Olbermann, Mancow Interview: Mancow Discusses Being Waterboarded (VIDEO)

Keith Olbermann interviewed conservative radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller tonigh about his experience being waterboarded. Mancow said he agreed to be interviewed because Olbermann is a "stand up guy" for agreeing to donate $10,000 to a charity benefiting veterans (an offer previously extended to Sean Hannity) after Mancow was waterboarded.

Mancow reaffirmed that the practice was indeed torture and said that his "psychological state" going into the experiment was that he was "laughing at it. I was willing to prove, and ready to prove, that this was a joke, and I was wrong. It was horrific. It was instantaneous. And look, I felt the effects for two days."

Mancow also revealed that his friend Sean Hannity "called me and said 'it's still not torture.'"

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Comments

[jimbeaux1961]

And you're still a coward, Sean.

[taitafalcon]

always has been and always will - but listeners can turn off the TV or at least turn the station... he's not bulletproof - just stupid; even he has to answer to ratings.....

[eyeswideopen88]

If the GOP believes that it's ok to waterboard the three, aren't they guilt of malfesance for not waterboarding the rest of the detainees to obtain information. Since they claim the waterboarding worked on the first three, then it should work on the rest.

[rigormrtis]

Please don't use logic.

[Soundofthunder]

And if that logical argument doesn't make their heads explode, just add this one:

You say water boarding is just 'a little water on the face, no big deal'. Well if it's so slight then how can it possibly break the will of person so dedicated to waging war against the United States that death means nothing to them? Water boarding cannot be both insignificant yet capable of coercing a suspected terrorist into telling all.

Guaranteed to bring a Bush apologist to tears in ten seconds or less.

SOT

[HyperInfluential]

Oh they just counter by saying it magically only works on terrorists; to the rest of us it's no big deal. Much as burning at the stake only worked on real witches.

[Garrett123]

That's a great one, between those two, (yours and above) and torture is illegal, I have no idea why there is still a discussion about this.

[DragonMama]

OK, so let's have some armed, masked, big burly military-uniformed guys come kidnap Limpbough and Insanity in the dead of night and waterboard them until they admit on camera that it's torture. Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes including set-up and tear-down of the equipment, unless one of the fat slobs has an actual heart attack or stroke due to the torture.

This reasonably healthy, well-fed guy felt the effects for 2 days after enduring this ONCE for 6 SECONDS. We waterboarded a prisoner SIX TIMES A DAY FOR A MONTH - that we know of, and got what? Allegedly some information that may have prevented an attack (if he didn't just make the whole thing up - we don't have enough information to know that he didn't just give up brown-skinned semi-innocent people, or that our government didn't just arrest anyone in a turban who happened to be in the wrong place at the designated time). What has been done in our name? Where is the America I was taught about in school? Or is it as mythological as the Greek Gods?

[carolinecantoo]

Where is the America I was taught about in school? Or is it as mythological as the Greek Gods?

In a word ....YES!

[gallimaufry03]

Civics courses were cut from school curricula for lack of funding.

[FredBrighton]

Joseph Campbell made a remark that Yahwehists, ie Jews, Christians and maybe Muslims, confuse their mythology with their history. That makes them think that stoning people for being rape victims is a Godly thing and killing innocent cities of civilians is a just thing as well. Read the Old testament again and then look at Gaza. America confuses everything, but especially it's mythology with it's history. Washington never owned wooden teeth, but Jefferson did screw his slaves to make his herd better (whiter). We are not living in a democracy but a republic, which is another word for a rotating dictatorship. Download the Constitution and Bill of Rights into your word processor and look for words like "democracy". Guess what? They aren't there because the history of America is one created by rich people who liked to have sex with their slaves and owning and selling the resulting children. The myth is not the history. The President is not our Hero, he's a professional liar being paid to read speeches written by other people so we will happily walk towards the whirling knives.

[Mulvaney]

So why hasn't Hannity volunteered to be waterboarded?

But it would not matter either way. Waterboarding is in violation of national and international law and we have prosecuted people who have done it in the past. So instead of being waterboarded, perhaps Hannity should volunteer to pay Cheney's legal bills if anybody ever gets around to indicting Dick. There is probably very little chance of that happening, so he would be safe.

[texastrixie]

Mancow had the guts to be waterboarded because he believed it was not torture. Having experienced it, he no longer can support that idea. Before this happened, I chalked up Hannity's failure to live up to his challenge to be waterboarded for charity was simple cowardice. I was both right and wrong. Before I thought Hannity was simply a physical coward like the rest of us - afraid to experience something truly scary and vile. But now I think he is a different kind of coward - a coward of the intellect. He realizes this procedure is torture, but cannot admit it because he cannot be caught in a lie. If he allows himself to be waterboarded, he will have to tell the truth - that he was wrong, and that will be more painful for him than the actual experience. No he is not a coward - he is a LIAR and a coward.

[H I McDonough]

Right on both counts. He's gutless on so many levels.

[jsijason]

Sean Hannity is a punchline.

[FrogLips]

Sean says it's not torture. He's God, so shut the f**k up.

At least he thinks he's God - just ask him.

[Moshe]

It is quite shocking that there is a debate in the U.S. about the merits of torture, and that this has become a partisan issue.

If the Rule of Law means anything, it means that war crimes are treated as criminal matters and not as issues for partisan debate. War crimes are designated as war crimes because these acts are so vile, immoral, and contrary to human decency that they are not even acceptable in the otherwise vicious theatre of war.

Torture doesn't work to produce truth, but that's irrelevant. Torture is absolutely banned by law.

We cannot debate about whether we should use torture in the U.S., which is clearly prohibited by law and fundamental human decency, and then pretend to still be a nation under the Rule of Law.

And a political party that defines itself as pro-torture cannot pretend to be a legimate political party respecting the Rule of Law, but has instead become little more than a haven for war criminals, their vile supporters, and the lunatic-fringe.

This is a sad day for American conservatism, the nation, and the world, all of which have been seriously harmed by a rogue element: The neo-cons.

Mancow gets it now. Let's hope others follow.

The current neo-con/religious fundamentalist "conservative" movement is antithetical to traditional conservatism, and should be booted back to the vile hole it crawled from by Powell and other more reasonable conservatives.

[Hermann Woithe]

Well said.

[I once had a Crysknife]

If you supported strict ruling of the law then you would not support Sotomayor. Empathy goes both ways. So why don't you show some to the people who waterboarded three people to try and keep us safe. For the record I do believe it is torture and it's wrong.

[vet-of4renwarz]

Again what you are saying is based on hear say... where is the proof that it actually worked? By Cheney?... when the agencies that are conducting them said it didn't work... even the military folks, former POWs, ... all these people who are qualified and have experienced it said it doesn't work... who are you going to believe? Cheney? ...

By the way what does his comment have anything to do with supporting Sotomayor ??? Stop going off topic...

[rigormrtis]

Since when did this become a discussion about SC appointees?

[gallimaufry03]

Chain of command is important. Those who did these acts are complicit but the responsibility lay with the higher up chain of command. I'm all for sympathy, empathy and forgiveness -- when they're sought. All that is sought here is rationalization.

[DedicatedDiva]

Extremely well said!

[EuroRant1]

Thank you Moshe and ContraEgoiste for opening avenues of real deep thought that is rarely found on HuffingtonPost. Much appreciated.

I am doing some research for a talk I am about to give on the subject in a few days ... you both and others have delved into subject that has a lot of food for thought. Thank you.

[Moshe]

My best wishes to you for a moving and powerful lecture on this critically important subject.

Ideas can change the world, in fact, ideas are generally the only thing that do create real change.

Speak the truth boldy and persuasively my friend.

Shalom.

[Neolib777]

Props to Mancon for accepting the challenge. He earned the Vets $10K, realized that waterboarding is torture, and found out his friend Sean Hannity is a wuss, all in 6 seconds.

[jena132]

and props to Mancon for being able to admit he was so very very very wrong. Not something you often see conservatives do.

[WasteNJ]

So what's up now Hannity? If you think it's still not torture, why not give it a try, you loudmouth coward.

[maumeeone]

I love your term for Hannity - "loudmouth coward". That pretty much sums it up quite succinctly!

[ediva75]

I wish KO would take this episode from his show as a way to perhaps have more conservatives on more often. I caught this segment and I really enjoyed watching it even though it looked a bit painful for KO to be speaking with someone politically opposite of him.

[LMKay66]

I too sensed Keith's apprehension or tenseness when he interviewed Mancow. He definitely should have more conservatives on his show and maybe even duke it out with a few of them. I'd enjoy that. I don't think Keith is used to interviewing people he does not agree with.

[jaggededge]

if you are familiar with mancow, you know how over-the-top he goes with the right-wing rants, thus mancow has made worst-person-of the -world a couple of times & then rebuffed ko the next show-aka bad blood twixt them, that's what you picked up

[Idiot Wind]

KO needs to do more face to face with all the people he rants about. Until he does, he is just like Rush L. They both come across as cowards because they simply can't look into the eyes of people they disparage. At least Sean H. will go face to face with people;even though he's a sleaze bag for fabricating truths.

[houseboat67]

Even my retired, golf playing Republican parents have lost respect for MrSeanHannity.

[LMKay66]

My retired, golf playing Republican father has lost respect for the entire party and FOX news, but he still voted for McCain because he wasn't ready for a black president. Lord knows I tried to talk him out of that.

[crispee]

ha, i had to smile at that as it sounds like my parents. BUT - my parents, who yes still refer to some people as "colored" (they were born in the depression), voted for Obama and can't stand anything the republicans stand for any more.

To me, that's saying something.

[imjustawitchywoman]

Well....here is to HOPING that your Republican Father has a change of heart.....and will put aside President Obama's color.....and votes for him in 2012.

He is steadily gaining more and more respect from people who didn't vote for him in 2008......and I am a p/t waitress and out here with the public alot....and an avid Obama person so.....trust me I talk to both sides of the aisle about this.

He will probably never get the hater-aid drinkers that listen to Rush or Savage or watch Hannity and O'Reilly.......

But this President of ours is the CHANGE that we needed,.....and although we might not all be 100% on board with all of his decisions.....he is getting this Country back on the right track.

If you father is already losing repect for the GOP and Foxnews.....then he isn't a lost cause.

Keep working on him :)

[ninomalo88]

when I hear people like Hannity, Oreilly, Cheney only one word comes to mind ..... Cowards!!!!

[drumz]

tupid is what I think of them

[I once had a Crysknife]

How do you fit Oreilly in the same boat as Hannity and Cheney? Oreilly does not carry GOP water like Sean and Dick. You must not watch his show.

[gallimaufry03]

You must not listen when you watch.

[robbep]

Huge respect for Mancow on this one. It takes guts to do this.

[drumz]

Actually, since he didn't think it was as bad as it is that it was going to be easy, he said so himself. So I look at it as the conserrvajerk got his lunch handed to him. Nothing brave there.

[SusanStoHelit]

The bravery is in admitting the truth afterwards - that it is torture. The easy path would be for him to lie, keep his viewers happy, keep his worldview intact - like Hannity is so ready to do while being too cowardly to actually try it.

[Joethepauper]

He's still a buffoon. I didn't have any respect for his kind before, and neither gained nor lost any respect over this. The technique wasn't even performed correctly. He was wrong and admitted he was wrong (that's commendable). But on the other hand, he only lasted 6 seconds. It takes me longer than that to exhale fully. I would have held my breath for a while just to get more money for the troops.

[osage]

WATERBOARDING IS ILLEGAL BECAUSE IT IS TORTURE

http://lawreview.wustl.edu/slip-opinions/waterboarding-is-illegal/

1. Torture Act

2. War Crimes Act

3. Prohibition on Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of Persons Under Custody or Control of the United States Government

4. Additional Prohibition on Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

"The United States has enacted statutes prohibiting torture and cruel or inhuman treatment. It is these statutes which make waterboarding illegal. The four principal statutes which Congress has adopted to implement the provisions of the foregoing treaties are the Torture Act, the War Crimes Act,and the laws entitled "Prohibition on Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of Persons Under Custody or Control of the United States Government" and "Additional Prohibition on Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment." The first two statutes are criminal laws while the latter two statutes extend civil rights to any person in the custody of the United States anywhere in the world."

[I once had a Crysknife]

I guess that all depends on how much empathy and real world experience a judge has that relates to the one accused.

[gloriousbeing]

I think it is sad that you feel that empathy and real world experience is somehow a bad thing for a judge to have. To think that ALL judges don't *consider* the law from THEIR perception/viewpoint is juvenile. They all do. However, most are very good at ruling according TO THE LAW.
Just like every post you read is considered from YOUR perception/viewpoint. Unfortunately, you don't actually put any thought into your comments, and just knee-jerk b.s. talking points.