Roger Ebert puts FReeper in his place

[Paragon]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/answ-man/sho-sunday-ebert13.html

Q. In your article about "Fahrenheit 9/11" at Cannes, you quote Michael Moore's film that, when informed of the second attack on the World Trade Center, President Bush "incredibly remained with the students for another seven minutes, reading from the book, until a staff member suggested that he leave. The look on his face as he reads the book, knowing what he knows, is disquieting." Apparently you believe this version of events. Does Moore identify a source? Or is his word good enough for you? If that is the case given that "Bowling for Columbine" was riddled with half-truths and lies that even he corrected on the DVD, why would you assume this movie to be fact?

A. Bra Grier of Omaha writes: "Here's the video of Bush in the classroom for five minutes after being told 'America is under attack.' Unfortunately, the video ends before the president does."

To see it for yourself, go to www.thememoryhole.com/911/bush-911.htm

:7

[AgadorSparticus]

1. i guess ebert is now unpatriotic. lol!! too funny! nt

[uhhuh]

2. Nope

It's that damn unpatriotic camera that told the evil lie that the chimp sat there like a brain dead stump (one of his more intelligent moments) after getting the news.

That camera needs to be sent to Gitmo immediately!!!!

How dare Ebert take the terrorist images from that treasonous camera seriously?

[Hammie]

19. OK Bush Sucks

But what should he have done instead?

[Fire Bush]

20. What do you mean "What should he have done"?

He's the friggen president. Or supposed to be anyway. "I didn't want to scare the children.". BULLSHIT!! The "leader" of this country is told the nation is under attack and he simply sits there untill told what to do.

He should have simply stood up, told the class he has some very important work to do and go find out what the fuck was going on. Leader my ass! This dumb fuck couldn't lead a starving Ethiopian to a friggen Big Mac.

[Hammie]

21. Find out what is going on?

How?


If you are the President, and a staff member interrupts what you're doing and says, "Mr. President, a couple of planes flew into the world trade center. It looks like an attack but we don't have any details yet".

Do you

A) Jump up immediately and start demanding answers?
B) Start phoning people at all levels of govt. especially at the FBI and FAA because if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself?
C) Wrap up what you are doing, and be prepared to make some command decisions if necessary?
D) Bask in the glow of self satisfaction because your diabolical plan to murder thousands of Americans for political gain is being executed perfectly?

[AntiCoup2K4]

22. Although "D" sounds about right, the actual answer is "None of the above"

What Junior was actually thinking was probably something like "What the fuck am I supposed to do now? I should have never let Daddy & Uncle Dick kick me out of the White House while they were finalizing this thing."

[skypilot]

24. This can't be said enough, apparently.

AT THE VERY LEAST he should have put some daylight between himself and those schoolchildren. His whereabouts were known that day. It was a photo-op. If terrorists had tried to target Bush himself they'd have taken a lot of children and teachers out with him. Do the words "Secure location" mean anything to you? That classroom--that school, period--was not a secure location.

[King_Crimson]

26. Well...If you're the President...

and two large passenger aircraft have just struck two of America's tallest buildings, you would surely think that something is amiss. AND...you should assume thst YOU TOO may well be a target. SO...you sit tight, endangering not only yourself, but everybody else in that schoolhouse.
That bastard knew EXACTLY what was going on. CNN showed the clip of him as Card was telling him what has happened again this morning! You can TELL...by the expression on his face, his body language, and most telling...the SHIFTINESS in his eyes! I'm sure he was thinking, "so everything's going as planned."

[Hammie]

33. Which is it?

Everything is going according to plan? (Evil Genius)

or,

He is a potential target endangering everyone around him? (Dolt)



Presumably, even the supposedly stupid Bush wouldn't actually plan to have himself blown up.

[SemperEadem]

31. You get up and calmly make your polite excuse and leave the classroom

and go down to your waiting limousine to be escorted to the closest command center your government was readying in the interrim.

But to sit there as if common sense deserted you does not paint a picture of a leader in charge.

[Hammie]

34. And do what?

With a couple years of hindsight, what could he have done in the those few minutes that would have changed a single outcome?

[NewJeffCT]

23. Umm, how about acting like a President - and...

getting the hell out of the school, as they had no way of knowing if the President was a target as well. At least, he would not have been endangering the children.

And, as soon as he knew, he should have politely said he had to attend to unexpected presidential business and started giving orders to his staff on handling an emergency, or at least trying to get an assessment of the situation.

[LuminousX]

29. Get to a secure location and a place where he can receive information

as it trailed in. You can't really get minute by minute updates while sitting in a classroom.

[xxqqqzme]

3. where the hell was the questioner

on 9/11 under his bed? Anybody watching the tube that morning (and I'm assuming many 100s of 10,000s were glued to their sets), saw squatter stay planted w/ that 'What, me worry?' look on his face. I saw it & I was watching BBCAmerica.

[kayell]

4. I don't remember seeing * at all on 9/11. just occasionally hearing

mentions that he was on airforce 1, that he might be in oklahoma or somewhere, that AF1 had touched down briefly and then departed again. Very wierd and unsettling.

He did make some kind of statement IIRC from the school, but those videos of him reading weren't available until later I think.

[Ripley]

9. You are correct...Smirky was unseen until about 10:00 pm 9/11.

I remember crying as I was watching dumbo Katie Couric all day long...screaming..."Why is this idiot talkshow host telling me what the fuck is going on in this country??!! And why don't I hear that Special Broadcast THAT IS SUPPOSED TO COME ON IN THE CASE OF EMERGENCY???? Isn't this an EMERGENCY???

I felt sick that Karie seemed to be the person in charge that day.

[Killarney]

5. Nice!

[LTR]

6. Well, that one was too easy

I mean, come on! Everyone was watching TV at that point and saw the same damn thing!

Some people really live in denial.

[BGrier]

7. Hey! That's Me!

Although my first name is actually Brad.

[buddhamama]

8. thank you Brad!

and congrats! :toast: :thumbsup: :toast:

btw, Welcome to DU. We're Happy to have you with us.

[peekaloo]

12. well you'll always be Bra in our hearts!

:P

Welcome! :hi:

[Paragon]

10. kick

:dem:

[jmags]

11. Go figure the guy's from Naperville.

[plcdude]

13. he sat there

because the people who really run the show were too busy figuring out how dangerous it was for them in Washington. They were scrambling for there own survival. * merely waited in the classroom until his handlers could figure out what to do. It is as simple as that. He had no idea what to do and was awaiting instructions from Cheney, Rove and Rumsfeld. He was not in charge then or now. He is merely the "face man" for the oligarchy that currently administers the executive branch.

[BillZBubb]

30. Sort of like Stalin after Hitler invaded Russia.

The "great leader" disappeared for several days. He didn't start doing anything about the situation until his minions told him he had to do something.

Bush got the deer in the headlights look. He was frozen in panic unitl his aides told him he had to leave. A real "war president"!

[Kazak]

14. Ebert must hate America too!

;)

[Cocoa]

15. shows you how the news media dropped the ball

how scary is it that so few people know what the U.S. president was doing on the most traumatic day in our history?

The news people decided that we couldn't handle the truth, so they just pretended this thing didn't happen.

[gatorboy]

16. I've read of a few times they've already tried to re-write history

by saying, as soon as he heard the news or what happen, he left the class room right then...

[KittyWampus]

17. News Media's Incompetence Made That TV Movie Showing Junior

as a decisive action figure type of guy on 9/11 possible.

:puke:

[ironflange]

18. Come on, be fair

He really really needed to know how the story ended.

[gauguin57]

25. his behavior made 9/11 worse

Everything was collapsing around our ears, and the president was flying all over the friggin' country, hiding here, hiding there, making half a speech here and there. I felt twice as frightened because of that. It was one more level of "What in the hell is going on?" that we didn't need!

If he had gone directly back to the White House, or, hell, gone to some bunker in the Washington area (if they felt the White House was still a target), and planted his ass and appeared to take control of the situation, I would have felt less like the rug had been completely pulled out from under me. And I'm sure the country would have, as well. A man of stronger character would have stepped to the helm quickly and surely. Dubya, on the other hand, has feet of clay. He also has a brain and heart of clay.

He should have learned about PERCEPTION from the fact that he is sitting in the White House now because his cousin, Fox TV exec. John Ellis, called Florida (and, by extension, the election) for his Cuzzin Georgie, starting the avalanche of such declarations by other networks, and planting the PERCEPTION in American minds that he had, indeed, won.

[DinahMoeHum]

27. Bottom line: Bush was, is, and always will be a f**king coward.

And it's high time we all call him out on this.

:kick:

[geniph]

28. What did everyone else do when they heard?

Yup, that's right - everyone else ran to the nearest source of news so they could find out what was known and keep up on what was happening. Even I, who NEVER watch TV news, got out of the shower and ran to the TV to find out what was known and what was currently happening.

But what did the Fratboy-In-Chief do? He sat there reading to schoolkids, with not the slightest expression of shock or surprise on his idiot mug. Now, when YOU heard - weren't you shocked? Weren't you at least surprised? I remember feeling horror and disbelief. I certainly didn't sit there as if I already knew what was going to happen. Did you?

[Chomskyite]

32. This clip should also be featured in Kerry campaign spots

n/t