Sunday, February 08, 2015

For those conservatives jumping all over Brian Williams it might be a good idea to check the quality of the glass their house is made out of first.

Courtesy of Salon:

When it emerged that NBC News anchor Brian Williams had misled the public for years with a harrowing account of coming under enemy fire on a military helicopter during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, observers were quick to draw comparisons with other public figures caught telling tall tales about combat experiences. Some hearkened back to Hillary Clinton’s bogus 2008 assertion that she had landed “under sniper fire” during a trip to Bosnia a dozen years earlier; in reality, video from the trip showed a smiling Clinton and her daughter walking calmly on the tarmac, with no sign of trouble whatsoever. 

There’s another figure who merits mention in this discussion, one whose serial blurring of lines between fiction and reality was a mainstay of his public career. That figure, of course, was Ronald Reagan. 

Reagan’s fibs were manifold. They included his campaign-trail tale of a “Chicago welfare queen” with 80 aliases, 30 addresses, and 12 Social Security cards, whom he alleged had claimed “over $150,000″ in government benefits. The woman whom Reagan made infamous was convicted of using only two aliases, used to collect $8,000. 

Once in office, Reagan’s deception in the Iran-Contra scandal briefly threatened his presidency. First, Reagan flatly denied wrongdoing, publicly declaring, “We did not — repeat, did not — trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we.” Months later, when subsequent revelations rendered that assertion untenable, Reagan delivered an Oval Office address in which he tried to reconcile his public claims with the factual record. “A few months ago, I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages,” Reagan said. “My heart and my best intentions still tell me that’s true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not.” 

But Reagan’s fabrications also included whoppers about conflict zones reminiscent of those put forth by Williams and Clinton. During Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s November 1983 visit to the U.S., Reagan told Shamir that during his service in the U.S. Army film corps, he and fellow members of his unit personally shot footage of the Nazis’ concentration camps as they were liberated. Reagan would tell this story again to others, including Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal. But Reagan was never present at the camps’ liberation. Instead, he spent the war in Culver City, California, where he processed footage from the liberation of the camps.

I think compared to lying about being present during the liberation of the concentration camps in World War 2, lying about your helicopter receiving enemy fire in Iraq is small beans. 

Look I'm not defending Williams. I think that when a trusted figure  is caught fabricating stories of bravery that is newsworthy and he should suffer some blowback.

But let's face it conservatives lie like some people draw a breath. It is the most natural thing in the world for them.

One of their major right now is Ted Cruz, who has been caught telling untruths twice as often as he has been caught telling a truth, or half truth.

The same is true of Chris Christie and Rand Paul. And do we even need to include George W. Bush and Sarah Palin?

Look there are liberals liars and exaggerators as well.  (Anthony Wiener springs to mind. Pardon the pun.)

However they are not the ones gleefully calling for the destruction of a man's career based on one lie.

Nor are they the ones who have deified a man who so clearly manipulated the truth as often as dear old Ronnie.

28 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:49 PM

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/07/1363060/-When-Will-Fox-News-Fire-Bill-O-Reilly-For-Lying-About-Combat-Duty

    O'Reilly lied too, about service in combat in Iraq War #1.

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    1. Anonymous7:26 PM

      I posted this on another thread and questioned when Ms. Palin intended to go after Bill. Guess she hasn't even though Bill hasn't helped Chuckie sell his book either.

      Wonder is Chuckie is steaming mad about the man in Detroit that walked 21 miles to work? A Wayne State student set up a Go Fund Me Account and they collected over $300,000. Poor Chuckie is having trouble grifting enough to fund his hobby.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:39 PM

      Chuckie needs to get a paying job. He could fry burgers at McDonald's.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous2:55 PM

    How in the world did they avoid missing the biggest liar of them all, Bubba.

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    1. hedgewytch4:27 PM

      Yeah, lying to get the whole country to go to war is a pretty big one.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:29 AM

      I think 2:55 is talking about Clinton, not Dubya

      Delete
    3. Anonymous8:46 AM

      Cheney/GWB biggest liars and responsible for more death and maiming. Also all the charities and cheaters that exploit the disabled, PTSD vets like Track Palin.

      Taxpayers foot the bills, when or if they care about being complicit that way, more of them will find a way to get all the criminals behind bars.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous3:05 PM

    How the hell Reagan could claim he didn't sell arms for hostages and then illegally fund the Contras is ludicrous since he signed the Executive Orders for it to occur. The bastard was caught and should have been impeached and sent to prison!

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    1. Anonymous3:44 PM

      He got dementia first, and Nancy and her voodoo woman covered for him.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:01 PM

      If Reagan ever warranted being called the teflon president, it was when he didn't get impeached. How he walked away from that without penalty is absolutely shameful.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous5:03 AM

      I always thought that Reagan got away with Iran-Contra because members of Congress, and obviously everyone in his administration, knew how far gone he was mentally by that time. Any testimony would have been disastrous to the country's image so they kept him in office until the end of his second term. He should never have been allowed to run for a second term. Four years of good old Ronnie was already too long for many of us.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
    4. Anonymous3:38 PM

      It was all ok because Ollie North took a bible and a birthday cake with him while negotiating to keep the hostages until after the election.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous3:24 PM

    "... but I raised a combat vet, and you can't take that away from me," Palin said.
    http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1271708/pg2

    Palin said the “lamestream media just doesn’t get it and when they don’t believe what perhaps your message is so they want to belittle you and mock you and treat you with much disdain, you know, I think, well they can do that to me, that’s fine, because I know truth.” Palin added, “You know what, you can say whatever you want to say about me but I raised a combat vet and you can’t take that away from me.”
    http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2010/10/trak-sarah-joe-teabagger.html


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    1. Anonymous7:31 AM

      Sarah Palin raised a star!

      http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/10/30/sarah-palins-son-track-stars-in-iraq

      Delete
  5. Anonymous3:53 PM

    Nice article, Gryph!

    It made me curious so I didi some Goggling -- the3 following is admittedly anyrthing but 'comprehensive' ...

    Seems like Jimmy Carter told the truth about his military service.

    Ronald Reagan? Har har.

    "In November 1983, he told Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir during a White House visit that while serving in the U. S. Army film corps, his unit had shot footage of the Nazi concentration camps as they were liberated. He repeated the same tale to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and other witnesses. Reagan had indeed served in the Army and worked on morale-boosting movies for the War Department. But he had done so without ever leaving Hollywood for the entire duration of the war."

    http://www.salon.com/2010/05/20/bushreagan/

    George H. W. Bush? Nope, "Pappy" lied too:

    "A retired World War II Navy crewman, challenging one of Vice President George Bush's most familiar stories of his personal bravery, Friday contradicted Bush's account of why he parachuted from his plane and left behind two crew mates who died at sea 44 years ago.

    "Chester Mierzejewski, who was the turret gunner in another plane, said in an interview that he has been bothered "for years" about Bush's version of the incident, haunted by the belief that Bush could have saved the two men in his plane, which crashed into the South Pacific in September, 1944."

    http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-13/news/mn-194_1_bush-spokesman

    Bill Clinton? Seems like Conservatives pounced on the various methods he used to avoid serving in Vietnam but the record clearly shows he was very much against the war, for example, this letter he wrote:

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/etc/draftletter.html

    George W. Bush? Never mind that his military record is shrouded in mystery and unanswered questions -- thanks to the "Karl Rove-O-Matic Sensitive Document Shredder," it's a virtual certainty we'll ever know for sure WHAT he did.

    As for Obama? Hell, conservatives "know" he "lies about everything" so there's really no point.

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  6. Anonymous4:05 PM

    Reagan was a pathological liar. Known fact. He and Bush 1 lied to the American people to win their first term in office, in 1980. They made a deal with Iran (remember Arms for hostages) to keep the hostages until after the election, because they knew if the hostages were still being held by the Iranians on election day President Carter would be blamed, and lose the election. And it worked.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous4:37 PM

    Sarah Palin gives Ronald Reagan a pass because it wasn't his fault his handlers allowed him to work long after he was done. It could have ruined things for others, like Dick Cheney, had the truth been told in that circumstance of a great country.

    Sarah Palin was John McCain's Vice Presidential pick in 2008.
    She stated to the public that her son would be deploying to Iraq on September 11. That is usually against Operational Security and illegal.

    Sarah Palin was proved to be innocent of that crime and any lies when she disclosed where her son Track Palin would be fighting. She would like nothing more than to clear up the matter once and for all.

    After all she was Commander in Chief of Alaska's National Guard. As Commander in Chief she would like the world to know she did not violate any laws, lie or in anyway put her son or others in harms way as the Commander in Chief. A job of utmost importance to her.

    Sarah Palin would never quit as Commander in Chief of Alaska's National Guard.

    It was the Pentagon that announced where Track Palin's unit was deploying in May to Iraq. It was not Commander in Chief Sarah Palin. It is about time the public understands all about her service to the state of Alaska.

    Sarah Palin in no way violated operational security.

    Many lamestream news agencies released far more about Track Palin's deployment and his unit. Some would even claim to know which province they were deployed and with such an important person like Track in their unit.

    Lamestream news agents had no way to know. It is irresponsible news agents, like Brian Williams, that put out falsehoods and tried to disparage the Commander in Chief of Alaska. You know Sarah Palin has good reason to attack and end Brian Williams career. Other lamestream news agents are warned and it is time to take back all the lies.

    All Alaskan's should be irate and stand up for their leader and a proud soldier's mother accused of releasing already public information.

    The Commander in Chief of Alaska never did anything but work close with all involved in the military and in the McCain campaign to ensure no wrong doing or lies were told. Especially if they would have put any of our soldiers at risk.

    What is Sarah Palin's Experience?
    http://www.military-money-matters.com/sarah-palins-experience.html#axzz3RCiMGBdF

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  8. Anonymous4:44 PM

    Reagan also claimed to have witnessed a pilot's last words before going down with the plane. Of course, how could he if the pilot was alone? Turned out he was parroting a scene in a war movie.

    Wild Tortoise

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    1. Anonymous9:35 AM

      '''Reagan also claimed to have witnessed a pilot's last words before going down with the plane. Of course, how could he if the pilot was alone? Turned out he was parroting a scene in a war movie.'''

      LOL..That is too funny.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous7:27 PM

    I don't know much about Brian Williams, so simply assumed they were going after him like crazy on Fox (that bastion of truthfulness).

    Something has to account for such an overwhelming display of hatred popping up out of nowhere.

    If Williams was in a helicopter in enemy territory, that in itself is one heck of a lot braver, than any of his detractors can brag about--whether or not it took fire.

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  10. Anonymous7:29 PM

    Obama v. Reagan: Fun Comparison I Did To Piss Off Wingnuts on Reagan's B-day

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/07/1275771/-Obama-v-Reagan-Fun-comparison-I-did-to-piss-off-a-wingnut-on-Reagan-s-B-day?detail=email#

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  11. Anonymous7:30 PM

    Ironic that Brian Williams will be the only person punished for lying about Iraq

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    1. Anonymous10:47 PM

      It does not bode well for America.

      The Palins would like to Don Bolles Williams and others.

      Sarah and Chuck are doubling down because they fear they would be caught this time.

      Suspect, Kemper Marley, a man who made millions in the liquor distribution business in Arizona in a partnership with Cindy McCain's father and fraternal uncle, was behind the Bolles murder, but Phoenix police could find no evidence linking him with the crime, and he continued conducting business in Arizona until meeting his own death, cancer-related, on June 25, 1990 in La Jolla, California.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bolles#Death

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:18 AM

      Marley died near the vaca condo of Cindy McCain's parents who were very indebted to Marley, their close friend. The McCain estate still has the condo near where they vacationed with the Marley family.

      Killing reporters is much more effective and being a journalist continues to be a dangerous job.

      The Newseum, a $400 million interactive museum of news and journalism located in Washington, D.C., features Bolles' 1976 Datsun 710, which had sat for 28 years in the Arizona Department of Public Safety's impound lot, as the centerpiece of a gallery devoted solely to the slain journalist.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bolles#Newseum

      Brian Williams may be lucky that the likes of the Palin/Heath family is merely trying destroy him with their attacks with words and writing.

      "Don't you know who I am?" Sarah Palin

      Delete
  12. Anonymous7:41 PM

    regent had dementia. clueless scarahs enraptured with someone who wasn't in his right mind. pot meet kettle.

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  13. Anonymous8:07 PM

    correction-reagan

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  14. Anonymous8:48 AM

    If anyone loves and admires Ronald Reagan it is Sarah Palin, second only to Nancy Reagan.

    Family time.
    http://www.corbisimages.com/images/Corbis-42-27305006.jpg?size=67&uid=38f279cc-1a16-4e17-8c68-f6c9705cf57f
    What fun!
    http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/06/07/article-0-0BC2E91300000578-829_468x559.jpg
    Great job.
    http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/files/2013/07/palinmeme.png

    Two pees in a pod.
    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qaR83Z5EiIQ/SzBB5N66cMI/AAAAAAAABqg/HpE4AN1TCJw/s1600-h/Palin-Reagan+1.png

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous9:21 AM

    Did you know Sarah Palin is a movie star? Look, here she is posing in her own Weekend at Bernie's movie.

    Weekend at Sarah's
    http://cdn3.us4palin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/130509buckeyelukeafbhon.jpg

    ReplyDelete

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