A rational commentary:

[ProSense]

Local News

Demonizing catch-phrases prevents constructive action

Snip...

Today's column, however, is not so much about misdeeds committed under the guise of patriotism (love of country and reasons of state) as it is about our current political culture of “catch-phrase truth.” What passes for objective reporting on the media outlets these days has about as much relationship to truthful news as bullfighting does to agriculture. It's a good thing that Richelieu is no longer around. In this age of “gotcha journalism,” we don't have carpenters enough to build the gallows for all those he could hang.

All it takes to shaft someone nowadays is take some statement out of context, twist the interpretation, and then express shock and indignation that anyone could have said or written anything so odious and hateful...

The latest politician to be pilloried for an oral gaffe is John Kerry, who supposedly insulted the intelligence of American service men and women. Now while he may have botched the punch line of what wasn't a very funny anecdote to begin with, not even a liberal Democratic senator from Massachusetts is that dumb. The real butt of his joke and the one whose intelligence was being questioned, was our commander-in-chief, the Prez - the man most responsible for getting us “stuck in Iraq.”

Those who jumped on Kerry's faux pas and tried to milk it for all it was worth are the very same people who impugn the patriotism of any and all who dare question the administration's policy (assuming it has one) in Iraq. The catch-phrase of the administration and its supporters is if you don't support Bush's Iraq policy, then “you don't support the troops.” That is sheer nonsense. Those who question the wisdom and the honesty (I use that word deliberately) of our involvement in Iraq, a country with no connection to 9-11 and one obviously lacking in “weapons of mass destruction,” show more concern for our troops than those who placed their lives at risk by selling them and the American people a pack of lies. The recent elections have shown that we are not buying that bill of goods any more.

Sadly, the brouhaha over Kerry's remarks has obscured a very real problem...

The October Atlantic published a brief excerpt from Stanford historian David Kennedy's essay “On the Military and American Democracy,” in which he wrote that in today's Army 42 percent of the enlistees are ethnic and racial minorities...

...This is the problem that needs addressing. Instead, we wring our hands and shake our heads over some alleged insult that was in reality a politically manufactured fabrication concocted by administration apologists. Unfortunately, politicians brave enough to try and address the problem will probably be accused of insulting the intelligence of our brave fighting men and women. So it goes.

Love the media analogy!

[beachmom]

1. That was great, Prosense. Best line:

It's a good thing that Richelieu is no longer around. In this age of “gotcha journalism,” we don't have carpenters enough to build the gallows for all those he could hang.



They really are doing everything in their power to assassinate his character. Yet as I said in the other thread, his words live on because they are the truth . . .

[wisteria]

2. Thanks for posting, now if the American public can see through the

politics of this and get smart maybe the media will have to really cover news instead of fabrications.

[ginnyinWI]

3. but I take exception to this:

"not even a liberal Democratic senator from Massachusetts is that dumb. "

Not EVEN a Dem senator from MA??? To arms, Bay Staters!