[PieterCasparzen]

And they call us haters...

Can you see how that response is exactly what this article is designed to evoke ?

This article whips up the conservative base (it's psychological "engineering"):

a) the word faggot in the title draws people who are against the sin of sodomy to read the story, and read it while they have the emotional reaction to rejecting sodomy in their mind

b) the word "expendible" tells us the angle of the story

c) Christians who hate sin but love the sinner feel that this story precisely demonstrates the fact that even though they are against sodomy, it being a sin, they do not support the idea of setting up a person for execution by a mob.

d) the story reinforces in the Christian's mind that they have the right stance on the issues; we would tend to then agree with the article as a whole since we would agree on the very significant points mentioned above. The Christian reader is then very susceptible, in their "blanket agreement" with the article, to think that since the blind shake release would not go over well publicly, that therefore the idea of a kidnapping must be false. All they have to do is forget that the exchange would not be necessary and they can fall for this ruse.

e) The telltale sign is that this article is very well-designed ruse; great effort was put into engineering it - all to break down the kidnapping idea.

Red flags should be firing off in our logic units like crazy.

Liberal intelligentsia say - it was NOT a kidnapping plot

Conservative intelligentsia say - it was NOT a kidnapping plot

Politicians say - it was NOT a kidnapping plot

The news media say - it was NOT a kidnapping plot

Pundits and bloggers all over the internet say - it was NOT a kidnapping plot

But the simple facts are - the Executive Branch stopping the FEST team hurt the administration politically. The Ambassador dying hurt the administration politically.

It defies all logic that the topmost politicians in our country would hurt themselves politically when sending in a rescue team was as easy as just saying "ok".

Especially considering the Bin Laden killing has shows running on Advance Publications, Inc.'s Military Channel that tout dear leader as being one who can make these tough decisions so well.

Even if the rescue team was unable to save all four of those that were killed, it still would have been very politically helpful for the President's reelection campaign to have everyone rally 'round the flag. The propaganda media could have had a field day - the work is almost done, don't change horses in the middle of the stream.

Even conservatives would have been politically stuck supporting the President's order. If it failed, no way could conservatives start blaming the military; they simply did all they could. And the Secretary and dear leader would have no blame themselves - the media would have the same covering line it does now, except they'd not have to answer questions about why the order to stand down was given. That's the biggest embarassment.

[Louis Foxwell]

I do not get that this is an embarrassment. It is much, much worse than a fart at the podium.

[Mamzelle]

Except that I have been aware for several months that Stevens was gay and have been wondering all this time why it was never in *any* news story. And I do not credit the author with much more than drawing that salient fact to light.

It ought to be, sending Stevens into that part of the world was both foolish and cruel--or it was despicable...