# Conservative radio hosts gets waterboarded **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 22, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343 "2009-05-22T22:19:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/1 "2009-05-22T22:19:49Z")
"Conservative radio hosts gets waterboarded, and lasts six seconds before saying its torture Source: Raw Story Chicago radio host Erich “Mancow” Muller decided he’d get himself waterboarded to prove the technique wasn’t torture. It didn’t turn out that way. “Mancow,” in fact, lasted just six or seven seconds before crying foul. Apparently, the experience went pretty badly – “Witnesses said Muller thrashed on the table, and even instantly threw the toy cow he was holding as his emergency tool to signify when he wanted the experiment to stop,” according to NBC Chicago. “The average person can take this for 14 seconds,” Marine Sergeant Clay South told his audience before he was waterboarded on air. “He’s going to wiggle, he’s going to scream, he’s going to wish he never did this.” Mancow was set on a 7-foot long table with his legs elevated and his feet tied." “I wanted to prove it wasn’t torture,” Mancow said. "They cut off our heads, we put water on their face…I got voted to do this but I really thought ‘I’m going to laugh this off.’ " The upshot? “It is way worse than I thought it would be, and that’s no joke,” Mancow told listeners. “It is such an odd feeling to have water poured down your nose with your head back…It was instantaneous…and I don’t want to say this: absolutely torture.” The 42-year-old radio host is no stranger to controversy. In 2005, he was maligned for saying that then-Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was “vile,” “bloodthirsty,” “evil” and “should be kicked out of America.” Read more: [http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/05/conservative-radio-hos](http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/05/conservative-radio-hos)… / C/P from here:[http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view\_all&address=102x3889739](http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3889739) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/2 "2009-05-22T22:26:16Z")
Gee, I wonder if Fox will ignore this or somehow paint it as a liberal plot or claim that Mancow wasn’t conservative enough and that a _real_ conservative would have laughed it off. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/3 "2009-05-22T22:26:49Z")
Sounds like just desserts. What’s the debate though? -XT ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/4 "2009-05-22T22:29:30Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > What’s the debate though? Would determining who can stand waterboarding longer, Limbaugh, Cheney, Steele, or Newt be a good way of picking the future leader of the GOP? ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/5 "2009-05-22T22:32:25Z")
Now with video: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUkj9pjx3H0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUkj9pjx3H0) ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/6 "2009-05-22T22:33:29Z")
Frankly, I’m impressed that he had the courage to go through with it, and the candor to admit that he was wrong afterwards. That much is good, at least! > [@Squink](#): > > Would determining who can stand waterboarding longer, Limbaugh, Cheney, Steele, or Newt be a good way of picking the future leader of the GOP? There’s only one way to find out! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/7 "2009-05-22T22:34:51Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Would determining who can stand waterboarding longer, Limbaugh, Cheney, Steele, or Newt be a good way of picking the future leader of the GOP? Chuck Norris? ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/8 "2009-05-22T22:37:47Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Chuck Norris? That’s unfair. Everyone knows that Chuck Norris’ beard is capable of covering his mouth and forming an oxygen filter in the event of emergencies of an aqueous nature. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/9 "2009-05-22T22:41:01Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > That’s unfair. Everyone knows that Chuck Norris’ beard is capable of covering his mouth and forming an oxygen filter in the event of emergencies of an aqueous nature. Wrong! Chuck Norris can spontaneously develop gills when needed and when no longer needed they’re automatically absorbed back into his skin! Hey! I lost my charter member status! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/10 "2009-05-22T22:43:08Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > Frankly, I’m impressed that he had the courage to go through with it, and the candor to admit that he was wrong afterwards. That much is good, at least! Wait, wait, I think I can spin this. _clears throat_ The liberals have been telling us in recent threads that torture breaks people completely, right? To the point where the victim is willing to say anything to stop the torture. They’ll tell you what you want to hear so it stops. So from this we can infer that Muller broke under the waterboarding and admitted that it was torture only so that it would stop. _Therefore, waterboarding isn’t really torture._ ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/11 "2009-05-22T22:46:01Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Would determining who can stand waterboarding longer, Limbaugh, Cheney, Steele, or Newt be a good way of picking the future leader of the GOP? My first thought was that I would love to see Cheney getting waterboard on youtube. In fact, I might even be willing to pay money to experience that in IMAX. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/12 "2009-05-22T22:47:10Z")
How many more idiots do we have to waterboard before we can stop arguing or pretending that waterboarding isn’t toture? First Scylla, then Hitchens, now this guy. Every time it is the same. Some fool tells us that it’s not torture and that he will undergo it himself to prove it. They last 5 seconds and then they admit they were wrong. How much longer do we have to take these guys seriously? Every time Dick Cheney or some conservative nutbag comes on TV or radio or blog and says it’s not torture they need to be laughed off the stage. They need to be publicly ridiculed. Or they need to put up or shut up. Someone with the expertise to administer waterboarding should go around challenging anyone who says it’s not. If they submit to it, they will realize the errors of their ways. If they don’t, they will be exposed for the coward that they are. Like Sean Hannity. Eventually, people will realize the truth. Those who still think it will keep their yap shut. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/13 "2009-05-22T22:52:19Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > Wrong! Chuck Norris can spontaneously develop gills when needed and when no longer needed they’re automatically absorbed back into his skin! To Bill Brasky!!! Wait… ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/14 "2009-05-22T23:03:15Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > My first thought was that I would love to see Cheney getting waterboard on youtube. In fact, I might even be willing to pay money to experience that in IMAX. That film could probably earn enough money to make a significant dent in the national debt. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/15 "2009-05-22T23:08:55Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Wait, wait, I think I can spin this. “Nancy Pelosi knew Mancow was going to do it.” I’m not getting the “good for him.” It ought to be obvious by now that this is a torture technique, to everybody except people who refuse to learn what it is or are being paid to make excuses for it. I respected **Scylla** for testing his convictions and I still do, but I’ve gotten tired of windbags doing it for ratings. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/16 "2009-05-22T23:10:47Z")
I’m kind of surprised that people think the “waterboarding isn’t torture” argument is even remotely logical. Of course it’s torture…otherwise there’d be no point in doing it and making gradiose speeches for keeping it around. If all it was meant to cause is mild discomfort, how could it possibly extract information from hardcore terrorists willing to die for their cause? It’s not necessary to subject yourself to waterboarding to figure out the answer to this question. All one has to do is put down the koolaid and think. I’m glad the radio host did this and was honest enough to tell the truth about it, but if he truly believed beforehand that it wasn’t going to be excruciating, he’s cataclysmically dumb and I hope he thoroughly shitted his pants. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/17 "2009-05-22T23:13:28Z")
I suspect that the Republican Base will ignore this as they have a strong immunity to facts. Good for him though. He didn’t want to say it, but he was honest. Edit: Saw Marley’s comment. I say good for him, because only the stupidest, most willfully ignorant shitcans still question if waterboarding is torture or not. If one of them can actually learn, awesome. There may be some hope. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/18 "2009-05-22T23:22:17Z")
Whoa, Scylla got waterboarded? Somone enlighten me, please. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/19 "2009-05-22T23:25:09Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Whoa, Scylla got waterboarded? Somone enlighten me, please. > **[I waterboard!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448717)** > > So much talk of waterboarding, so much controversy. But what is it really? How bad? I wanted to write the definitive thread on waterboarding, settle the issue. Torture, or not? To determine the answer, I knew I had to try it. I looked at my... ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343/20 "2009-05-22T23:25:47Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Whoa, Scylla got waterboarded? Somone enlighten me, please. He did it to himself and it percolated to the intarweb and made the board famous for 15 minutes. I’d post a link, but I searched for something earlier today and am still under the boards draconian wait times. 😃 Look up “I waterboard” I think. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-radio-hosts-gets-waterboarded/497343.md?page=2)