"The Nick Berg story can only help Bush"

[TheRedMan]

Neal Boortz quoth:

http://boortz.com/nuze/200405/05132004.html

"This morning in most of the newspapers I scanned during my preparation for the show the top story was still the Iraqi prison abuse scandal. Nick Berg had already disappeared from many front pages, but the prison abuse stories remain. May I suggest to you that there is a reason for this? Maybe it's just this simple: The prison abuse scandal can damage Bush, the Nick Berg story can only help him. Given the choice many editors will chose the stories that serve their cause, getting Bush out of the White House, rather than one that hurts it."

He's really working the "liberal media" legend hard...

Tell you what, Neal, let's make a deal. Let's play the Nick Berg story real hard. Ignore all sense of decency and respect to his family and air the whole video on every "liberal" news network. You play it in Bush's favor all you want, and we'll see in November how much it really helped him.

Anyone else POSITIVE that if every network was airing this that this guy would also be railing on the networks for "exploting this grisly death to give people a specific image on which to peg their anti-Bush sentiment?"

Look, I am completely willing to buy that news organizations made a decision in the name of decency not to air this. It is bad enough for his family right now without the whole world trying to hurl the exact images of his death at them.

[efhmc]

1. Pretty horrible if true that the Berg story is viewed as a help to bush.

[spotbird]

3. There are so many unanswered questions about Berg

that even the "mainstream" media is scratching its collective head. If the story had lingered it wouldn't have continued to help Bush, which may be the real reason it's fading.

[mazzarro]

9. Exactly my thought too!

I believe that the main-stream media is running away from it because there may be something not quite to their liking lurking in the shadows of that story with its contradictions and mysteries.
It is also hypocritical of those who will like the story to persist but are against putting up stories of the soldiers' casualties.

[spotbird]

2. Could I suggest that when terrorists act like terrorists

the story doesn't have as long a shelf life. On the other hand, when the US government acts like terrorists it holds the citizenry's attention.

[efhmc]

4. Which would be a great deal of the time with this admin. I wrote on the

board of my frig that "Bush is the Biggest Terrorist of All". I didn't want to scare the nice young girl who was coming over to babysit my gson so I erased it, but the thought is still around.

[LibDemAlways]

14. My frig is a treasure trove of anti-bush messages, and

I'm so used to it, I don't even think about anyone else's reaction. One day I got a call from the mother of one of my daughter's friends who had been over. Seems the little girl spotted my "bush or chimp" collage of pictures and wanted to know why I had pictures making fun of the "president." I told her in my opinion he looks like a chimpanzee, but that, of course, a real chimp is more intelligent. Don't think she appreciated it as her daughter hasn't been back since. No loss.

[denverbill]

5. Republicans are rejoicing over Berg's grisly death.

Anything that helps Bush wins reelection suits them just fine. They'd be high-fiving each other if there was another 9-11 before election day.

[TheRedMan]

6. and that is what i find most appalling

What's weird is I STILL don't see how this helps Bush...

[MoonRiver]

23. It is NOT going to help him.

The media is spinning this 24/7, but it is a false assumption. That horrific event just reinforces how out of control and violent the situation is in Iraq, and how much at risk of a terrible death Americans are because of BUSH*S POLICIES.

[WastedPotential]

18. I don't think anyone who is a parent would ever rejoice over this

despicable event, regardless of political affiliation. I am sure we all want the Al-Queda savages brought to justice for this horrible act.

[nodictators]

22. Peter Jennings on ABC used the beheading tape as a lead-in to...

...a segment about "conservative" views from right-wing radio talk shows.

This happened on ABC-TV's World "News" Tonight last Tuesday, about seven minutes into the program. The right-wingers in the segment trashed anti-war people and claimed the behaeading of Nick Berg proved that they and Bush were right.

In my view, Jennings' use of the beheading tape to promote right-wing views is a new low for TV "news."

[Spazito]

7. The Nick Berg story is already on the "inside" pages...

it is no longer front page news unlike the Iraqi torture coverage. For once, the press is not being diverted from the bigger issue, that of who was in charge, what was the line of command, what role did Sanchez play, etc.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Stay Tuned...This Is Gonna Get Uglier

What Boorish Boortz and the other hate mongers aren't hearing in their echo chambers is the digust decent, moral people are having with ALL of this sleeze and blood. Berg did temporarily distract from the Abu Gabril mess, but the two are seperate stories and have been treated as such. Of course a partisan like Boortz can only see things in love Bunnypants/hate Bunnypants and the creeping fear in these creeps that their boy could actually blow it.

These fascists are so used to lock-step, no-question loyalty that the divisions within their ranks is catching these hate mongers off guard. Check out the transcript of Hannity virtually begging McCain to say dubya was "our man". LOL. Imagine the field day this doofus would have it we replace McCain with the Clinton of your choice. LOL.

This all falls into Mike Malloy's long-running theory of the "dumbing down of America". The Uday/Qusay pics broke the barrier of showing mutiliated corpses on TV, now Berg makes the killing acceptable. As the carnage piles up on TV it de-sensatizes some who then don't think American casualties are so bad, and so on.

The regime knows that the insurection will continue and the casualties will pile up and the best way to prepare the sheeple is to make them witness to the carnage and make it seem "normal". It's the same kinda thought that made Reservists feel they could abuse prisoners since they weren't human, either. Make it all look and feel like Max Payne.

[Kinkistyle]

12. Desensitization shouldn't affect your morals.

Physicians, policeman and emergency workers see and work with lots of gruesome situations and are mostly "desensitized" to alot of this stuff in that it no longer shocks them - but that doesn't mean they are more prone to think its ok when people get tortured or killed.

I believe the opposite - I think we should be seeing MORE images of the violence and bloodshed of war. For too long, this administration has been hiding and covering up every aspect of this war that might seem "distasteful". THAT in my opinion, is more damaging to the American public because it is a form of deception.

The danger is we must all remember that these are HUMANS - like you or me - who are getting killed, raped or tortured. These people who carry out these atrocities don't see it that way, which is why they are able to carry them out.

[KharmaTrain]

20. It's A Fine Line...First Person Vs. Third Person

My concern is how death and violence have been almost institutionalized into our culture...something we haven't really pointed to as one of the causes of the abuses we're now seeing. Call it blowback from the video game/gore movie generation. For nearly 20 years we've had "entertainment" that shows death and war in an amusing/fun vein. Gulf Oil War I was the ideal push-button war since almost all of it was fought from 35,000 overhead.

It'd be something if we could get not just the pictures, but the smell and the other first-person senses seeing a dead body brings. We see hundred of people killed daily on our televisions, but we don't see the blood, the aftermath, and we're not in these videos as well. Right now, if the war's too much, you can turn it off...that's not the reality of death and war you or I would like to get across. Sadly, I think the only way it's gonna get really into this country's "soul" is when enough funerals are held across the country and real, mangled bodies begin to appear on our streets. Regrettable, and my hope is we don't forsake this group of veterans as we did the last.

Yes, we must put a human face on this awful invasion...but the face right now should be those who are profitting and manipulating it as oppposed to the victims, since without keeping the heat on those "in control", the carnage will continue and get worse.

Cheers!

[carolinayellowdog]

10. The Berg story MAGNIFIES the prison scandal story

Collective wisdom here seems to be that the latest shocking images distract from or diminish last week's shocks. But all the questions about Berq imprisoned in Iraq just bring home the horror images from Abu Ghraib. His family blaming Bush and Rumsfeld cannot be helpful to the administration in the long run.

[LizW]

11. Deaths of Americans give Bush a boost?

Boortz doesn't even seem to realize how terrifying that is. Remember the spike in Bush's approval rating in all polls after thousands of Americans died on 9/11? And the next spike when he sent Americans to die in droves at the beginning of the war? Now the cruel and inhumane beheading of an American is "good for Bush"?

Will Americans start to recognize this pattern and get really, really scared about what may happen to us before November?

[Kinkistyle]

13. Not just Bush - all Repugs.

The Repugs should be known as the "death party". Because whenever the republicans are in office, you can be sure there will be mass killing and destruction of human beings and the earth in general.

[sallyseven]

16. Two things

Berg's parents are blaming bush so that is not good. Something funny about who held him in Iraq before the infamous kidnapping. Story stinks. Iraq doesn't have a real police force. Also soldier who is being Court Marshalled is letting the higher ups off the blame list. People are not so stupid that they can't figure out Stivits (sp) is going to be let off without too much damage. Everyone watches a cops and robber TV story and knows about the states evidence, witness protection deal.

[Vickers]

15. Sure it'll help Bush...it'll help show him the door.

The only folks who possibly see the silver lining in this are hardcore RW idiots. Even some of the folks who outwardly are saying this is a good thing (sic) are probably questioning how things got this far.

The RW folks are delusional, and if the Diebold disintegration continues (thanks Bev!) he's out, just like his Daddy.

[seabeyond]

17. the difference.....

if berg was killed by al queda, end of story. we have the news. we know what to do with htose guys. we know they are criminals and murders.

the torture story are our people to take care of. get the story out. and prosecute and correct our mistakes at the prison.

if the berg story continues to show inconsistencies then it is back on t.v. cause it has to do with our people. something for us to investigate and figure out what happened

if bush has called for resignations, gotten pictures out, and clearly put a correction throughout the prison system in iraq then this story would die too. this story hasnt ended because bushco havent completed the job. they get to own it not the media

[LibDemAlways]

19. When the four "contractors" were killed and mutilated in

Fallujah, the outrage expressed in the admin and the military response were huge. With Berg they tried to tie the whole sordid mess up quickly with CIA pronouncements of which shadowy terrorist was to blame, and tried to use the incident for political advantage to distract from the prison scandal horrors with rants like Inhofe's.

Personally I think the whores are burying this one before the public starts to notice yellow walls, white chairs, prison jumpsuits, terrorists at parade rest, caucasion al-qaeda, etc...too many unanswered questions here that are not favorable for bushco.

[thebigidea]

21. so, uh - Boortz is PLAYING POLITICS with the grisly death of Berg?

I thought only Democracts would daaaare to PLAAAAAY POLITICS with something like this.