Yonivore
04-27-2006, 11:51 AM
My vote for blog post of the day:
“It ain’t legal, and by God, it ain’t right” (http://www.nerepublican.com/index.php/2006/04/27/it-aint-legal-and-by-god-it-aint-right/)
Thursday 27 April 2006 @ 4:11 am
http://www.nerepublican.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/wilfred_brimley.png
I was watching the DVD Absence of Malice (http://imdb.com/title/tt0081974/) for the twelve-dozenth time the other day. Its the story of a reporter, played by Sally Fields, who reports some government leaks, which were released by bureaucrats for their own purposes, illegally. They, abetted by her reporting, cause much damage, to reputations and lives. Where my suspension of disbelief was strained was the part where Fields’ character realizes the harm she’s done, the unprofessional manner in which she has acted, and in her gross misjudgement. She not only realizes it, she admits it, she resigns, she atones. She feels and expresses shame and sorrow at her actions, and how they have harmed the public she was tasked to serve.
I’m sure Pulitzer prize winning reporter Dana Priest (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2006/04/17/LI2006041700530.html) has no such qualms, even though the story about “secret prisons in Europe” turned out to be false (http://www.inthebullpen.com/archives/4313), damaged the US’s reputation, damaged our intelligence capability, angered our allies, may reduce the cooperation and intelligence sharing from those allies in the future, and finally was flat out wrong on its face.
The other part that had me doubting its verisimilitude and relation to reality, was the fact that the leakers are disgraced and the leakee was exonorated publically. Wilfred Brimley, in a wonderful short but memorable role says:
“You know and I know we can’t tell you what to print or what not to. We hope you people in the press’ll act responsibly, but when you don’t there ain’t a hell of a lot anybody can do about it. But we can’t have people go around leaking stuff for their own reasons. It ain’t legal. And worse than that, by God it ain’t right. I can’t stop you, but I can damn well stop them.”
President Bush should make it his business to insist the Justice Dept. prosecute the fired ex-CIA agent and traitor McCarthy (http://www.inthebullpen.com/archives/4652) to the fullest extent of the law. Furthermore, as Brimley also says in response to Field’s character’s lawyer protesting about first amendment rights not to reveal sources of illegal leaks:
U.S. Attorney James P. Wells (Brimley): “That’s bull-pucky counsellor. The 1st Amendment don’t say that, and the privelege don’t exist.”
“Ms. Carter, you know I can ask you this before a grand jury?”
Reporter Megan Carter (Fields): “Yes”
U.S. Attorney James P. Wells: “And if you don’t answer you can go to jail?”
Reporter Megan Carter: “I know its possible.”
United States Attorney James P. Wells: “Oh its more than possible Ms. Carter, its damned likely.”
Dana Priest should come before a grand jury just the way Judy Miller was for the Plame investigation. Reporters in this country have come to a pass where its more important to damage this Republican President than it is to protect this country’s vital interests. If information which could potentially and directly kill US citizens or soldiers came before our liberal press corps, does anyone doubt they would print it if they thought it would score a few points against President Bush?
Liberal wingers are quick to point out the press was hard on Clinton. Yes, it was, for juicy sex stories and sensational stuff like Vince Foster’s suicide. What they didn’t do was misrepresent his every policy move. What they didn’t do was investigate malfeasance and outright theivery by the likes of Ron Brown (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/1/28/155951.shtml) and even Al “no controlling legal authority” Gore (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/op030797.htm). They didn’t question his bungled military operations in Sudan (http://www.mega.nu/ampp/khartoumbomb.html) and specifically Mogadishu (http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/sitemap.asp). They didn’t constantly question Clinton’s intelligence or competence.
Instead they glorified Clinton and helped spread the myth that the economy was great under Clinton and dismal under Bush. They don’t report highest unemployment rates in years, a growing and record setting economy. They don’t report successes and progress in Iraq and Afghanistan. They instead ignore all positive aspects of the President’s administration and his personal attributes. They didn’t even bother reporting that Bush scored higher than Kerry on his military IQ tests (http://www.amconmag.com/2004_12_06/feature.html). They invent urban myths like the Thanksgiving turkey (http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/005402.php) or completely misrepresent the entire “Mission Accomplished” appearance in order to ridicule Bush.
The fact is, daily, the press in this country tries to discredit President Bush and all his policies and acts. They constantly misrepresent the situation in Iraq and try to point up mismanagement and incompetence in the waging of the war there. They serve as a megaphone for every disgruntled (and mostly ex-Clinton admin) bureaucrat that has an axe to grind (all the while blithely ignoring or defaming hundreds of officers and soldiers who criticized John Kerry).
The mainstream press does not serve this country’s best interests, and has not for a long time. They are basically stenographers for the latest Democrat talking points, or they provide the same by distortions and outright fabrications. The time has come to hold them accountable, as well as the “whistle blowers” who ignore official channels for airing grievances and reporting unethical behaviour and instead run to the nearest friendly reporter to give their side, usually undisputed by credulous press lackeys who will headline anything detrimental to President Bush and the Republicans, and then grudgingly print retractions and corrections in tiny print on page D-17, if at all.
The demise of the MSM can’t come soon enough for me. However, these traitors who wrap themselves in “the public’s right to know” to print lies and leaks for their own purposes need to be fired, disgraced, prosecuted and finally incarcerated. And the leakers, the Deep Throats who damage national security because of personal pique and political bias, need to be jailed or even executed if their crime is deemed treasonous.
We can’t have people go around leaking stuff for their own reasons. It ain’t legal. And worse than that, by God it ain’t right.
“It ain’t legal, and by God, it ain’t right” (http://www.nerepublican.com/index.php/2006/04/27/it-aint-legal-and-by-god-it-aint-right/)
Thursday 27 April 2006 @ 4:11 am
http://www.nerepublican.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/wilfred_brimley.png
I was watching the DVD Absence of Malice (http://imdb.com/title/tt0081974/) for the twelve-dozenth time the other day. Its the story of a reporter, played by Sally Fields, who reports some government leaks, which were released by bureaucrats for their own purposes, illegally. They, abetted by her reporting, cause much damage, to reputations and lives. Where my suspension of disbelief was strained was the part where Fields’ character realizes the harm she’s done, the unprofessional manner in which she has acted, and in her gross misjudgement. She not only realizes it, she admits it, she resigns, she atones. She feels and expresses shame and sorrow at her actions, and how they have harmed the public she was tasked to serve.
I’m sure Pulitzer prize winning reporter Dana Priest (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2006/04/17/LI2006041700530.html) has no such qualms, even though the story about “secret prisons in Europe” turned out to be false (http://www.inthebullpen.com/archives/4313), damaged the US’s reputation, damaged our intelligence capability, angered our allies, may reduce the cooperation and intelligence sharing from those allies in the future, and finally was flat out wrong on its face.
The other part that had me doubting its verisimilitude and relation to reality, was the fact that the leakers are disgraced and the leakee was exonorated publically. Wilfred Brimley, in a wonderful short but memorable role says:
“You know and I know we can’t tell you what to print or what not to. We hope you people in the press’ll act responsibly, but when you don’t there ain’t a hell of a lot anybody can do about it. But we can’t have people go around leaking stuff for their own reasons. It ain’t legal. And worse than that, by God it ain’t right. I can’t stop you, but I can damn well stop them.”
President Bush should make it his business to insist the Justice Dept. prosecute the fired ex-CIA agent and traitor McCarthy (http://www.inthebullpen.com/archives/4652) to the fullest extent of the law. Furthermore, as Brimley also says in response to Field’s character’s lawyer protesting about first amendment rights not to reveal sources of illegal leaks:
U.S. Attorney James P. Wells (Brimley): “That’s bull-pucky counsellor. The 1st Amendment don’t say that, and the privelege don’t exist.”
“Ms. Carter, you know I can ask you this before a grand jury?”
Reporter Megan Carter (Fields): “Yes”
U.S. Attorney James P. Wells: “And if you don’t answer you can go to jail?”
Reporter Megan Carter: “I know its possible.”
United States Attorney James P. Wells: “Oh its more than possible Ms. Carter, its damned likely.”
Dana Priest should come before a grand jury just the way Judy Miller was for the Plame investigation. Reporters in this country have come to a pass where its more important to damage this Republican President than it is to protect this country’s vital interests. If information which could potentially and directly kill US citizens or soldiers came before our liberal press corps, does anyone doubt they would print it if they thought it would score a few points against President Bush?
Liberal wingers are quick to point out the press was hard on Clinton. Yes, it was, for juicy sex stories and sensational stuff like Vince Foster’s suicide. What they didn’t do was misrepresent his every policy move. What they didn’t do was investigate malfeasance and outright theivery by the likes of Ron Brown (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/1/28/155951.shtml) and even Al “no controlling legal authority” Gore (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/op030797.htm). They didn’t question his bungled military operations in Sudan (http://www.mega.nu/ampp/khartoumbomb.html) and specifically Mogadishu (http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/sitemap.asp). They didn’t constantly question Clinton’s intelligence or competence.
Instead they glorified Clinton and helped spread the myth that the economy was great under Clinton and dismal under Bush. They don’t report highest unemployment rates in years, a growing and record setting economy. They don’t report successes and progress in Iraq and Afghanistan. They instead ignore all positive aspects of the President’s administration and his personal attributes. They didn’t even bother reporting that Bush scored higher than Kerry on his military IQ tests (http://www.amconmag.com/2004_12_06/feature.html). They invent urban myths like the Thanksgiving turkey (http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/005402.php) or completely misrepresent the entire “Mission Accomplished” appearance in order to ridicule Bush.
The fact is, daily, the press in this country tries to discredit President Bush and all his policies and acts. They constantly misrepresent the situation in Iraq and try to point up mismanagement and incompetence in the waging of the war there. They serve as a megaphone for every disgruntled (and mostly ex-Clinton admin) bureaucrat that has an axe to grind (all the while blithely ignoring or defaming hundreds of officers and soldiers who criticized John Kerry).
The mainstream press does not serve this country’s best interests, and has not for a long time. They are basically stenographers for the latest Democrat talking points, or they provide the same by distortions and outright fabrications. The time has come to hold them accountable, as well as the “whistle blowers” who ignore official channels for airing grievances and reporting unethical behaviour and instead run to the nearest friendly reporter to give their side, usually undisputed by credulous press lackeys who will headline anything detrimental to President Bush and the Republicans, and then grudgingly print retractions and corrections in tiny print on page D-17, if at all.
The demise of the MSM can’t come soon enough for me. However, these traitors who wrap themselves in “the public’s right to know” to print lies and leaks for their own purposes need to be fired, disgraced, prosecuted and finally incarcerated. And the leakers, the Deep Throats who damage national security because of personal pique and political bias, need to be jailed or even executed if their crime is deemed treasonous.
We can’t have people go around leaking stuff for their own reasons. It ain’t legal. And worse than that, by God it ain’t right.