Thom was on Fox & Friends on Saturday October 6th discussing Rush Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" remarks with conservative radio host Pat Campbell. Video and commentary here.

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Thom Hartmann responded: "Well, actually if you go back and listen to the - to the quote - he was talking about phony soldiers, and then he went on to say 'they all signed up to go to Iraq.' It really was not taken out of context and I think it's an insult to all soldiers, frankly.

What a

You might suggest to Thom he pay attention to his own blog. Maybe he would be less prone to to making such statements.

Now, now, now. Loganthor. He did an excellent job defending his position no matter how weak it was. I mean I loved his "the right has been doing that for a long time (paraphrase)". Like they have been sinning for a long time so we should be allowed to sin also.

Anyway you know the phrase by now: Dogs on Cat ....

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Now, now, now. Loganthor. He did an excellent job defending his position no matter how weak it was. I mean I loved his "the right has been doing that for a long time (paraphrase)". Like they have been sinning for a long time so we should be allowed to sin also.

I must not have gotten that far, I did think the guy opposite of Thom was a moron. who brings up "Sun Tzu's The Art of War" in a debate... waste of time.

Defending his postion... That better not have been his position, I might have to start reconsiding my opinion of him. Sounded like DNC, Moveon bobblehead talking points. hardly a careful overview of the transcipts. Here the man has dozens of people from both side of the spectrum slugging it out on HIS blog. Jesus... how hard is it to take 10 minutes to read it for research material.

I think that Thom pays attention to HIS Blog just not this Forum anymore-as I think he did before.

But seriously we go through so much material (research) here that it would be hard for him to keep up on it all.

As any member on one side (team) he has to stay on the 'party' line, maintain team discipline, keep the message and framing coherent. I mean he wrote the book Cracking the Code, so it is not like he does not see his own actions are not mirror projections of what he sees others do.

But I do admire his ability to stay cool and try his best to present his case unlike all the other hosts on AAR...

What do you think of my new signature line being:

Dogs on Cat ....?

Unfortunately Rush's archives are not open to public scrutiny. The show was September 26, and here's the relevant part of the transcript according to Media Matters. The clip is here. It is 4:38 long and the "phony soldiers" part is at the end. It supports Thom's position, not Campbell's.

If you subscribe to Rush's site, you can check out the archives for yourself here.

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CALLER 2: No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.

LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.

CALLER 2: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country.

LIMBAUGH: They joined to be in Iraq.

What to me is most telling, is that Fox did NOT play a clip of Rush's remarks at the start, or even later on when there was disagreement about them. Was this simply poor journalism, or did they know that Rush was referring to multiple soldiers, not just the one phony one. Either way, I was singularly unimpressed by Fox's omission.

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Like they have been sinning for a long time so we should be allowed to sin also.

I didn't read it that we should allowed to sin also, but rather that they were being hypocritical in berating others for doing what they do.

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Originally posted by Sue N:

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Like they have been sinning for a long time so we should be allowed to sin also.

I didn't read it that we should allowed to sin also, but rather that they were being hypocritical in berating others for doing what they do.

Sorry Sue, but I only see hypocrisy on both sides and that is what I feel I was trying to point out. One sin does not justify another sin.

But glad you are back and enjoyed your trip.

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here's the relevant part of the transcript according to Media Matters.

Don’t you find it odd that those who proclaim Rush is calling ALL soldiers phony, I find they never really EVER acknowledge the "Mike from Chicago" call. The call the expressly sets up the Phony Soldier comment. Thom is being completely disingenuous by not acknowledging that portion of the conversation. Apparently Media Matter felt it pertained to the call.

Your continuing it by posting just that small section of the coversation. Sort of like Cutting and altering a qoute to imply another meaning. Expressly forbidden here... I am going to report you...

That is funny, and I am glad that our moderators have a sense of humor.

Rush is calling all soldiers who disagree with the Iraq occupation 'phony soldiers', in spite of the fact that they are fighting, and in some cases dying. I think it is an insult to all soldiers to imply that if they do not blindly support whatever fight they are sent to, they are phonies.

Soldiers throughout history have bravely fought in wars that they disagree with or which are irrelevant to them, and the fear and wounds and bereavements and deaths they experience are real.

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Rush is calling all soldiers who disagree with the Iraq occupation 'phony soldiers'

No he is not.

Try reading the transcript again, this including the Mike from Chicago Call. Note the time, place and manner to which HE claims to be a soldier.

It just amazes me that people who never listen to Limbaugh can judge him based on lifting a small paragraph of text from the middle of a 15 minute dialog. Anyone that even remotely listens to Limbaugh - I catch him 2 times a MONTH at most - knows he is 100% supportive of the troops in general, whether they are for the war or not.

Rush Limbaugh is an divisive provocative individual who is a water carrier for the most extreme neo-con positions. He was dismissed from Monday Night Football for making racists statements. He has little credibility and little merit. He has his audience but so did Hitler. End of Story.

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Originally posted by Sue N:
Rush is calling all soldiers who disagree with the Iraq occupation 'phony soldiers', in spite of the fact that they are fighting, and in some cases dying. I think it is an insult to all soldiers to imply that if they do not blindly support whatever fight they are sent to, they are phonies.

Soldiers throughout history have bravely fought in wars that they disagree with or which are irrelevant to them, and the fear and wounds and bereavements and deaths they experience are real.

You have bought in to the phoney leftist propaganda hook, line, and sinker.
Read the text.

I read the text. He is saying that any soldier who speaks out against the war is a phony soldier - not just the one who actually was a phony (or at least I presume he was, I've not researched that story), but any who appears in the media.

SueN: Good writing! It's as incisive as Edgar Allen Poe, and with the good humour of Lewis Caroll! I think a 'soldier' is defined as an officer of a nation at war-a loyalist. The opposite is treasonous!!
And why all of a sudden is Rush Rushing to judgment about of all things, a real soldier??

I think that Mr. Hartmann has featured former soldier and international weapons inspector Scott Ritter on the program(? is that true, SueN?) This man's testimony would be instrumental in 'spilling the beans' on how we are at war or not, FOR NO GOOD REASON.

After 'detente' between the traditional American political parties, will heads roll on soldiers testimony?

I agree with Sue's assessment - Rush is talking about any soldier who disagrees with Bush/himself.

And any strategist worth their salt will tell you that you do try to neutralize your enemy's strengths.

Canadian solders in Afghanistan will always get the CBC - you know why? They love their hockey!

What station do the British soldiers watch in Iraq/Iran?

You know that they block certain websites so that the American soldiers can't access them?

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Pentagon blocks employee access to 13 websites

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to block employee access to 13 websites Monday, including YouTube and MySpace.

The department's computer systems are being used more often for personal surfing, decreasing Internet availability and presenting security risks.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/200...net_070514/20070514/

Doesn't Aljazeera post their stuff on Youtube?

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Originally posted by GoodBusiness:
I think that Mr. Hartmann has featured former soldier and international weapons inspector Scott Ritter on the program(? is that true, SueN?)

Yes, he has.

If you click on the "topic by topic archives" link at the top of the page, and search for his name, you can listen to him.

I'm glad Thom spoke up and spoke out on this topic. And I admire his courage for doing so.