Two modest proposals(wmd media bias)

powerline ^ | 6/24/06 | Scott Johnson

[finnman69]

Two modest proposals

The Media Research Center notes the response of mainstream media news organizations to the unclassified portion of the report revealing that 500 munition shells of mustard and sarin gas had been found in Iraq. John discussed the report in "About those WMDs" and "Rumsfeld confirms WMD finds." According to the MRC, among the three broadcast network evening news shows, only the NBC Nightly News discussed the report. The MRC also notes the hysterical reaction of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann:

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann ridiculed the finding of "WMD: weapons of minor discomfort," snidely suggesting "you might get a burn if you rub these weapons directly onto your skin." Olbermann condescendingly marveled: "Independent experts and the level-headed staggering in amazement tonight that deteriorated mustard gas cannisters, at least 15 years old and as much as 18 years old, could be pawned off by desperate politicians as some kind of rationale for the deaths of 2,500 American servicemen and women in Iraq." Soon enough, Olbermann raised Joe McCarthy, asking Newsweek's Jonathan Alter: "Have Senator Santorum and Congressman Hoekstra moved directly into the league of Joe McCarthy waving the blank page that's supposed to contain the list of communists in the '50s?"

Tom Lipscomb has forwarded us a copy of his "modest proposal for Keith Olbermann" that he has sent to the MRC:

Here is a proposition you should set up for Keith Olbermann.

Chemical weapons certainly do deteriorate with age. But unfortunately they do so unreliably, as those unfortunate enough to crack open a chemical shell left over from World War I can testify.

But since Mr. Olbermann is so confident that the WMD alluded to by Santorum et al are “weapons of minor discomfort” only likely to give you a “burn if you rub these weapons directly onto your skin,” the Media Research Center should propose to make special arrangements with CENTCOM for Mr. Olbermann.

You should propose to offer him the opportunity to personally select any one of the hundreds of “weapons of minor discomfort” in CENTCOM’s storage in Iraq, open it, and rub it directly on his skin.

You should agree to pay his travel expenses and any medical expense he may have for the “minor discomfort” of a “burn.” But for anything more dire, he will have to rely upon his own resources, or life insurance benefits, including the costs of shipping a contaminated corpse home. Yesterday we also noted Michael Ledeen's modest proposal for DNI John Negroponte to release the WMD document in its entirety, as well as the other documents from Saddam's files. Mr. Negroponte, tear down this wall!

[finnman69]

Olbermann is an ass of the highest order.

[Question Liberal Authority]

From Wikipedia:

Even at very low concentrations, sarin can be fatal. Death may follow in one minute after direct ingestion of about 0.01 milligram per kilogram of body weight if antidotes, typically atropine and pralidoxime, are not quickly administered. Atropine, an acetylcholine inhibitor, is given to treat the physiological symptoms of poisoning. Pralidoxime can regenerate cholinesterases if administered within approximately five hours.

It is estimated that sarin is more than 500 times as toxic as cyanide.

The short- and long-term symptoms experienced by those affected included:

* bleeding from the nose and mouth
* coma
* convulsions
* difficulty breathing
* disturbed sleep and nightmares
* extreme sensitivity to light
* foaming at the mouth
* high fevers
* influenza-like symptoms
* loss of consciousness
* loss of memory
* nausea and vomiting
* paralysis
* post-traumatic stress disorder
* respiratory problems
* seizures
* uncontrollable trembling
* vision problems, both temporary and permanent
* death

[Rocko]

* vision problems, both temporary and permanent

The MSM already suffers from this.

[Question Liberal Authority]

A single one of these shells could have killed every one of the 2,500 soldiers that Olbermann insists on ghoulishly counting.

It is interesting that Bush is the liar for saying Saddam had these weapons when it turned out he did, while Saddam is not a liar for saying that he destroyed these weapons years ago when it turns out he didn't.