Cal Thomas Calls for 'Voluntary' Censorship on War

By Dave Astor

Published: May 27, 2004 2:23 PM EST

NEW YORK Cal Thomas, in a May 22 appearance on TV's "Fox News Watch," said he might favor media censorship in coverage of the Iraq war. But the columnist told E&P today that he didn't want censorship imposed by authorities outside the press.

"I think, like in World War II, it should be voluntary -- but with strong government and citizen disapproval if it were violated," said Thomas, whose client list of more than 570 newspapers makes him the most widely syndicated op-ed columnist in America. He said any censorship program should be overseen by a professional journalist.

Why does he feel voluntary censorship could be desirable? "I worry that some of the reporting and pictures are giving the enemy a false impression concerning American resolve and thus could add to more of our troops getting killed and bolder attacks inside the U.S.," said the Tribune Media Services writer. He added: "If the media discovered some operational plans taken by the government to capture terrorists or thwart certain acts, should they be allowed to publish and broadcast them? I don't think so, if the objective is to win this war."

Thomas said voluntary censorship "might force some in the media who believe anything they know or can find out is deserving of publication to realize that not everything is -- and to focus on their responsibilities as citizens as well as their privileges as journalists, which in my view, are linked."

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000521119

But they keep giving the bastard air time anyway.

--bkl

He's just about as useless as Clarence Thomas or Thomas Sowell.

The only reporter to try and do what Cal's talking about is a Fox News reporter - Geraldo, when he was in Afghanistan.

What Cal really wants is for investigative reporters to shut up and stop making bush look bad.

-as

I'm sorry, but ...AURGH...

DICK!!!

:mad:

I believe that you should be "censored" right off the airwaves - they are after all, owned by the citizens of this country, just so that news may be freely distributed, not censored by some rightwing fanatical partisan hack like yourself.

Everyone in the media who was totally, 100% fucking wrong about every damned thing concerning Iraq will voluntarily censor themselves permanently.

Bye, Cal.

Cal Thomas can go first.

"get on your leash". Tempering his remarks, Thomas did note that "self-flagellation was only called for in the most serious of thought crimes".

<sarcasm>

he say this while he was sucking Bush's dick, or after he swallowed?

the truth is only now beginning to come out about prisoner abuse, Iran, Chalibi. Yeah, cal, let's put a lid on it. You stupid fuck who only talked about Clinton getting a bj non-stop for years.

I say impeach $hrub.

how in the hell would we know?

self censorship from corporate media has kept innocent iraqi's deaths a secret. how many iraqi's have we injured? don't know?
there's so much that is being covered up, it's a joke.

Interesting -- he uses his example to support his thoughts --

"If the media discovered some operational plans taken by the government to capture terrorists or thwart certain acts, should they be allowed to publish and broadcast them? I don't think so, if the objective is to win this war."

Sounds legitimate to me - you wouldn't want Peter Jennings to be reporting on the plan to capture OBL as it was about to be executed. You wouldn't want Judy Woodruff talking about secret plans regarding a mission.

But then, when has the media story leaked a plan to capture or thwart bad acts? Hmmm. Not ever.

Yep, just good ole Cal, concerned for our welfare.

the Administration itself happily told everybody it was sending planes off on a 15 hour flight to bomb the last known position of Saddam.

How about a "Put a sock in it, King George" campaign for public safety?

Time for Cal to retire

HA, way to go, Molly

Molly is so good at those

:-)

and he is unhappy about this?

At this point all the Chimp adminsitration hasto go on is wishful thinking. Thank god the Repugs have the Executive and Legislative branches since they authored this policy. If you think things are wierd now, just wait and see.!

it's the fault of traitors in the media.

and our "image" has nothing to do with reality.

Where's Charlotte Beers when you need her? :evilgrin:

It would be all sweetness and light over there.

Traitors !

:wtf:

We've had voluntary censorship since this war started. Look how well it's worked.

This has nothing to do with what is or is not in America's interests, but what will best help George Bush get re-elected.

how would we know when the Bushies are lying, except the obvious--whenever their lips are moving

And yet Bush & Crew still rape, pillage, and plunder our planet. Until Cal address the REAL enemy (BFEE), I will continue to file his banter under "successful idiot".

He's made some of the stupidest, funniest, most ludicrous arguments I've ever read.

Some years ago a move came out about a cross-dresser or a bi-sexual (Victor Victoria?), and Cal said something like "First we allow homosexuals, then we allow bi-sexuals. Are standars are slipping. I mean this seriously; if we had had such relativistic standards in the 60's, we could not have put a man on the moon."

So blame the shuttle diasters of gays.

Nothing false about it -- declare victory and bring the troops home. Now.
If that, to Cal, means we've "lost," then I'm comfortable with that. I was in the Army when we "lost" Vietnam, too. I lost six or eight seconds sleep over it, personally.
John
It's now 22 days, 20 hours and 13 minutes to FUNDAY. Get your reservations in now.

Abu Ghraib.

Strip him naked, put a hood on his head, attach wires to his genitals and have him be dragged with a leash by Ann Coulter while the attack dogs snarl at him.

Let's see how long his f'ng censorship proposal lasts.

"the most widely syndicated op-ed columnist in America". That is down right depressing.....

Is Cal a commie sympathizer? What does Cal and his RW buddies hate America so much? I'm sure he'd be happier in a totalitarian state where the government edicts aND WARS are never questioned....as long as the state is Run by Republican Fascists, like himself.

He who revealed the identity and occupation of one Valerie Plame. Remember her Cal, the CIA agent charged with the duty of actually uncovering the actual details of transactions in real weapons of mass destruction, not the hallucinatory kind created by your neocon buddies? It would appear that she was deliberately and criminally outed as an act of political vengeance by your conservative pals in the Bush Administration. Her cover was blown and in all probability those she had contact with are dead or in fear of their lives. That would have been a good occasion for Novak to exercise some journalistic restraint and not be used as a tool of criminal political dirty tricks don't you think Cal?

Cal is obviously directing his comments at the wrong people. This is nothing but an unadulterated red herring as another poster pointed out. The fact is no responsible journalist reveals beforehand the details of pending operational plans that would get people killed. A truly responsible journalist on the other hand reports the facts clearly and accurately on what the results of those operations are, even if it is discomforting to those who ordered them. Such unfettered reporting of the activities of the government is the essential foundation of a free and open democracy. The facts in Iraq are unpleasant. Soldiers and civilans are being killed in an unnecessary war and innocent people have been tortured. Certainly it would be politically advantageous to this maladminstration for the media to stick their head in the sand and mindlessly mouth the neocon psychotic fantasy land script, but fortunately the first amendment protects those who choose to tell the American people something other than fables. Adopting the ways of Pravda and Tass do nothing to change the fundamental reality that people continue to die and be maimed on a daily basis. Such a willingness of the media to follow Cal's lead and propagandize and muzzle themselves to serve the ideological interests of those who wield political power would, as it did in Stalinist Russia, serve only to protect morally and ideologically bankrupt leaders and shield them from their rightful responsibility.

Still hittin' those Broadway musicals darlin'?

What a jerk

~Thomas said voluntary censorship "might force some in the media who believe anything they know or can find out is deserving of publication to realize that not everything is -- and to focus on their responsibilities as citizens as well as their privileges as journalists, which in my view, are linked."~

Perhaps, he's talking about the nutjobs at Fox. Geraldo would broadcast the exact location of where the forces were, and that's why he's with Fox.

Responsible reporters don't run with something confirmed by the person who told them. If he's talking about keeping things like an Abu Ghraib out of press because it makes America's image look bad to Americans, then he's out of his mind.

Muzzle yourself, Cal.

Why should any modern American listen to him? He'd burn the unwashed alive if he had the chance--and he just might get it.

out of where we shouldn't have gone in in the first place! Got it?

If if makes bush* and you criminals look bad, the better.

Is he volunteering to be the chief censor?

Eat shit and die, rat bastard!

You should be ashamed!