Monthly Archives: March 2007

Updated: The Mummified McCain

Elections 2008, John McCain, Politics, Republicans, War

From Crooks and Liars.com:

“John McCain told Wolf Blitzer that he needs to ‘get up to speed’ and stop reporting three-month-old news from Iraq. According to McCain, the surge is working! And the streets of Baghdad are safe for Americans to go strolling down. The only problem? Michael Ware, who is, ya know, in Baghdad, says McCain hasn’t a clue—
Michael Ware: ‘I don’t know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad —Honestly, Wolf, you’ll barely last twenty minutes out there. I don’t know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad.'”

I’ve been watching Ware for years now, and he is without a doubt the finest reporter around. He’s tough (when the girl, Anderson Cooper, interviews him, he doesn’t know how to react to his, “How did it make you feel” fluff) and courageous. He’s a war-time reporter in the old mold. One could only wish the Shrub possessed Ware’s understanding and knowledge of the geopolitical terrain in Iraq.

Update: Mummy McCain visited Iraq. Michael Ware practically lives there. He dared to heckle the Sainted One during the surprise visit McCain made to an undisclosed holiday resort in Iraq. McCain is thinking of buying a bed and breakfast in Baghdad. Drudge reports:

“During a live press conference in Bagdad, Senators McCain and Graham were heckled by CNN reporter Michael Ware. An official at the press conference called Ware’s conduct ‘outrageous,’ saying, ‘here you have two United States Senators in Bagdad giving first-hand reports while Ware is laughing and mocking their comments.'”

No, the two privileged protected senators are not —giving first-hand reports — on life in Bagdad; Ware does that daily.

Because Ware failed to show reverence to the pampered duo that popped in for a visit, the Bush press machine has shifted into smear gear. It’s trying to discredit the tough Ware’s first-rate reporting, citing an incident where Ware referred to this war as a “train wreck.” Omigod! I’ll never listen to his reports in the same way! The guy’s reality testing is shot!

(Ware, by the way, was also briefly held captive by al Qaida.)

Perverse Reaction to Pummeling of Centenarian

Crime, Media

By now you’ve seen the surveillance-tape images again and again: an ancient woman pushes her walker along the foyer of an apartment building. A robust man moves in, and punches her in the head repeatedly. Before she goes down, the centenarian reaches pitifully for the purse the thug has snatched. He turns to finally flatten her.
This is a scene lacking in any nuances. At a time in her life when she ought to be shown respect, a frail lady is treated with brutality. That the woman, Rose Morat, is talking brave, and being made a celebrity for her tough-old-biddy stance after the fact does nothing to change that she was a helpless victim. To pretend otherwise is plain perverse.

The camera caught a frail lady being handled like garbage. She displayed no spunk, because people her age are too frail to fend off such a feral attacker. She survived, not because of her gumption, but because her attacker did not plan to kill her.
This is not how the network nits are covering the story. CNN has been running an up-beat segment in which the centenarian receives an award for bravery. To the sound of the theme from Rocky, Rose Morat shuffles into a room of cheering twits.
Not every story is a story of triumph. Sorry, thanks to this twisted hoopla, the thug is the winner, not the woman with the walker. This feel-good reporting distracts from the reality I described–and the real business at hand: Repeat the description of the criminal again and again; show his face up close; encourage his community to rat him out–that’s how this story should be handled.
A small consolation is that once in custody, inmates will probably restore a serious tone to the tale. I believe even thugs have a code of honor they adhere to.