The MSM is back to promoting the Swift Liars again

[ProSense]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2657010&mesg_id=2657010

[wisteria]

1. As one of those "soreheads" do I get to issue a comment on CNN

discrediting the slim SBV current accusations of harassment ?

[karynnj]

2. I sent CNN an email because I was so angry

In reference to the Tyrell article on the the Swiftboat Smears:

This article is beneath CNN. The Navy has verified that John Kerry served honorably and that he deserved the medals he received. The SBVT have been caught in several obvious lies, while Kerry's account is consistent with the official record and is backed up by all but one of the men who reported to him. (In terms of fairness, consider the media dropped the TANG story when documents that backed part of the story couldn't be authenticated.

The tenor of this article was obvious from the beginning when the author, thinking he was witty, referred to the Senator as Jean-Francoise Kerry, instead of the name his parents gave him. John Kerry and his friends - which Tyrell used to claim he didn't have -have every right to search for documentation that debunks every lie spread by these RW funded liars.

Senator Kerry has served his nation in various positions for nearly four decades. The author has spewed hatred for nearly as long. Far from being self- aggrandizing or a nut, Senator Kerry has lived his life with integrity, dignity and honor; the same can not be said for this author.

Publishing this garbage puts CNN at the level of these hate filled creeps. It also sends the signal that any soldier who runs for political office as a Democrat may have their sacrifice used against them. I hope that makes you feel proud as you go through your day. If you had an ounce of integrity, you would pull this article.

[ProSense]

3. What I don't understand is

what justification would CNN have for running this? This is wingut blog material.

The article attacks anyone who denounces the Liars, holds the Liars up as credible and further attacks Senator Kerry with references such as:

Consider the ongoing controversy over Sen. Jean-Francois Kerry's military service in the faraway Vietnam War.

I think it proves that beyond being a self-aggrandizing, self-indulgent showoff, this guy is a nut.



These people are proven liars. This article is promoting hate!

[karynnj]

5. It is wingnut magazine and blog material

The other thing is the mockery - changing his name, "faraway" , what's that all about.

I wonder though if there is a step too far on this. Before they get far, they're met with Kerry's very name being changed. This has to be a clue that you entered wingnut territory. From what I read in Tour of Duty, a self indulgent man who had many contacts in the Kennedy administation (and presumably theJohnson administration) could certainly have found someone stateside who could offer him a deferment and a government job. The mission he was on seems like hell.

I think that anyone who saw the debates though saw an articulate, calm, reasoned statesman. This carricature works only on the extremes. Kerry is neither a nut or a buffoon - that's the guy who debated him. I think most people will see Kerry's effort for what it is - an honest man who values his reputation defending himself in a principled, intelligent way.

[Blaukraut]

9. maybe to counteract the stolen election story

that is bound to make mainstream news after today's article. Considering how the media were in cover-up mode then, they most certainly have to protect themselves and their reputations now. So what better way to do that than to report on the swifties, and that mean old Kerry and his leftie nut brigade.

[wisteria]

7. Good points, I am going to do the same as you. The SBV have

already had their 15 minutes of fame. They are liars and need to be acknowledged as such. Now I am really angry too!!!

[BlueIris]

4. GOD. Vek was right. This "story" really IS the new Clenis.

[_dynamicdems]

6. I just wrote them an e-mail too.

This is mine. They need to get many, many more e-mails on this.

EDIT: here is the URL to contact CNN
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?9

========================================================================
RE: Tyrrell: Swiftboating has becomes a hate term

Thursday, June 1, 2006; Posted: 12:47 p.m. EDT (16:47 GMT)

This piece by columnist, R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is offensive and an outrage on many levels. In the past, CNN stood for journalistic integrity and it is shameful that such a hit piece would be posted on your Web site. The Swift Boat Veterans for “Truth” have been proven to be liars by the official military record of the United States Navy and by everyone who served with John Kerry on his swift boat. The term "Swiftboating" has become a hateful term because it has come to stand for a hateful act: lying to distort the truth with the goal of discrediting an opponent.

Reporting both sides of an issue does not equate to balance if one side is obviously lying. Journalistic integrity demands that the truth does matter in reporting the news. CNN owes the public a full and honest investigation of the credibility of claims made in pieces that you put out for public consumption. Would you want to eat at a restaurant that served poison mushrooms as an option on the menu?

Giving credence to what has been proven to be false by a great preponderance of evidence amounts to a severe dereliction of the duty the media is entrusted with to “test the accuracy of information from all sources” as stated in the code of ethics set forth by the Society of Professional Journalists. You owe the public every effort to dispel lies that are propagated by those with a vested partisan interest in distortion of the actual record.

The facts indicate that this group of individuals were not interested in truth in any shape or form, but in destroying the honorable reputation of a United States Senator in order to influence the outcome of a presidential election. In fact, two former members of the SBVFT have retracted their statements and others have been caught in obvious lies. The group was well funded (in their goal to discredit Senator Kerry) by partisan activists with strong ties to the Bush camp. Perhaps this is where a little investigative journalism might come in handy. Maybe your guys just need a refresher course.

============================================================================

[karynnj]

8. Nice email

I think they need the refresher course.

[_dynamicdems]

10. Yours too.

Well, neither of us were very nice, actually. I hope more people e-mail them. This has to be nipped in the bud.

:toast:

[karynnj]

11. Hey, we were nicer than Tyrell

I actually editted mine to make it more respectful than it was - realizing that what plays on DU won't work. I hope they do get enough letters they at least think about it.

What I don't understand is that half the country respected Kerry enough to vote for him. Of the remainder, there are at least some who respected him as a person, but didn't like his positions on abortion, tax cuts for the wealthy, or simply thought he was too liberal. Just like at least half the Democrats might be embarrased by the worst anti-Bush things, I would hope the same would be true in the reverse.

[ProSense]

12. Thanks! These are great responses in this thread.

Here is mine:

After reading the article, "Tyrrell: Swiftboating has becomes a hate term," I am compelled to ask if there is anything CNN considers repulsive! Obviously not, since CNN is now promoting the baseless lies of proven liars. What relationship does the headline of this article have to the actual article, which is a vitriolic opinion piece condemning supporters of Senator John Kerry. The piece launches into a further despicable attack on Senator Kerry, a decorated war veteran, by stooping to simplistic and crude name calling:

Consider the ongoing controversy over Sen. Jean-Francois Kerry's military service in the faraway
Vietnam War.

I think it proves that beyond being a self-aggrandizing, self-indulgent showoff, this guy is
a nut.

Did this trash really pass CNN’s cut for constructive opinion, even along different ideological lines? I come across a lot of disgusting opinions on the Internet. Is CNN prepared to print those as well? What if the hate mongers call themselves nationally syndicated journalists?

I am disgusted by what appears to be callous disregard for truth and willful support of lies. Also, unless your editors haven't notice my point, this is a hate piece! Disguising it as commentary is disingenuous as best.

[karynnj]

13. Great - I hope they get the point

[_dynamicdems]

17. Hey, CNN ....incoming!

I love this!

"unless your editors haven't notice my point, this is a hate piece"

[globalvillage]

14. Mine.

Something else Mr Tyrrell can 'leave to the professionals', obviously, is any pretense of objective journalism.

The disgusting screed presented on CNN.com "Swiftboating has become a hate term", is little more than right wing hack commentary and far less than what should meet the standards of CNN.

What man, Mr. Tyrrell, would not be justified in defending himself against attacks of the well documented lies of O'Neill and his Republican funded smear merchants? Do you think Senator Kerry is not entitled to vindicate himself? In what distorted version of America is a person not entitled to speak in his own defense?

Why, Mr. Tyrrell, do you hate America?

No veteran should be in the position to have to defend his medals. If they were presented, barring any proof that they were not deserved (AND THERE IS NONE IN SENATOR KERRY'S CASE), they were earned. Period.

Mr Tyrrell has dishonored the service of everyone who has worn the uniform and earned commendations for bravery in combat with his disingenuous and disgraceful hit piece. That said, of course, most of the chickenhawk Bush administration is safe from his attacks.

Mr. R. Emmett Tyrrell is a sad excuse for a writer, an obvious apologist for the Swift Boat Liars and the Bush administration, and a vet-basher. Got a defense for that one?

Why don't we have a look at your service medals, Mr. Tyrrell, and see if they stand up to scrutiny?

How dare CNN print this garbage.

[ProSense]

15. Best part!

In what distorted version of America is a person not entitled to speak in his own defense?

Excellent!

[globalvillage]

20. I posted it on MH's blog.

http://freedomsfire.blogspot.com/

This shit really pisses me off.

[karynnj]

16. Fantastic

I love it!
Why, Mr. Tyrrell, do you hate America?

[_dynamicdems]

18. Damn, this is good!

CNN taking heavy fire from a barrage of angry Kerrycrats!



:patriot:

[TayTay]

19. Tyrrell, I wonder when he would ooze up again

This is the same bastard that brought the nation TrooperGate and the endless preoccupation with trivia that consumed the RW when Clinton was President. This lying sack of shit wouldn't know the truth if it up and bit him in his ass. He is a liar by profession and makes his living smearing good people in as partisan a way as possible.

It makes sense that this slime merchant would once again rear his moronic head to try to once again smear a good Democrat. This is what he does. Truth and honor mean nothing to this man and to the people who works with. His magazine, the American Spectator, funded by the usual RW gang of hate mongers including Richard Mellon Scaife, exists for one reason and one reason only, to push the Republican line of reasoning.

I think that if Scaife and Tyrrell are involved in yet another attempt to smear John Kerry, that Karl Rove and friends in the WH must be getting nervous. They have called on the usual gang of idiots to dig into their manure pile and start flinging bullshit around.

It is unconscionable that CNN, a once great network, has stooped to giving these liars a platform from which to dump their lunacy once again on the American people. These extremist RW bastards should not be given a high level platform from which to shout out their lies. That is a travesty of the free press and a disgusting sell-out to smear merchants who exist simply to spill well-funded lies to a cowered and lazy media that has abandoned it's duty to seek out truth.

Shame on CNN. Shame on them for abandoning the central reason for a free press in America: to get at and report the truth. Shame, shame, shame.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Tyrrell

[karynnj]

21. What's truely scary is the drift towards these

evil people getting shows - I never would have thought that people like G Godon Libby would ever be considered more than thugs. It's even more bizarre that in all their sliminess they sit in judgement on people far better than they.

I guess it's a good sign that they are doing this and I hope at some point enough people simply scream "enough". The other thing is this article has absolutely no new bad things to say - other than the fact that the Senator is defending himself and has the help of friends. Other than that he repeats the same words - nut (Kerry's been called this before, but whenever people see him on TV he is as reasonable a person as you're going to find.), self aggrandizing (well, he was nominated by his party to be President, MA sent him to the Senate 4 times, he's a genuine war hero - that beats writing RW hate pieces.)

People know they never saw any epic movie footage of the handsome young sailor - I only remember about 10 seconds of Kerry smiling and walking. So the Kerry filmed himself gets pretty old. I also don't think many people will feel sorry for the SBVT because even the people they benefited know they are slime.

[JI7]

22. is that asshole still alive ?