Boos for Bush silenced at AMA?

MSNBC.com ^ | 1/15/03 | Jeanette Walls

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Did ABC censor a crowd’s disapproval of George H. Bush? The former president — and father of the current president — delivered a taped message at the American Music Awards on Monday night, and sources who were there tell The Scoop that the crowd booed him.

WHEN THE BAND Alabama received the Award of Merit, the elder Bush’s face appeared on screen. “I’m very proud to be part of tonight’s tribute honoring one of the most highly successful bands country music has ever known,” said the former president, but his image was met with a loud chorus of boos. One source says Randy Owen, the lead singer for the band, was “pretty shaken” by the crowd’s reaction.

The boos from the crowd, however, were not audible in the broadcast, leading some to believe that they were deleted by censors. “To be honest, I can’t tell you,” a spokesman for ABC told The Scoop, who referred the question to a spokesman for the production company.

[Deb]

Your statement that "...innocents were unnecessarily killed," is a lie. There may have been "accidental" deaths, but the US military is the most humane and decent in history. That's why children all over the world run to our guys. They know they'll be fed and protected.

Your entire argument on this thread is disgusting and profane. If the good citizens of Panama had shown some bravery and over-thrown Noriega themselves, we wouldn't have had to risk American lives to free your country.

You can bet "your people" will come crying to us when the Colombian narco-terrorists and the Chinese sweep thru the population. And we'll save them, like we always do every country that calls. And later there will be malcontent crybabies like you who claim we killed innocents unnecessarily. Ungrateful doesn't begin to describe it. It never does.

[F.J. Mitchell]

"What has he done to merit respect?"

Question is: What has he done that merits contempt from you and those idiots in that audience?

[Citizen of the United States]

I am sorry that you feel that way, sir. Indeed, I find it difficult to express the sorrow I feel. However, your condemnation of my position does not alter it, as I am sure you must have known before you made it.

As new cruelty noted, I should perhaps have thicker skin. Alas, I do not. I do lack that sturdiness of constitution others enjoy, and I find that I do not have the inclination to continue this debate. It saddens me that I have drawn such harsh criticism from the members of this board, whom I respect and admire in many ways.

I am sure that my position has been made as clear as is possible already. Thus, my further participation will most probably only result in more criticism, be it well-founded or not. As such, I am terminating my participation in this discussion. There are, no doubt, those who will attribute this to cowardice; rather, it is due to what new cruelty so aptly recognised as my want of thicker skin.

Perhaps, sir, in the future, we may find ourselves on the same side of a question. I hope so. Vaya con Dios.

[hosepipe]

Oh! for the visual of Alabama throwing the award on the stage breaking it(because of the boo's).. and walking off the stage.. followed by 1/10th the crowd in the audience...walking out...

That would make me think America could be great again...
Would even make ME go out and buy a coupla Alabama cd's.

[LibWhacker]

. . . "dumb-down" . . .

Yeah, right. Make fun of a typo, a**hole. Who came in here pretending to know about logic, making up names out of thin air for completely non-existent rules? Show me ONE legitimate reference to the "fallacy of alternate syllogism," dippy.

You can't.

There isn't one.

You made it up completely out of thin air.

You lied.

Flat out lied. While pretending to know something. Not uncommon for you America-haters.

And NOBODY will listen to you now, you pompous little remedial algebra, dumbed-down sh*t. What are you, still in high school? You damned sure write like it.

Try to assimilate, will you? Give up the laughable thinking of the old country. Or you'll always be a foreigner and an outsider in the eyes of America.

[F.J. Mitchell]

A language is intended as a tool to enable rational communication between members of a society-you have succeded in turning English into a foreign language for almost every ordinary American. How much time have you wasted memorizing thesauruses in order to pad your ego by
leaving those who thought they spoke your language , thinking you speak Greek? That may be edifying to your ego but no more enlightening than pig latin to your audience.

[new cruelty]

Nice talking with you, Citizen. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in your manner. You are notably inciteful and undeserving of many of the barbs cast your way. Despite your conjecture, I don't consider you any less resolute in your devotion to this country.

And in keeping with addressing persons of title, thats Mr. New Cruelty to you.

I'M JOKING. Thanks for being such an exemplary sounding board.

[WoofDog123]

You are discovering the joys of inadvertently offending the element of FR that will go after anyone who says or does things that can be construed as offensive or critical of the president and his party. They flame you, and in your case, suggest exile. In my case I was told clinton was my god, that I was clearly voting libertarian, and that failure to support the bush gang was proof of unpatriotism. Many of these likely support the new bush database that will log their internet posts as well.

FWIW, I think it is pitiful the u.s. didn't take MAN into custody during the oct-89 coup. Many posters here don't understand that the comandancia where noriega was held was literally down the road from quarry heights, and just a few miles from various bases containing thousands of soldiers (corozal, clayton, quarry heights, etc). Additionally, Noriega was pretty low-key compared to some of the folks the u.s. has supported elsewhere (el salvador, for example). What I have been told makes it clear that the drug stuff, while publicly embarrassing, wasn't the main reason he was put on the undesirable list.

I will note that today the respect of law exhibited by the police towards people is much higher than it was pre-invasion, and there is a fair amount of transparency that wasn't there before as long as you aren't dealing with china. Panama paid a high price to get it, though.

[confused1]

Sir, I feel many of the comments directed at you and your family have made this entire site subject to "censorship." Such behavior is reminiscent of the 3:00 school bell and the meeting in the playground...you being the intended target of abuse. As an active duty military serviceman and a firm believer of God and this country's principle's, I will go to war and die, if necessary, to protect the rights that not only you and the other respondants of this thread enjoy, but those of whatever country my elected President may determine to send me. And believe me, I did not vote for former President Clinton. Yet, I still was subject to his line of reasoning. As to opinions, to each his own and to the better debator go the spoils of war, in this case, the support of others who have been reading the thread. I, too, was born in this country, as were my parents and their's before, yet we did not originate here. Such personal attacks degrade the person making them and ensure that those reading them give less credance to his/her argument. Semper Fi, whether you agree or not.

[Deb]

I don't think you're a coward and I understand perfectly why you'd want to discontinue the discussion.

What I don't understand is why you would want to be a citizen of the country that you feel unnecessarily killed your innocent countrymen. You, yourself, must feel safe and secure here, though. Secure enough to "Boo" our (ex) president.

[confused1]

I seem to remember that several of our "highly regarded, liberal movie/singing celebrities" made announcements that should President Bush be elected that they would vacate their US Citizenship and leave this country. I don't recall hearing on the news if the ship had left the harbor with them yet or not. Are they waiting for the cruise ships to be decontaminated?

[MissAmericanPie]

And were I present I would give you a first class demonstration of how we deliver a boo in Texas, "citizen".

[Ytlaya]

Citizen has every right to criticize the actions of our country. What makes America the country it is is the ability to "boo" the decisions of our leaders. It does not make one unpatriotic.

[MissAmericanPie]

All rights are suspended when "fightin words" are used, except the ability to back them up with your best shot. It's still common law in some parts.

[gaspar]

Can you name a Panamanian president who has held office since 1950 that was not on the CIA payroll, a crook, and absolutely imprvious to the wretched poverty that exists in Panama? One need nothing more that a simple investigation of the Panamanian banking system to discern it is one of the most corrupt in the world, floating in a sea of narc money. Panama is a kleptocracy, and you know it.

[ffusco]

Continue to disrepect a former president at your leisure. As for your criticism of Bush's internationalist style , does that include the re-unification of Germany or the fall of the Soviet Union? As for his failure to remove Saddam, it was never his intention. Regarding his domestic policy: I posit that Mr. Bush was the last president from the greatest generation and this simply alienated him from a growing number of younger voters. Your fault him for failing to keep his promise on taxes seems petty in my opinion.