Even after the constant yelling about this “documentary” for the last however long, I completely forgot about it being on last Friday. Not that I probably would have watched it had I remembered; I don’t have enough money to replace my TV and I surely would have thrown a shoe through the screen. Did anyone else remember it and watch it?
You cab download it here.
I Previewed! Really I Did!
You can download it…
I watched the first 5 minutes before my bf came over and we went out to dinner. I slapped a tape in the VCR and recorded it. (I hope my post doesn’t conflict with Cafe Society standards).
A POW Story. Politics, Pressure, and the Media.
My local Sinclair station, KMWB 23, present the “news-style” format of Stolen Honor hosted by some guy. The host has huge hide-a-dozen-pencils-in-it-while-he’s-in-Branson-Missouri kind of hair.
They showed clips from “Stolen Honor”. They had the big haired man. They talked about Sinclair’s hunt to give Kerry equal time after contacting him numerous times. They did show a clip of Kerry being asked about the program and why he wouldn’t go on to give equal time. He didn’t give a direct answer but instead said that the campaign is about current topics.
The show then moves on to a host segment, 4 guests and POWs. Two anti, two pro Kerry. One of the people for Kerry, Richard Klass, who filed a complaint with the FCC against Sinclair. The two anti are on stage, in front of a red, white and blue backdrop next to the moderator. The two pro are in front of possibly the control room as it looks to be the video editing right behind them, and an occassionally khaki-slacked employee.
One of the anti people said “sure, there’s plenty of blame to go around for the Viet Nam war, but only of those people to blame is running for president.”
Commercials: WB Programs and that’s it for the first break.
Now back to big haired guy, Jeff Barno, with “News Central”, whatever that is.
Voiceover: “As questions surfaced over the Senator’s record on defense and fighting terror, a conscious decision was made to bring Viet Nam into the campaign.” Along with a constant barage if the same photos of Kerry from Viet Nam we’re all familiar about and stock footage.
Then, a quote on the screem for all to see:
Col. Dewey Brown:
US Army, Ret
“Good soldiers do their duty and keep their mouths shut. They don’t come home to criticize their country’s mission while others are still fighting.”
Next up, stock footage, questions about why Kerry got the medals, what he did with them, why he testified. These questions by the voiceover guy go answered as we shift into a 2001 interview with Kerry in front of the Viet Nam memorial. Kerry: “I was trying to, like all of us, reach America. We wanted to say to America ‘you’ve got to stop and think about what’s happening over here and it’s not just kids at college who think this thing is wrong. it’s also some of us who served there. And we want you to know that this is how strongly we feel about it.’”
Then moving on to Nixon and Colson discussing him on tape:
Colson: “He came back a hawk and became a dove when he saw the political opportunities”
Nixon: “Sure, well, anyway, keep the faith.”
Colson: “We’ll keep hitting him, Mr. President”
Carlton Sherwood, the producer of the documentary: “John Kerry, number one, has made this the centerpiece of his campaign, indeed, he’s made it the foundation of his entire political career. Viet Nam. Viet Nam. Viet Nam.”
George W. Bush: “I think Senator Kerry served admirably and he ought to be of proud his record .”
Then we move on to “Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry”. Which they show clips of the show. (Which I thought Sinclair was being sued over).
At this point, I’m not entirely clear what’s Sinclair’s part and what’s just taken from “Going Upriver”. But now we have a part with Jim Rasmussen talking about a wounded John Kerry saving him from the river and how it happened.
Now an interview with John Butler (who looks really, really bitter or stoned.) who directed “Going Upriver”. So I guess the lawsuit might not be there. Shrug.
Now on to Bush’s military record. But after commercials. Commercials for WB shows again. Including MAS*H. Oh, and they’re showing Lord of the Rings in a month or two. But no real ads.
Now, we’re back but no mention of what we were going to talk about before the break. We’re moving on to an interview with Carlton Sherwood (and for some reason, that name always reminds me of the Brady Bunch, wasn’t there a producer that had Sherwood in the name? Or was it Schwartz? Anyway, back to the show.)
Host: “…Why was it so imperative for you to do this film?”
Carlton Sherwood: “Um, as a Vietnam Combat Veteran and also as a life long journalist both of those issues came to get with this. One, because of what John Kerry did 31 years ago, um 33 years ago actually. And having to endure the legacy of John Kerry’s smear or libel on all Viet Nam combat veterans. From a journalistic standpoint, think about this, everyone’s known about what John Kerry did 33 years ago. That’s been chronicled, it’s on tape and the rest. but why is it that no one in the press has ever asked ‘what are the consequences of what he did?’ If someone wants to ascribe politics to it, I would only say to you. in 1971 when John Kerry gave his infamous testimony, what was his motivation? what other motivations could there have been other than politics. It was the height of a presidential election. He was a political candidate. He’s made his entire career, his entire career, based on his service in Viet Nam as a hero, or his anti-war activities afterwards when he repudiated his own service. Repudiated. And he denied us our history, our legacy, in his repudiation of his own service. And now he’s a hero again. And now he’s against it again. It’s hard to say where John Kerry is.”
And that’s the whole. one question interview.
BBAW takes offense to the Stolen Honor film, Kenneth Campbell, a member and Winter Soldier participant, is suing Carlton Sherwood and his film company.
Oh, now back to the Bush “teaser”.
Pictures, clips, quotes. Yawn. A clip of a person in Bush’s unit that says he never saw him. A phone interview with a Bush Ex-Girlfriend from Louisiana, Emily Marks Curtis, that said he was there, but she also says that he called her to let her know that he was there when he left her behind. Flight suit clip.
Next, how is the media affecting the campaign.
But first, commercials. Have you seen this one from ConsumerFreedom.com? With the “no soup for you” guy? Well, that’s on. And WB show promos. I’m starting to think maybe advertisers pulled out of this train wreck.
Modem noises, movie clips, tv clips. Mostly foxnews news clips. Jibjab.
“Bloggers”. CBS scandal. CBS scandal only by the grace of the bloggers.
Clips, clips, clips. It’s edited like an ADHD Krakauer film.
At this point, everytime a new person comes on and the News Central pops up there’s a logo that has squiggly things coming out of it that look like the speaker is being attacked by spiders. Seriously.
527s. Bipartisan campaign finance reform.
Free speech. Matthew Felling from the Center for Media and Public Affairs is saying that there’s a problem with calling Stolen Honor news. He says that Sinclair has a history and an agenda. Adam Thierer from the Cato Institute debates the definition of what is and isn’t news, and he doesn’t want the government to decide that.
Does history repeat itself? Yes. Yes it does. Let’s talk about Iraq.
A father talks about his medic son in Iraq. War protests. Vietnam Veterans. A two tour father’s son talks about his father’s opinion of similarities in Iraq and Viet Nam, a brother died, but he doesn’t like protestors being against the war.
War. Do people have strong opinions about it? We’ll find out after commercials for WB shows. I’ve seen the same commercial for that “Reba” show four times now. Same commercials as last time, just in a different order.
We’re back. And we’re leaving. Umm…Oh, I guess we’re not going to find out. Clips. Quotes. Music. A somber violin and harp.
The show ends with an interesting scrolling of text, which includes:
"Whether this program should air has been the subject of an ongoing controversy. As part of an organized effort, a number of people have filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission. At Sinclair Broadcast Group, we believe we are within our rights under the First Amendment to air this program which presents both sides of a valid news subject. If you agree with Sinclair, let the FCC know by going to www.fcc.gov or go to Sinclair’s website at www.sbgi.net. "
The End
Now Reba.
Well, it wasn’t as dreck-ish as I expected. Pretty much on the fair side actually. But it was pretty poorly put together. And the editor was a seizure-inducing-sadist. If you missed it, you haven’t really.