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The death of a taboo
ST. PAUL -- One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old.
The informal prohibition, which had been occasionally threatened by political ads in recent years, was pronounced dead at approximately 7:40 CST, when a video aired before delegates at the Republican National Convention included slow-motion footage of a plane striking the World Trade Center, the towers' subsequent collapse, and smoke emerging from the Pentagon.
The September 11 precedent was one of the few surviving campaign-season taboos. It is survived by direct comparisons of one's opponents to Hitler.
FEAR - BE AFRAID! - BE VERY AFRAID - VOTE MCCAIN - FEAR - TERROR - TERRORISTS - FEAR - ATTACK - BE AFRAID! - BE VERY AFRAID - FEAR - TERROR - VOTE MCCAIN - TERROR - TERRORISTS - FEAR - ATTACK - BE AFRAID! - VOTE MCCAIN - - BE AFRAID! - BE VERY AFRAID - FEAR - VOTE JOHN MCCAIN.
I'm John McCain, and I Karl Rove and I approved this message.
I was in Arlington that day. I watched the pentagon burn that night from my gf's apartment a half-mile away. I had no idea only republicans died in the attacks. Just disgusting.
Keith Olbermann, to his everlasting credit, blasted his own network for showing so much of the video. I hope he still has a job tomorrow.
This is pure pornography.
I am beyond words.
McCain * Palin
Fear First
The mighty John McCain pushing the proverbial flag into a mountain of corpses, (picture Iwo Jima.) Well played John, well played. I feel sick.
Don't forget to notice that the very first thing in the video was a reference to Iran.
They can’t do anything but use 9/11 as a backdrop. They're the Republican National Committee, and they approved this message. May they all end up in the dustbin of American history.
I didn't see it. I heard about it, heard it called "War Porn." I am glad I didn't see it. My heart is still grieving for the many people who did see it - first hand, seven years ago.
I support Obama because he will keep us safe, without making us cower in fear. He'll give us hope, while requiring us to be realistic.
I'm not affraid any more. These sickos are in the last throws of a long overdue political death. This whole convention has been characterized as a Hail Mary Pass. When the American people really start to digest this they are going to see it for what it was. A party that has been fully responsible for the past 8 years trying to re brand itself as maverick reformers. It just won't work. Barack will continue to carefully lay out details of his program for change. He will continue to promise success to the millions of people that are willing to pick up his challenge for change. This country is suffocating under this crap. Yes we can! If you are not one of us now - ask your neigbor that is. Come join us in an exciting new day for our country.
WOW! Just WOW! Their explotation is sick!
Pathetic....the Republican party is so far removed from what it once stood for that we don't recognize it.
That video was sickening. I had to rush my nine year old out of the room due to its graphic nature. Thanks RNC!
WRONG- where have you been? under a rock?
I've heard plenty of Hitler comparisons.....
And it shows how desperate the McCain camp is. Resorting to the most basic, disgusting tactic there is: fear-mongering.
This ticked lost my vote. And anyone with half a brain will realize that as well
Boogaboogabooga! 9/11 gonna get you!
It's all they've got left. No platform, no hope.
Thanks, I Have a Heart 2, for translating it so succinctly.
Osama Bin Laden 's terrorist attack on the WTC was successful beyond their most oppomoiistic dreams thanks to Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and McCain!!! Just look at the state of the USA today in ALL metrics as compared to the Clinton years. And the worst of it, dear Sen. Lindsey Graham who was an impeachment manager , is THAT OSAMA BIN LADEN watched you on TV from his home in the place where you retreated from when you had him surrounded! Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Bush said 'he can hide, but we will bring him to justice, dead or alive." Osama Bin Lasen has outlasted Bush/Cheney/McCain. Why?? OIL in Iraq!
Nonthing but opium poppies in Afghanistan. Remember John Kerry (Silver Star) and Max Cleland (triple amutee) were "Swift Boated" by the likes of Bush/McCain/Dole.
The smoke from the burning dead used as campaign prop. I'm disgusted.
As a person who worked in the WTC, as a New Yorker, as an American, I am ashamed, angry, and outraged at this abuse just perpetrated by the Republican Party, led by John McCain.
John McCain - you have just soiled your record. I will no longer call you a patriot.
You need to apologize to every last one of us who lost someone on 9/11. We are not campaign commercials for your Party.
How come nobody talks about McCain' involvement in the "Keating Five" scandal? How come this war hero got greedy?
Congratulations, GOP. I didn't think it was humanly possible to wring any more partisan political propoganda out of the horrendous and tragic murder of 3,000 Americans on 9/11, but you have officially topped yourselves. You must be so proud.
That convention is incredibly ridiculous, it's all about war and war and war and rednecks.....oh yeah and insulting other american citizens.
Don't forget to add the part where the ghouls danced to "Danger Zone" afterward and cheered. Hell...they were having one big party over that video.
I am absolutely disgusted tonight
Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Honoring 9/11 does not mean trotting out video only when it is politically expedient. We are all Americans. We all lost something that horrible day. Please do not exploit the tragedy of that day for political gain.
The Republicans just can't get enough of 9/11! It's just the gift that keeps on giving for them. Reminds me of the Giuliani campaign.
Wow, that was something. I guess they don't even pretend that they want to scare the hell out of the nation anymore.
Why are there still people so scared?
Folks, you have more chance of dying in the tub than from terrorists!
After last night's red meat, we're treated to some burnt offerings tonight. Nothing positive from this party, either in their rhetoric or their policies.
Vomit.
9/11 is their greatest success, AND their greatest failure.. It's been almost seven years and the mastermind and his primary aide, who the sitting Republican president swore to capture and hold accountable for his actions, is still running free, giving America the finger, and the sitting president's got us distracted with a different war that wasn't even remotely responsible, but 7x our deployed forces are in that OTHER location.
So to anyone who says that 9/11 still fuels the Republican's fire, what ever happened to all the support you gave them over the last seven years? Wasted in a quagmire, and the former Secretary of Defense predicted it. In the 90's.
The Republicans should be forced to watch that horrific footage over and over again ---- it happened on their watch. Too bad our moron president and his hacks were too busy playing cowboy to do anything to stop them.
Get out and register voters! If you are in a blue state, volunteer to canvass in the nearest swing state.... Enough!!!
The Republicans went too far with that 9/11 footage. I felt for every American who lost a loved one on that sad day only to be reminded all over again for this, this......circus.
they've gotten away with using 9/11 for so long - they have no reason to think this time is any different/
they might have even convinced themselves that it didn't happen on Republican watch!
If McCain/Palin win this election that could mean the end of democracy in this country. Republicans have absolutely no respect for democracy. I'd like a Republican to comment on this forum how this campaign is not straight out of the playbook from a certain country in Europe in the 1930's. Putting violence into the political process like this is nothing short of fascism.
I wish I could be astonished. As it is, I'm just disgusted. I would be interested to hear a Republican try to defend it. This should not be rewarded with votes or money. I just gave Obama $25.
Not surprisingly, this now make me fear the Republicans far more than any other extremist group out there.
Words fail me...
McShame's tribute video aired at exactly 9:11 Central time...Chicago time. Pure shame.
Wait. . . I thought that McCain was running on it being a good idea to have diverted resources from going after bin Laden. Didn't he say we could just "muddle through" on that mission? Why would they want to remind voters of all that?
As a New Yorker, this crass exploitation might be tolerable IF IT WEREN'T COMING FROM THE GUYS WHO LET BIN LADEN GET AWAY.
It is very difficult to not fill this comment with obscenities. Very, very difficult.
But really, isn't it a rule that you can only crassly exploit for political reasons the victims whose murderers you actually bring to justice? If you let the killers get away, exploiting their victims really moves from obscene into something we don't even have a word for.
They didn't have to go there...
Ok, you left wing liberals who are all still in denial. What will you say if we (God forbid) put Obama in the office, then sometime in maybe 2009-2010 an east coast city, like Baltimore, or Boston, or the favorite target for Islamic extremists, NYC, is removed from the face of the Earth by a nuclear weapon built in a country (Iran) that the new president is too leanient with. 9/11 changed my life, as it did for many others. I left my career and joined the Navy. I know that 9/11 was just the beginning.
Gee, I missed it. Did they juxtapose the footage with the report that said "Bin Laden determined to strike within the U.S.?
How sad and desperate these little men must be to disgrace the ashes and memories of our honored dead in a craven act of cowardice.
This, truly, must be the final act of a pathetic party lacking ideas - to resort to the basest in our natures rather than the best part of our spirits. I am ashamed for these cretins, these low men, these hollow men; ashamed *for* them, for they have no shame themselves.
The sooner we sweep these corrupt liars out of our halls of power, the sooner the taint of their wickedness, their evil, and their madness can be put to justice.
I agree with Iver...if it weren't for President Bush we'd probably be WINNING the war on terror, hell might even be over by now. Bush ain't no war time president. and never will be. McCain hung out in those circles. he should have known this and done something about it.
Al Queada, the real enemy wants me to be like Iver and hate my fellow Americans. Iver hates Liberals because they are the enemy.
Pretty silly ain't it?
Iver,
Why do you think that Obama will be worse with terrorists than Republicans were? Do you not realize that 9/11 happened under Republican watch? Even if you believe (incorrectly) that Clinton somehow let Bin Laden get away, BUSH STILL LET IT HAPPEN.
P.S. Way to be brainwashed by Republicans into thinking Iran is our new threat. How about we preemptively attack them? I'm sure we have plenty of troops left to do that!
#42, you're just as sick as the RNC and McSame. Shame on all of you and thank you Keith. Shame on all the networks for running it.
They are going to make it about fear again. Should have known because that's all they've got.
Joined the Navy?
Woah.. look out.
Senator McCain is now Senator McCarthy.
58 Years ago, Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) decided to use FEAR for political gain. McCarthyism was a dark hour in American history. The horror and fear of the blossoming Cold War, the Chinese civil war and the Korean War were used as a backdrop for the slander of loyal Americans as traitors. That is how Joe McCarthy rolled.
Now we see McCain's War Pornography used to simultaneously sow fear and slander his opponents through innuendo.
Senator John McCainthy, you disgust me.
The "Pledge of Allegiance" video on Tuesday also featured 9/11 footage.
Beyond comprehension. Making a video for personal gain out of pictures of the burning bodies of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, aunts and uncles, friends and fellow human beings... may God have mercy on your disgusting souls for exploiting this horrific event.
You are finished.
This is disgusting, a tribute to the victims of 9/11 should be just that, this video was a tribute to the scare tactics that have been at the heart of Republican politics for far too long. I will donate $50 to Obama tonight. (to be fair, I have donated several times this season but never with such zeal).
Hmmm.... who decided we should have a "taboo" on showing a historical fact? Since when were journalists opposed to the use of archival footage?
Perhaps if the previous Commander in Chief wasn't so busy ordering pizza to be delivered by a certain White House intern, such attack would have been averted.
As always the liberal media seeks to officiate that which is acceptable political tactics. As always the liberal media seeks to decide which information and images can be shown to the yahoos and yokels who are too dim to make up their own minds and how to vote. Only Sasha Issenberg can see through the Republicans' low attacks. Others cannot.
Hey you stupid retug troll. This attack happened on Bush's watch and he not only let Osama's family leave the country, he has let Osama go. Yes I can imagine a President Obama at the helm.
Okay Chucky, how many tours of duty have you served in Afganastan?
What? Where's that? It is where Bin Ladin has been hanging out! Yes - not Iraq, not Iran ... gee, you'd think we'd have sent more troops there to find him? No?
Yesterday, the crowd was treated to hateful foreplay preached by Guilliani and Palin that resulted in the crowd having a collective orgasm by the end of the night.
Tonight, the GOP skipped the foreplay and got right down to business by strapping on the 9/11 tragedy and going to town on the delegates.
No need to resort to name-calling to make your point, erykah. Do you believe OBL began planning 9-11 only after Bush took office in January 2001? It was a rather sophisticated operation. What about the World Trade Center bombing in 1993? How long was that in the works? More to the point, do you think terrorists pick and choose their targets depending upon which party is in office?
And no need for the "troll" reference, either. People of all political views are welcome here, as far as I know. It's called an open exchange of ideas.
Funny, Liberals hate to see images of 9/11 but tell them you have pictures of alledged atrocities committed by American troops and they offer you money for them!
LIBERALS ARE TRAITORS AND NORTHEASTERN LIBERALS ARE THE MOST TRECHEROUS!!!!!
This is beyond words. I only have tears for the America I once marched for. For a country that embraced open debate so long ago.
I grew up in NYC and watched the towers being built and cried bitter tears when they fell.
Now I am crying for the death of the America I loved.
So, Iver, what precisely was the point you hoped to make with your little war-porn fantasy? That you hope it happens again under a Democratic president?
Because the scenario you described--an attack from Islamic fundamentalist radicals--ACTUALLY HAPPENED under the tender ministrations of George Flightsuit Bush and his clueless minions, who received warning after warning about the probability of an attack, and dismissed it with, "Okay, you've covered your ass now."
Guess Repugs like to spread the blame around instead of accepting responsibility. What a bunch of he-men!
Only in America people.
It is survived by direct comparisons of one's opponents to Hitler.
Really? Direct comparisons of one's opponents to Hitler has already been done by the Republicans:
Like Rick Santorum, on the floor of the Senate, on May 19, 2005.
Or Sterling Burnett comparing Al Gore to a Nazi on Fox News.
Or the GOP photoshopping a Hitler moustache onto Howard Dean's picture on their website.
Or the Bush campaign placing Hitler images alongside images of Gore, Dean, Gephardt, and Kerry.
Or Bob Novak saying that selective confirmation of judicial nominees is like "going to a concentration camp and picking out which people go to the death chamber."
Or when Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said that voting against Bush is like voting for Hitler.
Or when Ralph Peters wrote a column for the Murdoch-owned New York Post, describing Howard Dean as a follower of Josef Goebbels, referred to him as "Herr Howie," accusing him of "looking for his Leni Riefenstahl," calling his supporters "the Internet Gestapo" and comparing them to "Hitler's brownshirts."
Or when Grover Norquist referred to progressive tax policy as "the morality of the Holocaust."
Or when John Hinderaker implied that liberal debate consists entirely of references to Nazism and Hitler.
It's heartening to see that Americans still react with horror and revulsion when they watch video of the most traumatic day in American history since Pearl Harbor. You can rest assured Democrats, Republicans, Independents and every American, that Ben Laden's organization and others linked with or similar to will strike United States and its allies interests abroad or the homeland if they can. How am I certain of this?
Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut
American Embassy bombing in Beirut
Achille Lauro Hijacking
Kobar Towers bombing
First World Trade Center Attack
USS Cole attack
Attack on Limburg oil tanker
Bombings of American Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya
Attack on the World Trade Center
Attack on the Pentagon
Foiled Flight 93 attack on either the White House or Capitol Building
London Subway bombings
Madrid train bombings
Every American has been asleep at the switch for the entire period that these events were taking place. We account for 5% of the world’s population and are the wealthiest people the world has ever known. We consume 25% of the world’s resources. This dynamic is bound to put us in conflict with people and cultures that resent that; so until that dynamic is altered, friction (one form being terrorism) is inevitable.
So we as American’s have to decide that if we continue to engage in our lifestyle how much risk are we willing to take with regard to future attacks? It’s called risk analysis.
Some folks in this blog think the risk is that you have more chance of dying in the tub than from terrorists. Others think not. I for one cannot look at the video of 911 and as a military intelligence professional, not regret that we had all the pieces of the attack puzzle there it just wasn’t put together coherently and in a timely manner to thwart the attacks.
But please don’t fool yourselves into rationalizing that we will be not be attacked again. I can’t tell you where, how and when but we will.
Please educate yourselves; read the plethora of books and articles out there such as “The Pentagon’s New Map”, “The Shia Revival” “A Path out of the Sand” “Cobra II” , A clash of Civilizations” etc. The more we educate ourselves about our adversaries the more understanding we will have to deter, shape or alter their behavior.
sasha you are hilarious.
that is the best diss i've read in quite a while.
good work.
Um, we Minnesotans are on Daylight time right now, not Standard.
Is anyone actually surprised by this? I'm not.
The RNC of 2008 was a disgrace.
McCain makes Bush look like a pacifist. He is a war monger and a lot more of your family and friends are going to die if he is elected to office. We'll be in wars for years to come.
I sit at my desk 1 block east of the Pit (WTC) and think of the friends I lost that day... and the injuries my younger brothers (1st responders) sustained.... and what I and my husband witnessed without the safety of a television between us and events... and I want to rip the lungs out of every single one of those people cheering this disgusting party. Terror terror terror all the time terror and nothing but terror. But guess what - NYers on the whole are not afraid anymore. At least not of any of the BS we hear coming out of the current administration. (Note to Iver: I don't believe anything that I hear out of the government any more because they have been caught lying SO many times. Didn't anyone ever tell you guys about the boy who cried wolf?)
Chuck, if a certain President and his Condi paid attention to "Bin Laden determined to strike in US" MAYBE the attack could have been averted.
I guess you have to give people like Iver a break. They live their lives in fear from scare tactics and propaganda. Iver probably also sleeps with the light on at night for fear of some terrorist boogeyman appearing out of nowhere.
Iver - You joined the Navy? So....are you going to drive your boat into Bin Laden's cave?
Look at all you idiot sheep. You people hear the word change, and jump onm board without even knowing what your changing. lemmings.
I trully fear for our country if Obama is elected. Imagine a ultra liberal President, Obama and an ultra liberal controlled congress, headed by Pelosi, and I picture my rights as an American diminshed. Im all for change in the political system, but not at the expense of my rights as an american.
ON second thought, why are you people afraid of seeing images of 911? Its our history, that we Need to never forget!!!!!!!! It whould be shown every night, to remind us of the dangers that our beloved country is facing. Remeber 911 and remember that we are the greatest nation in history. and shall and will overcome even the greatest of tragedies
You know why I'm not a republican?
I'm not afraid.
I'm not afraid of nebulous 'terrorists', people with brown skin, people who speak different languages, people who worship a different god than me, people who have sex with the same gender...
All the republicans sell is fear.
I'm not in the market any more.
The exploitation of 9/11 was truly beyond words. The republicans have found a new low. Disgusting.
capt losi,
thank you for your thoughtful comment. we americans seem to be so self-centered that we can't see that this is not about our republican-democratic elections but about our place in the world and how we use it. we take far more of the world's resources per capita than (i would bet) any other country in the world and can't see that its our SUVs and big houses and energy habits that cause our foreign oil dependence, not some foreign-hatched plot. we still hang on to the idea of manifest destiny and think it our right to take what we want, when we want, how we want.
we are often are own worst enemy and if we don't educate ourselves about how the rest of the world sees us, we are doomed to a hundred years of war and a world filled with people that hate us.
Why should the images of 9/11 not be used? They are a reminder that people want to kill us. By the way, I suggest you buy a ticket and go to a Madonna concert. There you will see the Hitler comaprison used against George Bush and Mike Huckabee.
Out of morbid curiosity, anyone have a link?
The New, Improved Gooper slogan KNOW FEAR
Obscene.
That's the word that comes to mind. Along with a few others that would probably melt the Internet. (I've got your rancour right here, McCain!)
The RNC should be crucified in every media outlet for having so brazenly politicized 9/11 to a degree I would have hoped even they were incapable of.
Ultimately, the blame must rest with John "Noun-Verb-POW" McCain. It is his party, disavowals notwithstanding. It is his campaign. It was his show tonight.
I keep hearing a voice remembered from my youth: "Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
Yes, the RNC really reached a new low in viciousness, and kept it steaming at America night after night, right across the board.
McCain/Palin = even worse than Bush/Cheney, if you can wrap your minds around that.
Gakk.
Mr. McCain -- your job is done -- disgusting! Obama/Biden '08.
A military professional wouldn't spell Osama's name "Ben" Ladin.. .they would also know that you DO have a greater chance of dying in your bathtub than from a terrorist attack...
Captain Losi:
Well said. You have some serious sack putting this out while still on active duty.
That being said; yes, we will be attacked again. Regardless of who is in charge at whatever level. We are a target. The best way to protect our country, however, is not be attacking other countries that pose no genuine strategic threat--not that I think you've suggested that.
What this nation requires is a degree of level headedness in foreign policy and military/defense affairs that has been, to be blunt, missing for the last eight years.
George W. Bush is quite probably the worst president this nation has ever survived, but McCain could make him look like an amateur in that sort of contest.
If the GOP's goal was to make me mourn 9/11 again and donate to the person I think is most qualified to prevent more American deaths happening under his administration, they achieved it. Unless of course they wanted me to believe that person was McCain -- I have no use for depraved people who want to take personal power off the backs of innocent dead Americans. All McCain has proven in this campaign season is that he's a greedy man with no concept of humility, and no grace, and with this video now he shows he knows no limits to what he will try to get power. The campaign slogan should be McCain First.
I was listening to Fresh Air on NPR last night on the way home from work. Terry Gross was discussing John McCain with NYT reporter David Kirkpatrick. I'm still upset at what I heard (possibly because this is something that I should have known already)...
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks McCain went on a whirlwind tour explaining his thoughts on the terrorists actions as well as what we need to do to protect ourselves. His plan - attack Iraq. His "logic" - the US needs to show the world, especially those terrorist-loving states, that we mean business. And the way to do that? ATTACK A COUNTRY THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE 9/11 ATTACKS! Granted, that is not how he put it. It was more like "we need to attack a rogue state to show the other rogue states that we will attack.
That same logic states that, to defend myself against someone who dings my car, I should attack somebody who parked too close to another car and who will ding that car. Or how about, or if a black man whistles at your cute blond sister, beat the crap out of the next black man you see to show ALL black men that you mean business!
The man scares me. Even scarier is the thought that 50-60 million Americans might be stupid enough to vote for him. (I'm still having nightmares, even while awake, thinking about the 2004 presidential election...)
Seven years constitutes ENDURING? Especially when we've only had one other convention cycle? And IIRC, the RNC convention was in NYC, and also featured a 9/11 tribute.
With one or two healthy exceptions, these posts stink of fear. All the red-hot converts to the Church of the Obamessiah are suddenly scared out their wits just because they caught a glimpse of an Alaskan in glasses.
To all of you out there worried about Iran... When will we remember that it's not about democracy and freedom and defending the "American dream"?! It's about who gets to make money and how much. (And my heart goes out to every soldier who's being manipulated (and maimed and killed) to put $$ in someone's pocket!)How about we remember who supplied Iran with weapons when the Soviets were in Afganistan. Oh, but we don't like it so well when it's the other way around! How about we realize just how tremendously ignorant and obnouxios our attitude was when Condi said (speaking about Russian presence in Georgia): "this is not 1966, you can't invade a country and get away with it". OH REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? As so many of you, I'm completely disgusted. And yes, McCain/Palin, I'm afraid. But I'm afraid that there aren't enough of us who are disgusted with you. I'm afraid that too many people are too easily fooled. Come on, Americans, people still want to come here, so please let's show them that their hopes and trust are not misplaced.
I can only direct the famous words of Joseph N. Welch at Sen. McCain: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
Liberal. POW. 9/11. Liberal. Taxes. 9/11. Islam. POW. Terror.
"...are suddenly scared out their wits just because they caught a glimpse of an Alaskan in glasses"
what's there to be scared of exactly?!
You don't use the images because it's an emotional appeal through the use of peoples death. You have taken the death of Americans and used it in a campaign. It is repugnant, morbid and more of the same!
No shame, no morals, no family values, no control and party before country.
Obama/Biden 08
John mccain mgr said "this election is NOT about issues." so why would ANYONE watch. All they have left is to promote fear meme. People just turn off tv when obvious opportunism. and do not vote mcsame.
I watched mccain speech boring, meandering, nothing new from the maverick. I LOL at his economic plan " get govt out of our way" and "expanding unemployment" isnt that a big govt program ? A true mavercick would abolish unemployment let everyone pull themselves up by themselves. Waste of my time.
Palin threw a couple grenades and has gone into hiding from questions/interview
I
Did semeone wake up all the old white people? they all looked like they were falling asleep at the end.
boring meandering speech.
Although I listened to the speech in the background, I wasn't actually watching, so boring. Is there a link to view this? I feel I have to see it for my own eyes and then show it to everyone I know. DISGUSTING!!
Completely tasteless. Regardless of your political leanings, this is a new low in politics.
Joe Camel,
The "fear" you mention in these posts is not fear at all, but disgust and revulsion. the republicans have had the whole country in their grips for 8 years and this country is finally waking up to see just how badly it has been treated. The people are not afraid. They are ANGRY. Angry that they have been manipulated. Angry that their national standing has been totally destroyed. Angry that their economy has has gone from a multi billion dollar surplus to a massively record deficit. Angry that they have been lied to by republican government officials at every level. Angry that republican politics have repeatedly trumped national interest. Angry that the will of the people has been turned into a joke by the ruling party.
Angry. Simple, direct, clear. Yes, to those who are not observant, anger is often mistaken for fear. I for one am not afraid.
I am pissed.
Joe Camel:
Actually, dim bulb, the fear was on display at teh GOP's convention, it reeked of it.
"but not at the expense of my rights as an american."
Last I checked, it's the Bush administration that has done a bang-up job of taking your rights away.
our only fear is that half of Americans still aren't getting it - turn left at the next election, for America's sake!
Even if the troll appears to be a Solider please do not feed them, this ruins the thread and causes mental stains.
Republicans that use images of 9/11 to remind people of the attacks we endured and the threats we face are not spreading fear. Of all people, Republicans certainly aren't scared of those images or the terrorists that perpetrated the attacks. On 9/11 I saw a country stand up to our enemies, not cower in fear. The only people that 9/11 images strike fear in are liberals because their policies, their ideology, and their way of dealing with our enemies allow such attacks to happen.
1. Images are nothing more than a record of the past. To say it is inappropriate to use these images is the same as saying it's inappropriate to remember, recognize, or even speak of the attacks. That's really what liberals who fear the imagery of 9/11 are saying. That would be as ridiculous as it would be deadly. I will never forget!
2. Images of any situation can be taken out of context or used in a distasteful way. Liberals have created a supposed unwritten rule that says politicians, among others, cannot utilize these images to remind people of the threat we still face as well as what happens when we don't face such threats. I will never forget!
3. Images of 9/11 that stir our emotions shouldn't be hidden away, they should be displayed prominently as a constant reminder of what will happen again if we do not remain vigilant and if we do not take the war on terror seriously. Those that want to forget these images and the emotions that go with them are doomed to repeat the mistakes of 9/10. I will never forget!
4. Young adults that don't remember 9/11 need to be exposed to the hatred, determination, and deadliness of our enemies. They need to realize the nature of the threat we are dealing with and what can happen when these threats aren't dealt with seriously. They need to witness everything about 9/11 like everyone else. They will never forget!
5. The liberals and the liberal media are certainly not the authority on what is tasteful and what is not. If the images of 9/11 were used in some comical, lighthearted, or some other clearly dishonorable fashion, that would be very distasteful and Republicans would be the first to denounce it. Short of things like that, if the intentions are good and genuine, there is nothing distasteful about remembering and recognizing what was done to our country that day. I will never forget!
6. There are at least two primary reasons liberals hate the use of 9/11 imagery by Republicans:
A. They don't trust the intentions and believe it is for pure political gain.
B. Even if the intentions were genuine they know it is an effective argument against the failed and weak policies and mentalities they and they're liberal politicians support.
7. In all their false-nobility, the liberal media hides behind all of these excuses to ignore what happened on 9/11, ignore where we were that day and how that made us feel, ignore the hate, ambition, and boldness of our terrorist enemies, ignore the life lost, ignore the loved ones gone forever, ignore the sacrifices made, ignore the countless acts of courage and heroism displayed, ignore the emotion and the sorrow felt, ignore the beauty of our country coming together in a time of need, ignore the bloody lessons learned that day. The Liberal media wants to guilt us all into forgetting all of that, but the images, memories, and emotions are seared in my memory forever and I will never be offended by seeing them! I will never forget!
Wow. You think you guys are mad now, wait until McCain wins in November.
TO IVER (42)
I think we all know that another attack, at any time, and under any president is possible. That's why we have to do a few things:
-stop sending money to the countries that support terrorists, as we do when buying their oil. Obama and the dem party have the strongest plans for alternative enegry.
- find Bin Laden - he's in Afghanistan, not Iraq.
- stop spreading our military so thin by starting a war of choice in the wrong country
-do everything we can to keep nukes out of the hands of bad guys - as does a bill co sponsored by Obama.
We're not naive, we are actually super realistic. That's why we believe Obama/Biden have the best plans for leading this country forward into peace and prosperity.
Dear Sasha Issenberg,
Thank you very much for posting this response to the callous Republican fear mongering.
The Globe is still in business? Who knew?
> Don't forget to notice that the very first thing in the video was a reference to Iran.
Yes, it was supposed to be "a tribute to the victims of 9/11"... so I immediately had to wonder what a propaganda piece on the supposed roots of militant Islam had to do with the victims.
And if the Iraq war was a necessary response to 9/11, then where were the images of the thousands more soldiers who have died in our two wars... or any reference to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who have lost their lives as direct or indirect result of our invasion and beneficent occupation of their country?
If Mccain wins there will be a civil war in america. If you are republican and voting as such, you have ruined this country and it will all come back to you in the end.
waaahhhh. Thi is different from the Dems exploiting Katrina... how, exactly?
I would like to ask those folks who are saying we should watch this with a sense of history and that our outrage is because we're not true Patriots, why our current administration will NOT ALLOW OUR MEDIA, OUR FREE PRESS, to show images of soldiers returning home in body bags? Why is our media being censored?
Its because they don't want the population to really feel the outrage they should be feeling over senseless loss of American lives in this war that was purely waged for personal wealth and gain by some members (I don't pretend to think that all members are bad) of the GOP.
If we all became as enraged as we should be by scenes like that, we'd have another cultural revolution like the one that helped expose the gov't for the frauds they usually are and this war would have to come to an end NOW.
I pray for this day.
Is this the same Boston Globe that published pics of a porn film and portrayed it as video of US troops raping an Iraqi girl...even AFTER the pics had been debunked?
The liberals are all outraged because they've been on the wrong side since 9-11. These far left wing fanatical nut jobs don't mind playing on fears when it has to do with people supposedly dying because of poor health care or people losing their homes because they made poor choices That kind of fear is ok. But harken back to the worst day in America and that's a no-no? What a bunch of despicable hypocrites.
Last night John McCain stated that, when his plane was shot down over Vietnam (was it dropping bombs?) he landed in a lake and had severe injuries and was surrounded by "angry" Vietnamese. On 23 March 2008 Britain's Daily Mail ran a story headed "How War Hero John McCain betrayed the peasant who saved his life. Extract:
"In all the tales of wartime courage peppering John McCain's presidential campaign trail, perhaps the most outstanding example of selfless heroism involves not the candidate but a humble Vietnamese peasant.
On October 26, 1967, Mai Van On ran from the safety of a bomb shelter at the height of an air raid and swam out into the lake where Lieutenant Commander McCain was drowning, tangled in his parachute cord after ejecting when his Skyhawk bomber was hit by a missile.
In an extraordinary act of compassion at a time when Vietnamese citizens were being killed by US aerial bombardments, he pulled a barely conscious McCain to the lake surface and, with the help of a neighbor, dragged him towards the shore."
Are we seeing "Straight Talk" or a self-glorifying rewrite of history?
Jean Martin -
As the very article you cite says, McCain was indeed surrounded by an angry mob. The Vietnamese man who intervened was not only compassionate (for helping an enemy) but courageous (for risking the wrath of his neighbors by so doing).
In short, McCain's words are entirely consistent with what the Mail reports. With all the drivel McCain comes up with on the campaign trail, you don't need to be misleading yourself as you try to show how Mr. Maverick is a BS artist.
Who was at fault for 9/11? Consider the illustrated story called 'Sandy Berger's Reward':
directorblue.blogspot.com/2007/10/sandy-bergers-reward.html
Why did every Western country believe (and the UN agree) that Hussein's Iraq was a clearinghouse of terror?
www.husseinandterror.com
John McCain has rewritten other parts of his "story"...... how about when in Pittsburgh he said that "When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the physical pressures that were on me, I named the starting lineup, the defensive line, of the Pittsburgh Steelers as my squadron-mates." but in his book "Pressed [by my interrogators] for more useful information, I gave the names of the Green Bay Packers offensive line, and said they were members of my squadron. "? Talk about "Straight Talk" - the so-called hero has cheapened his history by changing parts of it as a political ploy. Truly disgusting . The men who served our nation and came back to serve their families and communities quietly are the true heroes - not braggarts and liars.
I found this so offensive. How dare they use those victims as a political prop! They continue to exploit 9/11 while they portray themselves as the true patriots. Their only goal was to instill fear. It worked for Bush so they want it to work again.
If they wanted to give a tribute, they could have instead talked about how the country and the world came together in the aftermath and that we could do that again. Of course, that means we would have to elect Obama for that to happen.
The only real shame is that the Democrats won't show this. Why not. I think it should be shown to every American every couple months so they understand what's at stake - regardless of party preference. 9-11 had one positive - it united Americans and we need that unity every day. It's time we stopped being Democrats and Republicans and started being Americans. And by the way - has anyone asked what Americans would have done to George Bush if he hadn't reacted to the reports of Iraq's weapons of terror? Even more people would be mad at him. Perhaps someday we will honor our Presidents for more than just a couple months, but I doubt it. Evidently it is more fun to tear them down.
McCain-Palin-The Bridge to Nowhere
This is a terribly sick thing for them to do.. however Im not at all surprised. You people however should be ashamed of yourselves for letting them fool you! Everything you sheep think you know about 9/11 is a lie! Look it up for yourselves! Some muslim in a cave did not make our entire military stand down.. 3 steel structures fell that day FROM FIRE SUPPOSEDLY even tho never before and never after 9/11 has that happened. There is more evidence to support that our government is behind it then anything else! You let them traumatize you so much that you eat up everything they tell you without using your common sense. Get out of your comfort zones and go download the movie Zeitgeist or Truth Rising or Endgame.. EDUCATE YOURSELVES AND OTHERS SO THAT THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT AND REAL JUSTICE CAN BE DONE. We must stop them and their New World Order or all hope is lost. This world is darker and more evil then you all realize. You have let the wolf in sheeps clothing lead you all to slaughter and unless you wise up.. they will get away with it. The evidence is there for you to see.. once you see it, it will change your life. It changed mine and I can never go back to the way things were before. But like Einstein said.. "If the world is a dangerous place to live, it is not because of the people who are evil, but because of the good people who dont do anything about it"
I should have known that a site called "political intelligence" would edit their blogs. Freedom of speech truly is dead.. and the press is mostly to blame for that. Im sure your masters in the Bilderburg Group and the Council on foreign relations are very pleased about it.
You left out the surviving taboo of not showing images of WTC victims jumping to their deaths.
This was deemed too explicit that it might provoke anger.
I can't believe all the negative responders saw the movie.