Helen Thomas to Retire

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/06/07/2010-06-07_helen_thomas_veteran_white_house_journalist_retires_after_controversial_israel_c.html

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Interestingly, FOX News came to her defense:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/06/07/ellen-ratner-helen-thomas-racial-ethnic-sexual-minority-ninety-brain-filters/

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[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Interestingly, FOX News came to her defense:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/06/07/ellen-ratner-helen-thomas-racial-ethnic-sexual-minority-ninety-brain-filters/

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She didn't say it in private, did she?

No - it was to some guy with a camera, but it's not like it was in the White House press room.

I think what she said was offensive, but I'd give her a break.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

"Get the Hell out of Palestine" didn't exactly sound the nices either, though.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

People need to read a dictionary. Seems like the definition of both 'racist', and 'antisemite' has been forgotten.

Agreed - like many of the people who call people opposed to President Obama's agendas "racist" simply for opposing a black president.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Where I'm from, 'send the buggers back' is pretty much the definition of 'racist'.

I was just reading the thread about O'Reilly and at first thought that said "send the burgers back".

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

People need to read a dictionary. Seems like the definition of both 'racist', and 'antisemite' has been forgotten.

Agreed - like many of the people who call people opposed to President Obama's agendas "racist" simply for opposing a black president.

Who did this?

Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter, that actress from 24.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Opposing the existence of Israel comes very close to the line, though.

How so? Unless you mistakenly think that Jews depend on Israel in some substantial way.

Jews depend on Israel in a substantial way.

Not really.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

But a large majority of Jewish people don't depend on Israel.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Ah the world's greatest democracy can't even allow freedom of speech to prevail in the personification of its power.

Has Helen Thomas been arrested?!

No, but the condemnation seems as though she had been.

This is exactly the kind of misrepresentation of the 1st Amendment that's become prominent.

People were shouting "Freedom of speech!" when they fired the columnist for writing the "F--- Bush" column, but that was just a good business move.

Freedom of speech allows you to say stupid things without the government coming down on you.  But when you say stupid stuff as a columnist/reporter, you hurt your employer, and they have an obligation to the company to keep money coming in, and at that point, it's the smart thing to fire you.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

But a large majority of Jewish people don't depend on Israel.

I would hesitate to say a "large majority" because a large minority of Jews actually lives in Israel. Unless you are positing that the vast majority of Jews who live outside of Israel, do not derive any real security from knowing that it's a place to go should their country's environment turns sharply negative.

I meant outside of Israel.  And there's a difference between "depending" on Israel and "considering Israel a place to flee to".

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I meant outside of Israel.  And there's a difference between "depending" on Israel and "considering Israel a place to flee to".

Then for me this is an argument of semantics.

I don't mean to make it all technical and nit-picky.  I'm just saying, I would disagree that Jews (outside of Israel) have a dependence on Israel.  Now, considering their history, I'm sure many of them are glad they have a place to flee to if they needed it, so in that sense, I agree with you.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

While I agree with you, Lunar, I will just point out the Devil's advocate position who would argue that we stole land from the Indians, and there are some people who say we should give it back.  Although, this is even more of a impossible-to-achieve proposition than the Jews moving out of the area of Palestine.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Btw, an ironic side. Jews actually comes from Palestine.

No they don't. That's not ironic at all.

Where did they come from then?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Btw, an ironic side. Jews actually comes from Palestine.

No they don't. That's not ironic at all.

Where did they come from then?

Jews are not one monolithic tribe who all come from one place.

To claim that Ashkenazi Jews who immigrated from Germany, Russia, Poland, etc. have a real ancestral claim to Palestine is utterly absurd.

Well, if you go far enough back, they originated in Palestine.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Btw, an ironic side. Jews actually comes from Palestine.

No they don't. That's not ironic at all.

Where did they come from then?

Jews are not one monolithic tribe who all come from one place.

To claim that Ashkenazi Jews who immigrated from Germany, Russia, Poland, etc. have a real ancestral claim to Palestine is utterly absurd.

Well, if you go far enough back, they originated in Palestine.

Not really. The odds of an Ashkenazi Jew tracing his ancestral origins to Palestine aren't much better than those of anyone else. Not to mention you're going back a really long time.

Well, I realize you have to go back a long way, I'm just saying, eventually they do go back.