Have you seen the video of radio personality Mancow Muller getting waterboarded? The highly popular Mancow, who describes himself as a libertarian with lots of conservative views, was among those who’ve felt that waterboarding is not torture and should be used by American interrogators.
After being waterboarded? He changed his opinion… and went on Countdown with Keith Olbermann to say so. Both men agreed that they usually disagree about everything. They discussed what Mancow now calls “absolutely torture”:
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Mancow also says Fox News’ Sean Hannity, whom he calls a “pal,” called Mancow to say he still believes waterboarding is not torture. All in all, a fascinating mixture of varying political opinions, TV, radio, and video combines around a hot topic.
Look at the video. What do you think? Does this demonstration further the debate?
Comments (1-14) of 14 Add your comment
Sean Hannity may say waterboarding isn’t torture but he’s too cowardly to go through the process… even though he tried to minimize its affect by saying he’d do it like it was no big deal. Big talk from a little man. He won’t do it because it IS torture, he knows it and he’s scared of it.
Why oh why couldn’t they just have drowned Mancow? I’m so sick of that guy – glad that Chicago decided to share our local treasure with the country. [/sarcasm]
Hannity is a jack*ss. At least this guy found out for himself, and changed his mind about waterboarding being torture. I applaud him for his honesty. Now, can we stop bringing politics to EW? This site is supposed to be my escape…
I wonder if Keith Olbermann would ever do a show to say that he was wrong about something. I think not.
now we all know.
I doubt this furthers any debate. It’s a silly stunt. Interesting? Sure. But silly.
My problem is that Mancow is an amateur. He has never been tortured before in his life. This is like having a beer-league softball player saying that what he does is like playing in the MLB.
I’m not willing to believe this is “torture” until there are special forces people (Navy SEALs, Delta Force, etc.) willing to undergo waterboarding.
I know of one Navy SEAL name Marcus Luttrell who has been waterboarded before, and has also been tortured by the Taliban. He says Waterboarding is not torture.
I’ll worry about it being torture AFTER they release the report that details what information they got from using it. If they stopped a plot to bomb LA and saved hundreds or thousands of lives — well….
They did the waterboarding wrong. You are SUPPOSSED to cover the mouth up to simply give the feeling of drowning. all they did was pour water down his throat. OF COURSE he felt like he was drowning! If they did it correctly he wouldnt have freaked out like he did. Idiots. Keith Olberman is Idiot #1!!!
Sean Hannity needs to follow through with what he promised he was going to do and help raise money for charity. Oh yeah, and be waterboarded. Keep in mind, it’s not like he offered up to do it for nothing, he said he’d do it for our troops, for charity. I’ve created a petition for people to go to and sign to help encourage Hannity. You can get the link at http://jasonblogz.com/?p=282
gee, I guess Olbermann could OFFER YOU a grand for every second you could endure waterboarding torture!
that’s not a stunt… that’s education for those who never learn from anything but hitting their own heads with a hammer…
I guess if there is money & prestige in DENYING WARCRIMES … then there is always some armchair general who is willing to rear up on hindquarters & declare that those who tell the Truth are somehow lying.
perhaps the problem is American culture.
for those who talk about ‘professionals’ getting tortured: GEE, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF?
when Americans pick up anybody off the street & torture the crap out of them to *justify a CORPORATE OCCUPATION TO STEAL RESOURCES*… then how could you possibly not equate a ‘professional’ torture recipient with the abuses upon THE CIVILIAN POPULATION of any other culture?
I’m disgusted by Americans.
JC, Mancow HAD never been tortured before in his life, until he was waterboarded, which he then said was torture. Then you call him an amateur? He now has more experience with torture than I hope you and I ever have. You say “amateur” as if there are people out there who put down “torture victim” as their form of employment when filling out their tax returns. There is no such thing. And I don’t think I’d use the judgment of one if there was. If a “professional torture victim” has gone through dozens of different forms torture, odds are they would consider some worse than others. That doesn’t mean that the others are not torture, not at all. And as for your baseball analogy, I’ve got one that’s a lot more appropriate. This is more like a person claiming they can easily hit major league pitching, but when he actually faces a major league pitcher he wildly swings and misses at every pitch, then admits he never stood a chance. It’s what’s called a reality check.
Nunnya,
You think not? We can’t expect thought from right wingers, but you might look up a fact some time. When Keith gets a fact wrong, he is the first person to come on air and say so. He has even named himself as the “Worst Person in the World” for a really good blooper. Limbaugh, on the other hand, does not find the word “retraction” in his vocabulary. He thinks that is something you take a pill to correct.
It’s funny that conservatives have such big, tough talk because studies have shown that they tend to be more easily frightened and more easily revolted than progressives. Of course it’s torture, the fact that there is any debate is ludicrous. Of course Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell would never admit to it being torture, because he’s a low IQ dumbass (albeit an amazing, heroic one) who thinks the US needs to be doing this. The worst part of waterboarding, as this guy stated, is the heart trauma that it causes. It is NOT a harmless procedure. Any time you put the body into shock you are damaging it. It’s just a way to torture someone without it being gruesome or bloody.