My 80-year old mother is so looking forward to this that she's asked me four times to make sure the DVR is set correctly.

I've learned not to worry.

Where have these tapes been for 15 years ? Why are they just now being made public ?

I'm not going to watch. McVeigh, like every terrorist, deserves to be forgotten.

You know what they say about 'knowledge' ... well, the truth matters, and though it pains so to even think about this subject, we totally can not stick our heads in the sand on this one.

Thank you again Rachel, and all those who helped put this documentary together into the light of day.

Had no idea there was going to be this kind of production value. It looks compelling.

And the one thing we do know now is that, like then, our government is lying to us…. This is not the big deal, but young people know that the government lies to them routinely. Certainly, if I was looking back and saying what can we do differently, I'd say, "Let's not be sectarian, let's not be hierarchical, let's not split every time we turn around."

I would say for the young: Don't be straight jacketed by ideology. Don't be driven by a structure of ideas. But at the same time, I think we would be, should be, and we should be today, activists. We should open our eyes, see what's in front of us, and act.  Bill Ayers http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/weatherunderground/interview_p2.html

Wild accusations and terror. I am 72 year old grandmother. I remember the media dislike of Kennedy - then he got shot - and people in Massachusetts blamed Johnson. Very soon after (on my time scale) Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated.

I always heard that Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes said free speech did not allow you to yell fire in a crowded theater.

These Tea Partiers - and those who interrupted the public hearings on Health care, seem to think that the Declaration of Independence is the Constitution. In fact the Preamble to the constitution describes how we planned to strengthen the Articles of Confederation so that the nation would not fall apart.

"In order to make a more perfect union..." Most of all they needed to be able to levy taxes so they could pay of the bonds sold to carry out the revolutionary war.

I am sure there is a good reason for this broadcast of McVeigh, but just thinking of listening to this madman's 'rationale' makes me nauseous.

Thanks to Rachel for doing this. Few people want to think about terrorism but its a fact of life.  For a great description of how domestic terrorists and international terrorists great a synergy read No Harm, No Foul at: http://astore.amazon.com/interworpartners-20/detail/0557065364

While the characters in the book are fictional, the events and their consequences are highly probable. 

Hi Rachel...As a regular viewer of your show, I have often praised your diligent efforts to accurately and honestly present issues du jour to me and countless other viewers. I have great praise for your researchers for their tireless pursuit of the facts regarding the issues that matter to each American voter...they are the best of the best. Unfortunately, I must tell you that I am hugely disappointed with the choice you and MSNBC have made to, however indirectly, glamorize and legitimize McVeigh and his ilk of irrational vermin. Yes, there are some very good and decent people out there protesting with legitimate concerns and objections, but the vast majority of the Tea-Bagger movement are the absolute opposite of that cogitative, nonviolent group.

Why McVeigh and why right now? Because of the "anniversary" of an American bloodbath (and one day before Adolf Hitler's birthday!!)? Because of the fever pitch of extremist rage against our democratically elected leaders? Sadly, in the your endeavor for ratings, you will only lend credibility to the next OKC-hutaree-plane-crashing-tax-revolting-type of terrorist, and, to me, you will lose a great deal of your journalistic ethos. We are palpably aware of the threat anti-government extremists pose, and they do not need or deserve any more publicity and attention than they are already getting. I vividly remember that day McVeigh and Nichols executed their cowardly act of defiance on innocent, defenseless people. I will never forget it, either. I am cringing that you and your producers have made what could be a very regrettable choice. When the smoke clears after the next treasonous, tea-bagging, bible-thumping racist homophobe carries the proverbial torch of the leader of their "revolution" you and your producers will be culpable.

Why now, Rachel? Why in this climate of viciously hateful rhetoric and demagoguery would you give the unhealthy minds of the "Bachman/Palin Overdrive Committee" this platform of notoriety? Why not before the November elections, when this show would marginalize and de-legitimize this un-American movement that is so bad for America? This broadcast, just like MSNBC's "Lockup," gives continuous notoriety and a monumental degree of "fame" to people we should long forget. We don't need to understand them beyond the fact that they are all disgusting reminders of why we need capital punishment and why people should use birth control. Please use the gift of foresight to re-think the broadcast of the McVeigh show...even if you merely postpone it until closer to the elections when the import of the show would have a real and lasting political impact that would significantly hurt that movement of extremist actions and attitudes.

I encourage others who read this commentary to urge the same responsible decision to cancel or at least postpone the broadcast to a more politically effective time when it will do more to help America, rather than hurt. There are many things I want to see changed within our government, but there is a line that should not be crossed...a step that need not be taken--even if the intentions are virtuous and benevolent. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful reconsideration of this broadcast.

I believe Rachel is PURPOSELY airing this show on this date to incite the crazies. She would welcome the death of innocents so she could rant some more about the "right wing".

President Clinton said, "words matter". Well, this video will "matter" to the crazies, especially on the anniversary of Ruby Ridge, Waco, and OK-C.

Rachel knows this and is hoping innocents will die after her show incites some nut cases.

Play it on some other day Rachel.

Rachel is taking on a question that all journalists, documentary film makers, and instructors must ask themselves when they approach controversial subjects: how far should I go to tell the truth?

Of course this is the time to retell the tale of McVey--all of our attention is on the event with the anniversary. Yes, it would be far less controversial to just let this day slip away. But that is not how people learn--it guarantees that they will forget.

Playing it on the anniversary makes it harder for certain groups to selectively remember the past--just like the governor of Virginia conveniently forgetting that slavery had anything to do with the Confederacy. Timothy McVey may have done the deed essentially by himself, but he was supported and inspired by the militia movement. This movement worked tirelessly to de-legitimatize the government and encouraged their followers and potential recruits to work for change outside of legal channels.

This is difficult music to hear, but it needs to be heard. Every professor who lectures about World War II must address Hitler and the antisemitism that fueled his movement. Frequently that means having students read selections from Mein Kampf and watching propaganda films. The instructor always runs the risk of having a small percentage of students find something positive in these hateful words and images. A good professor will frame the discussion to minimize this effect. Most students get it--I find the numbers of students who understand the Holocaust now is far greater than twenty years ago. Maybe something is working.

Rachel, I hope that you and your production crew have understood how volatile your documentary could be, and have taken steps to frame the issue carefully. I have watched your show since day one, and it has been your integrity that has kept me watching. Good luck.

It wasn't enough for MSNBC to use an actor who resembled Timothy McVeigh. After all, how many people remember (or care) what the REAL McVeigh actually looked like? --- But for some reason, enormous expense was budgeted for a tedious digital reconstruction of McVeigh's features using "photographs";  a technique that gives great licence to portray McVeigh with demonic expressions that can be virtually "photo-shopped" for maximum effect. You be the judge. Why was it necessary to digitize McVeigh's face to resemble a "Video Game Villain"?.--- I have my opinion. What's yours?

If you think Police Brutality is rampant now, look what McCain/Lieberman have coming your way with their "Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention and Prosecution Act" --- This clip is from "Invisible Empire" and contains compelling evidence (in the public domain) that McVeigh was assisted by the CIA, FBI, ATF and others who warned key people to stay away from the Murrah building on the day of the bombing. Local News reported that 2 large, un-detonated bombs were found and de-fused inside the building that McVeigh could never have placed and for which he was never blamed. You'll probably not hear these things when MSNBC, Rachel Maddow and Southern Poverty Law Center team up against you with their CFR Sponsored, NWO Propaganda.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiHYjQdzy2o

Do you have any idea of the chaos and confusion on the ground that day?  There were government offices in that building, such as the ATF, which legitimately had reasons to have weapons on site.  There was a crush of people rushing to the site to help find survivors - most of whom I dare say wouldn't know what a bomb looked like.  And I imagine there would be rounds of ammunition firing randomly for hours and days afterwards.

But the fear that if there was one bomb, there would be more, was overwhelming.  My own mother-in-law was injured and she refused to stay any longer in the hospital that day for fear that whoever had done this would have had a second strike against hospitals.

I would rather McVeigh get lost in the pages of history as well. But it is timely, he can now actually contribute something to the world. Humanity could use a little self reflection.

In the pursuit of purpose, our own human weaknesses can lure us into self-deception. In such cases, there is no reaching self-actualization; of which characteristics of morality, innovative problem solving within factual acceptance, and lack of prejudice are a necessity.

I fear for our country as some "Tea party" or right wing conservatives wish to inject their brand of "Constitution". It's what makes the Timothy McVeigh's of this world dangerous. They don't want health care, but have no intent to do anything about its run away cost. They don't want a black man as President, but dish out the same old tired Demogod's to the plate. They cry the President is soft on foreign affairs, but he is attacking where the real foreign terrorist are at, not some made up war that has killed so many for mothing. He has worked to try to help the average citizens, but is rebuked as a racist. The real terriorist in this country, like the McVeigh's of the world are the Palin's, Beck's and such that find it popular to spout off their ignorant retoeric. Watch out America, we are just sitting on our hands waiting, not acting, for the next terriorist.

To paraphrase an old saying "he who forgets history is doomed to repeat it." I think Rachel's documentary will provide a valuable service in reminding us all there is more than one kind of terrorist. We are slipsliding over a dangerous slope when we allow politicians like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann to escalate rhetoric to the edge of sedition and inflame the wing nuts who will take their words and implement them.

We need this as a reminder to never go down that path.

W

I think those who want to hear them should be able to, and those who have too many raw emotions to deal with them should not. The information should be available.

My opinin is just that, mine. I think that developing this pice was and is nothing more than finacially motivated as well as an intent to stir up additional "nut cases" to act inhumanely and with total disregard for inocent lives. This lunatic got what he desrved when they finally put him to death. he killed so many innocent people and children for God's sake in an effort to display his anger at the government for it's failings? How in the most extreme sense could this ever be justified? Anyone who thinks in those terms needs to evaluate thier lives and ideals. Again, simply my opinion, but this SOB and those of the same mind should be villified not justified and should be pushed into the darkness where they belong. We cannot ignor the reality of international and domestic terrorism, but we should not perpetuate either by glorifying and exhaulting their ideals the way thee projects so often do. Rachel in my opinion is a loathsum oportunist who will benefit from others pain.

Although I do not believe that McVeigh was right for what he did and his actions have brought great pain and loss to many people, I would still like to know what made this guy "tick." How does one go from serving his country to killing many of the people he worked to protect? I feel like if this persons "inner workings" (his mindset and way of thinking) are exposed then maybe other people can prevent someone (with the same philosophies) from commiting an act like his. I also believe that it is just a matter of time before someone else trys to commit an act like this. Maybe this documentury will get people talking again and prevent another tragedy. Thank God or country has the death penalty & it was used correctly in this case.

Someone said above that we need to forget terrorists. I totally disagree. We need to remember them, and hear what they were thinking at the time. It might help us to see if someone we know is acting strangely or on the same path. we need to be diligent and talk to these people, turn them in before something bad happens.

YEA,OK...no coincidence between these comments coming out now and the not so veiled insinuations that tea party members are radicals and extremists made bye this and other progressive leftist news organizations!Sooooo transparent!

Good Job Rachel! It amazes me how many people simply believe what they are told, "nothing to see hear, move along" type of mentality that exists so much in todays society. There are alot of answered questions that many of us would like answers to, like why did the ATF not show up for work the same day of the bombing of their own building??? Pull your heads out of the sand people and WAKE UP!!!

I agree with releasing these tapes. It is important to hear how others think. It may be important, if we hear others among us who think and talk like McVeigh to hopefully stop something like this from happening again. I lost 6 co-workers, several who I called my friend.