Alan Dershowitz getting pulverized on Democracy Now!

OMG this guy is tearing his plagiarism and distortions apart live on the radio. Couldnt happen to a bigger asshole. "The case for Israel" is quite a load of convenient misquotes and whole cloth plagiarism.
What a guy.

he will NOT accept that he's being directly challenged

Obviously they didn't read his book on the stolen 2000 election.

in coaxing information from suspected terrorists. This is one of the dumbest, most indefensible stances anyone could ever have.

His 2000 election book doesn't impress me. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

who has been known to defend the not so innocent though.

I think he could have a bright future on the Faux News Channel, considering his complete inability to allow a debate opponent to complete a single sentence, much less a thought.

In fact, I'm quite disappointed that Amy Goodman didn't cut his mike off each time after he spoke. After his opponent, Norman Finkelstein has waited patiently for Dershowitz to complete each one of his arguments, Dershowitz has done nothing but repeatedly interrupt and attempt to shout him down.

I find the whole thing to be quite ridiculous, more befitting of cable news channels than Pacifica Radio.

Professor Finkelstein kept Dershowitz on the defensive the whole time. I don't think Dershowitz knew what hit him. At one early point, he threatened Finkelstein with a lawsuit, and Finkelstein answered in essence, "Bring it on."

Dershowitz was clearly outclassed. Rather than seeming professorial or scholarly, he came off as snide and condescending. Throughout the debate, Finkelstein reminded the listeners that Dershowitz is a Harvard professor. At the end, as the two of them were in full cry, Finkelstein proclaimed, "You are shaming your institution."

fascist. Glad to hear he's getting ripped. The man is a traitor, as are his associates, to this nation.

Alan Dershowitz has worked diligently for liberal causes for years. He can be outsoken and a bit arrogant, I admit. He is a lawyer for Gods sake. But his support for "torture" was pretty limitied. It was in the case where a person knew a terrorist act was going to be committed and where and when. Dershowitz said he'd have no problem with torture to prevent thousands of deaths.

On this particular issue he is talking about now, I disagree with him. But just because someone disagrees with you doesn't make them a "traitor". People are not going to agree on all issues. Get used to it.

Dershowitz has come up with a euphemism for torture - he calls it "rough interrogation". He kept mentioning it in today's exchange.

His debating tactics would have made Sean Hannity or Mike Gallagher blush in this instance. I would bet that Amy Goodman was probably actually a bit ashamed to have the kind of spectacle on her show that he presented. It was almost painful for me to listen to, because it was exactly the kind of "debate" that I listen to Pacifica to avoid.

Dershowitz knew Finkelstein was well-armed with facts, and he said at the beginning that he hoped the debate would not become "ad hominem". Finkelstein brushed that aside, saying that his challenge was directed not at Dershowitz personally, but at his scholarship. Dershowitz never fully recovered, never caught his stride, and had to resort to trying to get Finkelstein rattled. The effort failed, making Dershowitz a loser twice over.

Dear Professor Dershowitz,

I must admit that I was quite dismayed by your appearance on Democracy Now! on 9/24/03. While I was looking forward to a spirited but polite debate, the likes of which I can usually count on from WBAI, I was instead condemned to the kind of shouting match that more often occurs on the likes of MSNBC and the Fox News Channel.

Perhaps the points in your book are correct, perhaps they are not. The fact is that I probably will never know, because each an every time your debate opponent attempted to make a point (after listening patiently to you, I might add), you immediately began to shout him down without allowing him to complete a single sentence, let alone a thought.

While such behavior is expected from the likes of Sean Hannity, I would expect much more from such a distinguished attorney and professor as yourself. For this listener at least, your argument was completely lost in the end, and you came off sounding like a condescending know-it-all who is interested in winning arguments through intimidation rather than constructive thought. If the charges of fraud and plagarism leveled by Professor Finkelstein were as outrageous as you claimed, how would it have hurt your cause by allowing him to state his case uninterrupted, and then procede to deconstruct his argument? Your combative tactics only made this listener believe that perhaps your book IS factually inaccurate, otherwise why would you become so instantly defensive about it?

Sincerely,
Christopher Harrison
Volunteer Activist and Political Gadfly
******, New York

Thanks for this articulate letter. During the debate, Dershowitz kept trying to get his feet under him. At one point he launched into what sounded like canned oratory, and Finkelstein nailed him on it, saying "Oh, don't give your Bar Mitzvah speech."

And he is a real, first-class asshole.

The fact that he is a sort -0f-Dem means little, since, as has already been said, he ia an anti-Muslim, ant-Arab bigot of the worst sort.

My only hope is that he himself is subjected to sort of treatment he advocates in the Hell that awaits him.

is his own.

I figure he is now going to file a defamation of character, liable, or some sort of suit against Norman Finklestein. He will have the last word, not matter what. He's that kind of guy

There was a time when I thought Dershowitz was a decent guy, then came OJ -

I literally felt Dershowitz shrinking in his chair. Finkelstein was focused and relentless, which is exactly what someone has to be in dealing with someone like Dershowitz.

It amazes me that he is a professor at Harvard and yet it doesn't. He apparently is a liar, opportunistic, racist, etc et al, and he made alot of money letting Claus Von Bulow go free not to mention all of his other rather tasteless stints.

I was glad it happened today, only for the reason that someone stood up to Dershowitz and did not let it slide and didnt let him get away with his delusions. I really get the feeling Dershowitz lives in a deluded state, but then again, when you have everyone around you telling you your great, then I guess deluded people are born. Well Finkelstein put a dent in Dershowitz's deluded armor today.

Amy Goodman is fantastic.