[BasketofPuppies]

No, wait, I find him informative and witty.

[Dakar²]

Fantastic!

[design219]

Me too. No wait, that was someone else.

[design219]

I didn't do this, but it feels right.

[marden]

Lebanon Daily News - Finally starting to notice war that’s been with us

[marden]

Let’s look at Koppel ridiculing the Democrats:

MR. RUSSERT: Ted Koppel, what do you see?

MR. KOPPEL: I see a lot of wishful thinking going on here in Washington right now. I mean, when Congress talks about, first of all, setting these, these milestones—and the irony is if the Iraqis successfully meet the milestones, the implication is we stay. If they fail to meet the milestones, we leave. It doesn’t make any sense at all. It ought to be the other way around. If they fail, we stay because they need us; if they succeed, we can start to pull out again. So I, I have this feeling that, on the one hand, the Democrats are making a great deal of hay out of—out of saying, “We have to get out of Iraq,” and, indeed, we do at some point or another, but the notion that the war will be over when we pull out of Iraq and even after we pull out of Afghanistan, you heard what General Abizaid had to say, it’s not going to be over. It’s going to be a different war, but the war continues.

MR. RUSSERT: Our children’s children’s war.

MR. KOPPEL: Exactly.

Let Freedom Ring � Middle East

[besson3c]

Why are you so obsessed with this guy Marden? There are lots of qualified people with opinions, he's just one of dozens.

[brassplayersrock²]

gee marden, ya need to get your own sub sub forum for posts that you change into semi-qualified for the poli. lounge



alex

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Why are you so obsessed with this guy Marden? There are lots of qualified people with opinions, he's just one of dozens.

Ted Koppel used to be my greatest fear. I respected him more than any other news guy. His intelligence, integrity and gravitas made him THE one serious journalist whose view of things was as close to being unassailable as ANY in our land. He is respected, and for good reason, by partisans on BOTH sides of the fence and was responsible for the creation of an entire news genre and hosted it for more than 25 years. (ABC News' "NIGHTLINE.")

The heavyweight of all broadcast journalist heavyweights, if Ted Koppel disagreed with your view of things you are 98% likely to be wrong.

For the past few years if you look at the conservative comments about the war you will seldom see anyone mentioning Ted Koppel because he is so formidable an entity you did not want to have to try to counter an argument which would have gone like this:

Liberal: Ted Koppel is against the war.

Conservative: Well, uh... *crickets*

It's just lucky that the liberals took Ted's power for granted.

Now that he has gone to the Middle East and done his own investigative journalism he has come to the conclusion that the Democrats are wrong and the Conservatives are right.

And I want all of us here on MacNN to be aware of the fact that something important has happened.

Now that Ted Koppel has found out the truth it will be up to every single liberal journalist to reconcile THEIR positions with Ted's position. They will either try to ignore his stance or they will have to change their own positions as a result.

This is a HUGE event but the effects of it will take place very slowly because Koppel is just one man. But you just watch as it happens and you'll know you had advance notice of it, thanks to MacNN.

EDIT:

To get some sense of perspective, after Dan Rather left CBS he found himself doing news for what amounts to an internet video blog. It may be the ground floor of something that may one day be really big, but right now it's barely a blip on the journalistic scene.

On the other hand, Ted has gone on to become Managing Editor of the Discovery Channel. And if that weren't enough to tell you what you need to know, get this...

There may be no more astute and tuned in observers of our media than our enemies. They routinely target our media with false and manipulated ideas and images so they can use our media to affect us. (If you wanted to get a bunch of High School kids hooked on heroin you would be smart to get the School Principle to dispense it at lunchtime.) When Ted left ABC News he was asked to do news for al Jazeera. They would LOVE to put his face of integrity on their product to reach the American public. He said no.

Edward James "Ted" Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is an American journalist, best known as the former anchorman for ABC's Nightline.

Koppel was born in Lancashire, England, after his Jewish parents fled Germany due to the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. He graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree and from Stanford University with a Master of Arts degree in mass communications research and political science. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Koppel started working at ABC in 1963, first as a foreign correspondent for the network. He is most widely known as the long-time lead anchorman for Nightline, a position he held when the program began in 1980. Koppel gave up that position on November 22, 2005.

Following Nightline Koppel has taken on a number of roles which span various formats of news media:

He was named managing editor of the Discovery Channel, where he will host and produce news programs covering major global topics and events;

He signed up as an Op-Ed contributing columnist, effective Jan. 29, for The New York Times [1];

Starting in June 2006, he has provided commentary to Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Day to Day on National Public Radio, joining NPR's other two Senior News Analysts, Cokie Roberts and Daniel Schorr [2];

Arabic television news channel Al Jazeera courted Koppel to join its 24-hour English-language service Al Jazeera plans to launch this year, Reuters reported. Veteran "Nightline" correspondent Dave Marash had already accepted a job with Al Jazeera. "I don't think Tom and I entertained it more than 38 seconds", the former "Nightline" anchor said at an annual winter gathering of TV critics in Pasadena, referring to himself and longtime production partner Tom Bettag.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by BasketofPuppies 

No, wait, I find him informative and witty.

<Obligatory laugh from resident Simpsons freak>

[::maroma::]

To sum up:

Ted Koppel = GREATEST FEAR!

Ann Coulter = BEAUTIFUL GENIUS!

Discuss.

[marden]

Originally Posted by ::maroma:: 

To sum up:

Ted Koppel = GREATEST FEAR!

Ann Coulter = BEAUTIFUL GENIUS!

Discuss.

Actually I'm ROFLMFAO! This is VERY clever and extremely funny!

[keekeeree]

Originally Posted by marden 

Ted Koppel used to be my greatest fear. I respected him more than any other news guy. His intelligence, integrity and gravitas made him THE one serious journalist whose view of things was as close to being unassailable as ANY in our land. He is respected, and for good reason, by partisans on BOTH sides of the fence and was responsible for the creation of an entire news genre and hosted it for more than 25 years. (ABC News' "NIGHTLINE.")

The heavyweight of all broadcast journalist heavyweights, if Ted Koppel disagreed with your view of things you are 98% likely to be wrong.

For the past few years if you look at the conservative comments about the war you will seldom see anyone mentioning Ted Koppel because he is so formidable an entity you did not want to have to try to counter an argument which would have gone like this:



It's just lucky that the liberals took Ted's power for granted.

Now that he has gone to the Middle East and done his own investigative journalism he has come to the conclusion that the Democrats are wrong and the Conservatives are right.

And I want all of us here on MacNN to be aware of the fact that something important has happened.

Now that Ted Koppel has found out the truth it will be up to every single liberal journalist to reconcile THEIR positions with Ted's position. They will either try to ignore his stance or they will have to change their own positions as a result.

This is a HUGE event but the effects of it will take place very slowly because Koppel is just one man. But you just watch as it happens and you'll know you had advance notice of it, thanks to MacNN.

EDIT:

To get some sense of perspective, after Dan Rather left CBS he found himself doing news for what amounts to an internet video blog. It may be the ground floor of something that may one day be really big, but right now it's barely a blip on the journalistic scene.

On the other hand, Ted has gone on to become Managing Editor of the Discovery Channel. And if that weren't enough to tell you what you need to know, get this...

There may be no more astute and tuned in observers of our media than our enemies. They routinely target our media with false and manipulated ideas and images so they can use our media to affect us. (If you wanted to get a bunch of High School kids hooked on heroin you would be smart to get the School Principle to dispense it at lunchtime.) When Ted left ABC News he was asked to do news for al Jazeera. They would LOVE to put his face of integrity on their product to reach the American public. He said no.

Get a room...

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Why are you so obsessed with this guy Marden?

Maybe Ann Coulter has a fetish for him.

[marden]

Originally Posted by wallinbl 

Maybe Ann Coulter has a fetish for him.

To give you another idea of what this means, imagine if Bill O'Reilly or Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck or (gasp!) Ann Coulter said that they had decided that Murtha and Feingold and Obama were on the right track!

It's like that.

[besson3c]

So, Koppel goes overseas and says what you want to hear, and he is your hero.

What about all those military generals and people who have also gone over there criticizing decisions pertaining to this administration's handling of the war? Are they conveniently full of it?


Marden hearts Ted Koppel!

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

So, Koppel goes overseas and says what you want to hear, and he is your hero.

What about all those military generals and people who have also gone over there criticizing decisions pertaining to this administration's handling of the war? Are they conveniently full of it?

Good question.

[besson3c]

He's just a guy with an opinion, like so many others...

Just because he is saying what you desperately want to hear and believe doesn't make him a saint.

Besides, I'm enlightened now, so you should trust what I'm saying here!

[BasketofPuppies]

How does a stupid, meaningless thread that I post for my personal entertainment turn into something political?

[marden]

Originally Posted by BasketofPuppies 

How does a stupid, meaningless thread that I post for my personal entertainment turn into something political?

Magic.

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

He's just a guy with an opinion, like so many others...

Just because he is saying what you desperately want to hear and believe doesn't make him a saint.

Besides, I'm enlightened now, so you should trust what I'm saying here!

He assumed, with little fanfare, the role of MOST TRUSTED MAN IN AMERICA at some point in the past 25 years. For him to SWITCH SIDES on the war is HUGE!

I gave you the benefit of the doubt and pronounced you enlightened but you couldn't STAND not being a gadfly so you virtually FORCED me to recognize the truth. You AREN'T enlightened on the subject of the war. What's more, you took my trust for granted.

Phew! I almost made a terrible mistake. Thanks for waking me up.

[earthlings]

Originally Posted by BasketofPuppies 

No, wait, I find him informative and witty.

HAHA

[besson3c]

I've never been called a gadfly before!

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by BasketofPuppies 

How does a stupid, meaningless thread that I post for my personal entertainment turn into something political?

Thank Marden for that.

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by marden 

He assumed, with little fanfare, the role of MOST TRUSTED MAN IN AMERICA at some point in the past 25 years. For him to SWITCH SIDES on the war is HUGE!

Until his recent death, I believe that the role actually belonged to Fred Rogers.

[design219]

I never trusted Fred Rogers.

[earthlings]

lol Fred Rogers

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

I've never been called a gadfly before!

I've been called worse.

[marden]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

Thank Marden for that.

You're welcome?

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by marden 

I've been called worse.

Really? Like what?

[besson3c]

Marden,

As far as I'm concerned, I'm not going to listen to a word Ted Koppel says until you apologize for calling me a gadfly.

It was totally uncalled for and offensive.

[marden]

Originally Posted by wallinbl 

Until his recent death, I believe that the role actually belonged to Fred Rogers.

Fred Rogers was a great example of our species. One of our finest.

We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes." -- Fred Rogers

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Really? Like what?

A guttenburger.

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Marden,

As far as I'm concerned, I'm not going to listen to a word Ted Koppel says until you apologize for calling me a gadfly.

It was totally uncalled for and offensive.

But I said it lovingly. Surely that counts. The Shirley that counts works in accounting. But they say she's seeing another accountant, but he dresses like a slob and he's already married...that no account! Well it just goes to show that surely, as it pertains to Shirley, there's no accounting for taste.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by marden 

But I said it lovingly. Surely that counts. The Shirley that counts works in accounting. But they say she's seeing another accountant, but he dresses like a slob and he's already married...that no account! Well it just goes to show that surely, as it pertains to Shirley, there's no accounting for taste.

No Marden, it doesn't. Have you ever considered that the things you say might hurt others?

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

No Marden, it doesn't. Have you ever considered that the things you say might hurt others?

Yes.

Do you know what a gadfly is?

"Gadfly" is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadfly_(social)

Originally Posted by marden

I gave you the benefit of the doubt and pronounced you enlightened but you couldn't STAND not being a gadfly so you virtually FORCED me to recognize the truth. You AREN'T enlightened on the subject of the war. What's more, you took my trust for granted.

If being called a gadfly hurt your feelings then maybe this isn't the place for you.

Upon further reflection I am beginning to think your response is a knee jerk emotional reaction to what you THOUGHT the word meant. (An example of fuzzy brained liberalitis? )

If my use of the word guttenburger hurt your feelings then I apologize as I had no idea your feelings about being a fan of Steve Gutenberg's went so deep that a playful twist of his name would cut you to the quick.

[besson3c]

Keep digging Marden,

I hope you feel good about hurting my feelings.

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Keep digging Marden,

I hope you feel good about hurting my feelings.

If you truly are offended tell me specifically what I wrote that I should apologize for. Mind you, none of it triggered my very mildly sadistic senses in the least.

[besson3c]

You called me a gadfly! This is simply not appropriate.

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

You called me a gadfly! This is simply not appropriate.

In my mind it has no greater implications than to put a name to the very things you do at times and were doing at that moment.

I believe it was accurate. But appropriate?

You're trying to steer us toward Rue de Ann Coulter aren't you?

[SpaceMonkey]

Originally Posted by marden 

Ted Koppel used to be my greatest fear. I respected him more than any other news guy. His intelligence, integrity and gravitas made him THE one serious journalist whose view of things was as close to being unassailable as ANY in our land. He is respected, and for good reason, by partisans on BOTH sides of the fence and was responsible for the creation of an entire news genre and hosted it for more than 25 years. (ABC News' "NIGHTLINE.")

The heavyweight of all broadcast journalist heavyweights, if Ted Koppel disagreed with your view of things you are 98% likely to be wrong.

For the past few years if you look at the conservative comments about the war you will seldom see anyone mentioning Ted Koppel because he is so formidable an entity

He's a superorganism!!!!!

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by marden 

In my mind it has no greater implications than to put a name to the very things you do at times and were doing at that moment.

I believe it was accurate. But appropriate?

You're trying to steer us toward Rue de Ann Coulter aren't you?

Now you are insulting Ann Coulter with those French words.

[marden]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

He's a superorganism!!!!!

Maybe that's why Rush Limbaugh is now a fan, if he hasn't always been.

KOPPEL: "...The idea of pulling out of there and letting the national civil war extend into a regional civil war is something the United States cannot allow to happen..."

RUSH: Stop the presses. Have you ever heard anybody in the Drive-By Media -- well, yes, sort of. We had the audio sound bite from last Thursday where Michael Ware of CNN talked about basically the same thing. If we pull out of there, it will be an utter disaster. But where else do you hear that? You don't hear from the Democrat Party, who's invested in defeat. They're doing their best to get it. They own it, and they want to clamp down. They don't want to even have a mortgage on it, folks. They want to own defeat outright. Ted Koppel said the United States cannot allow this to happen. Now, in this next one you'll hear Russert and Koppel admit that Iraq is part of the war on terror. You don't hear that from the Drive-By Media or the Democrats. They say, "Iraq was unnecessary. It was a diversion from Afghanistan! Why, we should never have gone there. Bush lied, people died," and all that. Russert said, “Ted Koppel, you are tonight airing on the Discovery Channel a special called Our Children's Children's War, the long war, as you call it, called it repeatedly, that this war on terror is much more than just Iraq and it's going to go on for a long time.”

http://community.discovery.com/eve/f...678#1991936678

[marden]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Now you are insulting Ann Coulter with those French words.

Some here have been calling her "rude" in English. What does she care if her name is used in the same sentence as "Rue de"?