Glenn Greenwald: I Defend Edward Snowden Like MSNBC Defends Obama '24 Hours A Day'

[geefloyd46]

[madrchsod]

1. wow ...i guess he really is full of himself

i thought he was coming back to the usa?

[Hissyspit]

21. He doesn't have to, if he doesn't want to.

"I have been told by pretty much everybody I have asked, including lawyers for the Guardian, my personal lawyer, lawyers I trust, political people who are well connected that it would be very ill-advised for me to travel back to the United States right now because the chances that I would be arrested are something more than trivial," Greenwald told CPJ in Rio de Janeiro.

"I've had lots of prominent political and media figures calling for my arrest and prosecution and strongly suggesting, if not outright stating, that what I am doing is criminal."

- snip -

He has tried to find out what fate would await him at a U.S. border crossing but authorities have not returned his calls.

"My lawyers have tried to get some indication and have not succeeded....I haven't had any kind of official communications from them at all." U.S. prosecutors have not brought criminal cases against any journalists who received material from Snowden, including Barton Gellman, who published accounts of National Security Agency surveillance in The Washington Post.

[George II]

22. At least FINALLY he admits why he's down in Brazil....

..."it would be very ill-advised for me to travel back to the United States right now because the chances that I would be arrested are something more than trivial"

I guess he's no longer using the phony "Defense of Marriage Act" as his excuse.

Since her name has been brought up in a number of threads in the last week or so....

....imagine if Rosa Parks felt the same way? She would have never gotten on that bus!

[Hissyspit]

36. WTF?

The situations changed.

Do you even think at all before you post?

He was not living in the U.S because of the DOMA immigration situation. He hasn't travelled here since that got better because of the Snowden reporting situation.

Not that it matters. He doesn't have to come here if he doesn't want to.

[George II]

40. So then his recently stated reason is no longer valid, so why not return to the US and...

....do his ad nauseum interviews LIVE?

Sure, he doesn't have to come here if he doesn't want to, but then he should STFU about the country from which he turned his back!

[Hissyspit]

43. What are you talking about?

The DOMA situation changed. The newer situation HASN'T:

"I have been told by pretty much everybody I have asked, including lawyers for the Guardian, my personal lawyer, lawyers I trust, political people who are well connected that it would be very ill-advised for me to travel back to the United States right now because the chances that I would be arrested are something more than trivial," Greenwald told CPJ in Rio de Janeiro.

"I've had lots of prominent political and media figures calling for my arrest and prosecution and strongly suggesting, if not outright stating, that what I am doing is criminal."

- snip -

He has tried to find out what fate would await him at a U.S. border crossing but authorities have not returned his calls.

"My lawyers have tried to get some indication and have not succeeded....I haven't had any kind of official communications from them at all." U.S. prosecutors have not brought criminal cases against any journalists who received material from Snowden, including Barton Gellman, who published accounts of National Security Agency surveillance in The Washington Post.

As for "country from which he turned his back!" What a bunch of simplistic right-wing "love or leave it" attack talking point nonsense.

And his interviews are live; they're just live by satellite.

[SCVDem]

2. Dear Glenn

Fornicate thyself!

[cantbeserious]

3. Thank You Snowden - Thank You Greenwald - Please Keep Up The Good Work

eom

[betsuni]

4. Someone help me out

I don't live in the U.S. and haven't ever seen 24 hours of MSNBC so I don't know, but isn't Greenwald's claim ridiculous? Aren't there only a few shows in that 24 hours that are clearly progressive, and even then the idea that they never criticize Obama is demonstrably wrong. Right? Why would he say that? It makes him seem unprofessional. Why does he end his sentences in rising tones? Also unprofessional.

[Indykatie]

5. Greenwald's Shrillness is Always on Display eom

[cantbeserious]

10. Ad Hominen Attacks - The Worst of The Logical Fallacies

eom

[BlueCaliDem]

27. Greenwald is a Republican disguised as a Libertarian. Even a blind man

can see that, based on his past "reports". His hatred for Democrats and especially that Black man in the White House has been proven through his own tweets, and his loyalty is to the Republican Party and to himself has been proven through his fawning over Duhbya Bush and the statement he made on a show on MSNBC:

“Every journalist has an agenda. We’re on MSNBC now, where close to 24 hours a day the agenda of President Obama and the Democratic Party are promoted, defended, glorified, the agenda of the Republican Party is undermined. That doesn’t mean the people who appear on MSNBC aren’t journalists, they are."

.

Which begs the question . . . as a self-proclaimed journalist himself, what's Greenwald's agenda?

No one on Democratic Underground has any business defending that sell-out. Sure, he's done some good (especially after his faux outrage of GWBush when the tide went against "his president" later in his presidency and Greenwald needed to cash in on that anger so he had to sell his "liberal" creds to a clueless bunch that suffers political myopia) but even a broken clock is correct twice a day.

[freshwest]

6. MSM has edited, ignored, misreported, slandered and attacked Obama more than anyone in the USA.

And you are correct on all points.

[BlueCaliDem]

26. Exactly! But Snowden/Greenwald defenders will swallow

Greenwald's tripe without question.

When he spews stuff like this . . .

“I think that’s ludicrous is what I say to that,” Greenwald shot back. “Every journalist has an agenda. We’re on MSNBC now, where close to 24 hours a day the agenda of President Obama and the Democratic Party are promoted, defended, glorified, the agenda of the Republican Party is undermined. That doesn’t mean the people who appear on MSNBC aren’t journalists, they are."

. . . you know he's a Republican shill.

I mean, really? How much more proof do Greenwald/Snowden apologists need?

And what's with his statement that MSNBC is undermining the Republican Party agenda?? Has he seen MSNBC in the morning? Has he seen Morning Joe?? And then, why in the HELL should he care IF MSNBC is "undermining the Republican agenda" (even though they're NOT} while every other "news" outlet in the United States is constantly promoting it??

And then you have to ask yourself why some people on DU are still defending this Republican/Libertarian shill who stands against everything the people on this site is fighting for??

[freshwest]

32. Such devotion to oppressed Republicans is *touching.* Like gagging oneself with their fingers...

As far as some glorifying these guys, it's an effect of media. There are many who refute the media cult, such as the piece by Tim Wise:

http://www.timwise.org/2012/01/of-broken-clocks-presidential-candidates-and-the-confusion-of-certain-white-liberals/

They won't be considered because being part of the 'winning team' or 'wave of the future' that the GOP and Libertarians say is 'inevitable' is so enticing. Just blindly ignore all the prophecies the GAS team has put out so far:



There were hundreds of threads at the time in the DERP category. I was very grateful for EarlG's clearing it up.

The belief that Obama was going to be dining on the blood of Syrians, after a tasty snack of the blood of Libyans, while recovering from drinking the blood of Afghans, Iraqis and the prisoners of GITMO, was a sure thing with some.

It was and is an article of faith, more like the WBC's, Infowars' and Beck's dogmatic dogshit about Aurora, Newtown, Boston and every other event in the USA, that underlies it. Obama is up to NO GOOD! Don't be decieved by the anti-Christ, even if you aren't a Christian!



And that GAS is next on the menu, always, maintains their attempt at being relevant by hanging onto the Dark Lord's coat tails. All three will past their media expiration dates soon and PBO will never eat them. His vice is eating pie, not people.

There's also the element of being afraid of being 'left behind.' GAS and the GOP thorugh their new brand, Libertarianism, is cool, well funded, and rings all the right tones.

The media is what we get most of our food for thought, and we're drowning in an ocean of right wing bullshit. Hard to tell what's what, if one is only consuming 'news' and not thinking why anyone would concoct such elaborate ruses.

[George II]

34. Case in point....just minutes ago Alex (half) Witt asked a guest....

...a question about "President Obama being unable to implement his signature law" (i.e., the Affordable Care Act)

Despite the website problems, MILLIONS have enrolled and the parts of the law were been successfully a year or more ago.

Then it dawned on me, I was still watching that TWitt, I forgot to switch over to a more insightful show, "The Young and the Restless"!!!

[DeSwiss]

8. Nice slow pitch. You'll go far. n/t

[shaayecanaan]

9. They stick to the same prefabricated criticisms that every other news organisation does...

"I thought his tone during his last speech was a little harsh", "I didnt like the colour of his tie", "I didnt think it was appropriate for him to sit in the Oval Office in his shirtsleeves"

they never utter criticisms such as "I dont think Obama should have allowed the NSA to spy on Americans" or "I don't think Obama should have caved to the pharmaceutical industry by refusing to allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs".

[Jamaal510]

12. The talking point of MSNBC being

an exclusively pro-Obama/pro-progressive network has been a RW favorite for a few years now. Pretty much, you know that a person's argument is BS once they resort to this particular talking point. A person would have to be hopelessly clueless to not know about shows like Chuck Todd and Meet the Press on there that reek of false equivalence and never go after Republicans as often as they should.

[BlueCaliDem]

28. ^^^This!^^^

[freshwest]

33. Or not a believer in leftist causes at all... n/t

[Hissyspit]

20. He clearly indicates that he doesn't mean everyone on the network:

Here's Glenn on the subject earlier this year:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/19/msnbc-axelrod-gibbs-obama

Chris Hayes regularly criticizes Obama from the left while, post-election, Rachel Maddow sometimes does the same).

From the interview in question:

"Not everyone on MSNBC does that 24 hours a day," Welker interjected. "No, not everybody, but a lot of people on MSNBC do," Greenwald said.

Greenwald clarified that he wasn't talking about everyone.

Here is Rachel defending Greenwald in August: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/19/1232435/-Rachel-Maddow-on-David-Miranda-and-the-White-House

[George II]

31. "Greenwald clarified that he wasn't talking about everyone."

Well, when he says "24 hours a day", but isn't talking about everyone, who else is remaining??????

[Hissyspit]

37. That's a valid point.

Would it make you feel better if he said almost 24 hours a day? It would me.

But the point I was making in all my responses was that Greenwald had since clarified since this first came up last summer that he was not talking about Rachel Maddow, per se, and anyone paying attention or doing a little research can know this.

[George II]

38. It would make me feel better, if it were true, but..

...he said "24 hours a day" just a day or two ago, didn't he?

To me, he's just words and BS with little or no credibility.

[Hissyspit]

41. But he's trying to make a valid point

And that point is deliberately ignored, so that he can be attacked over something that is not what he said. Which is a form of B.S.

[George II]

42. So then, what is the "point" that he's trying to make?

[Hissyspit]

44. That the reason the MSNBC host was criticizing him about his Snowden reporting carried no validity

in the context of MSNBC.

[George II]

24. You're correct....he it totally wrong. Commentators on MSNBC have been....

....criticizing Obama and things his administration has done almost since his first day in office.

If his sweeping proclamations are what he considers "journalism", then I think he should go back to Journalism school!

[DeSwiss]

7. K&R

[Jamaal510]

11. GG is sounding

increasingly like a wingnut each day. MSNBC defending Obama 24 hours a day? Um...Ed Shultz criticizing the TPP proposal? Rachel Maddow ranting about fracking and the Keystone Pipeline? Ari Melber attacking the drones program, anyone? You should've seen how much the crew reprimanded Obama after that 1st debate from the 2012 elections...and despite the fact that there are shows with a progressive tilt in general, they don't make up near the full 24 hours. Anyone who watches MSNBC should know about Morning Joe, Chuck Todd, the marathons of Prison Porn (aka LockUp) every holiday and weekend, and of course the infamous "Meet the Press" with MC Rove's back-up dancer Dave Gregory. No real liberal/Obama-defending network would ever have those shows on, and to think that there are still people on this site supporting these two at this point is utterly laughable.

[George II]

25. Very well put - Greenwald is totally uninformed (and an egomaniac too!)

Last edited Fri Dec 27, 2013, 01:45 PM - Edit history (1)

[20score]

13. Snowden is showing some of the best of humanity. In stark contrast to his detractors.

And Greenwald puts most of the talking heads to shame. (There are good ones, but they're rare.)

Said it before, but it's still true.

I never thought I could hold a group of people in more contempt than I did the Bushies, but those from the J. Edgar Hoover wing of the Democratic Party have proved me wrong.

To defend Total Information Awareness is despicable enough, then add hypocrisy to the mix...

[Titonwan]

16. Well said!

If this had come out under Bush's regime, the so called 'progressives' here would be hailing Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald as great liberators. Now, since their particular corrupt president is in office they defend him just as stupidly as the Bushies did their man.
Yes, Virginia- Snowden, Greenwald and Poitras are heros.

[drynberg]

18. I agree totally.

Edward Snowden is a true Patriot. Whether MSNBC promotes Obama all the time or not isn't really the issue. The issue is that Glen Greenwald has been clear that he is defending Edward Snowden, although he has presented unchallenged objective facts that concur with this defense. And this is still "journalism", just as long as the journalist is transparent in his/her bias. This does not happen with most of the MSM, including MSNBC.

[SoapBox]

14. ...

[baldguy]

15. But Snowden's fans here on DU keep telling me "It's not about Obama!"

St. Glenn seems to think otherwise.

[Titonwan]

17. You never heard me say that bs.

Obama, Clapper and Alexander have all publicly lied about the extent of this clearly illegal program. Ask federal judge Leon about that.
Yes, it's ALL about Obama because he promised 'the most transparent government ever'. Now, before you leave- please pick up all the blue pom poms layin' on the ground.
Some of us define being liberal as not beholding to any party that doesn't adhere to their ideals. I'm done with corporatist "democrats".

[BlueCaliDem]

29. Yep. Got my fair share of Snowden/Greenwald defenders spewing

that denial when I even hinted at how much Snowden/Greenwald were making hay just to excoriate that Black man in their White House.

Now they can hear just how much it's about President Obama from the Republican shill's own mouth, and in his own words that cannot be not taken out of context, and now they're proven wrong and I'm proven right, will they apologize? Will they have an epiphany? Pfft. NOT. They double-down or deny ever having said such a thing like the cowards they are.

[George II]

23. Obviously he hasn't watched MSNBC in the last six months or more....

...particularly Ed Schultz.

You know, when I was growing up and later on in school and in my career, I was taught that if one wants to criticize something, one should be prepared to present a better alternative.

This guy, and Snowden, have failed to do that - all they do is criticize and leak from afar, doling out their snippets to keep their names in the headlines.

[SunSeeker]

30. Or weekends when the prison shows are on.

The only channel spewing propaganda 24/7 is Fox News.

[stevenleser]

35. Bottom line, you're either a bullshitter that makes crap up, or a truthteller. GG is a bullshitter.

Someone with the truth on their side whose M.O. is to tell the truth doesn't need to make a completely B.S. attack on MSNBC.

[Hissyspit]

39. That's funny. I'm constantly having to debunk LIES and MISINFORMATION about GREENWALD,

even when I don't agree with GREENWALD necessarily, because the ad Hominem talking points (see: B.S.) are often so egregious.