Well this was a bit of a shocker, while I didn't like Russert I didn't wish him dead.

Now if it were Hannity, Rush, OReilly, Savage, Coulter, hell pretty much anyone of Faux Opinion then I would buy a couple fat dry aged prime Fillet Mignon and a few King crab legs a good bottle of vino and celebrate.

Not to be paranoid, but as it is a Friday, is there anything else happening today? Because since the media will be talking at length about Russert, it would be a great time to release some other bad news that was soon to come out anyway.

I'm just saying.

We have a horribly sad death that has shocked us today, and some piece of trash twists it around and talks about hoping that somebody from Fox News would have died. Sickening. Disgusting. Flat-out evil. Hang your head in shame.

{Ed Note: Please read the commenting rules. You can express yourself fully without attacking other commenters this way.}

Russert had Cheney on all those times to lie about wmd's and other lies astroturfed by the White House Iraq Group.

I've got a new post on some more strange finds from pouring through the open source data. The link is in my username.

Maybe the executive editor for Raw Story can tell us who the mysterious ~A was. He used to blog side by side with him. Here's a quote from ~A:

I'm doing the fifty states voting irregularity research, not with her

That sounds like VoteWatch.

There was also a troll named DubyaSux who sounded like he was from Diebold. He called the Curtis story a hoax.

Oh yeah, Brad asked him for the info and the guy wussed out, never sent squat to Mr. BradBlog.

Was Tim Russert murdered to send a message to Scott McClellan about testifying in front of Congress about the Plame Leak Case and the exposed Bush White House fabricated justification in the run up to the Iraq Invasion?

news
http://news.google.com/n...q=Tim+Russert+plame+leak

blogs
http://blogsearch.google...sert+plame+leak+murdered

web
http://www.google.com/se...urdered&sa=N&tab

Russert was as bad for the truth movement as any Fox announcer.

Russert died of natural causes. Not everything is conspiro-tainment.

It's been reported that Russert was overworked, of his own volition. Why? Since all he did was soft ball the administration. He knew the truth, but ignored it and worked tirelessly on their behalf. When it came time to testify about Valerie, he said he didn't speak to Libby. Libby said he did.

"some piece of trash twists it around and talks about hoping that somebody from Fox News would have died. Sickening. Disgusting. Flat-out evil. Hang your head in shame."

Like hell I will, I absolutely despise every single person that works for Faux Opinion and would and WILL CELEBRATE their deaths.
They have been an integral part of destroying this country.
In fact one of my fondest wishes of late is that I wake up one morning to hear that Faux Opinion studios burned down WITH EVERBODY IN IT!
My head is held high thank you very much.

I was luckier than Timmeh I guess, three weeks ago I had the same thing happen to me.
They put a stent in my Left Anterior Descending Artery, 95% blockage. The clot dissolved without incident.

Whew

I am rather dissapointed that so many negative comments are showing up on this web sight regarding Tim Russert. This is the only place where I have seen them appear and it does not show positively for the people who either read or write on the blog. It is disappointing to me.

You did not have to agree with everything he said or did but Mr. Russert was generally the fairest down the middle interviewer on TV. He did his best to get the answers without showing a bias regardless of who he interviewed and that is why he could get anybody he wanted on the show.

Apparently commenters on this blog believe that if someone does not show a bias to the left and do an interview from the left in the same biased manner that ORiely or Hannedy to it from the right than they or not doing a good interview. Progressives avoid going on Fox news because of that type interview. Nobody avoided Tim Russert. Not from either the right or left!

Hi Floridiot, it's good to hear you're ok. Sorry you went through that.

I am not happy or sad that Russert died. I would never wish anyone pain.

No one wants to sound sadistic. It is imbred in us to not speak badly of the dead. But the truth is that Russert was an awful journalist who gave Dick Cheney and The White House Iraq Group their own showcase to catapult propaganda. One could argue that Russert had blood on his hands.

Damail said in comment 3
"We have a horribly sad death that has shocked us today, and some piece of trash twists it around and talks about hoping that somebody from Fox News would have died. Sickening. Disgusting. Flat-out evil. Hang your head in shame."

I could not agree more. I do not understand the editors note appeared "{Ed Note: Please read the commenting rules. You can express yourself fully without attacking other commenters this way.}"

I would think that Nunyabiz in comment #1 would have the editors note for vile or obsene comment.

Flo ~ I just said to myself the udder day I ain't seen Flo around lately . . . So Glad to here ya still Kickin ! That reminds me I got to tak an asprin.

This IS a strange thread, and not at all what I was expecting to read, here. I, for one, am terribly saddened to hear of Tim Russert's death, DESPITE the fact that I have been disappointed by the MSM. Russert was THE LAST of the old school journalists, the ONLY one asking ANYTHING CLOSE to hard questions of this criminal administration (and many corrupting others) on a national level.

I, for one, will miss him terribly every Sunday morning, whatever my past dissapointments with him and the MSM may be.

(FLORIDIOT! GOOD GOD~! So happy to hear you're okay. You are needed down there in LOOPY LAND, and oh, can't imagine it there without you!)

Barack "Hope/Change" Obama said this about Russert:

"We all I think have heard the news about Tim Russert. I've known Tim Russert since I first spoke at the convention in 2004. He's somebody who over time I came to consider not only a journalist but a friend," the Democratic candidate said. "There wasn't a better interviewer in television not a more thoughtful analyst of our politics, and he was also one of the finest men I knew. Somebody who cared about America, cared about the issues, cared about family. I am grief-stricken with the loss, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I hope that even though Tim is irreplaceable, that the standard that he set in his professional life and his family life are standards that we all carry with us in our own lives."

Well that was nauseating. Doesn't sound like "change" to me. Sounds like the status quo (as I've been saying would be the case with pro-war Obama). This is more of that "change" where a candidate doesn't really have to change anything at all, a candidate just speaks about "change" and uses it as pabulum for the wishful-thinking sheep who buy it unconditionally.

Even Kucinich said this:

"Tim Russert established new standards for incisive, analytical reporting. In a time of 24-hour news cycles and their clipped attention spans, Tim Russert could be counted on to go deep into a subject matter and make it readily understandable to masses of people. His death is a loss not only for the journalism profession which he ennobled with his presence, but it is a loss for the nation which will miss his commitment to making journalism a force for truth and justice. My deepest condolences go out to the Russert Family and to his family at NBC."

Sigh. I can only take so much of this stuff.

Russert was purely a mouth piece for the Bush Crime Family and yet we have all of these people falling over themselves trying to make this guy a "saint." It will be the same thing when GWB or Dick Cheney dies. And from reading comments on other sites I've noticed that a lot of this nonsense comes from the so-called "left" or the so-called "progressives." Nothing like short-term memory loss, huh?

I know a lot of people have been programmed with this ridiculous thinking that one should not tell the truth about a person after they die. Well, I don't buy that. Just because a person has died doesn't mean you re-write history about them and make them out to be something that they were not. Tell the truth about one when the person is alive and tell the same truth about one when the person dies.

To those that are shocked and disappointed that some would celebrate and rejoice in Russert's death I can only say you don't get it and probably never will but permit me to try. Say someone breaks into your abode, ties you up and forces you to watch the raping of your spouse, the slaughting of your kids, the stealing of your life savings and just upon exiting falls over and dies from a heart attack. Now tell me you'll commiserate.

Wayne, thanks so much for your comment.

I will try to focus on the comments instead of the commenters. Actively wishing for anyone from Fox News - or any other network - to die is evil and vile and obscene. I don't care if you're talking about Brit Hume or Amy Goodman.

Tim Russert was a class act. He was not a mouthpiece for the Bush administration (that's right, I said "administration", not "crime family"), nor was he a mouthpiece for anybody else while he was at NBC. Rest in peace, Mr. Russert. Your family is in our prayers.

Actually I don't think some of you get it! Apparently you are as hard left as is the hard right. Anybody that is not with you all the way is against you.

There will never be any civility in Washington so long as power resides in either the far left or far right. I hope to heck that Obama does not prove to be from the far left.

We have a Fox News Channel and apparently you people now insist on a Tiger Channel to support the far left.

When you start losing people such as myself who have supported most of your positions in the past you had better begin to think about the extremes in your positions.

COMMENT #19 Damail

Your family is in our prayers.

"Thoughts" would be more appropriate.

"Our" prayers? You can only speak for yourself unless you're in some congregation.

And I hope you're not praying to the same "all-knowing," "all-loving," "all-merciful," omnipotent (that's "potent" with an "omni" in front) "all-powerful" god who could have kept this man alive in the first place.

#20
It's not about left and right ... It's about right and wrong.

Some folks can smell the bullshit from many miles ...
hence the long face. . .

If Russert was so good at his job then how did "W" pass muster so easily, twice ?

22 no, I don't think so. With to many of this crowd it seems to be more about left or right. Or should I say my way or the highway.

Hopefully there are still enough like Damail or Jeannie Dean that give me hope that perhaps there are enough here willing to defend or at least stand with an honest, good and fair man rather than trash him.

I hope those who know me can remember me with even 10% of the love that this man is remembered with.

I think the folks at Firedoglake posted an article on Russert "at the risk of sounding churlish". It's in line with Erma above.

I am sure Mr. Russert was a fine man and reporter, and I didn't wish him death. Don't speak ill of the dead. But the living who insist on magnifying his importance all out of proportion are fair game.

The celebrity-to-celebrity status of reporter-to-politician is being amplified and everyone seems to think it's normal and satifying. It isn't. Russert on a good day was a talking head reporter who divided his time between over-the-air broadcasting (which is still obligated somewhat to be "news") and cable tv (which is always entertainment). And the media and news outlets are carrying on like a state funeral has begun!

I wish nothing bad for Walter Cronkite when his number comes up, but I daresay he won't get the notice Mr. Russert seems to be getting.

Yeah, yeah--I know..."nothing bad for Walter..."

Death is bad for Walter. I don't wish him dead either. But I doubt under present circumstances he will be remembered with fanfare when his time comes. CBS is the least watched network for news and besides, Walter was a reporter from another age. An age I can still recall.

"Apparently commenters on this blog believe that if someone does not show a bias to the left and do an interview from the left"

And apparently some commenter's sadly don't have a clue what the facts are and what a REAL "non-bias" journalist should be asking.
Asking an honest question & telling the TRUTH should not be the sole property of the LEFT.
In REAL journalism there is no "Right Vs Left" there is only Right Vs Wrong.
The closest thing we have to a journalist on MSM today is Keith Olbermann & Bill Moyers and they is totally "Centrist" but flatly refuse to discuss the 2 most important subjects.
1. Election Fraud, which clearly happened without any doubt and there is overwhelming evidence of it.
2. False flag attack on 9/11, which clearly happened and there is overwhelming evidence of it.

While Russert pretended to ask a couple decent questions every once in awhile like ALL MSM what he really did was ask the seemingly hard question then allow the lying ass interviewee to lie through his teeth and he would never do a follow up question to prove what was just said was a bald faced lie therefore discrediting the question and perpetuating the lie as NOW a historical fact.
While he may not have reached the pathetic lowly depths of pure Reich Wing propaganda poorly disguised as "fair & balanced journalism" that is Faux opinion he certainly DID in fact enable these treasonous war criminals just as much as anyone else.

I did NOT wish Russert to die, I just didn't like him (and that is all I said about him) because he was no journalist and he clearly enabled this administration, he also helped as much as anybody to STEAL 2 Elections and was probably getting poised to help steal a 3rd.

http://www.crooksandliar...t-frames-it-for-the-gop/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYz1J3Dcswo

I just tell it like it is, some people don't want to hear the truth.

...an honest, good and fair man...

Pull yourself together.

I'm thinkin bout all the journalists that have died in war zones doing their job that aren't this kinda recognition ... "chief" . . .

Russert is getting the dumbass media treatment. When is someone gonna stand up and stop this? Doesn't Dan Abrams run MSNBC? He's another faker.

Republicans are bad news. {yeah- Pelosi, Feinstein, Reid, they suck too, don't worry Erma} This middle of the road bullshit is annoying. How soon people forget about George McGovern. Tim Russert had Cheney on so much. His foibles should be the focus, not this fake outpouring of love and admiration for a stranger, no less a Bills' fan.

Larry King will have his guests, blah, etc.. The cult of the personality is getting shoved down our throats.

Russert was actually an enabler for charred Iraqi babies. Middle of the road types are in La La Land with Ko-me Bryant.

We must put an end to being "ugly Americans." Russert shit the bed with the White House Iraq Group, correct? He had Cheney on much more often than any other show, no?

The onus is on the Russert fan base to come up with some facts about why he should be honoured.

And the elections were stolen. It's time for someone like Brad Friedman to say the preponderance of evidence supports more likely than not 2004 was stolen.

Screw the tinfoil by association astroturfers. Curses to their enigmas and evoking of authority.

Where's Jim Garrison when you need him?

Hey Brad,

You are very quick to ban conservatives. Your friends are trashing a dead man, any stop to this?
Ive never seen anything more terrible then what i am reading on this blog.

Smithy, aka Yourkidding

Please pick a screen name and stick with it or you too will be banned. Please read the rules.

Smithy -

Please note Agent 99's warning. We have very few rules here, and I expect you, as everyone, to stick to them, or you will be banned, and it has nothing to do with being "conservative".

We do not ban people for their points of view. Nor do we remove posts simply because I may find them repugnant. We try to honor the principle of free speech and hope that folks are civilized.

I am not their father, however, and won't be spending my time removing people or posts because they have opinions I don't share.

The BRAD BLOG Comment Rules disallow knowing disinfo, spam, posting under different names and personally attacking other commenters. Public figures are a different matter, and as much as I have a "bully pulpit" here, I include myself among those who folks may attack at will.

If you follow the rules, behave honestly, you are more than welcome to use my forum to discuss, debate and disagree with the others here. As they are with you.

I put my name on my own comments and my own articles and I stand behind them. I cannot, however, be responsible for the viewpoints of others here and I have no interest, as I said, in serving as their father.

Smythy @ 30 said

Ive never seen anything more terrible then what i am reading on this blog.

Wow. You must not have seen those pictures from Abu Graib yet.

Good thing Erma was here to set the record straight.

Jeeezus, people. I wasn't going to comment further in this thread, too much vitriol even for me. But I think what I am observing here from my respected BRADBLOGGERS may be the channeling of so much rage, warranted and justified, at the endless failures--even treasonous assists--by the MSM of which Mr. Russert was an entrenched and contributing voice.

Bamboo--With all due respect, please don't presume to know what I "get", or don't. Folks here are very, very smart and I think we can all agree on that. I don't expect everyone to agree on everything.

I marvel, tho', at the comment from NUNYABIZ:
"The closest thing we have to a journalist on MSM today is Keith Olbermann..."

WHA...?!? I read the rest of the comment which makes some sense in context--but throwing that out there in this thread while lambbasting RUSSERT? THAT I do not "get".

OLBERMAN, while being our ONLY left LEFT, still rolled right over when NBC's CHUCK TODD excluded DENNIS KUCINICH from the televised debates. In doing so, he has done just as much as anyone to shut down open and free debate in Amurka (props to Dredd).

He is also one of the WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD to me for proliferating the most base and juvenile segments that are nothing shy of the very infotainment that purports to dumb down the national discourse; the ones that spoon-feed us spin and opinion as fact--the very type of reporting that those here would be so quick to condemn.

No one outside of the BRADBLOG, and maybe 9/11 truth has more reason to feel so betrayed by the MSM--and as a former WTC task force veteran/ current election videographer, I share your rage.

That being said: Mr. Russert held these fuckers accountable for their WORDS. His line of questioning was FAR superior to anyone outside of John Stewart, Colbert, and yes, NUNYABIZ--Bill Moyers.

I ask those of you spitting venom on his grave--who will replace him on MEET THE PRESS? Joy Behart? Kathy Griffin? I shudder to consider...

Uncle Walter and BRAD are my only nominees. Since that is (tragically) a longshot--I mourn.

Bravo, Larisa!

Olbermann's going for the young redneck vote. He smells blood with O'Reilly. He's left wooing right.

That illegal war should have been over by now. What's the hold up with the justice?

Tim Russert enabled an illegal war which resulted in charred Iraqi babies. Has anyone debunked that? Am I supposed to prove this? I thought it was common knowledge that Tim Russert was a tool for the state apparatus.

Here's a link. I'm sure there's a lot more showing that he was a brick in the wall.

http://www.democrats.com/fire-tim-russert

Jeannie Dean (not in) FL-13

Details Details Details ... bid you mean Baboo #18 or Bamboo ?

I'd just "hate" to miss being part of your summery!

My bad. Sorry BH. Sincere apologies...

Jeannie:

I agree with most of what you said about Olbermann. But sadly he is STILL one of the better MSM wannabe journalist which is a sad statement but true. He at least gets "some" facts out there to be heard.
I also noted both Olbermann and Moyers flat refusal to report the most important issues of our time, Election fraud and the facts surrounding the false flag attack of 9/11 still place them on my shit list.

I also agree about that infantile crap Olbermann still puts on his show, talking about Paris Hilton or Brittany etc.
"Worst Persons" isn't too bad however.

You are however wrong about Russert as he never held any Reich wing nut bag to task about anything. He merely feigned that he was a journalist and cleverly asked a decent question every once in awhile but never followed up that question when the respondent clearly spewed nothing but easily provable bald faced lies.
That is called enabling.

Jeannie Dean (not in) FL-13

Apologies humbly accepted.

Regarding Keith Olbermann, I love his show until he gets to ODD Balls and my wife cann't stand his Wosrt section or when he throws the paper at the camera, that being said how although he may be a member of the MSM he is not a journalist.

He is no more a Journalist than is Bill ORiely. As a matter of fact he is MSNBC's version of Bill ORiely. He never interviews anybody with an opinion that is not his and his vitriol is legend. Although I enjoy listening to it and agree with most of it.

To be a legitimate journalist one must be able to interview anybody regardless of their point of view without giving away their own position on the matter. Otherwise they are a commentator or advocate. There is nothing wrong with being a commentator or advocate. That is what ORiely, Hannity, Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann all are.

Russert was a journalist and although I know yhat many of you feel that he has been to easy on the right so is Wolf Blitzer.

MSNBC has many fine journalists but entertainer and advocate Keith Olbermann is not among them.

Wayne3 said:

To be a legitimate journalist one must be able to interview anybody regardless of their point of view without giving away their own position on the matter. Otherwise they are a commentator or advocate.

Far be it from me to defend Olbermann, but your definition of journalist is not accurate. One's point of view, or "giving it away" has nothing to do with the definition. Uncovering facts, holding power accountable, etc. is journalism.

Whether it's advocacy journalism or not. And personally, I appreciate those for whom their own biases are transparent, so folks can judge accordingly (versus those who act as if they are 100% neutral, as nobody really is).

Russert was indeed a journalist. And one who I wished focused more on accountability, then on politics. Particularly over the past several years.

I would not, however, personally disparage someone so close to their death. No matter who they are. But maybe that's just me.

Suggesting Russert should somehow be given a pass because Wolf Blitzer is even worse is a strange case to make.

Nunyabiz said it best here:

"While Russert pretended to ask a couple decent questions every once in awhile like ALL MSM what he really did was ask the seemingly hard question then allow the lying ass interviewee to lie through his teeth and he would never do a follow up question to prove what was just said was a bald faced lie therefore discrediting the question and perpetuating the lie as NOW a historical fact."

This was my opinion of Russert. He was about as SOFT of an interviewer as the media should EVER have. Yet, its the sad state of the media today that Russert is actually considered to be a hard-edged interviewer. I'm sorry, but his interviewing was fluff for the most part. I'm sorry he's dead because even as soft as he was, he did occasionally ask a tough question, which means he was doing his job better than 97.2% of mass-media journalists.

Its unfortunate that he isn't recognized as the softest interviewer of our times. If that were the case this country wouldn't be in the sh!t it now finds itself in.

Hey Flo #11,
Glad to here you made it through bro! I was just wondering to myself if there is anybody else here that reads:

http://www.madcowprod.com/

Shaazammm, my brother-in-law is in for quadruple bypass...heart disease can be inherited even when your a totally healthy individual.
Still... be aware not scared.
Again, glad your gaining!
But hell, I guess Dredd's gonna be a piss ant. Sure wish he wasn't, though!

Perhaps his death was not meaningless afterall, though I never would have wished it on anyone. My condolences go out to his family and those of his peers in the industry. Perhaps justice can still be achieved over the bush/cheney/rove cabal.

Read the Tim Russert section of the Wikipedia entry on the Plame affair:

According to multiple news accounts of the trial, Russert's testimony was key to Libby's conviction or acquittal, and on the day that the defense rested, February 14, 2007, the judge refused to allow the defense to call Russert back to the stand. A juror told the press that the members of the jury found Russert to be very credible in his testimony. "The primary thing that convinced us on most of the counts was the conversation, alleged conversation with Russert," the juror told the press.

On June 13th, 2008 Tim Russert died unexpectedly under suspicious circumstances just a little over a week before Scott McClellan was to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee about the Bush administration’s involvement in the propaganda campaign in the run up to the Iraq invasion and the leaking of Covert CIA operative Valerie Plames identity and blowing the cover of the Iraqi & Iranian Nuclear watchdog operation of Brewster Jennings linked to Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and George w. Bush.

{Ed Note: I edited your quote for length. FOIA, please read the commenting rules. Thank you. --99}

More information about Saint Russert that brings this back to reality.

http://www.globalresearc...80617&articleId=9368

Russert was just as much an enabler as any in the MSM.