Michael Moore: Let's see...

[babylonsister]

https://www.facebook.com/mmflint?fref=nf


Let's see... So George W. Bush is now an artist and a painter & roots for dear brother "Jeb in 2016;" Dick Cheney now appears on many networks as a grumpy old man pundit; Condi Rice gets to be on the board that picks college football's Final 4... but it's Brian Williams who's to be punished for Iraq? Are u effing kidding me? I mean, an entire country was demolished, trillions were wasted, thousands of our troops were killed & wounded, tens/hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed, and now, FINALLY, someone is paying for Iraq war lies... and it's Brian fucking Williams????? Yes, there is much that can be said about all the network reporters in 2003 who were embedded (i.e., Pentagon-approved) with the troops and getting to "play war" instead of asking the Bush administration the hard questions THAT DID NOT GET ASKED, and yes there is much to say about how all the networks have dumbed down the nightly news and made it unwatchable... BUT - to let the real liars who were responsible for the Iraq War roam free while instead going after Brian Williams for committing the crime of Faux Macho due to his claim of being on the wrong chopper, well, this just begs to be ridiculed and stopped. Sinners (that means you, too, Paper of Record of Judith Miller), put down your stones. Social media mob, put down your noose. Have the guts to go after the big cheese. Let Brian Williams get back to telling us about the next big storm that's going to drop 3" of snow on New York City and the exclusive report on the lost dog who made it home to help its handicap master. (Note: I don't know Brian Williams personally, but I'll say this about him: in the post-9/11 years, he did the nightly news hour on MSNBC/CNBC, and he was one of the few people in TV news who would allow an opposition voice such as mine on the air. I remember thinking this is a man with integrity.)

[Hutzpa]

1. Eh!

[bbgrunt]

6. haha! good one!

Brian should be called out as well as ALL of FAUX. But the root of the problem lies with those calling the shots: M$M.

[Dawson Leery]

2. Fox "News" regularly makes up s**t and gets away with it.

http://www.vice.com/read/exclusive-interview-michael-moore-on-american-sniper-sarah-palin-and-ptsd-261

[japple]

4. It ain't just Fuxxxx. They all make it up?!?!?!? That's why the A'murican

public is so disturbed.

[yurbud]

20. ABC, CBS, NBC, & CNN don't make it up...

they just dutifully read press releases from both parties and say they can't say who's right.

[Maedhros]

24. "CNN ESPN ABC TNT but mostly B.S...."

[Fred Sanders]

3. The Big Cheese hiding behind Williams are NBC and all MSM news executives - The Untouchables.

[ellennelle]

5. we need to activate the limbaugh legion!

where is everybody? why are we not call nbc to the carpet on this??

HERE IS THEIR NUMBER:

212-413-6142

this is the number for reporters to call in for contacts; there are no other numbers, just the lame built-in email msg thingy.

i say folks call this number and 'report' all aghast that nbc would go this far for clearly a no harm/no foul faux pas, that does not compare to what judy miller did, and so many others, pales in comparison to what faux news does every single day!

go, people! GO GO GO GO GO!!!

[SmittynMo]

7. I talked to a far right GOP follower today

and he immediately started in on Sharpton and Brian Williams. I shut his ass down immediately by mentioning FAUX and Bush and his lying ass cronies. It was great as he had not reply.

[Thinkingabout]

8. Funny how this happens huh.

[Fumesucker]

9. Ouch! That one left a mark...

[tblue37]

10. This:

". . . it's Brian Williams who's to be punished for Iraq?Are u effing kidding me? . . . in the post-9/11 years, he did the nightly news hour on MSNBC/CNBC, and he was one of the few people in TV news who would allow an opposition voice such as mine on the air. I remember thinking this is a man with integrity."

[navarth]

27. +1

[JDPriestly]

11. Some member of the plutocracy and the management at NBC wants Brian Williams out of the way.

Maybe they want to appoint one of their relatives, friends or someone who comes with a big dowry (a bunch of corporate sponsors) to replace him. But this story was hushed up for a long time and now it comes out. Remember Dan Rather. Brian Williams was not the worst.

[billhicks76]

19. Exactly

Something else is going on here. It could also be payback for allowing opposition viewpoints on his news show. Or maybe another war is being planned and the right media chess pieces must be inserted in a timely manner.

[dhill926]

22. this is what I've been thinking...

will be interesting to see how this plays out...

[annabanana]

23. If it looks, sounds and smells like a railroading. . .

It probably is.

[JDPriestly]

28. They have done what employers are advised to do: they created a file on him.

Who has never made a mistake. He reads stories all the time about things he did not see, stories the truth of which he has not verified. It's a small step to making up things that sound true and exciting.

He should not have made things up. But I bet a lot of newscasters and celebrities do this. If they don't, their press consultants do.

Brian Williams needs to write a book about his experiences as a journalist: a tell-all. He has surely made enough money that he can just say no to whatever offer NBC makes to him to shut him up. I'd probably read his book. A lot of people would. Maybe we will get a cleaner, more honest press out of this.

He is being railroaded, hijacked, abused . . . .

Of course, maybe he did something much worse that they aren't talking about, but I would bet on the railroading.

[questionseverything]

32. bingo

[tavalon]

38. I should have read the comments first

I used the term "Rathered" to compare this to what happened to Dan.

[bluestateguy]

12. It's not my job to defend Williams

Is his punishment too harsh? Perhaps.

But I have other fish to fry. Had he been asking the tough questions before the Iraq War, rather than cheerleading for it, my approach might be different.

[JDPriestly]

13. K&R.

[valerief]

14. I think people are angry with the M$M for carrying water for the oligarchs. Williams

didn't start the war. He just facilitated it by not telling the truth--along with THE REST OF THE M$M.

[Ichingcarpenter]

15. This is why I like the brian affair sor much

because it brings up the bigger lies that haven't been discussed enough in the mass media

[blkmusclmachine]

16. That's that lib'rul media fer ya!!!

[Enthusiast]

17. K&R! I feel exactly the same.

[ctsnowman]

18. Exactly!

[Overseas]

21. K&R. Well said.

[Catherine Vincent]

25. Amen

Yes, this dude lied but it's not that big of a deal. Cons are making a big deal of this because Williams is considered working for the liberal left wing media. They are so transparent.

[Democrats_win]

26. Don't forget the MSMs boosterism of the war.

The msm was right there as the war began acting as cheerleaders. Brian Williams is a zit on the Bush/Cheney/MSM mountain of BS.

Don't forget Jessica Lynch: her story wasn't completely true either. The entire Iraq fiasco was one lie after another.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Lynch

[harun]

29. True, remember it well.

[99th_Monkey]

30. BIG K&R!! Go after the big fish Iraq liars, not Williams. nt

[ffr]

31. The dumbing down part is why I stopped

And not just on TV. I'm talking about print as well.

and yes there is much to say about how all the networks have dumbed down the nightly news and made it unwatchable... Let (insert talking head's name here) get back to telling us about the next big storm that's going to drop 3" of snow on New York City and the exclusive report on the lost dog who made it home to help its handicap master.

Great write-up MM! IMO, you nailed that one. Just the important journalistic stories are what makes it to broadcast TV news. TRMS has to be subscribed to and is about all that's left.

[hughee99]

33. Brian Williams is being punished?

He's going to take shit for a few days on twitter, he's taking a brief vacation, and he'll be back shortly. Other than the occasional late night comedian's joke, you won't hear about this again.

Although I'd argue that he's not really "paying" anything at all, if he is actually "paying" anything it's because he has a job that relies on people being able to trust him, and he, Brian Williams, fucked that up.

A weak defense of Brian Williams. I'd expect better from MM.

[rhett o rick]

34. Here's my two cents and that's about all it's worth. Brian Williams lied to the American

people most likely to further his career and he should be held accountable. However, he is just an entertainer and the issue should be on the same level as other entertainers that lie to us. He is not an icon and therefore needs to be "punished" for ruining us or our faith in the news media. He is a very high paid news-guy that reads the news the Oligarchs tell him to. No integrity involved, no integrity lost. NBC has no integrity to lose either. I don't care if he stays or goes, I don't listen to his garbage any more than the other news-guys/ladies that all lie to us daily.

[malaise]

35. How did I miss that great rant

Rec

[samsingh]

36. now that someone is getting punished, perhaps we can move to the next culprits

this is not mutually exclusive

I'm a big Michael Moore fan, but its funny how he mentions that he's happy that Williams let him on the show. Our expectations are so low that that one liberal voice to 15 repug voices is a sign of integrity.

Williams did not stand up to the bush regime at all. Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart, Steve Colbert, and Michael Moore did.

[tavalon]

37. He was Rathered

Bread and Circuses, my friend.