Mancow Addresses Accusation That His Waterboarding Was A Hoax (VIDEO)

Erich 'Mancow' Muller appeared on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" Friday to address rumors that the waterboarding he underwent a few weeks ago to see whether the technique was constituted torture was in fact a hoax. Olbermann mentioned a report on Gawker which reported that Mancow's waterboarding was 'completely fake' and simply a publicity stunt. As evidence they mentioned an email from Mancow's publicist that said "It will be a hoax but have to look real."

While Mancow admitted to Olbermann that it was fair to call the incident a "stupid radio stunt," he noted that "waterboarding, all it is is water in your nose and mouth with your head back. I'm not David Copperfield. We had 50 news cameras there." He suggested that while the event was meant as a stunt, as his publicist suggested, the events that took place were completely real.

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Comments

[wadenelson1]

It's a hoax unless the guy waterboarding you really hates your guts and really doesn't care whether you die or confess.

[kissMYfish]

I think he should do it again and let Ventura do it, The question would be resolved.

[sparky09]

& throw in the wife n kid for good measure...Now I'd pay good money to watch THAT!

[repugnicansfearme]

No. Mancow is a hoax. He is really an arthritic, 73 year old Jewish woman with a penchant for vienna sausages and marshmallow sandwiches.

[Amalek]

I say we waterboard Mancow again until he admits it was a hoax.

[Pyfagorus]

I like the way you think.

[Coltrane1234]

Wouldn't take long.

[Rjmartinelli]

You wouldn't be able to accept the response as evidence. He's already admitted that were he waterboarded he'd say anything to make it stop.

Which, of course, is the lesser problem with torture.

The greater one is that it's wrong, and illegal.

[dennissinned]

How could it be a hoax when there were so many witnesses? Besides, if Mancow couldn't last ten seconds on a sanitized version of waterboarding, how much more brutal would it be had it been for real?

[Rangergirl]

They say it is a hoax because the repubs don't want to admit that waterboarding is torture..

[wordvarc]

It's still torture.

[Amalek]

Why would Bush have used waterboarding if it was not torture. The whole idea was to torture people until they told us what we wanted to hear. This whole argument about waterboarding not being torture is stupid. Of course waterboarding is torture - that was the whole point.

[wordvarc]

OK

[NotStarvingArtist]

That's perfect. You're the first person I've heard explain it that way, and it makes perfect sense to me.

[AAKAlan]

Congratulations. That's the most insightful and cogent argument I've heard anywhere in this otherwise-bogus "torture debate".

[JRsNana]

Amalek - you win the prize. Thank you for the only truly sensible response to this whole "is it torture?" campaign. New fav.

[NYCMami]

I'm giving props as well for your comment.

The GOP and MSM are so consumed with "is it or isn't it" they are letting the criminals get away. Or trying to.

[MDZamboni]

The word hoax indicates something being faked.

Unless they used some new live-action in-studio 3D photo-realistic CGI version of water, a Mancow stunt-doub­le/identic­al twin or the previously mentioned magical CGI to hologram a Mancow underneath the water - or perhaps animate the whole thing in front of all those cameras, it looked like a real human on his very real back having real water poured into his upside down face.

[MsMicki]

I like the way you said that because that was my sentiment exactly!

[Smaiyna]

Sean Hannity maybe behind it, but he is not man enough to through it.

[GoogleMaster]

Without waterboarding ourselves to test it out, why, if Mancow wanted to last, say 20 seconds at least .. why didn't he just hold his breath for 20 seconds? Or does water in the nose drown you even if you're holding your breath? We all may have to test this boarding thing out to get some answers here.

[roald]

Hold your breath all you want, you are still drowning. There is no need to test it yourself. Read the studies.

[Cryostatic]

The water doesn't enter your lungs, since your head is being tilted back. Holding your breath can't help you. What it does is trick your brain into thinking that you're drowning, which causes you to panic. It's impossible to repress your body's reaction. It's very real, and very effective.

[Stonybrooke2]

Part 2

"A bad choice of words" the publicist says.

Let’s see just how “bad” it indeed was.

"It is going to have to look "real" but of course would be simulated with Mancow acting like he is drowning.

It will be a hoax but have to look real. Would be great if they could dress in fatigues and bring whatever is needed. “

KO says the only troubling word is the word “hoax.”

Oh, really??

How about these words KO:

“ It is going to have to LOOK REAL but of course would BE SIMULATED with Mancow ACTING LIKE HE WAS DROWNING.”

“It will be a HOAX but will have to LOOK REAL.”

Just one bad word, hoax?? I don’t think so.

Mancow says the police and building security said he could not do it, then how was he able to do it with 50 cameras present as he says?

And KO, you personal attacks on the people who reported this is the oldest trick in the book and really makes you look small.

Bottom line: the publicist did not deny the content of the e-mail and it was a hoax.

[MooseShady]

Stonybrooke

Here's the bottom line: You prove nothing to back up the Mancow's hoax claim that people here asked you to.

EPIC=FAIL!!

[Sepulchre]

Not to mention unless he is Houdini would be impossible to fake being waterboarded for those 50 cameras filming the entire thing.

[Stonybrooke2]

Part 1
Oh, KO, you have been had.

If Mancow wants to say WB is torture, fine, let him say that, but this was fake.

And no one is accusing the ex-marine or his charity of being part of the hoax.

In the video, KO reads the e-mail the publicist sent to her friend who was to get someone to WB Mancow.

According to KO, the publicist DOES NOT DENY THE CONTENT in the e-mail but says it was "a bad choice of words."

KO then goes on to say the e-mail was sent in the heat of the moment to find someone at the last minute to participate.

Why does that lead to “a bad choice of words?”

Sample e-mail the publicist COULD have sent: “Mancow is going to be WB on live radio Thursday. Could you provide someone who has experience in WB? Let me know. I’m on a tight schedule.”

[MooseShady]

...and your point is?

[Sepulchre]

He doesn't have one. He thinks his opinion on the matter effects reality. That is refered to as delusional. Delusional people rarely have a point.

[Doug Holmes]

The point is the e-mail turned Mancow's waterboarding into "water on his face" and he's just spinning it as "torture" to improve his ratings and his paycheck by going onto an apparently poorly rated show to pick up more listeners.

Sounds to me like Mancow wouldn't know "a good stunt" to improve ratings if it waterboarded him.

Whatever happened to the old maxim "political ideas are deeply rooted into one's character," just like religion. Usually those ideas don't change unless something VERY BIG happens... It just completely OPENS THEIR EYES. Shows them exactly how wrong they are...

[Rolf618]

As much of a hoax as the moon landing and global warming.
Some people are just gonna believe what they want to regardless of facts

[Sepulchre]

Believing what you want despite the presence of actual evidence to the contrary I believe is called being delusional. Everyone has a right to their beliefs and those with logic have the right to completely ignore them.

[solarenergy]

That there is even a 'debate" is part of the right wing distraction ploy. Waterboarding has been known to be torture since the Inquisition. The US put Japanese to death for doing it to our soldiers.

Plus anyone familiar with biology -- that would exclude most Republicans since they don't believe in science -- knows that we have evolved to trigger a fear reaction when uncontrolled amounts of water goes in our mouths. We struggle fiercely because if we laid there passively, we'd die.

The whole "debate" is just being staged for the stupid ones out there. You know who you are.

[timothe]

Your statement is a half truth. The Japanese did a whole lot more than controlled waterboarding during WWII. Come on!!! You know that!! Why do you insist on using half-baked facts to back up your emotional arguments?

[AAKAlan]

Because people like you will ignore any facts you don't find convenient.
It boggles my mind that anyone who can type a message here could possibly believe that waterboarding is not torture. Even the Pentagon calls it torture. The Geneva Convention calls it torture. America has called it torture repeatedly.

But you know better than all of them, right?

Give me a break!

[Doug Holmes]

So because they did more than just waterboarding it's a half-truth? We just threw waterboarding in there just in case a bunch of "bleeding-heart rubes" wanted some ammunition against "Justified Conservatives" over 60 years later in case we did it ourselves?

Honestly? We had no issues with it, we just... Threw it in there? Documented it for shxts and giggles?

[SARGE1]

Man Cow performed no Hoax., those who claim that it is were not the ones who Volunteered to join the Military after 9/11 they who rather Shoot their Mouths Off opposed to shooting a weapon. This could not be faked the water entered Man-cows Nose and Mouth, no Smoke and Mirrors. How does one fake Gagging for air? The Video Speaks for it's self.
The Only ones who think this is a Hoax are the Disingenuous Chicken-Hawk NEOCONS, they are All Cowards, They hide under their Beds and would do anything to protect their Candy Coated Behinds. Man-Cow was Truthful and Honest in pursuit of the Facts and the Truth. What ever happened to Truth Justice and The American Way?
These Cowards who use lame excuses about 9/11 but never joined the Military and then would resort to evil tactics that they enemy would use because they are of the very same Mind Set of the Enemy, The American Tali ban.

-Sarge