The MSM marginalizes us even further.

[Joe Fields]

I wonder how many of you caught what gasbag former FBI profiler, now turned analyst for MSNBC Cliff Van Vandt said the other day?

It seems that whenever there is a "major story," whether it be Natalie Holloway or O.J., or any story with a criminal content, MSNBC trots Mr. Van Zandt out to give his profile analysis of suspects or perpetrators. This was the case the other day, when the hostage situation at the Clinton campaign office in Rochester, N.H. took place.

As events unfolded, and information about suspected bomber came trickling in, Van Zandt, in his authoritative style told viewers, "This guy was known to be a nutcase. He had written several "letters to the editor."

So now anyone who writes letters to the editor shall be deemed a "nutcase?"

And so the assault on the left continues.

We are in a great battle for the soul of this nation. I'm not sure it's winnable.

[samsingh]

1. i don't believe anything in the msm anymore

they have completely marginalized themselves - and in the future - this will destroy them

[Joe Fields]

5. That isn't so much the point, as is the damage they do when they

make calculated statements, such as the one in my post. It has a residual effect, and in time, if that becomes a meme will not only cause the general public to question the emotional balance of those who choose to voice an opinion on the editorial page of a newspaper. In time, some people may become afraid to voice an opinion for fear of being singled out and profiled themselves. And, there is probably some truth to that. We probably are already being singled out and put on a watch list.

[Red Zelda]

6. Yep

I've shut the msm off completely. Can barely even stand espn anymore.

[samsingh]

11. i used to watch the sunday talkshows - i don't and i can't

stand to even click past them.

these tv so called journalists are nothing more than propaganda machines

[Red Zelda]

12. Caught a few minutes of the Sunday "news."

BIG story on BIG snowstorm. Had a kid on a sled on a hill that was half brown.
No shit.
Cartoons have more brains than "news" shows.

[samsingh]

15. ironically the Simpsons - a fox show - no less

holds bush up to more scrutiny than the so called msm journalists.

[OHdem10]

2. I do notget how this reflects on Democrats.

Republicans also write letters to editors.

Van Zandt was careless in his description.

The Perpetrator was an avowed staunch Libertarian. I did not conclude
all Libertariana are nut cases.

This guy probably picked Hilary because she is known for Healthcare.
She has ads in which her constituents cite instances of her intervening
on their behalf. Being in a disturbed Mental State, he chose the
wrong way to go about seeking help. He did get his hours of fame.

[Joe Fields]

10. Point taken, to a degree, although my take is that, for the last seven

years, the bulk of letters written to the editor have been from those who have issues with the Bush administration.

At that point in the day, it wasn't acknowledged what this man's political affiliation was.

Even so, statements like that marginalize, not just left leaning democrats, but republicans who wish to voice dissent. I concede that much, but it still bodes ill for activist Americans.

[Deja Q]

3. Have faith. Anyone who can pull the US out of its present situation

and giving us something to hope for and live in will get thinking peoples' votes.

[Joe Fields]

7. Faith is the only thing that keeps this old soul going. The trouble, IMO,

is that my party leaders have given me absolutely no cause to place faith in them, and the only person I trusted to get us out of this mess has chosen not to run. Kucinich comes close, but his ruminations concerning Ron Paul give me cause for concern. I'll tell you right now, Hillary, Obama, Edwards and Biden aren't the answer to our prayers.

That places my faith in this country on the endangered species list.

[warren pease]

13. Thinking people's votes...

Here's an exchange that took place during Adlai Stevenson's 1956 presidential campaign.

A woman called out to him, "You have the vote of every thinking person!"

Stevenson called back, "That's not enough, madam, we need a majority!"


I'll go out on a limb and guess that the situation has deteriorated significantly in the intervening 51 years.


wp

[Annces]

4. Framing what is normal

you see it everywhere. It seems to be a preoccupation of people in general, a desire for everyone to conform.

[Berry Cool]

8. I would ask whether he was interrupted in the characterization.

That happens a lot on news shows. Did he just say "He has written several letters to the editor" and leave it at that? Or did he say "He has written approximately 800 letters to the editor to the local newspaper, just within the past year, all on the same theme, and my understanding is that in some of them he's said things that were clearly not the thoughts or ideas of a sane person"?

Writing letters to the editor isn't enough to constitute nutcasery, obviously. But, say, if you wrote scads and scads of them, did it obsessively to the point where you seemed like you might not have time for much else, if they were all on the same theme, and if the contents implied that one had lost a grip on reality in some way, THAT might make one a known nutcase. Especially if any of them contained threats.

[Joe Fields]

9. He said the guy had written letters to the editor.

Van Zandt did not specify how many. The news anchor (I cannot remember her name) did not interrupt him.

[porphyrian]

14. I've turned them off, and encourage everyone to do the same.

If you want to be lied to, hire a hooker. At least you'll get off.

[H2O Man]

16. That's not what he meant.

He was talking about the general profile of a person who takes part in attention-seeking, theatrical crimes. After a period of time, the fellow had not blown himself and others up with explosives, and it became evident that he had other goals. One of the first that was reported was that he wanted to speak with Senator Clinton.

Clint VZ's comments were not intended to mock those who write LTTE. It was rather to address the progression of behaviors that many/most of the people who ultimately engage in the attention-seeking, theatrical criminal activities follow. It is not dependant upon political party, etc.

Certainly, most of us can read the LTTE of our local newspaper over a year, and recognize that some are rational, and other irrational, and that some reflect community values, while others are the product of disturbed minds.

[Joe Fields]

17. That isn't how I saw it at all.

When he made that comment, it was the first thing that came out of his mouth, and it lingered for a second. Not only that, but the situation was far from unfolding, when he made the comment. Reports about this guy were coming in by the minute. It was unclear as to what political affiliation he associated himself with.

And that is why it struck me so odd that he said what he did.

[H2O Man]

18. Right.

He was saying it was a characteristic of that type of attention-seeking, theatrical criminal. He said that he was confident the guy would have authored LTTE and done other things to draw attention to himself, before they knew who he was. MSNBC had, of course, given out a name that turned out to be incorrect, well before they had the right name.

Criminal profilers are often able to give a series of likely characteristics of a criminal, before they have any suspect. There are PhD's who do this, and vetran investigators who have learned from on the job experience. While they are not always right, and good investigators always keep an open mind, such profiling allows them to solve many crimes in a much shorter time than if they approached every crime as something completely new.

Also, as people know, Clint was an FBI negotiator in situations involving hostages. So he would have a fair idea of the behaviors and motivations of people who take hostages. I don't think there is any evidence that his work focused on the democratic party's grass roots. It was focused on the violent fringes of society.

[Joe Fields]

19. Don't you find it the least bit troubling that a former FBI profiler

would even bring something like that up. How many millions of people write letters to the editor of their local newspapers? As a progressive, I find it troubling, since we have already been marginalized by push-button words and phrases.

It sent a chill through me, knowing that this guy was considered to be a top FBI profiler and this is what he mentioned, in conjunction with a few other details. And, excuse me for being a little paranoid, but with this administration, and it's army of spies, it's somewhat disconcerting to think that, just because a person writes a letter to the editor, theyvery possibly could end up on a watch list.

[H2O Man]

21. No, not at all.

I write lots of LTTE. I think that most readers can tell the difference between what I write, and what that fellow likely wrote.

One of my uncles was a famous police investigator. There were years when he worked on a series of child abductions. I can recall one press conference, when he was telling reporters about a general profile of the type of person they would consider a likely suspect. Among the details he gave the reporters that day was a desription of the type of automobile he would expect to have been used in the abductions, and the "kits" that the suspect would have in his car. He didn't mean that everyone who drove a certain type of car, or who bought certain products at a hardware store, were likely to kidnap kids. It's important not to reverse the focus, be it with cars, hardware, or LTTE.

[Joe Fields]

22. Seems we have a difference of opinion on this.

[Rex]

20. Maybe he wrote nutty letters to the editor.

Someone should check.