MsUnderestimated » 2007 » April

Montel On the Death of the American Dream (VIDEO)

April 5th, 2007 at 09:36 by MsUnderestimated

I wasn’t going to post this, although I’ve had the video since the day it aired, because personally after previous experiences viewing the Montel Show and his blatant Bush-bashing, I am sick of him. Especially after the way he did Amy Proctor on his show. However, lately there’s been a lot of talk about a recent show where another soldier was purposefully cut off or edited after she stated positive things about her treatment after she returned.

The show in question was titled “The American Dream…Shattered?” and was to focus on how much we’re spending on the war, how many Americans are without healthcare, how the soliders are treated after they returned wounded from Iraq, and the Presidential race in ‘08. Montel’s guests included former New York Governor, George Pataki; Amy Holmes and Flavia Colgan, both political analysts; Keli Frasier, a returning veteran diagnosed with PTSD; and a woman named Meredith, whose child was born with a congenital disease, and she and her husband are broke and cannot afford medical care for their child.

Here’s how the site describes the episode:

As Washington debates how much longer the war in Iraq will continue, soldiers are beginning to come home and face a new reality. Americans are facing hard truths and struggles in their own lives, as well. They are striving for their own little piece of the American dream, but has it been hijacked? Will they ever get their own fair share of a healthy life, their civil liberties, and their own pursuit of happiness? Montel will be joined by former NY Governor and long-time rumored presidential candidate, George Pataki, and two political pundits, Amy Holmes and Flavia Colgan to debate these current issues. Throughout the show, we will also hear from Americans with personal stories that have larger sociopolitical implications. Keli is a returning soldier from Iraq who is trying to get back to her life here but is having trouble due to Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. We’ll also meet Meredith, a woman who just got out of debt. With little help from health insurance, Meredith has had trouble paying for her son Brian’s medical treatments for a condition he was born with.

Now here are some observations I had about the show. The most outstanding observation I made is that had his main guest, George Pataki, not been who he is, he would have edited out some of his responses and dismissed him from the show, as well, as he supports our troops and what we’re doing in Iraq, although he had some disagreements with the way some things have been handled (haven’t we all?). He also slams the dems for wanting to put a timetable/deadline/date for surrender on our military in Iraq, and although Montel looks like he wants to swallow his tongue, he has to bite his lip and say they’ll have to “agree to disagree” on that issue.

But before Pataki even comes out, Montel showed his audience a graphic with all the names of people who were officially in the race for ‘08, and asked his audience if anybody there, by a show of hands, realized there were that many candidates running.

Not surprisingly for a Montel audience, there was not one hand that I saw being held up. This speaks volumes about the intellect of audiences like Montels’ and the View’s; these people are just ignorant.

Montel also insisted that in the next election, we need to “take this country back.” Back from whom, Montel? From the conservatives? From the Republicans? And he said this with great passion. He hates George Bush and hates the Republican Administration, regardless of his apparent unabashed support for Pataki for President, being that Pataki is a Republican. I also probably think Montel cringed when Pataki called this current war a war against “Islamic radicalism and fundamentalism.”

Now, getting back to the reason for this post. Army reservist, Keli Frasier was on to discuss her PTSD, and according to a column by CNS News:

A syndicated television talk show was less than receptive to positive comments about the American government’s response to veterans’ needs, according to an Iraq war veteran who was a guest on the show.

According to Keli Frasier, an Army Reservist who served 11 months in Iraq, Montel Williams, host of “The Montel Williams Show,” quickly moved to the next segment after she made positive comments about the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“This soldier isn’t going to complain,” she quoted Williams as saying to other talk show staffers during a commercial break.

Frasier also said the portion of the taped interview in which she praised Veterans Affairs was cut out when the show aired Tuesday.

And she’s right. There is no comment by her about her positive view of the Veterans Affairs in the show that aired. The video has been edited for time’s sake and to capture the segments in question, but nothing was removed for political reasons on my part. Keli Frasier’s part is left intact, with the segue away from her after a much ballyhooed pre- and post-commercial intro about her “plight” with the V.A.

Others posting are Bryan Preston and Confederate Yankee, as well as CNS and the GJ Sentinel.

Watch the video here.

P.S. My apologies for the shoddy editing, because I’m used to posting video in full. But I hope at least you get the gist.

And thanks to Bryan at HotAir for his post.

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Flag Burners Get Their Bond (VIDEO)

April 5th, 2007 at 04:46 by MsUnderestimated

Yep, those three Yale students, 2 of them immigrants, who burned that man’s American flag on his porch apparently got a very high bond and were shackled as they were arrested. So what’s the problem? Arthur Aidala and Drew Findling duked it out on Studio B this afternoon. These guys were charged with arson, not flag burning, so I don’t understand Findling’s arguments. Shepard Smith also doesn’t get it either. It’s arson. This flag was the property of another. The “other” had the flag attached to his house. His house was wooden. But Shepard has to argue that the house didn’t burn down? WTF? As Aidala explains it, probably the only reason the house didn’t burn down is that a police officer passing by saw it on fire and pulled it out of the holder. It’s not the absolute outcome of a crime; it’s the intent and danger imposed by the very crime itself.

Then Shepard says something that I find more outrageous: that a judge should not set bond on the ‘totality of the circumstances’ of a case. What law school did he go to? Aidala correctly added that, oh, yes, a judge considers the totality of the circumstance on ALL bond cases. He is supposed to. Say, for instance, someone has a criminal history of FTA (Failure to Appear) or bail jumping, do you think that judge would set a damn bond at all? Hell no, especially not in the case of a group of thugs who set fire to someone else’s property!

And who gives two sh**s about whether or not they should have taken their passports - that’s what happens when you’re a foreigner here and you commit a crime. I personally think the two immigrants should be deported immediately after trial, to boot. I agree with Shep and Aidala though, that if they did that at my house, they might not make it to trial. Regardless what anybody says, the American flag is a symbol of our country. What if this had been a group of three American kids burning a Koran? Would it still be considered an “inaniminate” object, Findling?

Watch the shout-fest here.

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Montel On the Death of the American Dream (VIDEO)

Flag Burners Get Their Bond (VIDEO)

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