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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFox News' Vicious, Unhinged Attacks on a Military Family
http://www.alternet.org/fox-news-vicious-unhinged-attacks-military-family![](http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/screen_shot_2014-06-04_at_1.11.12_pm.png)
When an emotional Jani and Robert Bergdahl strode into the White House Rose Garden on Saturday to the share the emotional announcement by President Obama that their son, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl would be returning home after being held captive for five years by the Taliban, it's unlikely they could have foreseen that their family would soon be under attack by the right-wing media, or that Robert Bergdahl would be depicted on Fox News as a possible terrorist sympathizer; mocked on national television as he awaited a reunion with his ailing son.
They couldn't have foreseen it because I don't think it's ever happened before. I don't think we've ever seen a dedicated media campaign to not only undermine a returning prisoner of war, but to also cast doubt onto the soldier's family; to portray them as un-American even as they prepare for their reunion.
Instead, Fox News has helped transform the prisoner swap involving Taliban detainees into "an increasingly vicious partisan issue," as Buzzfeed described the Republican decision to go into relentless attack mode, complete with enlisted publicists and strategists, to subvert the return of an American POW.
It's symptomatic of a conservative media mini-mob that now obsessively politicizing everything, and does it all with the knob turned up to 11.
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malaise
(269,245 posts)They hate it that Obama rescued the POW. That and nothing else is behind this madness.
They are beyond out of control.
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GusBob
(7,286 posts)an unhinged lynch mob
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)Joe is always at the ready with his GOP talking points du jour....
malaise
(269,245 posts)Fuckie Todd so wants that MTP job from hack Gregory that all of a sudden he sounds moderate
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)This whacked out: He made Chucktodd look like the reasonable guy in the shoutyfest.
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)But considering where her bread is buttered, how much could Mika realistically do?
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)he's getting to be a kind of comic act in the repuke party....he screams and waves his arms and his panelists all react with a bit of alarm, like Sam Stein did today...it's part of the schtick that is Morning Joe...
handmade34
(22,759 posts)the haters are so out of control
I have lived through, and read about many Presidents
NONE have had to put up with the vitriol that President Obama does
world wide wally
(21,758 posts)On second thought...Maybe they don't
barbtries
(28,817 posts)possibly somewhat tempered but they're spreading shit. i switch to cd when they start though - get too pissed off to listen.
DeadLetterOffice
(1,352 posts)I cannot imagine what this is like for his family. Their hometown fucking cancelled their son's welcome home event because of this shit. What the hell is wrong with people?
narnian60
(3,510 posts)Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)If they are using the fact that the father grew a beard therefore he MUST be a sympathizer, then I guess ALL the men in the Duck Dynasaty are too. For all we know, and maybe someone should investigate this, the Duck family is running a terrorist camp down there, while pretending to be "
sportsmen"??It would be a perfect cover, out in the wilds where hearing shooting is normal. Also, too, the father is religious another warning sign. These people NEVER stop with their quest to find fault with the President for EVERY move he makes.
klook
(12,173 posts)![](http://www.pitch.com/imager/zz-top-and-jeff-beck-are-coming-to-starlight-august-23rd/b/original/4180404/9fae/ZZ-Top-Live.jpg)
I'm pretty sure their songs are based on Arabic scales.
The Wizard
(12,552 posts)enabling propaganda operation that works 24/7 to ensure Republicans gain or stay in power. The Republican bigots and their propaganda handmaidens at Pox and other corporate media outlets should be hammered continuously as they are a threat to domestic tranquility, the general welfare and a more perfect union. Their Machiavellian strategy to divide Americans and even families for political gain is immoral and must have the light of day shined on its nefarious goals and tactics if the term We the people is to be anything more than a catch phrase. I mention the other corporate propaganda outlets because they just do what Pox is doing but with a bit more sophistication. Pox just provides cover for ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN.
CJCRANE
(18,184 posts)Newt Gingrich - came up with the idea of using insults instead of arguments and to constantly insult your opponent
Karl Rove - made projection into an art form, whereby you project your own weakness onto your opponent
Philip Zelikow - studied "public myths" and invented the idea of "public perception", which is an idea or opinion, which may be untrue, but is accepted by a specific group
Frank Luntz - developed the idea of using or not using specific buzzwords to frame the argument
The RW has perfected these techniques so well...that in fact these techniques are all they have left, there are no core principles, no policies, no ideas to improve things.
But by wedding themselves to these techniques they have lost control of their own emotions. They can only react against what the other side is doing. Which often leads to them going round in circles.
Viva_Daddy
(785 posts)And it's also ancient. The Roman Empire invented the term Pax Romana (Pax, meaning "peace" . Opponents of the Empire responded with Pox Romana.
sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)an un-American activities committee when we actually need one?
yuiyoshida
(41,868 posts)The last dying remnants of an increasingly shrinking GOP in its death throngs? Fox News last gasp before falling into obscurity? Wouldn't that be something if it were true.
perdita9
(1,144 posts)This family seems a little different but so what? That's what freedom is all about. So what if Dad grew a beard and learned a foreign language. He took positive action to gain a way of negotiating with his son's captors. Good for him.
These people are Americans. I don't admire the Taliban but at least you don't see them &$%*ing their own over to gain a political advantage.
7962
(11,841 posts)Simply change the logo in the corner of the screen and I've heard similar diatribes from many other outlets.
doxydad
(1,363 posts)Fox is skewed and twisted to the point of outright lying.IF you have seen this type of base hypocritical reporting elsewhere....excepting all Tea-Hadists sites or media, please let me know. Until then, I'm calling bullshit on your assertions. main street media does not twist the news like you say.
7962
(11,841 posts)And many instances too. I said early on this was going to be a huge mistake for the President. We released 2 guys wanted by the UN for war crimes as part of the 5! If it was another country doing it, we'd be up in arms about releasing terrorists.
I dont know the truth yet about this soldier, but I do know stories about his leaving came up soon after his capture and then went away. I dont think the administration did their homework on this one and I dont think its going away. When you have politicians on the level of Dianne Feinstein saying it was wrong, there's a problem.
If Bush had done this we'd all be yelling about his going around the law.
doxydad
(1,363 posts)any of those media outlets were frothing madly...as was Faux Noise. NONE. Let's let the military do their job, instead of the jack asses over at Fox playing judge and jury.... ALSO, I blame Bush and the puppeteer Cheney for this entire fucking mess. They are liars, and scumbags. refresh my memory...why did we invade a sovereign nation? OH YEAH..I remember! It was all those WMDs. Those 2 ass holes still need to be keel hauled up to the Hague and hung for war crimes...and they know it.
tularetom
(23,664 posts)7962
(11,841 posts)And I blame Cheney for 90% of that. I bet if you doped up Bush and got an honest answer out of him, he would say Cheney set up the whole Iraq mess. Which I consider the worst foreign policy decision in our history.
doxydad
(1,363 posts)Bush, and the Puppeteer Cheney started the entire goddamned mess. IF they had quietly gone after Bin Laden instead of lying us into a 3 TRILLION dollar fiasco of 2 wars, this would all be a moot point. Put the fucking blame where it belongs. ROVE, CHENEY, RICE and that ass bag Bush.
7962
(11,841 posts)doxydad
(1,363 posts)We are STILL paying in Afghanistan...and will continue for decades.
7962
(11,841 posts)You forget that we pretty much ignored Afghanistan for years after invading Iraq. And Iraq was always a much bigger operation than Afghanistan. Of course the ACTUAL spending is a lot more than reported. And we could've been out of Afghanistan years ago if not for the folly of Iraq. We'll be paying in both for years to come.
doxydad
(1,363 posts)7962, we're done here. You're clueless. Period.
7962
(11,841 posts)I dont understand your problem. Would you rather have been in Iraq than Afghanistan? Do you consider both wars equal? Because if you cant see the difference in these two wars, then YOU truly have no clue.
Iraq was a terrible lie perpetrated on us. We had the worlds support going into Afghanistan. All of it was wasted when we started Iraq. And thanks to that, we now have a much stronger Iran, among other problems.
Then Dubya wouldn't have been a war president. His place in history would have been compromised.
world wide wally
(21,758 posts)HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)Comedy GOLD, and who cares about the asshole weasel Bush?
7962
(11,841 posts)And yes, Di Fi. Compared to Louis Gomert, I'd say she has a lot more credibility
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)You mentioned Bush. COMEDY GOLD!
7962
(11,841 posts)HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)NOT.
doxydad
(1,363 posts)...weak kitten thought process. Bush is a fucking murderous thug, liar and your great-great-grandkids will be paying for his 2 wars. Wake up and smell the Cheney.
7962
(11,841 posts)CTyankee
(63,914 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Confusing 'obsession' with 'concern', 'bemusement' or even the drudgery of knowing what propaganda is being used, is a simple mistake often made, I imagine.
Dustlawyer
(10,499 posts)elections to return to actual Representative Democracy, we can then redo the FCC and yank Fox's broadcasting license! We need news programs that would be required to be TRUTHFUL in their reporting! What Fox does is hurtful to our country and needs to be stopped!
CrispyQ
(36,547 posts)What organizations do you belong to or suggest for campaign finance reform?
Dustlawyer
(10,499 posts)that is set up that proclaims it is the super PAC to end all super Pacs but I cannot recall the name. It is to elect candidates willing to enact campaign finance reform which is what I have been advocating for several years now! They claim that by the 2016 elections they will get it done!
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I think this is going to get dangerous really fast.
doxydad
(1,363 posts)a LEADER IN SKEWED 'FACTS'.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)I've always thought any Vet who comes home is pushed to fast into work or education. Vets really need a stress free year or so off. Even more so for anyone who was a POW. It should be a crime to harass this family.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)![](/emoticons/sad.gif)
Its shameful work by the right in destroying any chance for a normal return to their small town Idaho lifestyle.
CrispyQ
(36,547 posts)I thought three, maybe four years into it they would finally settle down & realize that we are in the 21st Century & demographics are changing. But these people are rabid in their hate. They have lost all reason in regards to this president.
And shame on the media for amplifying their voice bigger than it is. And shame on Fox news for existing.
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)welcoming of minorities, immigrants, women...how WRONG I was!
Ugh. I am so disappointed...and disgusted...
CAO
(20 posts)...nor should it be.
Even with all the caterwauling, a song and dance investigation will be made and Bergdahl will quietly shuffle off to start writing his book.
The right has denied the administration their ability to tout this but the end result, Bergdahl being home, will be the same.