Jeff, What do you think about Helen Thomas' comments?

[Anonymous]

Curious.

[jsteele]

Very, very disappointed. I've been a huge fan of Helen. She has been a very important journalist and been one of the few to challenge presidents on the truly important issues of our time. Most White House reporters are jokes in comparison. But, there is no way to condone, whitewash, or excuse her remarks. What she said was beneath what we expect from our top journalists and not acceptable in any way. I guess I didn't realize that she is 89 years old. At that age, she deserves a comfortable retirement. She probably should have taken it earlier.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:At that age, she deserves a comfortable retirement. She probably should have taken it earlier.

You mean when she was smart enough to not be so overt about her anti-semitism?

[Anonymous]

I think he means she is old and her mind might be going.

[jsteele]

I don't know if her remarks were a result of anti-Israeli feelings or of deteriorating mental capacity related to age. The remarks were unacceptable either way. I wish she would have retired earlier so as to not have tarnished decades of laudable service in such a manner.

[Anonymous]

IMO:

Helen was sloppy and silly.

Jeff is brave to say what is on his mind, while so many Americans are afraid of any anti-Israel comments.

[Anonymous]

BTW, anyone who spends lots of time around old people know that things like that roll out of their mouths all the time. They get more and more like children. She said what was on her mind.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I don't know if her remarks were a result of anti-Israeli feelings or of deteriorating mental capacity related to age. The remarks were unacceptable either way. I wish she would have retired earlier so as to not have tarnished decades of laudable service in such a manner.

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BTW, anyone who spends lots of time around old people know that things like that roll out of their mouths all the time. They get more and more like children. She said what was on her mind.

I agree with this.

[jsteele]

I think that it is also important to acknowledge that if Thomas would have said "The Palestinians should get the hell out of the West Bank and Gaza. They should go home to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, America, and everywhere else" she would still have a job. Joan Peters wrote an entire book claiming Palestinians came from neighboring countries. US and Israeli politicians fairly routinely call for resettling Palestinians in other countries. That doesn't seem to be controversial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMO:

Helen was sloppy and silly.

Jeff is brave to say what is on his mind, while so many Americans are afraid of any anti-Israel comments.

was Helen also brave to say what was on her mind?

[Anonymous]

Was just listening to audio of the Israelis radioing to the ship that they were under blockade and would be boarded if they continued. The response from the peaceful activists on the ship included "go back to auchswitz" and "we represent Arabs against America - remember 9/11". What's the difference?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Was just listening to audio of the Israelis radioing to the ship that they were under blockade and would be boarded if they continued. The response from the peaceful activists on the ship included "go back to auchswitz" and "we represent Arabs against America - remember 9/11". What's the difference?

"Israel acknowledged Sunday that it edited recordings of what it said were anti-Semitic and anti-American radio calls by pro-Palestinian activists who tried to run the Gaza blockade and that it could not identify the origin of the broadcasts."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/06/gaza.flotilla.recordings/index.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO:

Helen was sloppy and silly.

Jeff is brave to say what is on his mind, while so many Americans are afraid of any anti-Israel comments.

was Helen also brave to say what was on her mind?

It was sloppy. If she was tispy, it was not brave. If it was a senior moment, she was not brave. Otherwise, somewhat ballsy.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I think that it is also important to acknowledge that if Thomas would have said "The Palestinians should get the hell out of the West Bank and Gaza. They should go home to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, America, and everywhere else" she would still have a job. Joan Peters wrote an entire book claiming Palestinians came from neighboring countries. US and Israeli politicians fairly routinely call for resettling Palestinians in other countries. That doesn't seem to be controversial.

VERY VERY GOOD POINT.