Tim Russert, Dead at 58
The entire NBC news organization seems to be in complete shock this afternoon. It seems that while he annoyed the crap out of us, they genuinely loved him.
So I offer my deep and sincere condolences to his family, his friends and his colleagues. 58 is too young.
Update, 10:15 PM EST: Okay, I take it all back. Look, I'm sorry the guy died and I realize that his colleagues are sad and all, but they're supposed to be in the fucking news business, and believe it or not, there was actual news today.
LIKE THE WHOLE STATE OF IOWA IS UNDERWATER. Sheesh. They're acting like the fucking pope died.
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6 comments:
How sad that you just don't understand the enormous contribution Tim Russert has made to the political history of this nation, shedding light on some very dark corners and the dark hearted people that thrive on obscuring the truth. You may have been annoyed when he spoke up, but at least he had the courage to prod and push until everyman could see for himself whether the emperor had clothes.
Here's to Tim Russert and a beautiful life, well led. May we each pursue the truth so avidly and so profoundly and positively impact the world around us!
Oh Susannah you can flippin' bite me! The headline on MSNBC right now reads "A tragedy for the entire nation." For a news reader? A TV personality? A cocktail party denizen who toed the rat-wing line in order to get those cozy invitations? Talk about your village!
The news media in this country talks only to themselves, hears only themselves talking, and thinks the rest of us live in awe and envy of them. And this festival of emotional hand-wringing is proof.
Well, guess again, jerkwads! I'm with 4LG wanting some actual news about actual events. Instead, we get Iowa ignored, like New Orleans was ignored, because nobody important lives there.
Damn it!
KidRanger
Dear Kid,
Bite you? I think not. I find small minded creatures that feed on anger and intolerance to be quite tasteless.
Besides, I'm kind of busy with my sister who was having major surgery in a Midwestern operating room when the tornado siren started wailing for the first of 2 tornados to hit the county that day. The family couldn't leave the hospital Thursday night as the roads were all flooded. Luckily the neighbors kept an eye on the pumps in her basement so it wouldn't flood like theirs did. But we still found a little time to ask the Universe to show mercy to our friends in Iowa and send money to the Red Cross to help.
Being real multi-taskers, we also took time to mourn a man we only knew on tv, one who forgot more than YOU will EVER know about the news and politics, and who worked damn hard and did the best he could to uncover TRUTH for everyone to see during the two decades you grew from a Kid in stinky diapers to a Kid who now impatiently spews ignorance and intolerance out the other end.
Nope, being human, Tim Russert wasn't perfect. But he also wasn't a news reader or a cult personality or a cocktail party denizen and if you'd taken time to get your facts straight like he did, you would have known that before you shot off your mouth.
Now, KidRanger, what have YOU done lately to make the world a better place? What are YOU doing to help those folks in Iowa? Are you going to flail around on the net, stamp your Ranger boots, and rant "Why doesn't SOMEBODY do something?" or are YOU going to get off YOUR ass and go make a difference? Put up or shut up, Kid.
susannah, c'mon.
I said I was sad he died. But he could have done a great deal more to "shed light on those dark corners" by not ushering in the age of the cocktail-weinie, politician befriending reportage.
And no matter WHAT his contribution was, it doesn't excuse the cable networks devoting a full 8 hours to hagiography and ignoring actual news yesterday.
They didn't do that for Peter Jennings, who arguably was a much better reporter and editor.
Tim Russert played a considerable role in the outing of Valerie Plame, therefore compromising the security of The US. He happily helped sell both the stolen election of 2000 and the Iraq War.
"he also wasn't a news reader or a cult personality or a cocktail party denizen"
Obviously, you either have no clue what you're talking about or you willfully gloss over those unpleasant truths. He was both of those things and much more.
Oh, and if we weren't wasting billions of dollars and the lives of National Guard troops on the war that Tim Russert helped sell, the people of Iowa would be receiving more help in a more timely fashion, so take your strawman and use it to help build some poor person a raft if you're so concerned.
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