph showing the statue of Saddam Hussein being torn down. The photograph had been cropped. It was torn down by US tanks - not the Iraqi's.

It still makes my blood boil to think about this and the fact that Guantanamo is still open and in business.

[Hulk Smash]

42. anyone remember that asshole bob schiefer cheerleading the war?

And don't forget Hillary Clinton's betrayal!!

[countryjake]

128. I remember a Sunday morning when Schieffer rendered Rumsfeld speechless.

Bob Schieffer played a clip from Al Jazeera news, when he was interviewing Donald Rumsfeld on CBS's Face the Nation in March of 2003.

The video that Schieffer ran showed American soldiers being killed, Rumsfeld was embarrassed and mortified, and shortly afterward, the Pentagon announced that the US media may be in violation of the principles of the Geneva Conventions and tried to prevent any further airing of such "disturbing images".

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. They MIGHT admit a right wing asshole was wrong,...

....but they will NEVER admit a "dirty fucking hippie" was right.

[meow2u3]

47. I remember my mom and me screaming at the TV

We both knew the Bushies were lying through their teeth. She wanted to fly throught the set and choke Dick Cheney, but sadly, she died of a massive heart attack in February, 2003.

[Chico Man]

49. Shock and Awe

I remember it clearly.

[Chorophyll]

50. I remember very well indeed.

I live in New York. After a year of fear and trauma, and going through all the "why do they hate us" hand-wringing stuff, the idea that we were about to attack a Muslim country that had nothing to do with 9/11 was shocking to me. I could not believe how little challenge there was from the press. They were cheerleaders; they couldn't wait to be "embedded."

[Rosa Luxemburg]

52. but most were for the war - duped

America was like Chile in the old days. If you complained you would go missing.

[Historic NY]

53. Nothing like a good little war....

they were all clambering to be imbedded with the troops. Its was going to be fun..... The great adventure networks were stumbling over each other to report the minutiae, they were fed by the military.

[Whisp]

54. Aaron Brown on CNN

Last edited Tue Feb 19, 2013, 11:37 PM - Edit history (1)

This was before Cooper took his job.

Aaron read an email or letter from a viewer who claimed that war was about money and that was the reason it was happening. Well, Aaron, the babe in the woods, was so angry at this person he said that such a thought was stupid, how could Anyone Want War?

I couldn't believe my ears! Was he really such an idiot or was he just trying to make people feel foolish who were against the war?

I was spittling at my tv almost every night during those years. I just couldn't believe this was happening and that most everyone on the news just didn't seem to care something terrible was happening, something awful and regretful and sinful.

I curdle whenever I hear/see Rather and Brokaw and Blitzer and all those others who LIED TO US. Useless specks of shit. Man, if I won a billion dollar lottery I would take up full page ads in major newspapers around the U.S. naming these famous sorry shits and how they were part of promoting a mass murder.

[senseandsensibility]

73. I think you mean Aaron Brown.

Something about the name didn't sound right so I googled it. Couldn't remember what his real name was either. I can believe the situation you describe, though. Things like that happened all the time, and it was infuriating.

[Whisp]

74. Brown, yes. ty, I edited. n/t

[Whisp]

110. thanks, I checked that out. Great read!

wow, Aaron is even more suckass and dumber than I remember him.

Rendell chopped him up in deserved pieces.

[senseandsensibility]

124. Wow. The comments about General Wesley Clark were strange.

I didn't realize that he was a war proponent back then. Great article. Aaron Brown does not make his case, and has no case to make.

[hay rick]

55. The result of the media push.

Article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_popular_opinion_of_invasion_of_Iraq

From the article:

(In January 2003) Approximately two-thirds of respondents wanted the government to wait for the UN inspections to end, and only 31% supported using military force immediately...

Polls also suggested that most Americans would still like to see more evidence against Iraq, and for UN weapons inspections to continue before making an invasion. For example, an ABC news poll reported than only 10% of Americans favored giving the inspectors less than a few weeks; 41% favored giving them a few weeks, 33% a few months, and 13% more than that.

A consistent pattern in the months leading up to the U.S.-led invasion was that higher percentages of the population supported the impending war in polls that offered only two options (for or against) than in polls that broke down support into three or more options given (distinguishing unconditional support for the war, opposition to the war even if weapons inspectors do their job, and support if and only if inspection crews are allowed time to investigate first).

Some polls also showed that the majority of Americans believed that President Bush had made his case against Iraq. The Gallup poll, for example, found that 67% of those who watched the speech felt that the case had been made, which was a jump from 47% just prior the speech. However, many more Republicans than Democrats watched the speech, so this may not be an accurate reflection of the overall opinion of the American public. An ABC news poll found little difference in the percentage of Americans who felt that Bush has made his case for war after he had made his speech, with the percentage remaining at about 40%.
...

Days before the March 20 invasion, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll found support for the war was related to UN approval. Nearly six in 10 said they were ready for such an invasion "in the next week or two." But that support dropped off if the U.N. backing was not first obtained. If the U.N. Security Council were to reject a resolution paving the way for military action, 54% of Americans favored a U.S. invasion.
...

(By May 2003) A Gallup poll made on behalf of CNN and USA Today concluded that 79% of Americans thought the Iraq War was justified, with or without conclusive evidence of illegal weapons. 19% thought weapons were needed to justify the war.

Recap: In January, prior to Bush's SOTU, Powell's UN speech, and a lot of media cheer leading- only 31% of Americans thought further weapons inspections were not needed and an immediate invasion was justified. Five months later, 79% of Americans believed that the invasion by the "coalition of the willing" was justified "with or without conclusive evidence of illegal weapons."

The media did their job. I particularly remember Richard Butler providing his "expertise" on Saddam's WMD on CNN...

[valerief]

56. They pushed the war and censored the protesters. The Anthrax Days! nt

[harun]

57. They've never stopped pushing for war.

[AndyTiedye]

58. I Gave Up Watching Tee Vee Altogether

[TheKentuckian]

59. Ding

Are there more than a handful pretending they don't that weren't little kids paying little mind?

I wish to put them on blast and maybe harangue them some.

[Botany]

60. Chris Matthews on W's "top gun moment

Women want to be with him and men want to be like him.

[senseandsensibility]

62. ew

Anyone that wasn't repulsed by that display has something wrong with them. It was so wrong on so many levels. And he became GIDDY while watching it? Sorry, Chris, you'll never live that down.

[hay rick]

66. Mission accomplished.

I had long since concluded that this little weasel would never elicit an emotional response from me other than contempt. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the dumb schmuck also had the power to embarrass me...

[2naSalit]

67. The sad truth is

the mission was accomplished by then. The MIC had their open-ended war started, the economy was set up to fail one way or another and only a select few would be rewarded for their part in the hoax and we, the "little people" (as Speaker Hastert called us) were hog-tied and totally unable to stop it because all our politicians were already bought and sold to the corporate elite.

I'll never forget it, I still haven't forgotten Viet Nam...

[Whisp]

71. that makes me want to vomit, twice.

once for that grotesque picture and once for the grotesque Matthews. o jeeze.

[CrispyQ]

99. You can't spell coward without a W.

Despicable shit.

[KoKo]

115. Yes...and remember "Tweety Twist in the Wind?" and the Web Site

that went up to try to expose his idiocy to get him off MSNBC?

Anyone remember that? I stopped watching him three years ago...and don't miss it.

[Pterodactyl]

63. Which war are you talking about? The war in Afghanistan?

[killbotfactory]

64. I will never forget, and will never forgive. nt

[nineteen50]

65. It was wrong and unethical

then and now the same ones are wrong all the time. My question is why do they still have their jobs?

[underpants]

68. Ann Curry (after the start) on the USS Lincoln leading a "USA!USA!" cheer

actually cheering. I remember saying out loud -W..T...F

[Danmel]

69. I remember this article

From CNN in the Bush build-up to the invasion.
Chilling-claimed that they would have to cremate troops because they would be too toxic from chemical warfare to bring home.
Fucking liars.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/06/sprj.irq.cremating.soldiers/index.html

[damnedifIknow]

70. The media hyped it well.

So well they had most driving around with flags sticking out of their car windows completely oblivious. I remember thinking how can people be so gullible?

[Hekate]

72. I will never forget. Ever.

The networks had special theme music, special graphics, special tag lines. It was overwhelming.

And I knew it was all a lie. My heart just broke for my country (oh pardon me, the Homeland :puke . If it had not been for my local chapter of the Vets for Peace and how they led the peace marches, I think I would have lost my mind.

[Cha]

75. Judy Miller of the New York Times.. The cable channels: March to War..

very f****** Dramatic, Poor David Bloom of NBC was so excited about it.. but, I turned off all corporatecrap in Nov 2002. You still get reports via the net, though.

February 15, 2003 when THE WORLD SAID NO TO WAR I was among almost a Million in NYC Protesting Against bush's WAR ON IRAQ.. and the NYT covered up the number of Protesters there. I was so excited to read the NYT about how we all turned out and was crushed when they were obviously dampening the turnout.

US CorporateMedia were Pimps for the bush-cheney WAR ON IRAQ.

They can't be too happy with Rachel right now.. more so than usual. Surprised msnbc let her do it.

[shcrane71]

78. The NYT and every other newspaper buried anti-war protest articles.

But then again, coverage of anti-war protests wasn't going to help spread the message that Americans wanted war.

[BainsBane]

79. the NYTimes

and Judith Miller. She's got blood on her hands.

[catbyte]

80. I remember even our local news barely covered the largest anti-war march since

Vietnam. Shameful all around.

[rosesaylavee]

81. William Rivers Pitt's piece titled: "I See Four Lights" stands out for me from that time...

It was the first thing I ever read of his and made me weep with relief that I was not alone and that the relatively small group of people I knew were not the only ones in the world thinking it had all gone crazy...

Still a good piece... took me a few minutes to track it down for some reason but here it is from Wednesday, 16 October, 2002:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0210/S00130.htm

The news media, however, tells us there are five lights. The business reporters on CNBC and CNN still speak of "recovery from recession," despite the fact that the Dow Jones has lost some 3,000 points in the last two years, despite the fact that the federal government has dived into deficit spending, despite the fact that there are millions and millions of newly unemployed workers from sea to shining sea. According to the reporters, everything is sunshine and roses. The people on the street, the ones with no jobs and worthless stock options, know better. This reality is not reported. Stories describing the very real links between the Bush administration and the worst of the corporate robber barons have, simply, ceased to exist.

One of the main reasons the dismal truths of business and economy in present-day America go unreported is the fact that we have us a war coming on. CNN, MSNBC and Fox have crafted various permutations of a 'SHOWDOWN WITH IRAQ' graphic, coupled with suitably dramatic music. This is a boon to the media - stories of financial ruin and stock schemes that bilked investors of billions are complicated. Compared to grainy images of explosions, fluttering American flags, and stalwart American troops preparing to step into harm's way, the economic news is plain boring. People were changing the channel back in July and August because it was too painful, and because it was not sexy. Now, with the war graphics in full cry, they are back. CNN's viewership increased by 500% after September 11th, and you can bet the executives down in Atlanta noted that well. War is good for the media business.

There is a gulf between the reporting of economic realities and the truth felt by the American people. There is also a gulf between the stridently patriotic war talk proffered by the television news, and the feelings within the citizenry regarding this impending conflict. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Americans have taken to the streets in cities all across the nation. Bush arrived in Boston some weeks ago and was greeted with 500 protesters at one spot, and several thousand more at another. A recent anti-war rally in Chicago drew 3,000 protesters. An anti-war rally in Central Park drew between 20,000 and 30,000 people. Protests in Australia and London have drawn hundreds of thousands more. This pattern has been repeated over and over, and will reach a peak on October 26th, when a massive anti-war rally is planned in Washington, D.C.

Again, however, there are five lights. The thousands of protesters in Boston were reported to number "a couple dozen" by the local CBS affiliate. The thousands in Chicago were reduced in the reporting to a couple hundred people. The huge rally in Central park was reported nationally not at all. Hundreds of thousands of letters, phone calls and emails sent to Congressional representatives on the eve of the Iraq resolution vote received a similar blackout treatment. C-SPAN is planning to cover the October 26th rally, but it will be wildly out of character if the national media covers the event. An American unconnected with the vigorous and growing network of anti-Iraq war activism across the country would have no idea of the vast opposition being raised against the Bush administration in this matter. As far as the news media is concerned, that opposition does not exist.

[senseandsensibility]

87. Thanks for that.

It really takes you back to the time, doesn't it? And it proves that no one on this thread is imagining anything. Thanks to Will too, of course. He has so much work to be proud of, but i have been rereading his work from that time especially lately.

[rosesaylavee]

93. Thanks for this thread...

I have yet to watch Hubris... will wait til the weekend I think. I think I am still very shocked it all happened the way it did. I will never look at my country the same again and I am still in mourning for that and for all the killing that those decisions caused.

[think]

82. MIC News still controls the meme

on both sides of the isle. ....

[colsohlibgal]

84. Check

One major major media voice questioned the rush to unprovoked war, Donahue, MSNBC replaced him with a hate spewing neo fascist mouth breather, Michael Savage. MSNBC won't be in existence long enough to totally make up for that firing/hiring.

[just1voice]

85. Then the presswhores gleefully asked people to call in and "tell us how you feel about torture"

MSMedia presswhores are horrible human beings, the word "venal" describes them perfectly:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/venal

1: capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration : purchasable; especially : open to corrupt influence and especially bribery.

2: originating in, characterized by, or associated with corrupt bribery.

[susanna]

86. I remember vividly.

And I remember the kind folks at DU comforting me less than one week after the media's much-wanted war started, when one of my best friends was killed by friendly fire during a sandstorm.

I remember everything. I forget nothing. And any person who dares to start about how "we had to do it" gets no quarter from me. Ever. I have re-educated probably hundreds about the stupidity of what happened then. And I'll continue forever. I've gotten to old and too angry to shut up.

[senseandsensibility]

102. I am so sorry about your friend.

Words are inadequate, as they are for this entire tragedy.

[susanna]

136. Thank you, senseandsensibility.

I am thankful for your post. It gave me a place to say to others who knew: "you're not alone."

I am astounded at how many knew and how little we were heard. I learned a valuable lesson, one I hope to share.

[Cleita]

88. I remember a shot of Paula Zahn, at the end of a report about the

possibility of war, talking about the "winds of war" coming, like it was some kind of romantic adventure novel about to happen. I was totally disgusted.

[Mnemosyne]

89. I lost my voice often then, screaming LIARS at the television. I sure as hell will never forget what

they did, and continue to do, to this country.

Please let us not ever forget what they have done to the world. It's why we are so hated.

[Festivito]

90. Donahue, Maher and Stern were pushed from poor people radios and TV.

Phil Donahue's high rated even top rated show was simply canceled.
Maher's Politically Incorrect was kicked to pay TV for being politically incorrect.
When Howard Stern came out against the war, six days later he was moved to pay-for-play radio.

Our Detroit "liberal" AM radio station wasn't started then. New years day 2013 the station name was given to a "minority" charity (probably with Clarence Thomas at the top) and they went so far as to "recycle" the antenna. Making sure we could not continue.

Ongoing is the Post office requirement to pay 75 years of retirement in 10 years for no given reason. M$M is happy to tell us they're losing money, but won't mention the requirement, or do mention it long into some following word salad.

Our American media sells out America. It sells top billing to the top bidding.

[sakabatou]

91. I remember it

Hell I even cheered for it. But then I learned that it was all BS.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

94. I remember and it was disgusting and complicit

We knew - many of us - that the crap being fed to the public as an excuse to invade Iraq was just that - CRAP. The film "Hubris" was no surprise to most of us. We knew all that. Will Pitt's book (which I own) and Corn/Isikoff's book as well detailed all of it.

The ONLY question left in my mind is: WHY are those cretins NOT in prison? WHY have no criminal charges been brought against them? Does the U.S. REALLY think that it collectively can just gloss over or ignore what it has done - what immoral, deadly, dastardly, disgusting crime it has committed? Because it can't. This WILL come back to haunt this country and everyone in it, unless it is fully acknowledged and ATONED for ie: there are harsh criminal punishments for those involved.

[xtraxritical]

107. Many Democrat's were complicit.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

112. I know. Most of them voted for it.

In the feverish nationalism after 9-11, none dared challenge King George Il's excuse to invade anywhere. Not most Democrats, not the media, few people or entities dared. And it cost us dearly in lives and dollars and more costs that have yet to be realized.

I remember after 9-11 happened, I thought: "I hope this asshole (bu$h) doesn't go off half-cocked on some cowboy vigilanti-type war somewhere."

True to form, and predictable - that's just what he and his merry band of psychopaths did. Then we found out the little turd planned on invading Iraq the day he was appointed King. And that gave fuel to the 9-11 LIHOP theories. He was just aching for an excuse - any excuse - to go over there and finish the job Poppy didn't finish, avenge Poppy, get control of the oil, whatever their excuse was. But he knew the American people would not sign on to a war just for the war games or profiteering fun of it. He needed an excuse. 9-11 gave him that and the rest he / they invented out of thin air.

I still find the entire thing inexcusable. Disgusting. Immoral. The job of the media is to CHECK corrupt power, not enable it.

[The Time is Now]

95. Chris Matthews, 2006:

"Everyone likes the President, except for the whack jobs on the left."

[senseandsensibility]

101. What a craven jerk he was (and can still be)

Welcome to DU, by the way. This is a very serious subject, but you'll find that this site is a great place to let off steam.

[Ganja Ninja]

97. Even Dr. Phil of all people.

Not a show I ever watch but for some reason I turned it on and there was a woman in tears telling him how distraught she was because she couldn't convince her war mongering relatives of what was really happening. Douchebag Dr Phil then says something to the effect of "Well maybe it's you that's wrong." And that's when I turned the channel.

[CrispyQ]

100. I remember Operation Iraqi Liberation lasted for about a day until they realized it spelled OIL.

Then they named it something else. It was a disgusting spectacle.

I have disgust for a lot of people I know, too, who were caught up in the nationalism, glorifying war. When I asked a friend who supported the war if her son was going to enlist when he turned 18, she gave me a look of scorn. "So you only support the war if other people's children fight it. Got it." I lost three friends during that time. Looking back, it wasn't much of a loss, really.

[Capt. Obvious]

109. I remember comic strips pushing for war

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022402559

[on point]

111. Still waiting for the expose and mea culpa from the NYTimes on their role in the conspiracy

[colorado_ufo]

113. Yep.

And every time you turned to the editorial page of almost every paper, small or large, there was an editorial from the publisher(s) supporting this rush to war. After all, the paper would not want to appear unpatriotic - it might lose subscribers!

[deutsey]

114. I became disillusioned after the 2000 election theft

The big moment of clarity for me was the coverage (or lack thereof) of the Inaugural protests. I was there in the streets with tens of thousands of people from around the country peacefully protesting Bush.

When a friend of mine and I stopped into a restaurant to get a quick bite to eat, the only thing we saw on Headline News on TV was a clip of DC police scuffling with a blackblock protestor.

That was it. If there was anything beyond that reported on the evening news shows, I never saw it.

I knew then that the media deck was completely stacked in Bush's favor.

[Blaukraut]

117. I remember it like it was yesterday. ALL the cable news channels were on the war bandwagon

I got into fights with coworkers, pleading with them to do research and told them they were being fooled into supporting the war. The polls at the time were overwhelmingly pro war. It was awful.

[pacalo]

119. It was like living in the Twilight Zone & the media lost its credibility.

We dropped the newspaper & quit watching network news altogether. The "Today" show, which had been a staple program in my life since childhood, was no longer watchable. I haven't seen it since Katie Couric's obnoxious "Navy Seals rawwwk" comment.

And look what's happening to the newspaper industry now.

[senseandsensibility]

122. Your post really brought back memories.

I also canceled my subscription to my local newspaper around that time with a note that said, "I am canceling my subscription due to your newspapers' conservative bias." Later I thought that they probably thought I meant that they were biased towards conservatives and I wished that I'd worded it differently. They were SOOO afraid of offending conservatives that I hated to give them any more reason.

[Mira]

120. So much I've read on this subject in the last few days, and this is the one

that made the tears flow.

[senseandsensibility]

123. I'm sorry.

But we can't forget, and we can't let others forget.

[raouldukelives]

127. Damn straight I remember.

As well as all the people quick to join the military who said they were doing me a favor, all of the silent accomplices supporting and investing in corporations pushing and profiting from death of the innocents and any voice using an iota of common sense was browbeat into submission or forced out of the public view.

[Stevepol]

130. I had that feeling too.

It was as if half the country was either going crazy or already crazy and everybody who was in the media or any kd of public position of importance was too afraid to do or say anything at all about it. I lost faith in NPR, PBS etc. at that moment, not because they gave voice to the warmongers. They would have to do that since warmongers were in power in Washington, but because they would not let those spaek who were opposed to the war. Reason and common sense, morality, just the minimal levels of human kindness went out the window. I watched Byrd from WV give some great speeches in Congress and cheered him on. I cheered for Howard Dean when he spoke out. They were among the very few with enough courage to speak out.

Maybe the conservative agenda had so corrupted the country by then there just weren't enough voices there to speak out.

It finally convinced me that there's really nothing that the real "moral majority" can do when the dogs of war are unleashed and the time is right (maybe it's just some astrological influence or other) but just speak out as much as you can when you can and hunker down in a bunker somewhere until enough countries and people have been destroyed and people slowly come to their senses again.

I'm firmly convinced that, even though we're in a good period right now, there will come a time when the dogs will be unleashed again and the US will march into more than one country to make war and most of what we think of as western civilization will be destroyed. And I think there's really nothing anybody can do about it. If that sounds like fatalism,then I guess that's what it is.

I see it this way. I personally don't have to be corrupted or poisoned by the lies and distortions. I guess it's just the realization that the US is no better than ancient Rome or any other civilization that gained power. Power, because the world is not developed enough spiritually or morally, will just naturally by subtle processes of change gradually become corrupt and lead to wholesale slaughter and almost total evil. After every war, like WWI or WWII or the Vietnam War or not the Iraq War, people always say "Never again." But it's meaningless. No single person has enough power to control these national and international events.

[senseandsensibility]

134. The feeling of being powerless when you know you are right

is very difficult to deal with.. I experienced some of the same feelings as you did, and I also remember the very moving speech given by Sen. Byrd. I listened to it live on the radio, and remember thinking that maybe it would have an efffect. Just one more thing to ignore as far as the corporate media was concerned though.

[Faygo Kid]

131. Washington Post is at it again

Neocons extraordinaire Fred Hiatt and Jennifer Rubin leading the usual bloodthirsty pack.

[blkmusclmachine]

132. you men the bought-out media empire. that "press"?

disher of administration propaganda? yep!

[apocalypsehow]

133. I remember. Rec. n/t.

[Fire Walk With Me]

137. I remember the press claiming Iraq had missiles capable of dumping chemical weapons

upon the East Coast of the United States.