# Helen Thomas Forcibly Retired **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 7, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299 "2010-06-07T17:06:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/1 "2010-06-07T17:06:21Z")
Bye, [Helen.](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/06/helen-thomas-under-fire-for-saying-jews-in-israel-should-go-back-to-germany-poland/?fbid=q6Slc5qWxVk) And, sorry, but the Jews are not going to leave Israel and “go home.” ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/2 "2010-06-07T17:19:14Z")
Shouldn’t this be in MPSIMS? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/3 "2010-06-07T17:39:16Z")
It is vaguely upsetting to find someone alleging to tell me the news who so badly out of touch with reality. And I have to say, the opening shot of that CNN video is frightening. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/4 "2010-06-07T17:41:58Z")
She’s been getting goofier and goofier over the years. I’m not too surprised that the cheese finally fell of the cracker. I’ve never understood the right wing hate for her, she asked the hardball questions of any president, D or R. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/5 "2010-06-07T17:42:00Z")
Mentioned this in the other thread as well - but I really do suspect that this is more age-related than a genuine sentiment. Doesn’t mean that Thomas shouldn’t be retired, but it does mean that I feel a bit sorry for her. I mean, she _can’t_ have been this far off in la-la land for her entire career. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/6 "2010-06-07T17:43:10Z")
It is a shame a disitnguisehd career ends like this, but quite honestly there was no defense for her remarks. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/7 "2010-06-07T17:57:16Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Mentioned this in the other thread as well - but I really do suspect that this is more age-related than a genuine sentiment. Doesn’t mean that Thomas shouldn’t be retired, but it does mean that I feel a bit sorry for her. I mean, she _can’t_ have been this far off in la-la land for her entire career. Turning 90 doesn’t magically make you hate the Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/8 "2010-06-07T17:58:11Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Mentioned this in the other thread as well - but I really do suspect that this is more age-related than a genuine sentiment. Doesn’t mean that Thomas shouldn’t be retired, but it does mean that I feel a bit sorry for her. I mean, she _can’t_ have been this far off in la-la land for her entire career. Sure she could. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/9 "2010-06-07T18:03:54Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Turning 90 doesn’t magically make you hate the Jews. No, but it does non-magically tend to degrade brain function - impair judgment, memory and so on. It’s not a stretch that a position like “I believe the Israeli government must curtail settlement construction and honestly engage with the Palestinians” could morph into “jewz go h0me!” under the influence of increasing decrepitude. > [@Bricker](#): > > Sure she could. You’re right, of course. It would have been more correct for me to say that it is _unlikely_ that she was that far off for most of her career. I mean, there are some beliefs that are just so strange that they’re both hard to conceal and tend to be career-killers - this is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/10 "2010-06-07T18:04:05Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Turning 90 doesn’t magically make you hate the Jews. I don’t know, the older my bubbe’s gotten, the more and more convinced she is that everyone hates Jews and everything that goes wrong in her life is because of anti-Semitism. (Remember Uncle Leo on _Seinfeld_? My bubbe is the real life version. She once told me that my dad - who’s her son, and therefore also Jewish - is an anti-Semite.) She and Helen Thomas are like, the inverse of each other. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/11 "2010-06-07T18:25:39Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > No, but it does non-magically tend to degrade brain function - impair judgment, memory and so on. It’s not a stretch that a position like “I believe the Israeli government must curtail settlement construction and honestly engage with the Palestinians” could morph into “jewz go h0me!” under the influence of increasing decrepitude. I have two things to say: 1. She seems sharp enough otherwise. 2. Bullshit. She’s a Jew-hating Lefty bitch, and she always has been such a has-been. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/12 "2010-06-07T18:29:14Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > You’re right, of course. It would have been more correct for me to say that it is _unlikely_ that she was that far off for most of her career. I mean, there are some beliefs that are just so strange that they’re both hard to conceal and tend to be career-killers - this is one of them. True enough. Although I would argue that it’s not THAT hard to conceal, especially if, as a reporter, you get to make a multitude of day-to-day decisions about what to write, and what not to write, about any given situation. In my opinion, she’s harbored anti-Israel sentiments for a while, but not to this extent. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/13 "2010-06-07T18:34:57Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > . . .she always has been such a has-been. She’s _ **always** _ been a has-been? Quite an accomplishment! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/14 "2010-06-07T18:37:59Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > 1. Bullshit. She’s a Jew-hating Lefty bitch, and she always has been such a has-been. Lefty, sure. Anti-Israel, perhaps. Jew-hating? Really? Do you have any examples of that other than the most recent remarks? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/15 "2010-06-07T18:39:17Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Bye, [Helen.](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/06/helen-thomas-under-fire-for-saying-jews-in-israel-should-go-back-to-germany-poland/?fbid=q6Slc5qWxVk) > > And, sorry, but the Jews are not going to leave Israel and “go home.” From the thread title I assumed you were Pitting those who forced her to retire, as you should be. My jaw drops in amazement and disgust – at you, not her. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/16 "2010-06-07T18:41:01Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Anti-Israel, perhaps. Jew-hating? Really? To some, the former entails the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/17 "2010-06-07T18:42:13Z")
She didn’t say anything antisemitic. I’m pretty sick of any criticism of Israel being deflected as antisemitic. Her criticisms were political, not racist. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/18 "2010-06-07T18:43:51Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > From the thread title I assumed you were Pitting those who forced her to retire, as you should be. My jaw drops in amazement and disgust – at you, not her. From the thread title, I’d assumed that Helen Thomas was a rogue Replicant. Nexus-7 - your basic journo model, shipped out to the offworld colonies for corporate newsrags and puff-pieces and the like. Hopped a shuttle, killed the crew, came down off the Jersey coast. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/19 "2010-06-07T18:43:53Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > To some, the former entails the latter. And for some it really does. Is she one of them? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/20 "2010-06-07T18:48:05Z")
She’s given no indication of that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299.md?page=2)