The American Left Is Letting The U.S. Government Abuse Bradley Manning

By on March 14, 2011 in News 32

Is it because Obama is a “liberal” black Democrat? Dylan Ratigan talks to former Democratic “naughty Santa” Krystal Ball and ubiquitous “registered independent” bullshitter Amy Holmes about the hypocrisy of the American left regarding the Obama administration’s treatment of Bradley Manning:

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  • http://www.theamericanbookofthedead.com Henry

    What? Not “hearing a peep” about Gitmo? The left is furious with Obama. It’s just no one gives a shit about what the left have to say.

    Another article today: Left unites behind Crowley – http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0311/p_j_s_pals_1c2ae22e-451c-4a04-b391-1c70d0188233.html

  • http://www.theamericanbookofthedead.com Henry

    What? Not “hearing a peep” about Gitmo? The left is furious with Obama. It’s just no one gives a shit about what the left have to say.

    Another article today: Left unites behind Crowley – http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0311/p_j_s_pals_1c2ae22e-451c-4a04-b391-1c70d0188233.html

  • Barbarous and Cruel

    Gimme a break.

    Sucks to be a traitor. Bush admin couldn’t torture terrorists enough to satisfy the right, now the right is complaining about so called “mistreatment” of Manning.

    Po baby has to sweep with no cwothes? Po baby!

  • Barbarous and Cruel

    Gimme a break.

    Sucks to be a traitor. Bush admin couldn’t torture terrorists enough to satisfy the right, now the right is complaining about so called “mistreatment” of Manning.

    Po baby has to sweep with no cwothes? Po baby!

    • Andrew

      Has he been proven to be a traitor, in court, like we’re supposed to do things in America? Nope, so shut the fuck up.

      • Barbarous and Cruel

        Likewise for “war crimes”. But he gets his support for doing just that. Exposing secrets that no court has determined to be any kind of crime.

        Any more excuses?

        • Andrew

          It’s okay with you if the government criminally punishes a citizen for maybe or maybe not exposing things the government did which may or may not have been crimes? That’s either very hypocritical or very statist of you.

          Go live in China or Iran or North Korea; you might like how they do things there.

          • Barbarous and Cruel

            Oh please, my heart is bleeding.

            Did you have that attitude when the CIA and DOD was water boarding and other assorted interrogation techniques citizen terrorists under the watchful and approving eye of Bush and company?

            Remember the “American Taliban”?

            You ask “Has he been proven to be a traitor, in court”? but you state the government has “criminally” punished somebody. Again, has any court determined any “crime” by the government?

          • Andrew

            Oh yes, I had the same attitude towards the Bush administration’s crimes.

            I want to make sure I understand your position: It’s perfectly fine for the government to punish a citizen for a crime he may or may not have committed, but it’s wrong for a citizen to expose crimes the government may or may not have committed?

          • Not Naive

            Maybe we should put the government in solitary confinement while we decide. Sound’s fair.

          • Tuna Ghost

            It’s okay with you if the government criminally punishes a citizen for maybe or maybe not exposing things the government did which may or may not have been crimes?

            Well, here’s a few points you may be missing:

            a. No one is questioning whether or not a crime (as defined by UMJC and other bodies) has been committed. The exact nature and detail of the crime(s) has yet to be determined.

            b. SPC Manning is not a “citizen” like you or I, and he does not have the right you or I have in any criminal trial. It’s not for nothing that the phrase “when you join the military, the military owns you” is so common. It’s not a cutesy way of saying the military is strict. Its hyperbole, yeah, but just barely.

            c. “Government” and “crimes”, as used in the above quote, are both very vague and very conditional ideas.

      • Barbarous and Cruel

        I guess if the Marines were water boarding Manning the right wouldn’t complain. How long did Hannity, O’Reily and Limbaugh justify that action?

  • Andrew

    Has he been proven to be a traitor, in court, like we’re supposed to do things in America? Nope, so shut the fuck up.

  • Barbarous and Cruel

    Likewise for “war crimes”. But he gets his support for doing just that. Exposing secrets that no court has determined to be any kind of crime.

    Any more excuses?

  • http://voxmagi-necessarywords.blogspot.com/ VoxMagi

    If by “American Left” you mean the corporate tool/globalism yay/business friendly/War machine loving/media kingpins fake-as-hell pack of losers that vaguely pass as the ‘publicly permitted’ left…and not the actual left…then sure…yeah…the usual talking heads have been dicks about the whole Manning case.

    But Kucinich, Sanders and others, as well as alternative media outlets like Democracy Now/Alternet/RawStory and more have been covering Manning news day in and day out…all the while calling for his release…so it really just depends on whether you’re weighing the actual left of the fraudulent hacks who are allowed on network TV.

  • http://voxmagi-necessarywords.blogspot.com/ VoxMagi

    If by “American Left” you mean the corporate tool/globalism yay/business friendly/War machine loving/media kingpins fake-as-hell pack of losers that vaguely pass as the ‘publicly permitted’ left…and not the actual left…then sure…yeah…the usual talking heads have been dicks about the whole Manning case.

    But Kucinich, Sanders and others, as well as alternative media outlets like Democracy Now/Alternet/RawStory and more have been covering Manning news day in and day out…all the while calling for his release…so it really just depends on whether you’re weighing the actual left or the fraudulent hacks who are allowed on network TV.

    • http://lostincompositionland.wordpress.com/ Renee

      PBS Newshour showed a preview of Frontline featuring Manning’s father. The episode will be out on the 29th: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/wikileaks/bradley-manning/brian-manning/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=feeds&utm_source=feeds

    • Liam_McGonagle

      You’re right. There has been a steady core of folks beating the drum on this one, totally under the radar of the convential mass media.

      But like Wisconsin, and now Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, there will come a day when dramatic spark engulfs the public’s imagination such that those traditional outlets simply HAVE to cover the story or lose whatever credibility they have left–or at least their audiences, if you don’t assign them any particular credibility at all at this point.

      What will it be? Who knows? The Wisconsin thing has shown me that the national media have an incredible capacity to ignore the obvious. Even some programs that I”ve long enjoyed like WNYC’s “On the Media” have totally shit all over themselves in a seeming race to prove their irrelevance with regard to any topic outside of obscure minutiae these last couple of weeks. Here are some guesses:

      1. Hunger strike. Highest of the high stakes, this one is a real last-ditch, because failure is worse than never having undertaken one, and even glorious success will be marred by death or lasting physical impairment. Only a literal handful of people are eligible to undertake such a strategy, not only on the basis of medical preparedness and psychic discipline, but also the ability to corrale enough public attention and sympathy.

      2. Mass defection within the administration. We’ve already seen P.J. Crowley’s ouster for taking a principled stance in opposition to his boss’ policy. That’s a start. But what if this thing were to continue further up the chain, say to the cabinet level? Multiple cabinet secretaries, even? Yes, this is unlikely, but IMHO, much more likely than the hunger strike. Could potentially be seen as an attractive option to anyone wanting to both get off a sinking ship quickly and position him/herself for possible nomination challenges in 2012.

      3. ?? Please help me out here. I’m still pretty sick, and having a hard time stretching the ol’ imagination. Sure you, Vox, are able to imagine some more possibilities? Don’t let yourself feel constrained by plausibility.

  • Barbarous and Cruel

    I guess if the Marines were water boarding Manning the right wouldn’t complain. How long did Hannity, O’Reily and Limbaugh justify that action?

  • Andrew

    It’s okay with you if the government criminally punishes a citizen for maybe or maybe not exposing things the government did which may or may not have been crimes? That’s either very hypocritical or very statist of you.

    Go live in China or Iran or North Korea; you might like how they do things there.

  • Barbarous and Cruel

    Oh please, my heart is bleeding.

    Did you have that attitude when the CIA and DOD was water boarding and other assorted interrogation techniques citizen terrorists under the watchful and approving eye of Bush and company?

    Remember the “American Taliban”?

    You ask “Has he been proven to be a traitor, in court”? but you state the government has “criminally” punished somebody. Again, has any court determined any “crime” by the government?

  • http://lostincompositionland.wordpress.com/ Renee

    PBS Newshour showed a preview of Frontline featuring Manning’s father. The episode will be out on the 29th: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/wikileaks/bradley-manning/brian-manning/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=feeds&utm_source=feeds

  • Andrew

    Oh yes, I had the same attitude towards the Bush administration’s crimes.

    I want to make sure I understand your position: It’s perfectly fine for the government to punish a citizen for a crime he may or may not have committed, but it’s wrong for a citizen to expose crimes the government may or may not have committed?

  • WhiteRose

    How are other soldiers treated in solitary at Quantico? Say the ones in that video he allegedly released would be if they were charged? What is the average wait for a trial? Just because Manning is super high profile should he be given special treatment? Joking with a guard you are going to hurt yourself, proves he really isn’t the brightest bulb. Look at what the craigslist killer did, it’s totally possible. Where is Lady GaGa when you need her? She’s the one who wanted the military to be one big happy rainbow. I’m not familiar with the UMCJ but I would guess there is a law in there about reporting what he again allegedly leaked.

    • Andrew

      So he should be held to the UMCJ, but the military personnel who are holding him shouldn’t?

  • WhiteRose

    How are other soldiers treated in solitary at Quantico? Say the ones in that video he allegedly released would be if they were charged? What is the average wait for a trial? Just because Manning is super high profile should he be given special treatment? Joking with a guard you are going to hurt yourself, proves he really isn’t the brightest bulb. Look at what the craigslist killer did, it’s totally possible. Where is Lady GaGa when you need her? She’s the one who wanted the military to be one big happy rainbow. I’m not familiar with the UMCJ but I would guess there is a law in there about reporting what he again allegedly leaked.

  • Andrew

    So he should be held to the UMCJ, but the military personnel who are holding him shouldn’t?

  • Tuna Ghost

    It’s okay with you if the government criminally punishes a citizen for maybe or maybe not exposing things the government did which may or may not have been crimes?

    Well, here’s a few points you may be missing:

    a. No one is questioning whether or not a crime (as defined by UMJC and other bodies) has been committed. The exact nature and detail of the crime(s) has yet to be determined.

    b. SPC Manning is not a “citizen” like you or I, and he does not have the right you or I have in any criminal trial. It’s not for nothing that the phrase “when you join the military, the military owns you” is so common. It’s not a cutesy way of saying the military is strict. Its hyperbole, yeah, but just barely.

    c. “Government” and “crimes”, as used in the above quote, are both very vague and very conditional ideas.

  • Not Naive

    Maybe we should put the government in solitary confinement while we decide. Sound’s fair.

  • Liam_McGonagle

    You’re right. There has been a steady core of folks beating the drum on this one, totally under the radar of the convential mass media.

    But like Wisconsin, and now Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, there will come a day when dramatic spark engulfs the public’s imagination such that those traditional outlets simply HAVE to cover the story or lose whatever credibility they have left–or at least their audiences, if you don’t assign them any particular credibility at all at this point.

    What will it be? Who knows? The Wisconsin thing has shown me that the national media have an incredible capacity to ignore the obvious. Even some programs that I”ve long enjoyed like WNYC’s “On the Media” have totally shit all over themselves in a seeming race to prove their irrelevance with regard to any topic outside of obscure minutiae these last couple of weeks. Here are some guesses:

    1. Hunger strike. Highest of the high stakes, this one is a real last-ditch, because failure is worse than never having undertaken one, and even glorious success will be marred by death or lasting physical impairment. Only a literal handful of people are eligible to undertake such a strategy, not only on the basis of medical preparedness and psychic discipline, but also the ability to corrale enough public attention and sympathy.

    2. Mass defection within the administration. We’ve already seen P.J. Crowley’s ouster for taking a principled stance in opposition to his boss’ policy. That’s a start. But what if this thing were to continue further up the chain, say to the cabinet level? Multiple cabinet secretaries, even? Yes, this is unlikely, but IMHO, much more likely than the hunger strike. Could potentially be seen as an attractive option to anyone wanting to both get off a sinking ship quickly and position him/herself for possible nomination challenges in 2012.

    3. ?? Please help me out here. I’m still pretty sick, and having a hard time stretching the ol’ imagination. Sure you, Vox, are able to imagine some more possibilities? Don’t let yourself feel constrained by plausibility.

  • Anonymous

    What do you expect?

    They believe the Media LIE that “Liberal” = more pacifist than Ghandi who at least organized “Disobediance” in ways that freaked the Bretons out more than violence.

  • greengestalt

    What do you expect?

    They believe the Media LIE that “Liberal” = more pacifist than Ghandi who at least organized “Disobediance” in ways that freaked the Bretons out more than violence.