Reason Magazine
- reason.com
- reason.tv
- reason.org
- Donate
- Site Search:
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSSGet Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsadvertisements
Keith Olbermann and the Ring of Assassins!
On last night's episode of Countdown, the always excitable Keith Olbermann led the show with a "bombshell allegation" from investigative reporter Seymour Hersh exposing a "covert executive assassination ring" run out of Dick Cheney's office. Or least that's what I think he said. Hersh made the sensational revelation during a speaking appearance at the University of Minnesota on Wednesday. The segment:
From a quick search of Google News, it seems as if MSNBC is the only mainstream news organization to have reported Dick's Death Squads—because, I presume, most journalists are just now remembering that Hersh insists upon a distinction between what he says to paying audiences and what he writes for the New Yorker. There is literal truth, he argues, and then there is speaks-to-a-larger-truth. As Chris Suellentrop demonstrated in New York magazine, Hersh has something of a "loose relationship with literal truth," explaining that when behind the lectern he tends to exaggerate his "scoops." (New York's headline? "Sy Hersh Says It's Okay to Lie (Just Not in Print)"). Some selections from Suellentrop's 2005 story:
"On the podium, Sy is willing to tell a story that's not quite right, in order to convey a Larger Truth. ‘I can't fudge what I write. But I can certainly fudge what I say...I find that totally not inconsistent with anything I do professionally. I'm just communicating another reality that I know, that for a lot of reasons having to do with, basically, someone else's ass, I'm not writing about it...I get paid to do speeches...And I'm not there to be on straight I'm there to tell, you know, give somebody, exchange views with people."
Reading this, it's not terribly surprising that, as he told an interviewer in 1984, Hersh sees himself as more evangelist than journalist: "I‘m not interested in history because I'm trying to change things." Hersh always had his mainstream media detractors, but it wasn't until the release of his gossipy book on the Kennedy family, Dark Side of Camelot, that many critics expressed skepticism of his methods.
The Columbia Journalism Review, reviewing Camelot, said that "Hersh's attributions generally fall short of normal journalistic yardsticks. More important, many of his conclusions are weakly substantiated by his research and highly questionable." New York Times Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus, writing in the Boston Globe, called the book "an exercise in acute paranoia informed by cabalistic quasi-logic." The Los Angeles Times sarcastically applauded Hersh's "creative journalism," that, while entertaining, "unfortunately...does not produce credible history."
The original version of the Kennedy manuscript was even less credible. Hersh was forced to excise an entire chapter of Camelot—one containing "bombshell" allegations of cash payoffs to Marilyn Monroe in exchange for silence on the family's connections to the Chicago mob—when the documents upon which it was based were exposed as crude forgeries. During the ensuing controversy, Newsweek reporters Evan Thomas, Mark Hosenball, and Michael Isikoff observed that "Like many investigative reporters, [Hersh] has an interest in conspiracy theories, but is extremely persistent—so much so that his source sometimes complain he browbeats them."
So while Olbermann hyperventilates about a new Church Committee to investigate the "executive assassination squad," keep in mind Hersh's sketchy track record and his distinctions between competing types of truth. Indeed, in an email to a Minneapolis blogger after his speech, Hersh struck a slightly different tone:
In an email exchange afterward, Hersh said that his statements were "an honest response to a question" from the event's moderator, U of M Political Scientist Larry Jacobs and "not something I wanted to dwell about in public."
Hersh didn't take back the statements, which he said arise from reporting he is doing for a book, but that it might be a year or two before he has what he needs on the topic to be "effective...that is, empirical, for even the most skeptical."
Ward S. Denker|3.13.09 @ 1:56PM|#
It's true! He's a lecher, however, so his assassination squad was all females and he called them "Fox Force Five." Fox denies any connection to the group.
|3.13.09 @ 2:05PM|#
Why didn't Dick's Death Dealers (see how much better mine is than yours, Michael?) deliver death to Hersh to shut him up?
Jesse Walker|3.13.09 @ 2:08PM|#
Hersh was forced to excise an entire chapter of Camelot-one
containing "bombshell" allegations of cash payoffs to Marilyn
Monroe in exchange for silence on the family's connections to the
Chicago mob-when the documents upon which it was based were exposed
as crude forgeries.
If Hersh had gone to press with the Monroe material intact, that
would have been a legitimate scandal. But it was odd to see so many
attacks on a book that hinged on the allegations it didn't
contain.
alan|3.13.09 @ 2:11PM|#
I didn't actually think it was possible to get anything
accomplished in Washington without a loyal cadre of killers who are
willing to dispense with your enemies with a simple nod of the
head, so I just assumed he had one.
I once argued with my much more Republican oriented brother on the
matter of Cheney's influence, and he made the best defense of the
man I have yet to see.
In essence, 'given Bush got away with a lot of 'moderate' crap like
steel tariffs, No Child Steps Forward, the prescription pill
benefit, to name the most news worthy, can you imagine the
proposals that Cheney successfully blocked given the temperament of
the other people Bush was listening to besides Cheney?'
|3.13.09 @ 2:12PM|#
Life once again imitates Bloom County. There is a classic
Bloomcounty strip where it gives Bill the Cat's hobbies. One of
them is dressing up like George Casey and telling Bob Woodward
lies. This is accompanyed by a drawing of Bill wearing a Casey mask
sitting on a park bench in front of the Whitehouse telling a
notetaking Bob Woodward "In 83 we tried to kill Ed Asner."
Is Bill the Cat still around? Has he been talking to Seymor
Hersch?
|3.13.09 @ 2:16PM|#
One of them is dressing up like George Casey and telling Bob
Woodward lies.
Good fucking memory, John. Shit, if I were home I'd find that one
(I have all the books), scan it, and email it to Moynihan.
stuartl|3.13.09 @ 2:21PM|#
I can't watch the video at work, did Hersh name someone who was
assassinated?
Actual victims might add a little credibility.
economist|3.13.09 @ 2:21PM|#
John,
I think Bill the Cat kicked off because of his drug habit in the
late '80s. Very sad.
|3.13.09 @ 2:28PM|#
I'm just communicating another reality that I
know,
The founding father of the modern truthiness movement?
What an utter tool. The ends justify the means, in action. And some
people wonder why I dismiss any Hersh allegations out of hand.
Dello|3.13.09 @ 2:28PM|#
A friend buys into all this stuff, and sent me this:
*****J. H. Hatfield J. H. Hatfield wrote a scathing biography of
George W. Bush, called "Fortunate Son", which was published while
Bush was running for President in 2000, following numerous
aggressive attempts to prevent its publication. In addition to
detailing many of the well known (to DUers) unethical and probably
illegal business dealings by Bush in the 1990s, the book also
alleged that Bush was found guilty of a cocaine use charge which
was expunged from his record. Many were dismayed to hear of
Hatfield's "suicide".
*****Cliff Baxter Cliff Baxter was a former Vice Chairman of Enron,
and one of the few high level Enron executives who had tried to
prevent Enron's illegal activities, which resulted in the fall of
the company and the disappearance of the life savings of many of
its employees, in one of the largest corporate fraud cases in U.S.
history. At the time of his death he was about to testify before
the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the scandal at Enron.
It was felt by many that his testimony could be devastating to top
Enron officials and might even provide a vital link between Enron
and the Bush Administration. Baxter was found shot to death in his
car.
******Paul Wellstone Paul Wellstone was the greatest thorn in the
side of the Bush Administration of any U.S. Senator. Had he lived
it was thought likely that, starting in 2003, he would have
initiated a serious Senate investigation into the September 2001
terrorist attacks against our country. He died in a small plane
crash just weeks prior to the 2002 mid-term elections, as it was
becoming evident that he would win a third term to the U.S. Senate.
It was thought at the time that a Wellstone victory in Minnesota
would result in Democratic control of the Senate for the next two
years (which would have been the case had Max Cleland not been
defeated in Georgia). According to an article, "None of the typical
causes of a small plane accident-engine failure, icing, pilot
error-appear to have been involved." Evidence suggests that both
engines were running when the plane hit the ground. The plane had
passed through the icing altitude without apparent difficulty, and
it was cleared for approach to the airport. Both pilots were very
experienced and skilled. The Beechcraft model in which Wellstone
was flying has an excellent safety record. Though visibility was
limited, it was well above the minimum required. There had been no
problems until shortly before the crash. Witnesses say that the
plane hit the ground at an almost vertical angle, and the crash was
followed by an "extreme post-crash fire".
*****Raymond Lemme Raymond Lemme was the official from the Florida
Inspector General's office who was in the midst of investigating
the election rigging charges of whistleblower Clint Curtis when he
died. Curtis' main allegation was that he was asked to write a
computer program that would be capable of switching votes from one
candidate to another, and which would be undetectable. Curtis also
claims that Lemme had told him shortly before his death that he
"had tracked the corruption all the way to the top". Lemme was
found dead in a Valdosta, Georgia, Knights Inn motel room on July
1, 2003. His arm was slashed twice with a razor blade, near the
left elbow.
*****David Kelly Dr. David Kelly was a microbiologist and an expert
in weapons of mass destruction. He had already blown the whistle
regarding the exaggeration of British intelligence reports on the
possibility of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as the Bush
Administration was trying to make the case for invading Iraq.
Speculatively, the Bush Administration may have had yet a great
deal more to fear from Dr. Kelly's telling what he knew of the
Administration's devious plans for building a case for war in Iraq.
On July 18th, 2003, Kelly was found dead in a secluded lane in
Harrowdown Hill, with his left wrist slit. His death was ruled a
suicide, but there were many red flags that indicated
otherwise.
*****Ted Westhusing Colonel Ted Westhusing, one of the Army's
leading scholars of military ethics, volunteered to serve in Iraq
in order to enable him to better be able to teach his students. A
few weeks before he died, he had received an anonymous complaint
that a private contractor was cheating the U.S. government and
committing human rights violations, including participating in the
killing of Iraqi military personnel and civilians. Westhusing
reported all this, but an official investigation found his
allegations to be "unfounded". Westhusing was very upset about
these findings. Shortly thereafter, in June of 2005, Westhusing was
found dead in a trailer at a military base in Baghdad, with a
gunshot wound to his head. The death was ruled a suicide. At the
time he was the highest ranking U.S. officer to die in Iraq.
*****Gary Webb, the "investigative reporter who broke the story
about the CIA's involvement with crack cocaine dealers in Southern
California in the 1980's", was found dead in Sacramento in December
2004, from a gunshot wound to the head. The death was ruled a
suicide. Webb had been receiving death threats and reportedly shot
himself in the face twice.
*****Danny Casolaro was writing a book, 'The Octopus', "which was
meant to be an explosive expose of the scandals surrounding the
presidency of George Bush Sr.", when he was found dead in August in
a hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1991. He had bragged to
friends that he would "bring back the head of the Octopus." Both
his wrists were slashed seven times, and a suicide note was found
nearby. The only existing manuscript of the book he was writing, as
well as his notes, were missing.
*****Six dead microbiologists connected with the 2001 anthrax hoax.
After the source of the anthrax (the strain that killed several
American citizens and was also sent to the offices of Senators Tom
Daschle and Patrick Leahy) was traced to a Pentagon lab,
"microbiologists started dropping off like flies". Five died
between 12 November and 12 December 2001 of "suicides" or "heart
attacks", and one was bashed to death with a baseball bat in a
high-security lab.
*****IF we assume that, of the 5 "suicide" deaths (leaving out
Senator Wellstone, since that was ruled an accident, not a
suicide), all 5 of the individuals were among the top 100 persons
whom the Bush Administration would have liked to see disappear, the
odds against 5 of the top 100 Bush Administration enemies really
dying of suicide over a five year period is about ten thousand to
one, assuming that they were not related. If we further consider
the facts that most of the victims had no known reason to commit
suicide and did not seem at all suicidal, the investigations seemed
so rushed and incomplete, the various evidence against suicide in
these cases, the known ruthlessness of the Bush Administration, the
likelihood that some people would have been too difficult to
assassinate, and the possibility that as many as an additional top
100 deaths during this time period, the odds would become even more
remote.
Jesse Walker|3.13.09 @ 2:37PM|#
The ends justify the means, in action.
If you read the full quote, he's talking about changing details of
stories (when speaking, not writing) in order to protect people. I
don't approve of that either (unless he's upfront about what he's
doing), but it's not as bad as what you're describing.
Hersh is often right, sometimes wrong, and way less transparent
than I'd prefer. Like Edward Jay Epstein -- the author of the L.A.
Times review Michael quotes -- he's in the category "goes off the
deep end sometimes, but sometimes he gets a story no one else has,
so you better pay attention."
|3.13.09 @ 2:44PM|#
Dello,
the odds against 5 of the top 100 Bush Administration enemies
really dying of suicide over a five year period is about ten
thousand to one, assuming that they were not related.
Tell your friend you only get credit if you can show your work.
Tacos mmm...|3.13.09 @ 2:55PM|#
What's with all this hatred on Hersh? Did he say something bad about Israel?
Cabeza De Vaca|3.13.09 @ 2:59PM|#
"Keith Olbermann and the Ring of Assassins!"
I can't wait for this game to come out for XBOX 360.
max hats|3.13.09 @ 2:59PM|#
It takes balls for a Weekly Standard writer to criticize
anyone's journalism.
Yeah, Hersh messes up a lot. He also gets amazing scoops, such as
Abu Graib. When has the Weekly Standard ever been right about
anything?
|3.13.09 @ 3:01PM|#
"He also gets amazing scoops, such as Abu Graib. When has the
Weekly Standard ever been right about anything?"
There is nothing amazing about the Abu Garhib scoop. The Army knew
about it, was investigating it and was in the process of court
martialing those involved. It is not like no one knew about it and
wasn't trying to do something about it before Hersh became
involved.
lefiti|3.13.09 @ 3:01PM|#
Laugh it up libertards. I have the photo
evidence.
In this hidden camera photo, Cheney demonstrates to his new
recruits how to curve a bullet. The person who got us this photo
paid with his LIFE!
Happy Jack|3.13.09 @ 3:02PM|#
goes off the deep end sometimes, but sometimes he gets a
story no one else has
This
stuff
isn't new.
max hats|3.13.09 @ 3:05PM|#
It is not like no one knew about it and wasn't trying to do something about it before Hersh became involved.
The public didn't know.
|3.13.09 @ 3:08PM|#
Imagine Keith Olberman and Rush Limbaugh locked in the same
room. All the doors and windows are barred and sealed
airtight.
Forever.
*Sigh*
|3.13.09 @ 3:14PM|#
Anyone else notice the resemblance between Cheney and Saul
Tigh?
I think the show is trying to imply something .... but I'm not sure
what!
|3.13.09 @ 3:15PM|#
You know, reading the piece my first reaction was hilarity. Then I realized that a lot of the people with Olbermann's and Hersh's view of reality are running the country and I stopped laughing.
|3.13.09 @ 3:17PM|#
The public didn't know.
If they were paying attention, they did. There were news reports on
it. They just didn't come with pictures.
But it was 60 minutes that scooped the pictures, not Hersh.
TofuSushi|3.13.09 @ 3:17PM|#
Max,
He also gets amazing scoops, such as Abu Graib.
At the risk of revealing my other false identity, I must correct
you.
Sorry, I just noticed that John already did so I am just piling
on.
|3.13.09 @ 3:18PM|#
Frankly, I'm very dissappointed by this. Think of how much better the world would be if there was a secret assassination squad that reported to Dick Cheney.
|3.13.09 @ 3:18PM|#
Is there any difference between the troofers baying about "5 of
the top 100 Bush Administration enemies really dying of suicide"
and the wingnuts yammering on about all the friends of Clinton who
mysteriously died?
No? I thought not.
TofuSushi|3.13.09 @ 3:19PM|#
If they were paying attention, they did. There were news
reports on it. They just didn't come with pictures.
It was announced in a CENTCOM daily briefing too. The reporters who
were still attending were busy whining that the imbeds were getting
all of the good stories.
TofuSushi|3.13.09 @ 3:21PM|#
Now, back to my usual way under this handle.
Why is everybody picking on Olbermann? He just speaks the truth.
They attack him as they attacked Che, Fidel, FDR and Stalin.
TofuSushi|3.13.09 @ 3:26PM|#
okay, I was wrong.
You can make a career out of that at The NYT or a certain DC-based
magazine, for that matter.
Kolohe|3.13.09 @ 3:32PM|#
I think Bill the Cat kicked off because of his drug habit in
the late '80s. Very sad.
Slanderous libel! Everyone knows that Bill the Cat died of
acne.
Kolohe|3.13.09 @ 3:42PM|#
The problem with Hersh is that he got pretty much all of it right about Abu Graib when there was a lot of misdirection and evasion, but it appears to me has really got his leg pulled by people with grudges since then. According the Hersh, how many times were we supposed to have attacked Iran by now?
|3.13.09 @ 3:52PM|#
"Is there any difference between the troofers baying about "5 of
the top 100 Bush Administration enemies really dying of suicide"
and the wingnuts yammering on about all the friends of Clinton who
mysteriously died?
No? I thought not."
your learning RC...not much difference...both kill people to
protect their power.
|3.13.09 @ 3:52PM|#
I'll bet these are the same sumbitches who killed Vince Foster and made it look like a suicide! Thank God for folks like Keith Olbermann who get us the unvarnished, unbiased truth! What a guy! He kinda "runs" the Democratic Party like Rush Limbaugh "runs" the Republicans!
wingnutx|3.13.09 @ 3:57PM|#
JSOC does not report to anyone?
Funny, when I was was working under JSOC my chain of command went
up through the DOD to the POTUS just like any other command.
|3.13.09 @ 4:01PM|#
Is there any difference between the troofers baying about "5
of the top 100 Bush Administration enemies really dying of suicide"
and the wingnuts yammering on about all the friends of Clinton who
mysteriously died?
No? I thought not.
The left's Cheney Chronicles are different and real compared to the
Clinton Chronicles dummy!!!
|3.13.09 @ 4:18PM|#
I love it. Cheney couldn't even spread a rumor about a guy who
botched a fact-finding mission without getting caught, and he's
supposed to have been running a secret hit squad.
Well, I guess faking the suicides of their enemies is child's play
to an administration that could secretly plant thousands of pounds
of explosives to stage a controlled demolition of the biggest
office towers in one of the busiest cities in the world.
ed|3.13.09 @ 5:05PM|#
it wasn't until the release of his gossipy book on the
Kennedy family, Dark Side of Camelot, that many critics expressed
skepticism of his methods.
Crap! And I really enjoyed that book. I have the hardcover! The
jacket says he won some sort of journalism prize...let me go get
it...yes, he won a "Pulitzer" in 1970 for "International
Reporting." Now I'm really confused. If we can't trust the
Pulitzers and Keith Olbermann,
who can we trust?
|3.13.09 @ 5:53PM|#
If it were true, wouldn't Hersh and Keefums be next?
Neither strikes me as being particularly brave. "Scum" comes to
mind much more quickly.
|3.13.09 @ 7:33PM|#
Dello the odds against 5 of the top 100 Bush Administration
enemies really dying of suicide over a five year period is about
ten thousand to one
*scratches head*
Well, let's see. They were part of an administration that:
1/ were reviled daily in the various media world-wide
2/ had thousands of eyes scrutinizing every tiny detail of their
lives looking for any and all fault
3/ had a liberal US populace so unhinged about them that t-shirts,
bumperstickers, and films were produced advocating their deaths and
refering to them as terrorists and murderers
4/ had the same group calling for their arrest on war-crime
trials
5/ even ignoring 3 and 4, had an approval rating so low that it was
effectively a career ender
To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised the numbers weren't
higher.
Gabe Cheney didn't get caught. He got away scot-free
You appear to be confusing "caught" and "punished".
They're not synonyms.
Cheney was caught.....he wasn't
punished.
zoltan|3.13.09 @ 7:50PM|#
Now if only people would apply those five things to Obama. Then the world would be my happy place. Hate on the politicians!
|3.13.09 @ 7:51PM|#
" *****IF we assume that, of the 5 "suicide" deaths (leaving out
Senator Wellstone, since that was ruled an accident, not a
suicide), all 5 of the individuals were among the top 100 persons
whom the Bush Administration would have liked to see disappear
..."
Quite a big assumption, isn't it? There are hundreds of wackos with
all sorts of Bush-flavored conspiracies they are just "on the
verge" of proving, and only 5 drop dead? I'm pretty sure the
suicide rate among delusional loons is higher than that of the
general population. But I guess the rest of them could be locked
away in John Ashcroft's secret prisons.
|3.13.09 @ 7:58PM|#
Dello the odds against 5 of the top 100 Bush Administration
enemies really dying of suicide over a five year period is about
ten thousand to one
Hell Cheney couldn't even get away with mentioning Vallery Plames
name with out people going to jail. How the hell could he be out
knocking people off.
Joe Moe|3.13.09 @ 8:16PM|#
Were there any major political assassinations during the Bush
years of the type that inspired the Church Committee? (Not counting
'fake suicides' by annonymous 'microbiologists' and obscure wacko
'investigative reporters')
I'm trying to remember. Please help me out.
There was Rafik Hariri - but he was a guy on "our" side, likely
done by Syria & Hezbollah.
- Ukranian presidential candidate was unsuccessfully poisoned -
probably by the Russians.
- Putin also did that bizarre radiation hit on the KGB defector in
London and there was some other anti-Putin woman who got
killed
- Pym Fortyn was killed by an Islamic-sympathizing leftoid.
Any others I'm forgetting (not counting the hundreds of hits by and
against people in clans, sects, militias, provisional governments,
etc. in the Middle East)
mjoehrer|3.13.09 @ 8:20PM|#
So what's the damn big deal. Somebody ask Teddy boy Kennedy about his bro's assassination of Ngo Dihn Diem. That was a biggie leading to thousands of US soldier deaths.
|3.13.09 @ 9:31PM|#
Slander!Lies! Everyone knows that the reason that we have not invaded Iran is because of the valiant and tireless reporting of Seymour Hersh. He alone has led the fight against the armies of the darkness and has held the line against in the face of overwhelming odds. Sy Hersh reporting is in fact the very reason that Darth Cheney could not attack Iran. It's like hitting womp rats in a snub fighter.............snark......or is it? Only Sy Knows!
|3.13.09 @ 10:34PM|#
Didn't Hersh say that American troops were sodomising little Iraqi boys at Abu Graib? Whatever became of that?
|3.13.09 @ 10:39PM|#
Keith Olberman IS a douchebag.
And the liberal filth that watch him and beleive the smegma he puts
out are the purient filth that voted for SHO-bama.
No wonder journalism died in '08!
You liberal filth run Soviet Show Trial-style news programs every
night in which SHO-bama cannot be wrong, he's always right, the
conservatives eat their young and our soldiers are baby
killers.
Liberal trash.
Liberal filth.
Liberal feces.
TallDave|3.13.09 @ 11:19PM|#
Aren't we a little overdue for Seymour's invasion of Iran?
Not sure why anyone takes this guy seriously.
|3.13.09 @ 11:21PM|#
Hey, Cheney offered me the contract before he went to
exclusively female operatives.
I nailed Paul Wellstone, and parachuted clear, but that wasn't good
enough.
My complaint for sexual discrimination in hiring is presently
before the EEOC.
TallDave|3.13.09 @ 11:25PM|#
Also, David Kelly was driven to suicide by the media's
misreporting of his statements and the subsequent hearing in front
of Parliament, a scandal which caused a serious review of policies
there.0
The Hutton Inquiry, a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death, ruled that he had committed suicide and that Kelly had not in fact said some of the things attributed to him by Gilligan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kelly_(weapons_expert)
The fact that the very conspiracy theorists who drive him to
suicide now claim his death as part of their conspiracy theory is
beyond appalling.
|3.13.09 @ 11:34PM|#
Well, after perusing the comments, either a lot of wide-eyed
lefties showed up, or libertarians increasingly show why they're
irrelevant. The best argument you can muster is, "Oh yeah? Well the
Repubs claimed the same with Clinton!"
Yeah, that's compelling. I see why that liberaltarian movement is
going to succeed. Brain power and 11 year old maturity. We'll take
over the world!
Dello|3.13.09 @ 11:45PM|#
Dave Hardy,
"I nailed Paul Wellstone, and parachuted clear, but that wasn't
good enough."
Sorry bud; it takes TWO kills to get 00 status.
|3.13.09 @ 11:46PM|#
hersh hasn't had an honest story since the my lai massaecre. the guy is adisgrace.
Dello|3.13.09 @ 11:48PM|#
rrr,
Actually, the best argument I read on this thread was that the
story is stupid bullshit.
You must have missed those posts...
|3.14.09 @ 12:02AM|#
In Hersh's comments I hear echoes of one of the truly great contemporary observers of postmodern American mores...George Costanza. For it was Costanza who uttered those immortal words: "Remember, Jerry: it's not a lie if YOU believe it."
|3.14.09 @ 12:06AM|#
It's true!
Cheney assassinated Hersh's brain before Sy came up with this
theory.
|3.14.09 @ 12:24AM|#
It appears that Mr. Hersch has quite a future writing for
TV.
On second thought, nah... nobody'd buy it.
|3.14.09 @ 12:25AM|#
Why is it so not a surprise the Olbermann is siting crap from
this loon? I guess MSNBC is so desperate for anyone to watch them,
they keep this idiots show on. Its like the repair shop that adds
ton's of bogus charges on your bill for the extra cash and then
wonders why they can't get anyone to bring in their cars.
BTW, calling Olbermann a douch is an insult to feminine hygiene
products everywhere.
|3.14.09 @ 12:54AM|#
I cannot believe the skepticism I'm reading here. You think
those buildings fell down BY THEMSELVES? When everybody knows that
there is no way jet fuel burns hot enough to melt steel - NO.
WAY.
(well maybe not everybody but at least my brother-in-law's son's
high school shop teacher)
|3.14.09 @ 12:55AM|#
The fact that Kieth Olberman is still around to talk about it proves this allegation to be false.
YXS|3.14.09 @ 1:04AM|#
This article is itself filled with innuendo, unsubstantiated allegations and assumptions. Is it any better than Seymour Hersh articles? Seymour Hersh = Michael C. Moynihan?
|3.14.09 @ 2:04AM|#
OK, so Olbermann vs Rush in a fistfight.
Who wins?
I'm still waiting for "Bush's imminent attack against Iraq" that
Seymour predicted; twice IIRC. Seymour (that name is so perfect)
said he had very trustworthy sources.
|3.14.09 @ 2:08AM|#
Masters of conspiracy, wielders of unaccountable hit squads, and
yet the administration forgot to plant some WMD in Iraq?
Obama and the Dem's are no better. They can't even evade taxes and
peddle influence without getting caught.
Next election I'm voting for a better, more sinister
conspiracy.
Darth Vader in 2012!
Understanding Insanity|3.14.09 @ 2:42AM|#
Isn't political assassination exactly what Keith Olbermann is attempting?
Jim Treacher|3.14.09 @ 2:50AM|#
It takes balls for a Weekly Standard writer to criticize anyone's journalism.
You just sold them another subscription, asshole.
Jim Treacher|3.14.09 @ 2:53AM|#
You think those buildings fell down BY THEMSELVES? When everybody knows that there is no way jet fuel burns hot enough to melt steel - NO. WAY.
RON PAUL '12
|3.14.09 @ 3:40AM|#
Sy Hersh has been a journalistic joke, the old drunk at the end
of the that forlorn bar, for years.
Blathering on incoherently for page after page in The New Yorker
with Hendrik Herzberg's blessing. I finally quit my subscription in
2004.
What is delightful, is that The Olberdunce is the new Sy
Hersh!
Ten years from now we all get to laugh at him as he scrambles for
change.
|3.14.09 @ 3:46AM|#
Sy Hersh has been reading too many Robert Ludlum novels about the assassin Jason Bourne. Time for Sy to get back on his meds so he doesn't confuse fiction with reality.
Texan|3.14.09 @ 4:00AM|#
I seriously thing you are all shameless. Keith Oberman obviously suffers from a serious mental dissorder and it is politically incorrect to make fun of that. All responses to him should be in the form of "poor thing, he's looking worse....Is it incurable?....I hope they can do something for him cause it is obvioulsy getting worse...Poor soul, why don't they commit him where he can get some professional help".....
|3.14.09 @ 4:47AM|#
Olbermann is a douche. Just thinking about that pompous, over-modulated voice and that square face makes me angry.
|3.14.09 @ 5:53AM|#
Keith O;bermann has never had a great relationship with the
truth. He lies throught hose false teeth of his. Here's a site to
petition for him to be fired!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/fire-keith-olbermann
FIRE KEITH OLBERMANN
|3.14.09 @ 5:55AM|#
So, what are they doing about those evil mass-murderers who
won't let Keith keep his cat in their apartment complex?
http://www.break.com/usercontent/2008/11/SNL-Skewers-Keith-Olbermann-598554.html
|3.14.09 @ 7:19AM|#
Sy Hersh and Olbermann should be investigated by the FBI as
traitors to the United States government. Ineundo and accusations,
lies and dishonesty are the trademark of Keith Olbermann.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/fire-keith-olbermann
This site as someone else mentioned, is a place to vent.
|3.14.09 @ 7:26AM|#
If Cheney really had death squads, wouldn't Olbermann be right at the top of the list, like the Russkies did with that Politkovskaya chick? The fact that Olbie isn't pushing up daisies from some unmarked grave seems to put the kibosh on his whole wacky theory.
Mike DeSoto|3.14.09 @ 7:27AM|#
"It was felt by many that his testimony could be devastating
to top Enron officials and might even provide a vital link between
Enron and the Bush Administration."
One of many Fitzmases which never came to pass for the moonbat
left. Amazingly enough things don't become real just because we
really REALLY want them to be. Most of us figure this out in
adolescence. For those who don't, "the dream will never die" as
that drunken sot Kennedy put it.
Mike DeSoto|3.14.09 @ 7:41AM|#
.. the known ruthlessness of the Bush
Administration
Right. I think "ineptness" was the word he wanted there. A little
ruthlessness would have been a welcome change of pace where Bush
was concerned.
A.J.|3.14.09 @ 8:20AM|#
There was a time in this country, that journalists wouldn't just report on things they heard, they actually had to investigate stories first. Keith is an empty shell, obsessed with Bush and Cheney. He's a sad, pathetic, useless waste of skin.
ed|3.14.09 @ 8:55AM|#
Keith Oberman obviously suffers from a serious mental
dissorder and it is politically incorrect to make fun of
that
I blame the psychosis on his painful rectal birth of Rachel Maddow.
That had to be traumatic.
|3.14.09 @ 9:47AM|#
My favorite Olberism was replayed recently on Greg Gutfeld's Red
Eye.
With spittle glistening the corners of his mouth while ranting
incoherently at Ann Coulter, little Keithie actually held up his
plastic-encased Cornell Ag School diploma, which he apparently
keeps at the ready under his desk at MSNBC at all times to remind
himself he are smart.
I believe he received a BS in BS from the AG school before going on
to his stellar career at ESPN denigrating athletes in revenge for
the weggies they gave him in high school.
|3.14.09 @ 10:03AM|#
What everyone seems to forget about Olbermann is couldn't even cut it as a sports commentator, and he was better at that then he is at political commentary! That's how he landed on MSNBC - the least watched network on television. More people watch OLN now that they show the NHL games. My issue with this, is the more we talk about how mentally unbalanced Keith is, the more relevance we give him. My suggestion: stop talking about him and his crazy ideas/guests and let him fade into obscurity. The world will be a much better place. (Hint to the current administration of the US: you are doing the same thing with Rush Limbaugh...because you keep talking he keeps being..relevant.)
|3.14.09 @ 10:14AM|#
Dr David Kelley spoke to Judith Miller of the New York Times the
day before he was found dead in the woods near his home. He was on
the verge of being outed by the Blair government as the source for
the BBC story on the "sexed up" dossier on the Saddam WMD
threat.
Judith Miller at that time was working closely as the conduit for
Vice President Cheney's manipulation of the media, accepting almost
daily selective leaks from Cheney and Scooter Libby (both longtime
friends who holiday with Miller and all members of the Aspen
Group).
I'd really like to be able to see Ms Miller's phone records to
establish whether her next call after talking to Dr Kelley was to
Scooter Libby or Dick Cheney.
And the next day Dr David Kelley turned up dead of a slit left
wrist despite being unable to hold a knife with his right hand well
enough to cut even a steak due to a painful elbow injury . . .
|3.14.09 @ 10:23AM|#
HOw amusing that the party that lied about the war on Iraq and
then killed 100's of thouands of innocent Iraqis, is pointing the
finger at someone else.
but of course they are the same people who blame Obama for what
THEY DID.
ed|3.14.09 @ 10:53AM|#
MSNBC - the least watched network on television
Not quite. That honor--at least in the NBC family--goes to CNBC.
About 300,000 viewers, most of whom, evidently, believe in
magic.
ed|3.14.09 @ 10:58AM|#
the party that lied about the war on Iraq and then killed
100's of thouands of innocent Iraqis
Marcia,
Republicans killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis?
Sunni vs. Shia = Democrat vs. Republican in your world?
And you're barking up the wrong blog if you think reason
is a Republican outfit.
alittlesense|3.14.09 @ 11:26AM|#
We actually have invaded Iran 5 times. All with invisible troops who killed thousands of invisible Iranian soldiers and blew up hundreds of invisible Iranian mullahs. Hersh doesn't know nuthin...
El Cid|3.14.09 @ 1:27PM|#
65% of all reported hate crimes in this country are against
Hispanics. If one includes unreported hate crimes against
undocumented workers the percentage is probably much higher.
Ayatollahs Limbaugh and Murdoch and their Imans (O'Reilly, Beck,
Hannity, Dobbs, Buchanan etc.) have blood on their hands.
Keith Olbermann is one of the few cable journalist who takes on
these clowns regularly. Enemy of my Enemy is my friend!
|3.14.09 @ 2:36PM|#
Did you think the NRO would expose this one? Or Reason?
If there is any bigger abuse of big government than sending out
misaddressed or correctly addressed but illegaly dispatched hit
teams I would like to know what it is. This has become a forum for
the Republican Party and lost all credibility with anyone
interested in abuses of government!
Glenn Koons|3.14.09 @ 2:37PM|#
Keith is after all a grad of Cornell: Ag school. He is known far and wide for his bull pucky. He ranted as a sports guy and could be funny. He is not funny dealing with serious military, cultural, political and economic issues because he is plain ignorant on them. He is an ideologue with little factual foundations. His inane rants on the word of leftist elitists like Seymour and other lefty socialist pacifists simply put MSNBC and NBC for that matter lower on the food chain and viewership. The more vitriol he spurts, the left loves it but the masses just watch Sean, Bill and Glenn. Sorry boys and girls , that is factual.
ed|3.14.09 @ 2:56PM|#
Keith Olbermann has, by his very existence, made Bill O'Reilly seem almost respectable.
|3.14.09 @ 4:55PM|#
If there is any bigger abuse of big government than sending
out misaddressed or correctly addressed but illegaly dispatched hit
teams I would like to know what it is.
Those are just isolated incidents. Radley Balko covers them on the
rare occasion they do happen.
|3.14.09 @ 5:12PM|#
Wow! There's enough bone deep crazy on this thread to fill Invesco Field and Grant Park to overflowing with overaged hippes, tenured professors and the young and the gullible.
|3.14.09 @ 5:22PM|#
Olbermann is a fanatic. He is an ultra left maniac who has no judgement or common sense
|3.14.09 @ 7:10PM|#
If Bush and Cheney had a death squad the Congressman they would
have killed would have been Jim Jeffords, not Paul Wellstone.
Also Paul O'Neill.
William|3.14.09 @ 8:06PM|#
I think Hersh is on to something and we soon will learn that it was Cheney et al that did in Vince Foster.
|3.15.09 @ 1:58AM|#
I am a retired Army Intelligence officer of 29 years service,
plus 16 years as an Army Intelligence civilian. Overall, I'd say in
the last 10 years Sy Hersh has been about 60% correct in his
analysis of things military. He, like a lot of baby boomer leftists
journalists comes with an anti-war, anti-military bias gained
during Vietnam. Of course, they never served, but, what the
hey.
On point, JSOC is in the chain of command through SecDef to the
White House, Ford's 1976 Executive Order of Assasinations was
directed at the killing of political leaders. Enemy terrorists were
still fair game if the rules were adhered to. There are very evil,
capable individuals out there who are sworn to the destruction of
the U.S., western civilization and the establishment of a world
wide theocracy. Sometimes they have to be taken out. What if we had
stumbled upon Mohammed Atta and his 9/11 confederates prior? Does
anyone argue that they shouldn't have been taken out? The best
defense in this "game" is a tough offense. Might that trample on
the precious consciences of Hersh, Pelosi, Obama, and others of
their ilk? Likely. But as Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg (a
liberal's liberal) in a case involving protecting the U.S. from
"enemies foreign and domestic", "the Constitution is not a suicide
pact."
|3.15.09 @ 6:30AM|#
Let's accept the fact that Hersh purveys counterfeit information. Let's dismiss him as the fraud he is, and get on with our lives.
furious|3.15.09 @ 12:08PM|#
"...a better, more sinister conspiracy..."
dennymack:
Kudos -- if there's ever been a better, all-purpose campaign
slogan, I've never heard it.
josea|3.18.09 @ 11:29AM|#
Oh my god all my rites have been given back, I don't have to worry about that evil admin taking me out!
Site comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245