Monday, April 14, 2008
Oh, I'll Show You "Bitter"
Yes, I know it's the liberal blogger cliche, but really, this feels like the appropriate time to bring it up.
The President of the United States went on television Friday night and admitted that he had personally approved which torture techniques would be used against detainees. The high-ranking members of his cabinet oversaw this decision, and even expressed the idea that they would not be abhorred by the American people. They pushed the limits of the infamous "torture memo" drafted by John Yoo -- you know, the guy who said that there's no law to keep the president from ordering the crushing of a suspect's child's testicles. The leaders of our nation specifically signed off on torture, and knew what they were doing.
So, how much coverage has this news gotten? It's gotten a story from CBS, and brief coverage from MSNBC. But what about CNN, the number one source for cable news?
Sweet. Fuck. All. Instead, we've seen hour after hour after motherfucking hour on an off-handed comment by Obama at a fund raiser and the inherent folly of three multi-millionaires bandying about the label of "elitist" like it means something. And the media are making hay out of this, as if Obama was caught shitting on an orphan, while in the background, the President of the United States admits to having a hand in torture. I'd just like to repeat that, in case it's slipped anyone's mind: the highest office in our land admits to plotting out methods of torture, and it's background noise.
By this point, there is no slur, no insult, no disparaging comment ripe enough to reflect my current distaste with the news media in this country. I must admit a grudging respect to ABC News for running the story, even if they ended up consigning it to the Friday night memory hole, but the utter fall of CNN from bastion of cable news to 24-hour sideshow is unforgivable. There is a reason why Bush and his cabinet members have managed to get away with everything they have done, and it reaches further than a simple memo or unswerving patriotism.
