Thursday, June 29, 2006
Dropping F-Bombs
Either way, I don't want the focus on my choice of words to distract any attention from what is, in reality, deeply disturbing rhetoric emanating from mainstream, run of the mill right wing voices such as the former recipient of Time's Blog of the Year award. Greg Sargent clues us in to another example [emphasis his]:
San Francisco talk show host Melanie Morgan believes that Times editor Bill Keller should be jailed for treason for approving the publication.
The maximum penalty for treason is death.
"If he were to be tried and convicted of treason, yes, I would have no problem with him being sent to the gas chamber," Morgan, whose show airs on KSFO-AM, told The Chronicle on Wednesday. "It is about revealing classified secrets in the time of war. And the media has got to take responsibility for revealing classified information that is putting American lives at risk."
No problem with Bill Keller being sent to "the gas chamber"? That's what passes for acceptable discourse in America these days? And interesting use of execution methods. Kind of reminiscent of the...oh, I'd better not say for fear of creating another distracting tangential discussion.
Nevertheless, as Greg's subsequent post makes clear, Melanie Morgan has been a frequent guest on MSNBC - and that station won't comment on whether they'll invite her back or not. Someone who is calling for a newspaper editor to get the "gas chamber" could very well be a return guest! After all, we have to get the "other" side of the story too. As Duncan observed
I remember when sending subpoenas to Judith Miller was considered by the media insiders to be a threat to democracy itself. The press largely seems to be treating this as just another story.
Where's the outrage now?
Outrage? Hell, she might become a regular. Journalism in this country is in a serious crisis when such attitudes are treated with equanimity - even rewarded with continued patronage. Certain rhetoric should just be deemed unacceptable. Like, oh, sending newspaper editors to the gas chamber! Is that too much to ask?
