Sometimes I listen to NPR and think, "Don't these hosts have a few shreds of self-respect left?" Tonight, why does Robert Siegel even bother to show up for his interview with Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell? Siegel meekly lets McConnell hack up mess of Bushist talking points on the Iraq war funding bill.Here's how McConnell gets going before ever being questioned:
"...get serious about providing funding for the troops. The surrender date needs to come out."At this point Siegel awakes from his coma to say, "Surrender date, we should say, is your characterization of the withdrawal date." That's a good start, and - ever the foolish optimist - I assumed that Siegel would maintain a polite, but critical stance since McConnell was clearly using the airtime to make a belligerent push for the Bushist line on Iraq. Instead Siegel meekly lets McConnell forge ahead:
"...what is unacceptable is any kind of surrender date."
"...any kind of date that indicates to the terrorists on the other side...you get to win..."
"...withdrawal date is same as surrender."If this were a debate, one might say that McConnell just wiped the floor with Siegel, but he doesn't seem to mind. Let me suggest a that Siegel dare interject a little reality into his next interview when confronted with this kind of rubbish. He could have made any of the following comments:
"..none of us are satisfied with the Iraqi performance...our patience is not endless...effort to stay on offense from the beginning..."
"...it’s no secret, al-Qaeda is in Iraq."
"...this is the same gang that hit us on 9/11; it’s no accident that we haven’t been attacked again since 9/11 because we’ve been on offense."
"...this is the same crowd that killed 3,000 Americans..."
"...we need to stay after them or they’ll be back here."
"Actually withdrawal is not surrender, that is your way of framing it."Yes, he could have asked these questions, but that would require a passion for truth and a sense of integrity. Instead Siegel just allows McConnell to run on and on with one pathetic little whimper of "some would say this is essentially a locally led group that applied for and got the franchise for al-Qaeda." That's it? Good God, you'd think people like Siegel would have learned to be more rigorous with these Bush apologists after being stooges for them in the initial run-up to and launch of this disaster in Iraq.
"You say patience is not endless, but you want endless funding of the war."
"There was no al-Qaeda in Iraq until the US invaded and completely failed to secure the borders and committed many attrocities that attracted recruits to al-Qaeda."
"Actually, there are many studies showing that being "on offense" has swelled the ranks of al-Qaeda and that Iraq has given them the best training they've had since fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan."
"Can you produce any proof of your conclusion that "they'll be back here" if we're not in Iraq?"
9 comments:
Didn't hear the piece, but sometimes letting the subject demonstrate his own batshit insanity may turn off the audience. Hopefully there are now more voters in KY that are terrified of McCONnell. I'm sure that wasn't Siegel's intent, though.
I tend to doubt that. If you really want to hear the wingnuts go ballistic, just challenge them on their BS and stand back--it's like dropping a Mento into a bottle of Pepsi! Siegel, like Daniel Schorr, has passed his expiration date. They should all be sent off to the Scott Simon Home for the cringing and the useless.
They should all be sent off to the Scott Simon Home for the cringing and the useless.
Guess y'all heard lil Scottie deliver the NPR "eulogy" for David Halberstam last week. Coming from him it was vomit-inducing. Halberstam deserved better.
Boy, how the names add up in the waiting list for the Scott Simon Home. Another candidate, Mara L. was on best but still nauseating behavior this morning, as she daintily danced around the first Democratic presidential candidate debate story. You could just sense her desire to get her Fox-filthy paws all over each speaker, but she - she, uh, somehow RESTRAINED HERSELF. Perhaps because she, like Richard Perle, is still supposedly a registered Democrat.
Let's not forget that Lil' Scottie is probably at his best when he's reading kids stories with the Pinkwater fellow. Tinker toys are what he knows and loves best. And like Siegel, he's deep in self love with himself. It should not be forgotten that on-air persons wear the highest quality earphones, that spew their voices back to them with the highest quality sound. Which one of these goofballs DOESN'T love the sound of his/her voice? As Bill Maher said, the deepest level of self-hatred is self-love!
The NPR Tone is carefully crafted. It is designed to appeal to a precise demographic segment. NPR did a major study last year outlining precisely who their listeners are and what they think, do and buy. Brooke alluded to it on On The Media, but she wouldn't send me a copy because it's proprietary. I would love to see that report. I think it would confirm my belief that NPR is aimed squarely at aging boomers. Boy, I'l be glad when the hump in that demographic snake finally digests.
Hey Kevan, I'm not earger to be in that turd!
I KNEW IT! They're more concerned with how their milquetoasty voices project than the CONTENT that it is supposed to be imparting. Oh, this really tears it...
(holds nose and locutes) "Yeeeeuuur listening to NPR McNeeeeuuuws - I'm Robeyyyyrt Cheekle, the Wolf Blitzeeeeyr of the aierrrwavezzch."
I KNEW IT! They're more concerned with how their milquetoasty voices project than the CONTENT that it is supposed to be imparting. Oh, this really tears it...
(holds nose and locutes) "Yeeeeuuur listening to NPR McNeeeeuuuws - I'm Robeyyyyrt Cheekle, the Wolf Blitzeeeeyr of the aierrrwavezzch."
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