The birthers have been getting lots of derisive press attention, and for good reason: “The theory that Obama was born in Kenya, that he was smuggled into the U.S., and that his parents somehow hoodwinked Hawaiian authorities into falsely certifying his birth in Oahu, is crazy stuff,” as Andrew C. McCarthy observes in National Review Online.
But why are leftists and the media silent when one of their own propagates an even more malicious and bizarre theory about our nation’s military and intelligence personnel? Worse yet, why do some of America’s leading media outlets give these crackpots a platform to propagate their lies?
This happens more often than you may realize. The latest case in point is a recent Huffington Post piece by the acclaimed director Oliver Stone, in which Stone asserts unequivocally that “the military-intelligence community” assassinated President Kennedy.
Kennedy, Stone writes, was “regarded as a virtual traitor by elements of the military-intelligence community. These were the forces that planned and carried out his assassination.”
This may seem like old news, and it is: Stone first propagated this malicious lie in his 1991 film, JFK. He is repeating it now because, in Stone’s crackpot view, “to a large extent, the fate of our country and the future of the planet continue to be controlled by shadowy forces” within the military-intelligence community.
This is a slander on the men and women who work tirelessly, day in and day out, to protect the United States and the American people. Stone offers not one iota of evidence to support his crackpot theory because no such evidence exists.
Instead, he speculates that Kennedy was killed because the “military-intelligence community” feared Kennedy’s embrace of the peace movement. Kennedy, you see, was determined to “pull the world back from the edge of destruction,” but that was something “shadowy [U.S.] forces” would not allow─so they had Kennedy whacked.
In reality, Kennedy was a lifelong Cold Warrior determined to stop the spread of communism. Kennedy had won the presidency, in fact, by criticizing the Eisenhower administration for its supposed lack of leadership in the Cold War, and for allowing an alleged “missile gap” to develop between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Moreover, the idea that Kennedy wanted to withdraw American troops from Vietnam, as Stone and other leftists allege, is ludicrous and simply not supported by the historical record. “I think that [American troop withdrawal from Vietnam] would be a mistake,” Kennedy flatly told Walter Cronkite in 1963.
Sure, Kennedy wanted to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union; but so, too, did every American president, from Truman to Reagan. Kennedy thus negotiated with the Soviet Union―but not because he sought to change or abandon the American policy of containing communism; quite the contrary. For Kennedy, as for presidents both before and after him, negotiations with the Soviets were a tactical and political move in support of America’s overall policy of containment.
Kennedy did sign a test-ban treaty, but mainly for environmental reasons, and not because he envisioned or desired a world without nuclear weapons. In fact, Kennedy significantly increased spending on both conventional and nuclear weapons.
Perhaps because he was such a Cold Warrior, Kennedy was killed by a self-avowed Marxist, Lee Harvey Oswald. A native-born American, Oswald actually had emigrated to the Soviet Union before returning to the United States to assassinate Kennedy.
I mention this not to suggest that the Soviets were involved in the Kennedy assassination: because there is no evidence to suggest that that is the case. In fact, there is reason to believe the opposite: that the Soviets kept their distance from Oswald because they viewed him as mentally unstable.
Thus, far from being killed by “shadowy forces” within the military-intelligence community, Kennedy instead was killed by a left-wing nut. This is not surprising. The Left, after all, had ample reason to resent Kennedy, given his fierce anti-communist rhetoric and his commitment to containing communism
In short, Stone gets it exactly backward. He has inverted the historical record to propagate a malicious lie. And, in so doing, he slanders every member of the armed forces of the United States and every member of the U.S. intelligence community.
Unfortunately, Stone is not some isolated conspiracy theorist posting lonely blog posts to little known websites. That is to say, he is not a birther. Stone is, instead, a world-renowned artist and director with vast cultural clout and influence. Indeed, his movies─including JFK─are box-office hits seen throughout the world by millions of people.
In short, when Stone talks─or writes─people listen. Intently. Which is why it is imperative that the responsible Left (I know; I know! I’m being charitable and assuming that a responsible Left exists!) repudiate and disown Stone whenever he propagates his malicious lies. Lies which impugn the honor and integrity of an entire class of people─in this case the men and women who take a solemn oath to protect and defend the United States of America.
But not only does the Left refuse to repudiate and disown Stone; they actually embrace him! They honor him! They give him pride of place at their parties, dinners and award functions.
They invite Stone onto their talk shows and solicit his opinions on all manner of topics. They invite him to write articles and blog posts for their newspapers and online journals─including, notably one of the most widely read websites in America and in the world, the Huffington Post.
The Right at least repudiates its nut jobs─and the right-wing nut jobs don’t even have that much clout and influence, either cultural or political. The Left, by contrast, embraces its nut jobs and gives them a free pass.
Given their indulgence of Stone, the Left is in no position to complain about the birthers. As the old adage has it, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. However, the Left should throw out Oliver Stone.
31 responses so far
1 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 7:57 am
“The Right at least repudiates its nut jobs─and the right-wing nut jobs don’t even have that much clout and influence, either cultural or political.”
……..This would explain why 12 Republican congressmen have introduced a “birther” bill, why the leadership repeatedly calls out the rantings of Limbaugh, and why they are so supportive of the Renta mobs turning up to disrupt townhalls…….If Oliver Stone is the best you can come up with boy are you scraping the bottom of the barrel……Getting back to the real world I’m sure the Obama crowd are polling public reaction to the Renta mobs just as they did during the election when Palin’s antics were getting a lot of attention and I’ve no doubt they are getting the same reaction….. I think you need to worry about that Mr Guardiano not Oliver Stone
2 Dustin Ferrell // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:25 am
Ottovbvs, you enhanced the author’s point.
Why is this even up for debate? One of the great benefits of New Majority, and many of the newer voices in the right blogosphere, is the repudiation of crazy ideas such as this birther issue. And not because some on the left want to comment, “See, you’re so stupid and crazy and Southern.” You’re missing the point.
You do know why the birthers are getting so much attention, don’t you? It makes the right look bad. Same reason it’s fun to report on Limbaugh’s intentional gaffes. On and on we go.
3 BarbD // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:30 am
I never realized Oliver Stone was a spokesperson for the left. I thought he was a movie director.
He’s certainly not someone I pay attention to when it comes to political theory, nor do I hear his voice in any of the progressive media I follow. I’m not a regular HuffPo reader, probably because I find them to be rather lightweight and overly partisan.
This whole post feels rather like a game of juvenile “nyah, nyah, nyah” to me.
4 balconesfault // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:31 am
I’m trying to think of one time when I saw Stone speaking in front of a major Democratic rally, or being put front and center by Democrats to help represent their ideology in public events, or being cited by Democratic politicians as a source of information/knowledge.
I got nothing.
5 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:40 am
Dustin Ferrell // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:25 am
“Why is this even up for debate?”
……..So why did Guardiano open this dialogue……..basically as an equivalence gambit…..the fact that it’s a totally asinine comparison demonstrates the straits to which the right are being reduced by the lunacies the leadership is allowing to go unchecked
“You do know why the birthers are getting so much attention, don’t you? ”
…………Er…….because they are seeking it perhaps?……..and the fact that apparently about 59% of the Republican party agrees with them to a greater or lesser extent……..this is NEWS!!….particularly to a media that exists primarily by sensationalism……instead of complaining about it you should be holding the leadership to account……nature abhors a vacuum……the leadership of the GOP has created one so Limbaugh, the birthers, the Obama haters have rushed to fill it.
6 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:48 am
balconesfault // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:31 am
“I got nothing.”
……..He’s not a democrat as far as I know, certainly not a visible one, but he’s a conspiracy nut, or pretends to be one because it sells movies…….the more important thing here was they had a pic of him with Castro so it reinforced the narrative…….the Republican right aren’t interested in truth for godsake…..they’ll say something and lie about it within hour as was the case with this Republican congressman and the death tribunals yesterday……..”Death Tribunals” that has a much stronger ring to it than death panels……Palin should have talked about “DEATH TRIBUNALS!”………it conjures up great pictures of Robespierre sending the elderly to Madame Guillotine
7 Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:56 am
I don’t know why the author of the article talked about Stone. If he wants an example of crazies from the Left, check out Cynthia McKinney. She was elected to Congress as a Democrat for six terms.
8 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 10:27 am
Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:56 am
……..But so was Tancredo……it’s easy to find the odd crazy and hold them up as typical……the problem for Republicans is that the crazies are breeding like flies and holding the stage……their lunacies are either party orthodoxy or perceived as such, largely because the leadership has either abdicated the field or are also actually crazy……..The Democrats have no senior figures who are demonstrably whacky…….you may hate them……hate their politics ………hate what they stand for ……but they are not Palin, Inhofe, or some of the other demonstrable whack jobs…….and all this is a cumulative process…..the more the lunacy goes on the more in the word association game …… Republican=crazy
9 barker13 // Aug 12, 2009 at 10:40 am
Re: BarbD // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:30 am (#3) –
“I never realized Oliver Stone was a spokesperson for the Left.”
Really…???
(*CHUCKLE*)
OK, Barb… far be it for me to doubt your honesty and integrity. I’ll simply take what you say at face value and take your word you’re being sincere.
(*SMILING SHRUG*)
Just curious… depending on your age… if you’re middle aged or older did you ever consider John Wayne a spokesperson for the Right?
How’bout Chuck Norris? Clint Eastwood? Ted Nugent?
Hey… as I wrote above (sincerely), I’m not going to question your initial statement. I’m just trying to see if there’s intellectual consistency there. I trust you’ll honestly answer my question.
Thanks!
BILL
10 thalia // Aug 12, 2009 at 10:43 am
mmmmmm, unfortunately it does seem true that SOME members of the intelligence service were part of a plot to kill Kennedy, in fact when you research the case in depth, the conspiracy and cover-up is quite obvious. This does not mean that ALL intelligence operatives were involved. Why is it hard to hear the truth about this? Because America is supposed to be the shining light of democracy and not engaging in violent coup d’tats. But, the truth shall set us free, and the truth must be confronted. America’s violent past, and our failure to understand and acknowledge it, is one of the reasons why we had Bush as President, why we went to war in Iraq and why the economy is in such a rotten mess. There must be change, there must be historical truth (however painful it might be) for America to once again be the shining light of the world.
11 barker13 // Aug 12, 2009 at 10:49 am
Re: Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 9:56 am (#7) –
“I don’t know why the author of the article talked about Stone.”
Again…
REALLY…???
You don’t consider mass media entertainment to be a force of political socialization?
How about academia? Attending college? You don’t believe our “youth” are inculcated (either to a lesser or greater extent) with political/social values which translate upon partisan lines or at least Right vs. Left?
Just curious…
BILL
12 balconesfault // Aug 12, 2009 at 11:27 am
Wow. Profiles in smarminess:
“I never realized Oliver Stone was a spokesperson for the Left.”
Really…???
(*CHUCKLE*)
OK, Barb… far be it for me to doubt your honesty and integrity. I’ll simply take what you say at face value and take your word you’re being sincere.
13 rbottoms // Aug 12, 2009 at 11:46 am
Was that Senator Oliver Stone? Congressman Stone? I stipulate Cynthia McKinney is nuts, now just how many of her initiatives have been backed by the leadership of the Democratic Party?
On your side of the isle is Governor Rick Perry of Texas talking about secession. At least until he needed the Feds to come help with swine flu.
So what’s next, Chuck Norris addressing the Council on Foreign Relations?
14 Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:36 pm
The Democrats have no senior figures who are demonstrably whacky…….
Boxer is pretty nutty. Worse. Most of the time she has no idea what she is talking about.
15 Geoff C // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Barb,
I think that the point has been made that it was entirely right to refer to Stone as a spokesperson for the left. The sad part is that it is the fact that he’s a movie director that gives him the credentials to understand and comment on political issues in the left’s view. I agree with OP that the left doesn’t repudiate the crack pots on the left but disagree that GOP does. Look at these stand up congressmen.
This issue isn’t moving the debate forward, backward or in any direction.
I move to call the question.
16 Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:37 pm
You don’t consider mass media entertainment to be a force of political socialization?
Yes. But there are plenty of examples of elected officials to counter the 11 “birthers” GOP congressmen.
17 sinz54 // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Nobody cares what Oliver Stone thinks anymore.
18 Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:43 pm
On your side of the isle is Governor Rick Perry of Texas talking about secession. At least until he needed the Feds to come help with swine flu.
I am sure that Texas can handle the flu without the Feds. But since we are forced to send so much of our money to DC, why not get some services in return. Perry was trying to make a point about the 10th Amendment and the fact that the Federal government continues to grow beyond the envisioned role as outlined in the Constitution. The Left jumped all over it and tried – as usual – to make it into a racial remark or crazy remark. Texas is doing better than most of the states economically speaking. Perry must be doing something right!
19 Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Nobody cares what Oliver Stone thinks anymore.
Exactly. Bad choice by the author.
20 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:37 pm
“Yes. But there are plenty of examples of elected officials to counter the 11 “birthers” GOP congressmen.”
……..Undoubtedly true……. most of them would be Republicans……that’s the problem
21 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:43 pm
“Perry was trying to make a point about the 10th Amendment and the fact that the Federal government continues to grow beyond the envisioned role as outlined in the Constitution. The Left jumped all over it”
………He was speculating about secession whichever way you cut the mustard……..and of course they did………it was a totally loopy thing to say…….But go ahead and rationalize away
22 barker13 // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Re: Balconesfault // Aug 12, 2009 at 11:27 am (#22) –
What? One can be amused by yet interested in how one arrives at a particular viewpoint simultaneously?
Jeez, Balc, I get accused of a lot of things… but pulling my punches or acting coy? (*SNORT*)
Com’on, Balc… if I believe someone’s a liar I make the accusation directly. Here… example… I don’t think you’re very bright and it constantly amazes me how shallow and simplistic your viewpoints are and how uninformed you are generally.
(*SHRUG*)
See… “sincerity” or perhaps “straight shooter” was the word/phrase you were looking for. Smarmy…? Nope. While I appreciate your piggybacking upon the “Bill Lexicon” in order to try and sound… er… smart… you’re not quite cutting it.
Re: Rbottoms // Aug 12, 2009 at 11:46 am (#13) –
(*SNORT*)
As for you… (*CHUCKLE*)… did the point just fly right over your head or or you… mmm… slow?
* (See what I mean, Balc…?! I call ‘em as I see ‘em!) (*WINK*)
Re: Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:37 pm (#13) –
“Yes.”
Thanks, Admiral! (*WINK*) Now perhaps you and Geoff can make a few bucks on the side by offering to tutor Rbottoms.
(*HUGE FRIGG’N GOOD-NATURED GRIN*)
Re:Sinz54 // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:41 pm (#17) –
“Nobody cares what Oliver Stone thinks anymore.”
I’d GENERALLY agree with that; the key word being “anymore.”
Re: Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:44 pm (#19) –
Ha! Ha! See, Chekote… we’re not ALWAYS on opposite sides of the issues. (*WINK*)
BILL
23 Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:21 pm
……..Undoubtedly true……. most of them would be Republicans……that’s the problem
I wouldn’t bet on it. What about Maxime Waters who suggested that the CIA introduce crack in black communities?
24 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:21 pm
…….So far you’ve come up with two: McKinney who was totally demented and Waters who is only mildly so. The Republicans have already got 12 birther and that doesn’t include Inhofe, Bunning, Bachmann(maybe she is a birther it would fit), Tancredo, and others that to be honest slip my memory…..I’m sure there are comparable lists somewhere and I have no doubt the Republicans would win hands down.
25 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Chekote // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:21 pm
barker13 // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Chek…..need I say more
26 BarbD // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Barker13/Comment 9
I consider all the people you cited as entertainers, not spokespeople for any political affiliation. I’m vaguely aware that Chuck Norris has appeared with Republican politicians and that Ted Nugent is conservative. But that has no more impact on me than knowing that Bruce Springsteen appeared at Obama rallies. I figure entertainers have as much right as the rest of us to support a political view, but that doesn’t mean I look to them for information or consider them spokespeople for either political party.
Whatever this is a function of, it’s not age as I’m well into my middle years!
27 dacookson // Aug 12, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Oliver Stone hasn’t made a decent film since JFK in my opinion, maybe Natural Born Killers but that’s it. Spurious comparison though, he was never Governor, he doesn’t sit in Congress arguing that God won’t destroy the Earth and therefore we don’t need to worry about climate change (good CFR talk on the subject by John Kerry here). And few, if any, know for sure what happened to JFK, best theory lone gunman but not conclusive. After Crystal Wright’s latest effort I think someone needs to take a firm editorial hand on some of these articles.
28 barker13 // Aug 12, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Re: BarbD // Aug 12, 2009 at 1:59 pm (#26) –
(*THUMBS UP*)
I appreciate your taking the time to answer my question.
Intellectual consistency… I LOVE IT! (*WINK*)
BILL
29 ottovbvs // Aug 12, 2009 at 3:30 pm
dacookson // Aug 12, 2009 at 3:13 pm
” After Crystal Wright’s latest effort I think someone needs to take a firm editorial hand on some of these articles.”
…….Couldn’t agree more……there’s a beaut up at the moment proposing giving employees cash in lieu of their company health insurance payments so they can all go off as a unit of one and buy their health insurance…..assuming they get past the casino of course
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