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Posted on 05/17/2005 4:34:22 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
With its Alice-in-Wonderland treatment of the Koran flushing story, the Today Show demonstrated this morning that it is capable of making a Bush-bashing silk purse out of a false MSM sow's ear of a story.
Given the universal attention that the false story and Newsweek's retraction have garnered, there was no way that Today, much as it might have liked to, could have ignored the story.
Forced to deal with it, they managed to put its own ugly spin on the matter. Again and again, Today floated the notion that Newsweek retracted the story due to pressure from the Bush administration, and went so far as to suggest the story might be true.
The focus was at least as much on possibly sinister motives at the "White House," as it was on any transgression by Newsweek.
Thus the story was introduced with this question: "Will Newsweek's retraction end the flurry of White House criticism?"
And again: "Did pressure from the White House impact Newsweek's decision to retract the story?"
Matt Lauer stuck to the marching orders in his interview of Dan Klaidman Newsweek DC Bureau Chief.
Lauer: "Did you get pressure from the White House?"
Klaidman flatly denied it: "The only pressure was our own sense of responsibility."
That wasn't good enough for Lauer. He was apparently more willing to believe the enemies of the US than he was the Bush administration or even Newsweek.
Lauer: "There is suspicion in the Muslim world. They say they've heard similar reports from released detainees. Why shouldn't we believe it and think that Newsweek retracted the story only because it was forced to do so by the White House to protect its image?" And just in case anyone missed the MSM message, Lauer sympathetically asked: "Is there piling on by the administration?"
Given that the propagation of a false story led to riots and deaths, you'd think the last thing Today would do would be to air other rumors. Yet incredibly, incredibly!, that's exactly what it devoted virtually the entirety of its next segment to.
NBC reporter Richard Engel reported from Baghdad, and his report consisted of retelling a variety of additional rumors:
1. "There are many rumors in Iraq and across Muslim world that this kind of thing happens regularly."
2. "There are rumors that US Marines while raiding a mosque abused a Koran and spray-painted it."
3. "Another one - during a search of woman, a search dog pulled a Koran out of the woman's handbag and Marines started laughing."
Engel claimed: "People believe this is not a war on terrorism but a war on Islam."
Lauer 'helpfully' filled in the blanks: "You're telling me people in that part of the world expect the worst from the US.?"
Engel somberly observed: "I'm not sure we're winning the battle for hearts and minds. There is still fallout from Abu Ghraib."
And just to pour the last measure of gasoline on the fire, Engel ended with this explosive allegation: "There are rumors women were raped at Abu Ghraib. One women claimed she was raped six times every night."
Just when you thought the MSM couldn't sink any lower . . .
Today Show blood-pressure-alert ping.
Is anyone RELIEVED that the story is not true, or at the very, very least, unsubstantiated? Apparently not, in the MSM.
Imagine a US media outlet doing this during WWII.
Today show wants more blood so they can say we're, I mean the imperialistic Bush regime is failing...
What an absolute bunch of losers intent on making America anything but #1.
Thanks as always GLGB...........
What a bunch of anti-American propaganda!!!
Sheesshhhhhhh........
There is no way anyone could flush a book the size of the Koran down any toilet. A book that is about 6" X 8" X 2" will not fit through a four inch hole.
Nicely done!
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Can anyone really imagine the MSM being quiet about the White House twisting arms in a case like this? Those that don't respect the government, don't fear it either; there would be a firestorm...
Matt Lauer is pathetic scum!
"There are many rumors in Iraq and across Muslim world that this kind of thing happens regularly."
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I notice that lots of self-obsessed news people in the United States sitting in some studio somewhere like to talk like this.
Why do they insist on making themselves continually look like flagrant idiots?
I guess it all depends on what the "idiot" market will bear.
Thanks, BP. Talk about blaming the victim, here the Bush admin and the military were victimized by this false report. Yet Today/NBC managed to find a way to blame them for it. Reprehensible.
None of them thought about how ridiculous the statement was on its face, because they have no idea of the size differential, and they don't have the foggiest idea how a toilet works!!
I heard a rumor that it was a detainee that ripped the Koran page by page and was flushing the pages, hoping to stop up the toilets. He was protesting. Why didn't they print this version of the rumor. Oh yeah that's right, because it was a rumor. Not substantiated.!! Does that make sense?
Exactly. And, for the record, I believe it would be a 3" hole. Kohler makes 4" plumbing, and they are not going to install Kohler in Guantanamo. Most likely: 3" American Standard.
It's no wonder that their ratings are in the toilet. That's where they live.
Treason is now fashionable in the United States. It used to be Bush-bashing, but it's gone beyond that. Anything you can say publicly that will immediately increase the danger to US soldiers is considered cool and trendy by the leftists who run the media, the universities, and many layers of government (especially the State Department). With treason so pervasive, what can we do? Well, for a start, we can call it what it is: treason. And do so publicly and loudly.
As for whether or not a Koran miraculously got flushed down a toilet (and it would take a miracle to get a book down a toilet), all I can say is: who cares? Certainly not the atheists in the media. Which means all they really care about is harming US soldiers. They are actively and willfully attempting to increase the number of casualties in the US Army and Marines.
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