Helen Thomas

[IllgetyouHackman]

If it takes 90 years for you to say something that causes any sort of scandal, you're doing pretty well.

No, I just thinks its ridiculous that I as an American is expected to see anything said against Israel to be blasphemous. I'm Irish, why haven't the Irish received Northern Ireland for the religious cleansing and ethic oppression that occurred there? Its petty at best and in all reality I think the Palestinians should have a country, or atleast lets form a coalition government or something.

 

[JB3]

No, I just thinks its ridiculous that I as an American is expected to see anything said against Israel to be blasphemous. I'm Irish, why haven't the Irish received Northern Ireland for the religious cleansing and ethic oppression that occurred there? Its petty at best and in all reality I think the Palestinians should have a country, or atleast lets form a coalition government or something.

It wasn't the fact that she said anything that people are offended about. Its what she actually said.

 

[JB3]

It's her opinion and entitled to one about anything as long as it doesn't harm anyone.

Let's move on now.

Except she's a member of the press and people actually listen to her.

 

[bankside]

Except she's a member of the press and people actually listen to her.

Good; that means they will have listened to her retraction and apology for her statement.

By the way, she didn't just give one of those cheap, disposable political apologies: "I'm sorry if what I think (and presumably still think) offended you," she said "I'm sorry for saying something so stupid, which was at odds with the things I know to be true."

It doesn't get much better than that. She said something stupid. And then she said something pointing out how stupid the thing was that she said. Anyone dragging this out at this point is just trying to distract attention from their own partisan problems of accountability, imho.

 

[grantt]

Put the old horse out into a pasture somewhere. She is no journalist these days.

 

[MercuryJones]

She is no journalist these days.

Why is that?

 

[Kulindahr]

By the way, she didn't just give one of those cheap, disposable political apologies: "I'm sorry if what I think (and presumably still think) offended you," she said "I'm sorry for saying something so stupid, which was at odds with the things I know to be true."

It doesn't get much better than that. She said something stupid. And then she said something pointing out how stupid the thing was that she said.

That's true -- no matter what else one thinks, it has to be recognized that she gave a real apology.

 

[CoolBlue71]

UPDATE FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/07/helen-thomas-retiring-eff_n_603026.html

"Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately," a Hearst Newspapers statement said. "Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet."

[Quotes are from the article's text.]

 

[bankside]

That is a pity.

 

[grantt]

Good news about her retirement. Now, she can become Joe Q. Public and speak her peace . It is kind of like Walter Cronkite. He was the Voice of Middle America, retired, and after doing so, he showed himself to be far left of center. It was OK, because by then, he did not have to be unbiased any more. He could speak his peace. That was good. This is also good.

 

[JB3]

That is a pity.

Why do you think that?

 

[MercuryJones]

It's a shame to end such a long and honorable career on a gaffe.

It's sad also that someone can be driven out for being anti-Zionist. Regardless of your personal position, is it something on which people can't even differ in opinions? It seems so.

 

[NickCole]

Good news about her retirement. Now, she can become Joe Q. Public and speak her peace . It is kind of like Walter Cronkite. He was the Voice of Middle America, retired, and after doing so, he showed himself to be far left of center. It was OK, because by then, he did not have to be unbiased any more. He could speak his peace. That was good. This is also good.

Reporters are not unbiased. They're human beings with points of view. And today most of them don't even bother reporting impartially; there's nearly as much editorializing in reporting on Fox and MSNBC and CNN as there is on op-ed pages. But it has to be the right kind of editorializing.

And besides that, Helen Thomas has not been a reporter for several years. Ten years ago she left UPI (when it was taken over by News World, which is controlled by the Unification Church) and since then she's been a columnist. But now she's not that any more because she had the unmitigated gall to voice the wrong kind of opinion -- and to be old and unattractive to boot.

The Nixon years didn't undo her, even the Bush years didn't undo her -- and they sure tried. It took this current era to take down Helen Thomas.

This is not good, Grantt.

 

[Knucklehead]

I think this is a bunch of bullshit.I get so sick and tired of liberals being thrown to the wolves because they refuse to lick the collective Israeli asshole..

Funny how when right wingers routinely make hateful comments about gays,blacks,women or the presidents children, that's all ok,because they are merely entertainers...How about Bill O'Reilly comparing gays to Al Queda the other day?
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEIE4isBXqE[/ame]

Or maybe,Glenn Beck,who,during another, ''How to be a good American'' segment,was pitching a book written by a notorious Jew hater..Nothing even subtle there.http://mediamatters.org/research/201006070053


Where is the outrage there? Nah, better save that for a tired old woman.Especially, if she is a noted critic of republican presidents.Better pounce on that old broad..

So what is this,you say a word against Isreal and out the door you go?I'm really starting to get over this bullshit that Israel is above condemnation and how we have to hear about how they have a right to murder innocents..

I guess that's a one way street.They can do whatever the fuck they want, but if someone says something against their nation, then that person is anti-semetic and must be publicly flogged.Give me a cookie..

Funny, the administration didn't say mouse over the I.D.F. slaughtering 9 peace activists last week, but they could spread Israels cheeks wide and ram their tongue up it's ass once again ,and let the world know how ''offensive'' the remarks of a 89 year old woman were.Fucking clowns..

 

[JB3]

I

Funny, the administration didn't say mouse over the I.D.F. slaughtering 9 peace activists last week, but they could spread Israels cheeks wide and ram their tongue up it's ass once again ,and let the world know how ''offensive'' the remarks of a 89 year old woman were.Fucking clowns..

First of all, these 'peace' activists were not slaughtered. If you believe that, your argument ends here because you're already biased. They attacked the IDF troops, and then were surprised when the troops fought back.

Secondly, the administration DID voice their concerns, but I can guarantee you that what they said publicly wasn't even HALF of what they said privately to Israel. If you think they just ignored it, then, again, your bias shows through.

 

[MercuryJones]

I think this is a bunch of bullshit.I get so sick and tired of liberals being thrown to the wolves because they refuse to lick the collective Israeli asshole..

It's true, if you look at other columnists like Ann Coulter or Michelle Malkin who are consistently more outlandish than Thomas's statement. I chalk some of it up to age - at 90 you have to be a little tired of fighting.

 

[bankside]

I would like to dispute this notion that all reporters are biased. It sounds like "Fashionable Nonsense" to me (good book if you don't know of it already...)

Perhaps the reason this outburst seemed so peculiar coming from Helen Thomas is that she's made a career of asking questions from any angle she can think of, from the point of view of any side to a dispute. People are not hostages to what they initially know, or think they know. Objectivity is both a skill and a professional responsibility, not a pretence.

 

[JB3]

I would like to dispute this notion that all reporters are biased. It sounds like "Fashionable Nonsense" to me (good book if you don't know of it already...)

Perhaps the reason this outburst seemed so peculiar coming from Helen Thomas is that she's made a career of asking questions from any angle she can think of, from the point of view of any side to a dispute. People are not hostages to what they initially know, or think they know. Objectivity is both a skill and a professional responsibility, not a pretence.

It used to be. Not so much these days though.

 

[Knucklehead]

First of all, these 'peace' activists were not slaughtered. If you believe that, your argument ends here because you're already biased. They attacked the IDF troops, and then were surprised when the troops fought back.

Secondly, the administration DID voice their concerns, but I can guarantee you that what they said publicly wasn't even HALF of what they said privately to Israel. If you think they just ignored it, then, again, your bias shows through.

Silly me, I thought when every major news agency reported that 9 civilains were killed by commandos in international waters,they were slaughtered.I know you're a right wing hack and all,and thus,haven't spent a minute in the service. But I have,and a soldier equipped in body armor,helmet,and semi automatic weapon,facing a frightened civilian with a pipe isn't really a fair match.Then again, it's never been about a fair match,or accurate representations with you people..

Yeah,I heard the mealy mouthed ''concerns'' of this administration too.I also saw that not much was done besides them standing there wringing their hands, and in true Obama stlye,refusing to take a position that might piss someone off..Unless it's, as is becoming his trademark style,tossing real liberals under the bus to feed the right wingers..

Fuck him, fuck Israel and fuck right wingers who pretend they care about Israel or Helen Thomas.They only wanted her silenced because she could, and often did, call them on their shit.The right wingers only ''care'' about Israel because they believe it fulfills their religious prophesy..See how much they think of those bonds when they propose to the the Jews that they to convert to Christianity or die..In accordance with prophesy..

It's true, if you look at other columnists like Ann Coulter or Michelle Malkin who are consistently more outlandish than Thomas's statement. I chalk some of it up to age - at 90 you have to be a little tired of fighting.

I think it went deeper than that.She was railroaded by right wing pigs,and pushed on to the tracks by liberals..

 

[JB3]

^As usual, when presented with facts that contradict your b.s. world point of view, you lash out with baseless insults. Shows your true colors.