Congress Protests Coulter's 'Old Arab'/Helen Thomas Comment

[Hissyspit]

There are really two stories here in this Editor and Publisher article, so I posted it in LBN, as well, with its orginal headline and am posting it here to emphasize the Congressional protest, which is also in the E&P article's lead:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000829264

(ON EDIT - Here is the link to the Detroit Free Press article: http://www.freep.com/news/politics/thomas8e_20050308.htm)

By Dave Astor
Published: March 08, 2005 2:20 PM ET

NEW YORK Universal Press Syndicate and conservative columnist Ann Coulter have reached an agreement on removing Universal's copyright from columns on AnnCoulter.com that differ from columns sent to newspapers.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Free Press reported that 26 members of U.S. Congress have sent a letter to Universal protesting Coulter's Feb. 23 column, in which the conservative writer called liberal columnist Helen Thomas an "old Arab" and implied Thomas was a security threat to President Bush.

- snip -

But the 26 members of Congress writing Universal were not pleased. In the letter, they stated: "Just as we would expect that similar slights against African Americans, Jews, or Hispanics would not be tolerated, equal disapproval should be shown toward these repeated slanders directed at Arab Americans." They added that "loyal Arab Americans have made heroic contributions to our military, intelligence, and Homeland Security efforts."

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From the Detroit Free Press Article:

March 8, 2005
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

- snip -

Reached at her office in Washington on Monday, Thomas, 84, said she didn't want to comment specifically on Coulter's words. Asked about her background, Thomas said: "I'm an American; I'm not hyphenated. But I was very lucky to grow up in two cultures."

Coulter's comments in her Feb. 23 column have sparked concern from metro Detroit's Arab-American communities and 26 U.S. members of Congress, led by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat. The representatives sent a letter of protest last week to Coulter's distributor, Universal Press Syndicate.

"Just as we would expect that similar slights against African Americans, Jews, or Hispanics would not be tolerated, equal disapproval should be shown toward these repeated slanders directed at Arab Americans," the letter said. It also said that despite facing increased discrimination since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, "loyal Arab Americans have made heroic contributions to our military, intelligence, and Homeland Security efforts."

Raised on Detroit's east side by Christian immigrants from Lebanon, Thomas graduated from Wayne State University and went on to become a pioneer for women in journalism.

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[Zenlitened]

1. This is a great approach. There's no point arguing with Coulter herself...

... she's a sick, demented person and that's that.

But the media companies who enable her to spew her nonsense have to be held accountable. They have to be made to answer the question: Why are you condoning this garbage?

That goes for Coulter, as well as the rest of the right-wing lunatics who incredibly, inexplicably, shamefully are given air time and column inches to say things that, in a more decent era in America, would never have been granted space in presumably "mainstream" media.

This is a great step in the right direction. Hats off to the 26 lawmakers for taking on this very serious issue.

[MeDeMax]

2. ditto n/t

[BamaBecky]

14. I wonder if she has a diagnoisis.........Axis I...or...Axis II...

Axis I would be clinical, Axis II would be characterlogical....meaning her character (personality disorder). Her hate seems way off the charts....IMHO.......I bet there is a story lurking underneath all that "hate".......just a hunch...

[Dave Reynolds]

3. The truly sad part is

that Fox will have her back on to say how her remarks were "taken out of context" and it's all just a left-wing smear job, etc., ad nauseum.

[Zenlitened]

4. That's true. But Fox is a lost cause, anyway. The rest...

... well, at one time in the past they did have something resembling integrity. Maybe they can be shamed into remembering that, if nothing else.

[Dave Reynolds]

5. WE know Fox is a lost cause,

but folks like my fundie repug in-laws watch nothing else. Almost everything I might mention is countered with "that's not what I heard on Fox News".

For some folks, that's the new gospel.

[Zenlitened]

7. I see what you mean, but sadly...

... fundie repug fox viewers are a lost cause too! :D

Let's direct our effort toward people still capable of listening.

[Dave Reynolds]

8. Agreed. /nt

[TWiley]

16. You are absolutely right.

Forget the hard core republi-craps. They have been irreversaibly brain-damaged. We should pour gasoline on their arguments to make them burn brighter, and thus identify them as radicals.

We need to focus on those who can be converted. Drive a wedge between the evil church people and the ones who resemble Christ; drive another between the lip-balm fanatics, and those more sane.

Why not compile everything evil about the republi-crap party, and link it to the bushtapo? "Do you really know with whom you have associated yourself with?" would be a catch-phrase.

[Catfight]

6. It's a mute point to argue that something written in a column was taken

out of content. It's written down. Who cares what fox says, no one with brains watches them anyway. Coulter is an ugly stupid fast talking drivel head like the rest of those hate radio idiots. Those people are dumbing down this country, I'm sick of all of them.

By the way, anyone know what's the plan regarding Iraq? I can't find any news on Bush's plan on Iraq? Just curious, one would think there isn't even a war going on.

[MadisonProgressive]

21. Take a couple of hits of LSD

and his plan will be revealed to you...

[11 Bravo]

9. Coulter's UNlikely To apologize.

n/t

[MadisonProgressive]

10. Coulter should be sent to Egypt to be tortured

Might not accomplish much, but I'd be happy.

[kskiska]

11. They could force-feed her for starters

[NewJeffCT]

12. Karl Rove is secretly smiling over this...

Why? Because it distracts attention from other Republicans who may be only slightly less radical, just less bombastic.

And, when one of these Regressive Republicans come along that is slightly saner and more subdued than Coulter - and only slightly saner - it makes them look all the more mainstream, as they can say, "well, at least they're no Ann Coulter..."

[burythehatchet]

13. That's precisely the role that she plays

[Cocoa]

15. very few republicans distance themselves from Coulter

Some openly embrace her, and many openly embrace another hatemonger, Limbaugh.

Even a supposedly neutral "newsman", Brian Williams, is kissing Rush's ass.

The dems HAVE to speak out against this crap. People will notice that ONLY the dems are speaking out against it.

Note: Coulter was recently on C-span for an hour, treated as a respected guest, as was the columnist John Derbyshire, who once wrote a column "jokingly" advocating for the assassination of Chelsea Clinton.

We can't let that kind of thing stand without protest.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zenlitened]

18. I'd rather we stay away from this angle. frankly.

It unnecessarily slams transgendered people. And the statement about "only a gay man" could be so vicious... what's that about?

:shrug:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

20. "Ann Coulter's...typically arrogant pro-Hebrew attack" ?????

:wtf:

What a weird spin to put on Coulter's crap. What a backbreaking stretch.

That site, trbnews, is notoriously anti-Semitic and supports Holocaust deniers. In this case, the enemy of my enemy is NOT my friend. I give no credence to anything they "report."

[geek tragedy]

22. "So what if the author is a Nazi?"

This kind of crap does not belong at DU.

[Pallas180]

19. GOOD - about time Congress did something about the nasty right wingnuts -

Helen Thomas has been an important contributor to freedom of the press in this country....and ARI dissed her....shut her out...but she
still hangs in there.\

And the freepers had a campaign of calling her up and threatening her
so she had to close down her email and not take calls.

Nice patriots in this country <sarcasm>

[WillowTree]

23. Congress has better things to do...

....than to concern themselves with anything that witch has to say. I wonder how many more times she's gotten to see her name in the press because of this.

IGNORE. IGNORE. IGNORE.