I've always kinda liked Helen Thomas. For one thing, she was a constant burr under the saddle of conservative pundits because of the way she held President Bush's feet to the fire. The right wingers mocked her for being old and unattractive, but that's nothing new since it's well known that conservatives have no use whatsoever for women who don't look like supermodels or Fox News anchorettes.
But Helen kinda stepped into it the other day when she said the Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to Germany, Poland, America, wherever. When you boil it down to its basic elements, it's the same thing as saying Blacks should get the hell out of America and go back to Africa. Well, not QUITE the same since WE brought most of the Africans over here in the first place in something less that first class accommodations during the slave trade, and the Jews in Israel felt they were reclaiming their homeland by displacing the Arabic people who were living there at the time. It seems to me a more apt comparison for Helen's fatal faux pas would be to tell all Caucasians to "get the hell out of America" and go back to Germany, Italy, England, France and wherever the hell else we came from so we could return the land to the folks who were here first.
But I digress.
Helen, the ever present front-and-center crone at the head of the Press Corps who hasn't asked a question relevant to the actual press conference in years has decided... quite suddenly, it seems... to retire.
William Randolph Hearst is rolling in his grave.
Longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas has retired effective immediately, Hearst Corporation said Monday.
The media conglomerate had employed Thomas, age 89, as a syndicated columnist for its newspaper chain.
Ari Fleischer, the bald-headed talking kielbasa who lied for the Bush administration for as long as his immortal soul could stand it, was one of the first to criticize Helen.
..which raises the question, "Why does CNN (and Morning Joe on MSNBC) give this proven, pathological liar a platform to tell lies on TV where everyone can hear them?"
But I digress.
What Helen said was ignorant, bigoted, and a clear indicator that her best years are behind her. You would think that someone as sharp as she used to be would know the implications of what she says. But the old girl is 89.