Media Thought Police Crucify Helen Thomas

Andrew Steele
America 20xy
Jun. 08, 2010

In another example of how one-sided the American media is in framing the issue of Israel, veteran journalist and opinion columnist Helen Thomas has been chased into retirement because of some remarks she gave when questioned on the street by a blogger.

Asked to give any comments to Israel during a week when much of the world is condemning the nation for its commando attack of the Gaza bound aid ship, the MV Mavi Marmara, Helen Thomas said, "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, these people are occupied, and it's their land. Not German and not Poland's".

When asked where they should go she said, "Poland, Germany, America...anywhere else."

Many articles covering this story have used word "Jew" in their headlines and in their descriptions of what Helen Thomas said, attempting to paint the political reality of the situation in Israel/Palestine that Thomas opined on as a slur against Jewish people. In fact, she never once used the word "Jew" in her remarks-- the interviewer interjected it after she had made her comments. At the end of the blogger's video flashed a message that referenced the Holocaust, which indeed was a horrible event but had nothing to do with Helen Thomas' statement except to shame the viewer out of any thougtful analysis of the issue and put forth the message that the horrendous actions of the Nazis justify the western powers stealing the land of the Palestinian people and giving it to foreigners.

Once again the media is being used like a pack of hunting dogs to chase down and devour successful rabble rousers. Before Helen Thomas was Rand Paul, who was painted as a racist when asked his opinion by Rachael Maddow about private property rights in relation to the civil rights act.

Earlier this year Glenn Beck and the rest of the media swarmed on the grassroots candidate for TX Governor Debra Medina for not immediately disavowing 9/11 Truthers when Beck brought the subject up during an interview.

The Obama White House expressed its manufactured disdain at Thomas' statement on Monday via its mouthpiece Robert Gibbs who called her words "offensive and reprehensible."

This should come as no surprise since Helen Thomas has been a thorn in the side of the last two administrations for asking hard questions about the wars. A few weeks ago she asked President Obama, "Mr. President, when are you going to get out of Afghanistan? Why are you continuing to kill and die there? What is the real excuse? And don't give us this Bushism, 'If we don't go there, they'll all come here."

Obama was forced to show his Bush colors by giving a very Bush-like answer, invoking 9/11 nine years after the tragedy and the perpetual threat of Al- Qaeda, not mentioning anything about opium poppies, or how the United States pays off the Taliban to not interfere with the plunder of Afghanistan's natural resources.

Helen Thomas has been covering the White House since 1960. Up to now, at 89 years old she continued to write her column, and for the longest time held a front row seat in the White House press room. Today she retired amid the coordinated blizzard of media outrage over her statements.

As more journalists like Helen Thomas exit the scene, Americans will find it even more pointless to open a newspaper or turn on the TV for their information as they're faced with more and more propaganda disguised as unbiased news.

If not for the new popularity of the Internet filling the void, this would be exactly what the establishment wanted.