AND I CAN'T VOTE.
IT'S "FOR THE PUPPIES!"
Posted on 10/28/2002 11:24:47 AM PST by mondonico
On Fox News Sunday Brit Hume noted how the media, which were quick to tie Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to militia groups and anti-government attitudes, have identified the Washington, DC area snipers as a “Gulf War veteran” and his “companion,” when they just as easily could have been characterized as a member of the Nation of Islam and an illegal alien.
As Friday’s CyberAlert pointed out, “the two sniper suspects were a Muslim tied to the Nation of Islam and an illegal alien, but not to the networks on Thursday night. Instead, the networks labeled John Allen Muhammad a 'Gulf War veteran’ and only implied indirectly that John Lee Malvo was not a U.S. citizen. ABC’s Peter Jennings dubbed Muhammad as 'an American. He was born in Louisiana’ and noted only how John Lee Malvo is 'from Jamaica.’ NBC’s Tom Brokaw cited 'the arrest early this morning of a 41-year-old army veteran and a Jamaican teenager.’ CNN’s Aaron Brown asked: 'The question of who they are. The army veteran and the teenager.’ Colleague Kathleen Koch identified Muhammad as 'a Gulf War army veteran.’” For a full rundown network by network, see the October 25 CyberAlert: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2002/cyb20021025.asp#1
Picking up on that theme, during the panel segment on Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume observed: “You get a striking contrast between Timothy McVeigh and the way people rushed to identify him with the militia groups and the other groups that might have provided motivation for him. And you may recall we had this orgy of media coverage of militia groups and pretty soon we were down to the point where the press was taking a hard look at people who had criticized the government. Well, in this case the only thing we’re hearing about this man is that he’s a Gulf War veteran and, as the New York Times described this morning, he had, quote, 'a companion.’”
Moderator Tony Snow jumped in to point out how Friday’s Washington Post had referred to how the “the two suspects are an apparent penniless army veteran of the Persian Gulf War and his teenage companion.”
Hume then suggested: “It might also be worth noting that what you have here is a Nation of Islam member who is reported to have been a bodyguard for Louis Farrakhan, and his illegal alien friend. That’s another way to characterize it.”
(Snow noted that “Farrakhan now says he was not a bodyguard.”)
(Symbolic of the national media’s disinterest in Muhammad’s Nation of Islam connection, it was never raised on Meet the Press on Sunday during two segments about the shootings which consumed over half of the hour-long show.)
A bit later on Fox News Sunday, Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol raised how the media and profilers insisted the snipers would turn out to be white guys when, in fact, they were two black guys. Kristol wondered about political correctness: “Can you imagine if a profiler had tried to get on, even Fox News, let alone the other networks, and said, 'you know what, I suspect it’s a Nation of Islam member and an illegal alien who are doing this killing.’ They never would have let them on TV.”
Indeed, if they existed, they never were.
But even after the arrest the media didn’t see John Muhammad’s Nation of Islam membership or John Malvo’s illegal alien status as relevant. For television network examples, see the October 25 CyberAlert for instances from Thursday night, which were continued on Friday morning, of referring to Muhammad’s army record and Malvo as just his companion: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2002/cyb20021025.asp#1
Newspapers took the same tack. As Snow noted above, a front page story in Friday’s Washington Post offered this description of the murdering duo: “The two suspects are an apparently penniless Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War and his teenage companion, whose strange cross-country journey from Washington state ended early yesterday at an Interstate 70 rest stop in Maryland.”
A sidebar piece profiling Muhammad did get to his link to the Nation of Islam, and similar secondary stories ran in many papers, but that was not what first occurred to the Post or other major newspapers. Below are examples from newspapers around the country of how they identified Muhammad and Malvo in their lead front page stories on Friday, October 25:
-- The New York Times: “The men arrested were John Allen Muhammad, 41, an Army veteran with an expert's rating in marksmanship, and John Lee Malvo, 17, a Jamaican citizen traveling as Mr. Muhammad's unofficial ward. The authorities would not speculate about the motive for the string of shootings.”
-- Los Angeles Times: “The killing rampage that menaced suburban Washington with random death for three weeks was declared at an end Thursday by relieved officials who arrested a 41-year-old drifter, who was once an Army sharpshooter, and a 17-year-old Jamaican youth.”
-- Boston Globe: “One of the most extraordinary manhunts in American history came to a peaceful conclusion yesterday with the predawn arrest of a former US Army soldier and a teenage companion as they slept in their car at a Maryland rest stop.”
-- Miami Herald: “Police declared the serial sniper murders solved Thursday night. In custody: an 'all-American’ veteran of the Gulf War, and a teenage companion implicated in a deadly robbery that ultimately led to their capture.”
-- Philadelphia Inquirer: “Police declared the Washington-area sniper attacks solved yesterday. In custody were a veteran of the Persian Gulf war and a teenager accompanying him who authorities say has been implicated in a deadly robbery. Police said a rifle found in their car matched the murder weapon.”
The second paragraph of the Inquirer story did note Muhammad’s anti-American views: “Neither suspect had been charged in the killings last night, and their alleged motive remained unclear, although acquaintances said both suspects had expressed anti-American sentiments.”
-- Baltimore Sun: “The trail of terror police say was undertaken by a Persian Gulf war veteran and his 17- year-old traveling companion has come to an end as investigators prepare to lodge murder charges in a string of sniper shootings carried out from the cover of woods, darkness and a car expressly outfitted for killing.”
-- Chicago Tribune: “Three weeks of terror and intensive police work culminated in the morning darkness Thursday at a Maryland rest stop along I-70 when authorities arrested an Army veteran and his 17-year-old companion, believed responsible for killing 10 and striking fear in millions along a 100-mile swath.”
-- Dallas Morning News: “A region terrorized by a sniper breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after authorities arrested an Army veteran and a teenager described as the perpetrators responsible for a spree that claimed 10 lives and maimed three other people.”
On Friday morning the networks maintained the same approach as they had the night before. On NBC’s Today, for instance. MRC analyst Ken Shepherd noted how Joe Johns described the suspects: "The emerging picture of the sniper murder suspects: a volatile controlling 41-year old man, twice divorced father of three and a Jamaican-born teenager suspected of joining him on an interstate murder spree. Born John Allen Williams, changed his name to John Allen Muhammad. A Desert Storm veteran, spent ten years in the Army and seven years in the National Guard. Described as a below-average soldier by Army sources nevertheless becoming an expert marksman."
Damn - he only had three more years until his pension!! (depending on his age)
Dewey eyed liberal media sluts will grant breathless interviews while batting their eyes.
Liberal men will find a way to blame conservatives for the killings, and blacks will cheer when the killers walk free.
...ABC’s Peter Jennings dubbed Muhammad as 'an American
...NBC’s Tom Brokaw cited 'the arrest early this morning of a 41-year-old army veteran
...CNN’s Aaron Brown asked: 'The question of who they are. The army veteran and the teenager.’ Colleague Kathleen Koch identified Muhammad as 'a Gulf War army veteran.’”
...Friday’s Washington Post offered this description of the murdering duo: “The two suspects are an apparently penniless Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War
...The New York Times: “The men arrested were John Allen Muhammad, 41, an Army veteran with an expert's rating in marksmanship
...Los Angeles Times: “The killing rampage that menaced suburban Washington with random death for three weeks was declared at an end Thursday by relieved officials who arrested a 41-year-old drifter, who was once an Army sharpshooter
...Boston Globe: “One of the most extraordinary manhunts in American history came to a peaceful conclusion yesterday with the predawn arrest of a former US Army soldier
...Miami Herald: “Police declared the serial sniper murders solved Thursday night. In custody: an 'all-American’ veteran of the Gulf War
...Philadelphia Inquirer: “Police declared the Washington-area sniper attacks solved yesterday. In custody were a veteran of the Persian Gulf war...
Baltimore Sun: “The trail of terror police say was undertaken by a Persian Gulf war veteran
...Chicago Tribune: “Three weeks of terror and intensive police work culminated in the morning darkness Thursday at a Maryland rest stop along I-70 when authorities arrested an Army veteran
...Dallas Morning News: “A region terrorized by a sniper breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after authorities arrested an Army veteran
...NBC’s Today, for instance. MRC analyst Ken Shepherd noted how Joe Johns described the suspects: "The emerging picture of the sniper murder suspects: a volatile controlling 41-year old man...A Desert Storm veteran, spent ten years in the Army and seven years in the National Guard.
MARK MY WORDS...
Just wait...with all the emphasis on the military, NOT RELIGIOUS background by the above "news" outlets...this is the first installment to try to link or otherwise blame Bush for the sniper attacks...this is just the beginning.
Don't believe me? Just wait for about a week, just before the election...this WILL gain traction...grrr....
Dewey eyed liberal media sluts will grant breathless interviews while batting their eyes.
Liberal men will find a way to blame conservatives for the killings, and blacks will cheer when the killers walk free.
God Save America (Please)
Why did Randy Weaver's mama name him, "White Supremeist Randy Weaver"?
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