Chris Matthews Says That Pointing Out Chertoff's Conflict Of Interest Over Rapiscan TSA Scanners Is Slander?

from the ah,-the-media dept

Mon, Nov 29th 2010 3:05pm — Mike Masnick

Michael Chertoff's conflict of interest over the Rapiscan full body "naked" scanners used by the TSA in airports is old news. It was reported on widely earlier this year, and again in the past few weeks. So it does seem kind of odd (as pointed out via Radley Balko) that MSNBC TV guy Chris Matthews appears to accuse someone of slander for pointing it out. Of course, if you watch the video, what Matthews does is even more insidious -- which is taking what Ginger McCall actually says, and twisting it to pretend she said something different. She points out -- accurately -- the conflict of interest, and he claims she's saying that the only reason we have these devices was because of corruption and "sweetheart deals" back when Chertoff was head of Homeland Security. But McCall was merely pointing out that there's a "revolving door" at these agencies, and machines are pitched by former government folks, with little evidence that they're effective. Matthews totally takes what McCall actually says and pretends (falsely) that she claimed he made a corrupt deal while still in power. This is what passes for journalism these days?

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Filed Under: chris matthews, ginger mccall, michael chertoff, tsa
Companies: rapiscan

41 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2010 @ 3:14pm

MSM is bought and paid for, when did it get so flagrant, they dont even try to hide behind principles anymore it seems
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Miles (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 3:28pm

"This is what passes for journalism these days?"
Of course not. It's why no one pays. ;)
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- Designerfx (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 3:34pm
  
  Re:
  most people call it politics, not journalism.
  
  for the larger companies and organizations:
  journalism is covering things nobody thinks is important.
  politics is spinning things people don't say into things they never said.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2010 @ 3:58pm
    
    Re: Re:
    so this would be poltical journalism?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2010 @ 4:01pm

I didn't think you could slander a device by linking it to a self serving politico.
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GeneralEmergency (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 4:10pm

Ohhh...Mike....
...You write the cutest things right after you wake up from your naps.
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- harbingerofdoom (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 10:45pm
  
  Re: Ohhh...Mike....
  im guessing you have not been taking your donepezil?
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  - nasch (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:40am
    
    Re: Re: Ohhh...Mike....
    Harbinger, take a look at that sign your avatar is holding up. ;-)
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bob, 29 Nov 2010 @ 4:22pm

Matthews Hero
Matthews is only doing what his hero Saul Alinsky said to do in his book Rules For Radicals, Rule 13: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

Matthews is not a trusted unbiased Journalist, nor for that matter are most of the talking heads on msnbc.
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interval (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 4:39pm

Matthews
Matthews is a #1 nut job. Just shy of Glenn Beck.
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- Nastybutler77 (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 4:44pm
  
  Re: Matthews
  Matthews and Beck (or MSNBC and Fox News) are two sides of one coin. I don't believe what either one ever has to say.
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- Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2010 @ 10:47pm
  
  Re: Matthews
  How can he be #1 when I never heard of him?
  
  Granted I never read or watched MSNBC and couldn't tell the name of anybody over there still you think YouTube would be full of his clips making fun of the guy.
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  - DS, 30 Nov 2010 @ 2:56am
    
    Re: Re: Matthews
    Easy. Lib nutters get a free pass and are considered 'voices of reason' until they finally say something that gets them fired.
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    - abc gum, 30 Nov 2010 @ 5:02am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Matthews
      "Lib nutters get a free pass and are considered 'voices of reason' until they finally say something that gets them fired."
      
      And when right wing fascists froth at the mouth, it's party time.
      
      Seriously, neither side of this road looks very appealing.
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      - DS, 30 Nov 2010 @ 5:33pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Matthews
        "Seriously, neither side of this road looks very appealing."
        
        This.
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- DS, 30 Nov 2010 @ 2:55am
  
  Re: Matthews
  After watching this, I'm not sure how you could be more of a jerk than Matthews. At least Beck sounds like he's formed a complete thought before he speaks.
  
  Granted, it may be a crazy ratings getting thought, but one none the less.
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- bshock, 30 Nov 2010 @ 9:41am
  
  Re: Matthews
  I respectfully disagree that Mr. Matthews is a "nut job," and I suspect we'll eventually need something equivalent to Godwin's Law to point out how unhelpful it is to compare anyone to Glenn Beck.
  
  However, I would agree with the viewpoint that Mr. Matthews is a poor journalist, in that (a) he tends to play fast and loose with facts, and (b) he seems to develop an irrational crush on the powerful, most particularly presidents.
  
  Perhaps the problem is that we're trying to project Mr. Mathews into the role of a traditional journalist, when in fact he's merely a talk show host whose primary topic is politics and whose primary goal is to entertain.
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Shawn (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 4:41pm

In the Morning!
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- mattarse (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 12:14am
  
  Re:
  In the morning to you and all the human resources ;)
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  - John Duncan Yoyo, 30 Nov 2010 @ 5:31am
    
    Re: Re:
    Oh and I spilled a Curry all over my Dvorak keyboard on that one.
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PrometheeFeu (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 5:23pm

Msnbc does not have journalists. They have biased jerks. Sorry to be offensive, but I find these people to be despicable.
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- Chargone (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 10:04pm
  
  Re:
  if you feel the need to appologise for that one, you've not been around here long, I'm thinking :S
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- Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:06am
  
  Re:
  You slanderer! =)
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Rich Kulawiec, 29 Nov 2010 @ 6:20pm

Chris Matthews...
...is an inferior, stupid, little man. In no possible sense does he qualify as a "journalist"; he has utterly failed to meet the minimum standard for intelligence.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2010 @ 8:03pm

Good for Business
Corruption charges are inflammatory and salacious.
Inflammatory news attracts eyeballs.

More eyeballs = More $$$.

Taking the mundane and making it inflammatory is a very simple formula that is found all over the airwaves, from Left to Right.
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Transbot9, 29 Nov 2010 @ 9:04pm

Wait...
Somebody actually watches Chris Matthews? I thought his viewership was largly imaginary...
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Dohn Joe, 29 Nov 2010 @ 9:16pm

Isn't THAT Slander?
Of course, if you watch the video, what Matthews does is even more insidious -- which is taking what Ginger McCall actually says, and twisting it to pretend she said something different.

==========================

Well isn't THAT slander?
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misterdoug (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 9:31pm

Who would have seen this coming?
According to the Bush administration the Dept of Homeland Security was not going to create a new federal bureaucracy. It's job was supposed to be to coordinate the various existing federal intelligence and security organizations, to streamline communication and data sharing and minimize duplication of effort. Because conservatives are against Big Government programs that waste your tax dollars.

The failed attempt to popularize the word "Homeland" with the American public was pathetic, but I guess it made sense. The Nazis had their Fatherland and the Soviets had their Motherland. The neocons needed a new name for the country they were trying to remake. But they really should have just called the DHS, "No Security Vendor Left Behind."
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- DS, 30 Nov 2010 @ 2:59am
  
  Re: Who would have seen this coming?
  And the dems that have been in charge of the White House and Congress reversed this trend when?
  
  Oh wait.
  
  Stop living the lie that it's only 'the other guy' who makes things worse, they both do.
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harbingerofdoom (profile), 29 Nov 2010 @ 10:55pm

lest anyone forget, this is the guy who on national tv said that he made a commitment to cover politics in a liberal way.

to be honest, anyone expecting real journalism from someone who so clearly states that he has an agenda (be they from either side) is clearly not someone who should be trusted as an actual journalist.

but at least he is honest about it unlike so many others i guess...
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- DS, 30 Nov 2010 @ 5:36pm
  
  Re:
  He can admit that he has all the slant that he wants, but he still refused to actually listen to anything this poor woman said, tried to get her to admit to things that she didn't say, and when she didn't, he put words in her mouth.
  
  Regardless of politics, he's a scumbag.
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Kendrick Ed (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 4:09am

Chertoff in all the "right" places
"Chertoff, as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey during the first bombing attacks in the Trade Center, knew that a financier of the Mosque who was a suspect as the source of money for these attacks was Magdy Elamir. When Chertoff left his U.S. Attorney job he became Elamir�s attorney and defended Elamir in a multimillion dollar fraud case against him by New Jersey. Elamir later was cited by many 9-11 investigators as the probable financier of the 9-11 attacks. Elamir�s involvement has even been cited by major media, but strangely have never written a word about Chertoff�s relationship with him. Somehow in the MSM it seems completely not newsworthy that the head of Homeland Security has had close ties with a man who is the chief suspect in the financing of 9-11! In addition, Chertoff, when he became head of Justice Department Criminal Division, shielded Elamir from prosecution as a result of an FBI terrorist sting operation."
Source: http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?s=michael+chertoff+new+jersey&submit=go
"Michael Chertoff, an Israeli national through his mother - the first El Al hostess and Mossad agent, is Secretary of Homeland Security and was the Asst. Attorney General responsible for the Criminal Division of the Dept. of Justice from 2001 to 2003." Source: http://www.bollyn.com/michael-chertoffs-childhood-in-israel
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- abc gum, 30 Nov 2010 @ 5:07am
  
  Re: Chertoff in all the "right" places
  David Duke ?
  Are you serious ?
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 5:17am

Its not journalism, its advertising. Fox News perfected it , MSNBC is trying to copy that success.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 6:38am

People listen to that idiot?
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BBT, 30 Nov 2010 @ 6:59am

Propaganda
It's just one of hundreds of stories the powerful have been pushing through the media trying to give good PR to the TSA. It's a steady stream of articles about the poor downtrodden TSA workers, or how they're keeping us safe, freedom 9/11 America, or how anyone who doesn't want them is a commie who wants to get blown up.
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Spaceman Spiff (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:21am

Corrupt is as corrupt does
Whatever the original intention of Chertoff, the end result is corrupt. So, spin it however you want, he has behaved as a blatantly stinky weasel! Just my humble opinion, but heck, what do I know? I'm just reacting to my employees' (as a taxpayer) obvious attraction to oodles of financial gain, made possible by the position of trust we put them in... :-(
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Chris Rhodes (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:37am

It's Disgusting
How MSNBC has become the Fox News of the left. I mean, they had always leaned that way in the past, but now they aren't even trying to hide it. Mathews, Maddow . . . the whole lot of them are Glenn Becks for the people who hate Glenn Beck.
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- nasch (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:44am
  
  Re: It's Disgusting
  How can you leave Olbermann off that list? :-)
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abc gum, 30 Nov 2010 @ 6:38pm

LMAO everytime I watch this
"GLENN BECK HAS NAZI TOURETTES!" - Lewis Black

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1s4fj-5zlk
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Jose_X, 2 Dec 2010 @ 4:23am

Chris Matthews went too far, but I like that this conversation is taking place. She answered well and likely appealed to a lot of people, so I don't think she has anything to be worried about.
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