Helen Thomas, one of the few true journalists remaining in Washington, has been sidelined from writing her column by a gastric infection.  

Show her that she is already missed by wishing her a quick recovery.

The 'who could have known' defense

With the new Scott McClellan book finally out, it is amazing and incredible to watch the corporate media defending itself from allegations that they were "complicit enablers".

There is a misinformed "piling on" today.  Some of the diaries are killing David Gregory.  Yes, he is part of the MSM, but he stood out when it counted.  HE WAS NOT LIKE THE REST OF THEM.

With all of the brew ha-ha surrounding Scott McClellan's statement of the obvious, and "Come-to-Jesus" moment, I thought I'd host an open thread of some of his greatest hits.

I know I will never forget how he lied to the American public, and I hope you don't either. Please post your fond memories here.

UPDATE: Helen giving Scott the business on wire tapping. Helen grilling on Iraq. A video of Helen at MIT.

Think he'll issue her an apology?

WE DO NOT TORTURE By George W. Bush
Helen Thomas appears to be the only member of the media who believes we should all be aware of what is going on behind our backs. In fact, what's going on right in front of our faces while Bush and his scourging cabal thumb their noses at us. Torture has been mentioned briefly by anchors and news sources but then it fades away... The fact that we have used this hellish force on fellow human beings, is something that should never fade. I can't do much, for that matter almost nothing but whenever I can call attention to this dreadful act, I will! I'll spread the word or feelings from the rooftops (or maybe just youtube) about how abominable torture is. But what is even more frightening than torture is that we Americans, have elected leaders who not only use this immoral practice but hold it up as a useful tool touting "the end justifies the means". I think it's more like an end to society and the beginning of anarchy. Also watch: Ghosts Of Torture

Thanks, thinkingblue

Most everyone here is familiar with Helen Thomas, a reporter who refuses to accept the propaganda spewed by the administration.  A grassroots effort to thank her for years of work has collected a good deal of money to send her flowers.

Helen Thomas spoke out against torture, and the silence of the media regarding torture, in a press conference with Dana Perino, and apparently, no one noticed.  

We only care about elections.  We only care who said what, and when, and how it will affect the ratings for our massive industry.  No.  CNN, MSNBC, and FOX haven't stated that, as such, but isn't it the truth?  For them?

For us the the truth is another thing.  A real thing.  And thankfully, we have Helen Thomas, and truth is ours.

Helen Thomas wrote a column asking the Democratic candidates to "come clean" on Iraq, but left out the topic nearly every politician in Washington has ducked or lied about: the oil motive for the Iraq War.

Summary: As you probably know by now, Bill O'Reilly recently defended waterboarding.  The response that often comes up on this subject is, "If you think waterboarding isn't torture, why don't you try it out?"  So I decided to do the closest thing, and had Mr. O'Reilly fictitiously put through an enhanced interroga...a torture technique...known as "Waterworlding".

Note: I do not condone the idea of Mr. O'Reilly being tortured in the real world.  I also do not condone the idea of other people saying that Mr. O'Reilly should be tortured in the real world.

Show some love to Helen Thomas.  The feisty broad has been around since before most of you were born.  And although I doubt she would take your charity or your pity, I know she would appreciate your love.

What am I talking about?  Why the White House black list of reporters.

Dana Perino, Tony Snow, Scott McClellan (anyone else?) all seem to get a type of soup nazi attitude when they stand behind the podium.  Ask a tough question... "NO SOUP FOR YOU."  Ask a potentially embarrassing question... "NO SOUP FOR YOU."  Ask a question that doesn't lead them to a talking points memo... "NO SOUP FOR YOU."

So as we all know and have read and seen on television, Helen Thomas had the temerity to ask Perino "how many more people we kill?"  This is in response to Perino explaining away something embarrassing/inconvenient.  And Perino response was a simple "I'm going to move on."  Which is roughly defined in the WH dictionary as "NOOOO SOUP FOR YOU!!!"

Note: Welcome to Reporting for Kossacks on a special day and time! This series normally runs every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Central, but I was prompted to write on this topic by an earlier conversation. Thanks for reading.

A recent exchange in a recommended diary about Helen Thomas got me thinking about a very important topic for reporters (and bloggers) to think about.

How do reporters know when we've gotten too close to a source? Where is the line between a responsible relationship and a friendship?

Helen Thomas is one of this year's AARP Inspire Award honorees:

No one will ever accuse Helen Thomas of being intimidated by the power of the presidency. During 39 years covering the White House for United Press International (UPI), the iconic newswoman became a formidable figure in her front-row seat at White House news conferences, asking the first question and, with a nod from the man at the podium, ending with her signature "Thank you, Mr. President." Her polite tag line notwithstanding, Thomas’s questions were anything but genteel. Acerbic and oppositional, she grilled and sometimes angered nine presidents—asking Ronald Reagan why he had opposed every piece of civil rights legislation and delivering this challenge to George W. Bush on Iraq: "Why did you really want to go to war?" Says Thomas unapologetically: "I didn’t go into this business to be loved or even popular. No man is above the law, not even the president."

Can I get an "amen?!"

This is so NOT woooonderful I don't know where to begin!

...and the rest of us attend the same old dreary pep fests run by BORG Lite.

Helen Thomas nails it in her recent column: most Dems are Co-dependent Enablers.

The Democrats Who Enable Bush
By Helen Thomas - Hearst Newspapers Thursday 04 October 2007

   Washington - President Bush has no better friends than the spineless Democratic congressional leadership and the party's leading presidential candidates when it comes to his failing Iraq policy.

=====
The Dems are a flavor of NeoCON Lite.
Not even "Republican" Lite!: NeoCON is the name of the game.
A group of Dem hacks simply want ownership of the same mechanism as the NeoCON crooks now in power.

Does anyone else find it utterly fascinating that our voice is an octogenarian reporter?
Are the new kids on the block too stupid to do the job?

The same creepy lot that played "office" under the guise of "Student Council" in Junior High, (though all they really had charter to do was decide on the placement of pep fest banners), are the clowns in Washington.

Just noting something that could unify us: Freedom Toast has a new ad image, and, as Helen Thomas says "It's woooooonerful". Howard Dean calls Freedom Toast "sensational". I call them "talentless".

Helen Thomas, who has been such a thorn in the side of the Bush administration that they banished her to the Press Corps version of Siberia, writes a fairly good piece today that contains an egregiously idiotic statement about the relative public opinion of Bush and the Democrats.

Is it any wonder the Democrats are faring lower than the president in a Washington Post ABC approval poll? Bush came in at 33 percent and Congress at 29 percent.

In this sentence from the grande damme of Washington reporters creates an incredible equation: Congress=Democrats.

Last week, Bill O'Reilly, Fox's Father Coughlin, ranted riotously about the "vile hate site", DailyKos, because of what he deemed an offensive picture that he found there.

I wonder if he's going to spend this week lambasting Glenn Beck for this obscene swipe at Helen Thomas.

[Click here if picture does not display]

Brought to you by...
News Corpse, The Internet's Chronicle Of Media Decay.