Helen Thomas to DU--thank you for the support!!

It's 1 AM here, and I have to be up in 3 hours, so I'll say right now that most details will come later, maybe over the weekend
if I get a half hour to breathe (%§(&%§(&%§ day job).

I just spent an hour on the phone with Helen at her home in Washington. She says that for the moment she is under "self-imposed
house arrest."

She knows she expressed herself poorly, but since all she ever learned about pacifism and humanity came from Jews (her
words), she would never consider herself an "anti-Semite," quite apart for the fact that Arabs are a Semitic people as
well as Jews are, and she was good friends with my father for nearly 50 years, and he was of Jewish extraction himself.
But she also knows and understands her detractors, and wouldn't dream of wanting ill words published about them on her
behalf. She is just not the hating kind. She said if you want a hate-filled columnist, go seek out Charles Krauthammer.

But I told her about all the words of support for her I saw here on DU, and, although she knows of it, of course (after
all those roses, how could she not?) as she doesn't follow DU (so far!), she was completely unaware that there was a site
where she had so much (if, admittedly not universal) support for all she had done throughout the years. She said to say
thanks to those who stood with her, and extend her regrets with no malice to those who didn't.

Please don't bother with hateful comments, if you still happen to feel that way toward her. I won't be forwarding them
on to her, so save your breath. If you do harbor her ill will, fine, I understand, and so does she, but her message was
to those who extended warm feelings, as she has been dumped upon like never before in her whole lifetime up to now, and
didn't know how to confront it. She thanked me (!!) for staying her friend (as if I would entertain the notion of anything
else--when my dad passed away, guess who was first to arrive at his memorial service?), and said that she was being treated
as "toxic" by many who she had considered friends for decades. I am not one of THOSE "friends."

Give her my love!

:loveya:

:hi:

She rocks

She has been the only voice of reason in Washington for decades and nothing will tarnish that in my eyes.

Helen:

:loveya:

Thank you, Helen, for all that you have done!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Thank you Helen, for all that you've done. You've been an inspiration for generations. :yourock:

no, we are not. She always asked the tough questions- she is a tough old bird (and i mean that in the most respectful manner)

:loveya:

:hug:

:dem:

-Laelth

She's obviously not a bigot and everyone should apologize to her for implying otherwise.

This was never anything but a right-wing guerrilla attack to destroy the only journalist in the White House press corp who isn't a corporate/Republican stooge.

I love Helen Thomas!

:thumbsup:

Thanks for posting this DFW!:yourock: and so does Helen!

and better things are in store for Helen. I'm thinking a start on a best-selling book will put much to rest. You go Helen..

And as for those fair-weather friends, the only good thing about situations like this is you find out who your true friends are.

That's more valuable than what she's "lost". IMO.

I was humbled (and surprised) when she said I was one of the few who stuck by her. She meant among those
who were among her personal acquaintances, of course. She has millions of friends around the world, even if
they don't all have a way to let her know. By this evening, she will know about a couple of hundred right here,
for starters.

She wanted to keep doing what she has always done. She has written and co-written books before, but who knows?

This is surely a story waiting to be told.

I hope those evil bastards get what they deserve.

our champion during the dark days of Bush. I need no explanation from her as her wonderful, humane spirit and sense of justice has always been very obvious to me. I knew what she meant, and I suspect so did her 'detractors' (will honor her request and say no more about that here).

I wish I could give her a great big hug and hope she will be back doing what she has always done, reporting on the real news, maybe as part of the independent media. Whatever she wants though. She deserves the best as she always delivered for us.



Love you Helen. You are an inspiration! :hug: :applause:

...the room would be empty. Helen may be a short woman, but she stands taller than any corporate media whore. There's nobody in the current corporate media who can come close to replacing her. :evilfrown:

besides the fact she and I share the same name, she is the best WH reporter there has ever been and if you speak with her again, please tell her I said so.

And your response will be forwarded to her along with the rest, I promise!

...and thanks her for her important work to further opportunities for women.

You are a national treasure! So many of us will never watch another Presidential press conference in the same light ever again. Your cutting honesty is a rare gift and cannot be replaced. Please know how important your work has been to so many of us. To know that we had at least one voice of integrity - in the room posing questions to power - has been a rare source of comfort in these trying times. You will be greatly missed in the WH pressroom. But you have inspired, and continue to inspire, so many others. You've shown us all how it's done. Thanks for all the truth! :hi:

it was that good!

She did not "retire" voluntarily.

It is not easy to lose a career at any age, and I worried that this loss, in addition to the abandonment by supposed "friends", would really take a toll on her.
It probably has to some degree, but with good friends like you and others, I hope she will continue to thrive and flourish.

Many of us look forward to hearing from her, some way, some how, again.


:hug:

But she said she was snapping out of it. I should be talking to her again this weekend, and maybe she
is thinking about what lies ahead. If there is anything she says it's OK to convey, I will do so.

yes, she is. Always asked the tough question, rarely got the right answer.

when it comes to manufactured fake outrage. From people who are most likely anti Semitic themselves.

Sorry this happened and I hope she finds a way to return.

she can retire now, if need be....she made her mark on journalism

I hope she can move forward and find peace, but I also hope she takes the time to write a book. I can almost guarantee her it would be a best seller...even in this age of declining interest in books. I'm sure she has SO MUCH to say and we're all ears.

Bless you, Helen.

Her main concern was for the soldiers, and wondering why so many were dying in a war that never should have been waged. I respected her than and I still respect her now. I think she was caught off guard and made an poor choice of words in her response. However, I won't judge her on one statement.

Good God, the woman IS pushing ninety and has, to my knowledge, no prior history of "anti-Israel" remarks that I know of....Even if she did, my feeling is that Israel should come under the same scrutiny as any other country...It should NOT be the "third rail".

She was referring to the occupied territories, and even then was goaded by some eager kid looking for a gotcha moment
while she was hurrying to make a doctor's appointment on time. At age 89, you never know what a doctor's appointment
means, and I can well imagine her not being in an on-the-record interview mode.

As you surmised, she is not "anti-Israel."

I find it laughable that Ari Fleischer led the charge to remove her from the White House Press Corps. This is the same press secretary whose administration took homosexual male prostitute, Jeff Gannon/Guckert under its wing, taking softball questions and even giving him an exclusive scoop or two on big stories such as Dan Rather/CIA memo. Gannon/Guckert had no press credentials whatsoever and didn't even have a legitimate media outlet ("Talon News"). Ari Fleischer has no credibility when it comes to endorsing or condemning press corps reporters.

We all know why Fleischer really did what he did.

I will not repeat word for word what she had to say about Ari Fleischer, except to say that the man who
lied to the country on Cheney's ("Bush's") behalf about invading Iraq due to weapons of mass destruction
is probably not the one in the best position to be crapping over her.

Thank you for many years of passionate, truthful and honorable service.

You really made a difference!

You go girl! I LOVE YOU!

or so I've been told, so I'm sure Helen will be back to work in no time, and I wish her well.

Americans are very lucky to have her!

throughout the years avoided her questions as much as possible should attest that she always asked the real and right questions and would get to the heart of any matter. She's a journalist, not a White House stenographer like so many.

she is so needed at the white house.

you are a true voice for Democracy! The real test of friendship is how people treat you when you are down. Now you know who your true friends are.

We Love You Helen!!!

:loveya:

:hug:

from many places other than DU. Around the internet I was delighted to see how many people supported her and slammed the media and the witch hunters who went after her. So while it's sad that her so-called friends appear to have no courage, she has probably made many new friends, hopefully more worthy of the title 'friend'. Wish I had saved some of the comments from around the internet, but it was encouraging to see that people are far more awake than we sometimes think ~

:grouphug:

Yes, I know how it is supposed to be spelled.

My spelling is even more accurate now, though I've used it for some time.

Thank you, Helen Thomas! You are the best!

That won't change.

She was there asking the tough questions all of my adult life and I will miss her greatly.
And somehow I think she is not the kind to retire and watch TV all day....Keep doing what you love love.

I will miss you!:yourock:

Now who is going to ask the hard questions and pursue the topics others shy away from? Love you, Helen, and miss you already.

K&R

She is a journalist with integrity. Not many of those around today.

Every time I have written to her, she has responded to me. (Usually it was after she was under attack for asking "the question" that NEEDED to be asked, but no one else had the guts to do it.) I wrote because I wanted her to know she was not alone, and that others appreciated her courage and efforts.

We all speak at times without thinking, or our thoughts aren't conveyed in the words we say. Was Helen's comment a career ending one? No. Too many other people in a similar position have said far, far worse over the years, and they still have their job.

The progressive movement lost a real friend when Helen decided to "retire."

Thank you, Helen, for your efforts over the years. The journalistic world will be worse off for your absence. Don't be a stranger!

One ill-chosen sentence spoken in justifiable outrage does not wipe out a lifetime of achievement.

:hug: to Ms Thomas and :hug: to you for being her bridge to us.

Hekate

you are a national treasure. And the fact that your detractors seized on your comment is proof of the influence that you have had throughout your historic career.

When you're ready, I look forward to the possibility that you will use the internet to keep writing, about current events and about history. America needs minds like yours now as much as it ever has.


With my deep respect,

bleever

She set standards and her fine career will be legend.

IMHO Helen reacted to the stupidity of the question.

Interlopers in Palestinian territories should of course,
go back to the Israeli territories where they lived before they moved.

Helen has never "suffered fools gladly," and she just snapped at another foolish obtuse and clueless question.

Love you Helen for all you've done!!!

...poor wording perhaps.

But nothing next to everything she has done working to get the truth out of liers. What a job.

She is a class act and I will always admire her.

Tell her to take some well deserved rest, write a nice fat book which I will buy and maybe start blogging.

XO to Helen!

led by the likes of the thoroughly discredited Ari Fleischer and his ilk, sadly though, some on the left rushed to judgement, which is exactly what Fleischer and Co. hoped for. We really have to learn how to fight these people more effectively and stop jumping through hoops to get approval from the far right. It will never happen, meantime we are helping to silence our very best voices.

The reason I know it was faux outrage, is because the same people who went after Helen, claiming we cannot tolerate remarks like this, had nothing to say about Chuck Schumer's extremely bigoted remarks and of course, Netanyahu, who thought that the 9/11 attack on this country was 'good' ... for Israel, is a welcome guest in our WH with not a single sign of outrage from them.

When I see the outrage distributed equally across the board, I will get excited about the likes of Ari Fleischer weeping about how 'offended' he was. I am offended that the is still free and paid no price for the role he played in one of the worst administrations in our history. Faux outrage is all it was and I wish the left would stop falling for it or at least expressing THEIR outrage as loudly.

Maybe because because I've spent so much around children, I recognize when they are 'just pretending' and when they are not.

One of his reasons is that they "don't believe in David or the Torah"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBliz7wSCrw

I've heard NOTHING about it...Which is probably not surprising when you consider the Uber-pro-Israel bias this country has.

asked him about torture in Iraq said, speaking of Americans, "People don't care about that"....:eyes:

is supposed to be.

I am so happy to hear that she received our well wishes. I hope she can keep her head up with the knowledge of how much of a national treasure she is. I am very sorry that she is not among the ranks of the Washington press. However, I send her my best wishes and the message that her endeavors are truly inspirational and brave. Ms. Thomas broke the mold when it came to the quintessential reporter. The Fourth Estate will be woefully lacking without her professionalism and integrity. There shall never be anyone of her like again.

Our nation is better because of her body of work. As a result, her endeavors will stand the test of time.

:hi:

I had the pleasure of meeting Helen at the Middle Eastern restaurant she frequents in DC in middle 2008. She was absolutely wonderful, and spent over 1/4 hour at our table talking about the election even though her group was kept waiting.

What happened to her is criminal, but SOP in the new USC (United States Of Corporations)

I had dinner with her there the night of the day the fateful video was taped. She didn't even mention it.
People come up to her all the time, but we're used to it, and don't interrupt when they come up to say hi.
Helen is always gracious and generous with her time. She is only less gracious when White House people try
to get away with avoiding her questions, or bypassing them with pure BS. They finally got their escape, and it
was provided by a teenager in Fox-style "gotcha" mode and a hand-held video camera.

Indeed, even the kid who shot the video didn't mention it. It was prepared and sauced up in an orchestrated
campaign, and only revealed a week later, after the flotilla killings. Half the people outraged seemed to
think her remarks were made in response to the raid on the flotilla, when in fact they were made days before
the incident.

You are both lucky to have each other as friends. Helen is a true hero and I will miss her so much at those WH press conferences.
Love you Helen and don't stay under house arrest too long there are legions who want to hear from you.

I, too, love her. She was trick-bagged.

so now we know, not just what to look for, but to insist on. You've done the intent of this nation an amazing service. Thank you Ma'am.

Transposition required edit.

and I :patriot: her!

thanks for the thread.

Thanks for sharing our support with her.

I would urge her to take a short break, then get online independently in a big way. She is a still a marketable brand -- worldwide.

All she would need is a webmaster/stenographer and she could literally dictate blog-columns, tweets, podcasts, etc. All from her own easy chair at home.

She could truly advance the cause of peace in the mid-east by reminding Our Lamest Generation of vidiots, who always assume there's some reset button to push, that there are historical realities that the nano-attention-span of our Euphemedia has forced far too many of us to forget/ignore.

And she could just tell us great stories about beltway lunacy. Become a champion to the reality-based community that resides outside the DC-Avaristocracy.

----

She hasn't excluded any of your ideas, although it would be in the form of a simple column-style commentary
more than anything else, in all likelihood.

But, knowing Helen, any column by her would carry the verbal equivalent of a two hundred megawatt dynamo.

Please don't stop writing!

Tell us something interesting, Helen.

-Hoot

from the Kennedy years. (I grew up in a very political extended family) I admired her then. I admire and respect her now. If the press corps had been 1/10 as dogged with dumya as Helen, maybe all the resulting mess could have been avoided.

Hell of a run, Helen!

She was one of the last threads of journalistic integrity. I salute you Helen Thomas and I will miss you.

Hopefully she'll feel a little bit of love from those she doesn't know. I still love me some Helen Thomas, have always done so and a momentary gaffe pitted against a lifetime of excellent work is not going to sway my mind about her. I only hope that she's able to put all of this behind her and truly enjoy her retirement.

I had the good fortune to hear her speak in Oklahoma City back in 2003. What a wonderful, gutsy, awe-inspiring woman!

I'm outraged at what has happened to her - especially since right-wingers can get away with saying virtually ANYTHING and suffer no consequences. :banghead:

Hope she is doing okay, and will emerge from this brouhaha to do more good things. She is lucky to have you as a friend.

thought better of. So it is for Helen. She is lionized in many circles, as it should be, but never forget her humanity and the contribution she has made to the world of journalism and politics.

Her response to those vilifying her is nothing short of grace.

:hi:

The flying monkeys of the corporate media aren't worthy of breathing same air as Helen.

She will always be a hero to me. I know the love of an anonymous internet poster can never make up for the pain and betrayal she's experienced in her real life, yet I hope she may find some small measure of cheer from it.

I love you, Helen.
sw

And you know damn well she's not an antisemite. You don't do anything to help Israel when you act like this.

A big Hat Tip to you Helen!

She was the one person that wasn't afraid to stand up and tell it like it is. She was a voice for the people and asked the questions we wanted to have asked. She is truly a gem and had more integrity in her little finger than all of the other members of the Press Corps combined.

I don't think in the least that she should have "retired" over the faux outrage regarding her statement. But that's her decision and her decision alone to make and I can respect that.

for persevering. I'm sure there are many like me who value her writing and admire both her and her life's body of work.

I didn't find what she said offensive or surprising but then I know Jewish Israelis who feel similarly. I also know a handful of Palestinian and Lebanese and Palestinian/Americans who's ancestral lands were seized by the Israeli government after 1948.

I do not have the honor of being Lebanese, Palestinian or Jewish but I do have a bit of knowledge of the modern history of the region and its peoples.

I will never forget how thrilled I was when, in response to my "happy birthday" email, she sent a personal email to me to thank me for "your kind words".

Those "friends" who would now treat her as "toxic" are cowards.

Without your curiosity and determination this nation would be in a far worse condition than it currently is---perish the thought. What a truth seeker you have been on behalf of us! Godspeed.

Helen will always have my support.

I can imagine how much she wishes she could restate her comments, but, alas, she is human, as are we all. And being human, we are assured of committing the occasional inarticulation.

We should evaluate Helen's career based on the totality, not just this singular, I'm sure, regrettable event.

Please give her my love and let her know that there are many people who are so grateful for her efforts to promote peace.


Edit: spelling. I'm bad at posting from my phone.

Thank you Helen Thomas. You truly are one of the last journalists to have been in DC the last 10 years. Your contributions to our country are truly amazing. I am forever grateful for your intelligence and support of democracy here in America as you have witnessed first hand the THEIVES and COWARDS who have taken over our government. I know we will get back eventually. But your reporting and questioning of our so called "leaders" has been superb.

Again, THANK YOU for you service to America.

Go out and enjoy life without the pressures of those jerks in Washington. You deserve to enjoy life to its fullest.

NAMASTE!

You're one the few people who actually speak their mind rather than some socially acceptable pablum.

:hi:


:toast:

I have loved her for years, long before DU. She is brilliant and courageous and kind. She has always answered my emails, even though we have never met. I will always be in her corner. You don't stop caring about the people you respect because of some unfortunate words. It is despicable how she has been treated, and is being treated. She doesn't deserve it.

Bless you Helen, your compassion, integrity and courage can never be equaled.

She is a national treasure!
I hope she does a blog! I'll read it!

Love ya, Helen! Thanks for the memories! Have a great stress-free retirement. And write that book!

and service for the people of the U.S.

This is just the kind of thing to show a person who their friends are....

and fearless.

I detest what she said but the good she has done over the years is all I'll remember. Thank her for me. She is a great American who has served the public as well as anyone she has covered ever has.

I wish her nothing but the best.

For all you do and all you have done! You are a beacon of journalistic integrity in a profession that has lost it's way. You ask the hard questions that need to be asked. As long as you are out there doing real journalism, young people will at least have one great model to pattern after.

Retire if you must, but keep writing. Keep asking your incisive questions. We love, need and appreciate Helen Thomas! If there are fools out there who used to appreciate you and are currently confused and acting badly... well, that's all about them and a serious lack of perspective.

Love and Deep Appreciation of Helen Thomas!!!:yourock::grouphug:

For you Ms. Thomas :hug:

that doesn't change how we feel about her body of work. I'd like to say Thank YOU DFW for lending your personal support to Ms. Thomas.

You don't have to thank me for being Helen's friend. I was that long before now, and that won't change.

My conveying her present circumstances and her appreciation for DUers' support is sort of an obligation
I feel to both her and DU. She wouldn't have really know about all the DU threads that preceded this one,
and therefore DU wouldn't have known if she had anything to say about the comments or not.

Everybody needs friends, and Helen is no hermit. She was a good friend to my father when I was in grade school.
That doesn't get nullified by something like this incident, whereas she felt like absolute crap when so many
of her supposed friends hid like vampires from sunlight when this incident got blown up. That she could count on
my family was a given. That she could count on hundreds of kind comments like the ones on this thread was
something she could never have known.

Now she will, so thank YOU for being one of them.

Love reading responses here, it's a sad shame that her statement was twisted in several different directions when it was clear what she was saying. It's sad when responsible people resign and hothead blowhards keep on blabbing.

Please consider writing a book soon! I would love to read it! Take some time to enjoy your life and those true friends who stand by you. Blessings Helen :fistbump:

her book would be a #1 seller.

:thumbsup:

Please know that we are all diminished in you absence, and the country is, sadly, the loser in this witch hunt. Much love to you. Sorry I have never gotten to meet you in person. It would be such a treat!

She will be sorely missed.

in support of Helen with her and for sharing how she is doing with us.

I so appreciate all Helen has done over the years for us.

We'd all be her personal friends if not for that darned "cyber-world" in which we reside! Helen is an icon to me and will forever be a woman I deeply respect. Thank you for passing our thoughts on to her. She is a very special person, even if capable of human frailties--aren't we all.

I thank her and I wish she would continue to be the voice for questions that understanding through reason and logic require.

for all she did to as a real journalist (not the talking heads and fakers we have now who claim they are journalists).

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Send her this and tell her she's still got a fastball.

She is a...

Helen Thomas has held the torch for truth through multiple administrations.

The "scandal" that brought her down speaks to the hideous reality of the
politics of the corporate democrats. The can't and won't explain themselves,
so any criticism has to be stamped out immediately.

I hope you continue to expose and explain the truth, Ms. Thomas!

More Roses!

And thanks for posting this, DFW...we all owe her so much for the honesty and integrity she's shown for all of those years.

She is a great person. I had the opportunity to meet her in 96 on the Clinton campaign train.

critters.

I will never buy or read another Hearst publication because they did not stand by her. Her's was the last voice of truth that had the intelligence and the will to speak truth to power. However, this time the powerful were too powerful.

It really breaks my heart that she made one mistake and the Corporate Controlled Conservative Press destroyed her.

Yet Pat Buchanan is allowed to spit out far more anti-semitism and the same Press Whores say that's OK.

Beyond disgusting :-(

PLUS Ralph Nader speaking up for her -- and her reinstatement --

If Helen has lost friends in DC, it's no real loss.

And, she also has some terrific sisters who helped clarify her comments!!!

Best wishes to you and Helen!!

I saw so much support for here everywhere over the past week and it was so heartening. IT also shows how people are no longer influenced by the Corporate Media or people like Ari Fleischer. I would not be so polite about Fleischer, but Helen asked us not to be nasty about her detractors.

People are sick and tired of being censored on this one subject in this country. We believe in the Constitution here and we are sick and tired of these

I agree with the commenter who said that we should boycott Hearst publications. That's the only thing these heartless, soulless people understand.

kinda getting the Israeli thing now --

Used to be overwhelming support for Israel -- which they are losing.

But, one positive thing, it seems they've announced their "easing" some restrictions

on Gaza -- ????

I'm not reading any newspapers now at all -- except for the articles I see on the internet.

Gave up NY Times when they hired Karl Rove!! That was it -

I hope Helen has actually awakened more Americans re Israel -- she is right, IMO.

Especially with the clarification we got from her sisters on her meaning/intent.



Btw, watching the oil hearings right now -- outrageous enough -- but went by the Senate and

looks like they're trying to EXTEND THE TAX CUTS ON WEALTHY????

I'm just so fed up with Obama and all of this .....

:)

adored her and still do and always will. How fortunate you have her as a friend. Tell her not to suffer. We know what she meant.

I have been and remain a fan. I'm amazed at how so many could turn on her, especially given that what she said was well meaning and not hateful. I'm impressed that she can continue on with out malice. Thanks for all you've done Helen.

I went to rec after reading a bit and the count when I rec'ed went from 227 to 222!

All I have to say to the un-rec'ers is remember the USS Liberty!


The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and one civilian), wounded 170 crew members, and severely damaged the ship. At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.

Israel is the biggest threat to peace in the Middle East!

You Rock Helen and make sure you get out and keep moving retirement can kill if not done right.

I saw that there were a few, but who the hell cares? The few times I post something, I always get unrecs.
Big deal. It'll take more than that to ruin my day.

I don't blame unrecs on AIPAC specifically, and I don't really think the incident of the USS Liberty really
plays a role in what happened here. If AIPAC has nothing better to do than go after Helen Thomas, they must
be the most successful lobbying organization in the world--they have accomplished so many of their bigger
goals that they have nothing better to do than coordinate an attack on one solitary 89 year old woman? I
don't even agree that Israel is the biggest threat to peace in the Middle East, but that's not what my thread
was about, as you saw.

She is only too aware that genuine retirement would be her downfall. You have to know her to understand how
little likelihood there is of that, but I'm sure you can guess and get it right. You don't silence Helen. You
may just have to tune into a different "channel" to hear her, that's all.

I met her and heard her speak at the National Media Reform Conference in Memphis, and became inspired to start my own nonprofit news media outlet which is now getting 2 milion hits a month, bringing truth to a region that had very little serious reporting before.

I treasure my autographed copy of her book, and hope she won't allow her critics to silence her voice. I am of Jewish descent, and while her remark was intemperate, I am sure she is not anti-semetic and one remark should not wipe out a lifetime of speaking truth to power.

Why don't we start a campaign to get her job back?

Even so, if some other outfit wanted her as White House correspondent, she might listen.

If Cheney and Rove can get a fake like "Jeff Gannon" accredited, I should think anyone that
wanted Helen in there for them could get her back in. The question is, would she want it now?

I'll have to ask her, but it may be too soon for her to answer that question objectively.

That is one to be continued!

Please tell her that I'm sending a donation to Oxfam in her honor.

Love ya, Helen.

:yourock:

:kick:

It's humanity I seriously worry about.

Here's to Helen and to you, too, DFW!

:loveya:

Helen for your truth and honesty for most of my lifetime!

fly

Please tell your dear friend Helen that those who admire her for her tireless advocacy on behalf of the American people through multiple administrations still do. There is nobody representing us now in the White House press room.

BTW, my husband's Jewish.

Also, I would love to read the book, if she'll be good enough to write one.

Please keep writing.

And, as these threads attest, a whole lot of her staunch admirers are right here on DU. Her courage and intelligence will be sorely missed. Please send her all our love... :loveya:

You want a friend in Washington...get a dog, lol.

Those lily-livered chickenshits kicked her to the curb mostly from jealousy of her courage...there is not a journalist alive who can hold a candle to her.

Job well done and appreciated. :hug:

for Helen.

Please join us. Opinions are welcome here.

I will be seeing her again in six weeks or so when I'm next in the States, but she will see this well before then.

I'm a little (pleasantly) overwhelmed at the responses, and a great many of you deserve replies, especially now that
Helen has no more professional restraints that might affect her work. Don't be overly anxious, there still won't be
a lot of great surprises. She and I made a date to talk on the phone again this weekend. She had told her friends
and housekeepers to not put ANYONE through to her for a week, so it took me a while to get through, and the time
difference is always a consideration, as I am six hours ahead of Washington.

It is a little after 9:30 AM Thursday here, and I'm sending this from the Thalys train between Brussels and Paris.
I had to get up at 4 AM back in Germany in order to be at work on time in France this morning, so I'm still a little
fuzzy-headed. Because of that call last night, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. But I arrive in Paris in less than
half an hour, and I'll need way longer than that to do all the replies that I can. Please be patient. I will get to
this either tomorrow or Saturday at the latest (if I can find the thread again! LOL).

Helen will LOVE this string of replies, by the way. When she told me how many had bailed on her, I was thinking that
even Captain Bligh had it better when he got tossed off the Bounty. You people are a very welcome breath of fresh air.

My mom, who is only 80 years old, told me the other day how Helen Thomas used to hardass LBJ just as much as any of the other reporters in the White House press pool, but LBJ had to be careful how to deal with her because she was the one reporter that wouldn't be bluffed by a standard answer to any of her questions.
LBJ learned that he had to deal with her differently than other reporters, just like all the other Presidents that came after him had to learn.

Think about that for a minute.

The one person that caused the Presidents of this country to shiver and quake and loose sleep over . . . was noneother than Helen Thomas.

The short, dimunitive, direct, kind, and humble reporter from UPI (for so many years).
She always asked direct questions, and she held their feet to the fire.
She has always been cordial, civil, and respectful to the Presidents, even to the one who read a book called "My Pet Goat".
She was the backbone of the White House Press Corps.
She was the soul of the reporters' pool.
Other reporters tried to emulate her, some others tried to imitate her, but there was only one Helen Thomas.

I hope she writes her autobiography soon, so we can all tell her how much we enjoyed reading the book of her life. I hope she enjoys her retirement, she deserves it.

I am 53 years old. Yours is the face I remember of the White House Press Corps. Yours are the questions to Presidents that I remember. And you were one of the few journalists in the entire Corp. You may have expressed yourself a bit poorly, although, your words have more than a grain of truth.

Please take care and bless your heart.

We could use more good citizens.

I missed the roses, somehow. But I love Helen.

Please cut Helen some slack.

There are no words to express how grateful I am for the integrity she has shown over the years. Her work is a beacon of truth and she is a hero.

you are among the greatest in this country.

Ms. Thomas thank you for your service.

It seems as though she realizes her words were (at best) unfortunate. And she's imposing a self-exile on herself in acknowledgment. I'm sorry to see her illustrious career end on such a down note. She was an amazing journalist, and I do thank her for her years of service to the American people. I wish her career hadn't ended on such a sour note. I don't think that her comments were okay, though it seems that she doesn't, either. I appreciate her knowledge of that, and I wish her a peaceful and happy retirement. We all make mistakes in our lives, and I'm sorry that hers cost her the good will of many of her fans.

for all that you have done. I think the world of you.

(I've had the pleasure of getting a response to an e-mail I sent her a few years back. She's #1 in my book!)

and tell her how much I admire her. She has courage. She has convictions that she risks herself to stand up for and she was my saving grace during the Bush administration. The only reporter who questioned him and tried to get through his lies.

I feel terrible at losing her words and her presence. She is the best. She always has been and always will be. We all misspeak at times. We all say things that can be misconstrued. It is simple human nature. She stood up to hatred. She stood with those who opposed the war in Iraq. Tell her how much I, and many others would like to read about her life and work in book that only she could write.

Thank you for sharing this with us. K&R.

This European here will miss one of the last standing true US journalists.

knew what Helen meant, and also it was spoken off-handedly, in an informal setting. Helen Thomas obviously has a love for all people and would always fight the good fight for human rights. Please, BRING HELEN BACK TO HER FRONT ROW CENTER seat in the WH press room, where she belongs, Her critics to look upon her mis-statement with an open heart.

Now and always! :-)

I wasn't really familiar with her or what she'd done in the past until that whole explosion of superheated outrage erupted, but that caused me to read up on her, and now I understand how important and what a great person she is. What she said was clumsy and poorly worded, but what struck me was that out of an entire career that's so illustrious, all it boils down to in the end is that one thing she said. I've got nothing but contempt and disgust for those who attacked and continue to attack her, especially as most of them would be totally silent about the disgusting things some US politicians and journalists have said about Arabs...

challenged the status quo?

I wish more journalists were like you - not afraid to ask the tough questions. :patriot:

One, the late Molly Ivins, the other is Helen Thomas. On each occasion I felt as if I knew them personally, as they they were warm and intelligent e-mail responses. I could tell they were personally written to me, as they both discussed particulars that had been in columns they had written, and I was touched deeply that either, much less both, would take the time to read my scribblings and respond. All of the others, some 25-30 have never had the courtesy to respond to what I had written.

Both of these women have distinguished themselves over the years and I feel a great loss. In Ms. Thomas' case, I wonder why people don't hold some of the R's that make far more hostile remarks accountable, as opposed to an individual who has spent a lifetime trying to keep an honest line on what goes on in DC and the rest of the world.

If you read this Helen, thank you for all of your years of service...you are appreciated much more than you can imagine.

We love you Helen!

K&R

this is happening to her. we have all used poorly chosen words before. i can't believe the hate towards her. my best wishes and compliments to the lady.

tough and unafraid to ask the hard questions. I wish her all the best.

You're a good friend!

As i follow US politics very closely, i have been aware of Helen Thomas for a long time. Many of my fellow students of North American studies at the University of Oslo, Norway also like her very much.

I remember it was on the news here that Helen Thomas was called on for the first question during the first press conference under the Obama administration. To me it became a symbol of things moving back to normal.

Another of my fellow students is also a big fan. He was on the Mavi Marmara that was boarded by the Israeli forces and arrested. He was very very sad to see her go.

She has a lot of fans outside the US, people who are aware of the goings on in American politics and like to follow it closely. I find that she often asks the very questions i would ask, while the large majority of the press corps are simply not doing their jobs.

Her removal from the press corps is a great loss to us all, and i know i speak for a great many people when i give her my sincerest thanks for her great work.

Future Presidents can look forward to just a soothing gum-job from the press.

Thank-you for a legacy, Helen!

since the 60's and I admire her very much.

She will be missed.

saddened that the last journalist has left the building.

:loveya:

I'm in Paris for the day, and I have already been asked about "that lady reporter who got shafted out of her job
in Washington--don't you know her?"

She made the news even in France! I can't wait to tell her tomorrow.

Helen Thomas - you add new depth to this philisophy. Thanks for much for all your gifts.

all the fearless and important questions Helen Thomas has asked throughout the years. I wish we had a couple thousand reporters like her ...who could point out the Emperor's lack of clothes.

:hi:

:kick:

:hug:

Please consider writing a book for history. (or herstory)

Love Joanne98

good in her life than bad. She has been the one to ask tough questions when no one else would.

As someone who has stuck her foot in her OWN mouth on more than one occasion, I applaud her and her career.

I first heard about her in 2001 when she was the lone voice in the wilderness. She gave me hope when no one else could.
Thank you Helen, thank you again.
I hope you can understand how much good you have done. How you have been the conscience for our presidents. How you have
been a living example to journalists, that a person CAN be true to their beliefs and do a good job.

I am so glad that I can say these things to you.
Mimi

I am ashamed at how quickly you were kicked to the curb after your statement, especially by my fellow liberals.

I have long believed it is way past time for a serious, national discussion of Israel. I grew up during the Munich/Black September days and, being an American, I only got a very one-sided "education" on the larger situation regarding the history of Palestine. It was only as an adult I sought out a fuller understanding of the conflict and how it all came to be. And now, I too know the risk one takes with expressing anything but the current American orthodoxy on Israel.

You must continue with your opinion column, even if it only appears on your own website -- your voice on politics is needed more than ever.

Thank you for all your years of service to the American people! :loveya:

Kirsten

I really miss the fact that she won't be there any more making Presidents either live up to promises or showing us that they aren't. Truth has become an absent quality in our media. I'm going to miss her.

I wonder if she could find a way to get a show on PBS. Since Moyer retired, its become a wasteland.

Things are pretty bad in the country now but I can't imagine how much worse they would have been without Ms. Thomas holding politician's feet to the fire. Imagine what more nonsense they might've gotten away with? I shudder at the thought of how much more they will.

Personally, I think she tries to do the best for the country.

If she were really so called anti-semite it would had come out years ago.

I'm so sad that she feels she must self-impose a house arrest on herself.

And I'm sorry she has to endure 2-faced 'friends.'


AIPAC is the strongest and most vengeful of organizations. I'm sure it let the word out that no one is to publicly stand by Helen.

I wish her the best and I will miss her so much in WH Press Corp. It just won't be the same. Obama should have stood by her as well as her fellow journalists.

But of course that would have required a SPINE.

:loveya: Helen!

it is hard to know why she said what she did but there is no doubt she is a once in a lifetime journalist and person

some of the greats go down in such a tragic way that leaves everyone sad and confused but with it can come something greater learned

i understand those angered by her words but not those who vilify her - in an instant helen now knows the political world in a way she likely never experienced in all her years living and breathing it

i wish her (and everyone hurt by her words) much peace during this difficult time