Test Them
Tweet
Right here, in America, the government is involved in obstructing the press from covering portions of a major city. If we have a real, independent media, they will go to where the government is covering up, and see exactly the lengths the Bush administration is willing to go to in order to hide their corruption.
36 Responses to “Test Them”
GOP Rep. Spencer Bachus Facing House Ethics Probe For Insider Trading
Jennifer Aniston Reportedly Pregnant With Twins
PHOTOS: Tamara Ecclestone At The Langham Hotel
Red Front? “Center For American Freedom” Logo Echoes Communist Style
Romney Calls For Defunding Planned Parenthood, Wife Was A Donor
GOP Fundraising Email Asks Supporters To “Knock Out” Obama
Romney Comes Up Limp In Nevada
Obama Opens Lead On Romney In New Poll
Latest Entries
Why Do Liberals Support Drone Strikes?
Weekly Standard Rolls Out The Iraq Argument For Iran
Equal Polarization, My Ass
Some Crazy Stuff That Happened In World War II
Maryland Republican Campaign Funds Used To Defend Voter Suppression
The Obama Jobs Record In One Graph
Martin O’Malley All In For Marriage Equality
Newt Gingrich, Filled With More Excrement Than Your Average Politician
New Year, Powerline Still Stupid
Thanks Again
Meta
Blogroll
Disclaimer
The views on this site are mine and mine alone, and do not reflect the views of my employer, Media Matters for America
© 2000-2011 Oliver Willis
Next up — watch for them to establish a Green Zone where they will keep the members of the press who are willing to write happy happy stories about schools being built.
Is the independent media going to be reporting on the Red Cross’s website?
So Farris, are you saying that there’s been a local decision to keep the Red Cross out, or are you just pointing out the possibility? And anyway, what does that have to do with the media being kept out?
Yeah, let’s get the media in there… That’ll help the emergency response!
Ferris is one of the all time “change the subject and shift the blame” guys. Among all the screw-ups and blame that can be pointed out he will never, EVER blame the administration for anything or acknowledge that it has screwed up anytime anywhere. Unfortunately for him he almost always gets it wrong (as in this case). If one takes a look at redcross.org and clicks on to “Facts at a glance” one will see what the Red Cross is doing in the aftermath of Katrina. In his zeal to shift blame, Ferris of course, misses the point of this thread (the media) and also misses the point that EVERYONE is supposed to get out of New Orleans (aknowledged in the link he provided, but not by him). Not to mention he fails to address the further point of the shortcomings of the federal response (acknowledged by Bush himself) which of course has been has been the focus of other threads. What a doofus.
TomY, that’s exactly what I’m saying.
From the same link:
In other words, at the same time local officials were crying “Where are the relief supplies?” on tv, they were actively barring those supplies from entering the city.
Oliver, tell us again how this is Chertoff’s fault…
Because its the effing National Guard and FEMA who are supposed to provide disaster relief. Red Cross isn’t in NO because NO is supposed to be emptied.
The “effing National Guard” remains under the control of … Governor Blanco!
Dave M. is one of the all time change the subject and shift the blame guys. Among all the good things and successes that can be pointed out he will never, EVER credit the administration for anything or acknowledge that it has helped people anytime anywhere.
Gee, boilerplate invective is fun!!! Ultimatly though, useless and irrelevant.
Gee, I’ve known that since August 27th. I’m just pointing out that while Oliver (and his cronies) have gone into snipe mode, it’s obivous with just a hint of research that this isn’t a 100% Bush screw-up as is being reported on this website.
Actually, I wish I had come up with what Frank_D wrote.
Then why is there a hue and cry to get the press in there?
What’s the point of this thread, anyway?
Why shouldn’t the press be allowed to cover a disaster zone in our country? This isn’t a plane crash or a terrorist crime scene.
“this isn t a 100% Bush screw-up as is being reported on this website.”
This is a total strawman. The only people I’ve seen *ANYWHERE* trying to get *ANYONE* completely off the hook for the Katrina disaster are you cons talking about Bush. Period. Why can’t you people talk about this rationally? Do you really think it’s good that Bush installed unqualified cronies to head FEMA? Really?
Strawman? Not so much. Ask Oliver, who thinks the dead bodies floating in New Orleans are 100% the responsibility of Michael Chertoff.
Take a gander through the archives. Have I ever said anything good about Mike Brown? Ever? Only reason I’m not joining in the chorus is they’ve already formed. I’m simply reminding folks that there’s more to this than Brown.
Still exempting the state & locals, I see. Do you really think a government can “protect us” from a hurricane?
We didn’t see the mismanagement present in New Orleans that we saw in Missisippi and Alabama. Nor did we see the same problems when Ivan rolled through Alabama & Florida last year. Yet it was the same federal government. Maybe, just maybe, state and city goverments are the more important variable here.
Now who’s veering off topic and setting up strawmen?
I agree that there’s more to this than Brown, Farris. Nagin and Blanco both deserve plenty of blame. But in reference to Bush, I have yet to hear any of you Republicans acknowledge that he or any of his appointees have done anything wrong. Will you ever? The federal government is what protects us all from this type of thing, and it’s done a shitty job of planning and of reacting. And all of us feel less safe as a result. It’s not even a partisan issue for me. And the craziest thing is how you conservatives build it into your pet obsessions about liberals and the peculiarities of random celebrities instead of, you know, working to get some accountability from the actual people in power who have some measure of control over the situation. Sean Penn is just not the issue, man.
“For example on August 26 president Bush authorized FEMA specifically to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act,….”
Wow! That’s an awful lot for a guy on vacation. Hmmm. Wasn’t August 26th before the storm hit? Now when was the last time a President that far ahead of the game? I thought you all said he wasn’t doing anything. I was wondering how those 1000 FEMA people got to the area the day after the storm passed.
And I didn’t even know they had telephones in Crawford. I would have thought he could only do that kind of work back in Washington.
Huh? They have communications equipment in Air Force One too?! Well I’ll be… And he even used some of it? Good for Chimpy McHaliburBushhitler. I
(end sarcasm here)
Ferris,
Me change the subject? Methinks you protest too much. What’s useless and irrelevant is your disingenuous cut and paste used to “prove” your point. i.e., that the Red Cross was prevented access by local authorities. Of course this was false and really misses the point that you were trying prove. For example on August 26 president Bush authorized FEMA specifically “to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.” ( see http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html and also see – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm). It would appear that FEMA has been in charge of the RELIEF efforts since the outset. What evidence do you have that FEMA wasn’t in charge? Were local officials to blame for the lack of preparation and response prior to Katrina landing and did that cause loss of life – no doubt. Were federal authorities to blame for a lack of response after Katrina struck which cost lives – again, no doubt. If you truly want to remind folks that there is more to this mess than FEMA or Bush at least do it honestly.
But back to the point of this thread – the media. Just as it was important for people to see the aftermath of 9/11 and the destruction that terrorists caused, this event is also important. It should remind us that natural disasters are every bit as important to prepare for (maybe more so) as terrorist attacks. What is happening in New Orleans, the good, the bad, and the ugly deserves to be seen by all Americans to remind us all that preparation for these events goes a lot further than trying to rectify the situation after the fact.
Ferris,
Still apportioning blame. And if you read the articles I cited you would have seen that the Red Cross specifically mentioned FEMA as preventing them from entering. But enough of you. From your response about 9/11 I can see you’re not interested in honest debate or discussion just blaming “the Left”. As my grandmother used to say, never argue with a crazy person. You were right grandma.
Marty,
My bad. Actually President Bush’s declaration came on August 27 and his order encompassed August 26. Why did he act on the 27th? He was asked to by Governor Blanco.
Not according to … the Red Cross!!!
If you’ve got proof otherwise, I’d love to see it. Until then, the allegation remains unanswered.
Of course back then, the Left applauded the decision to stop showing Tower Footage and there wasn’t ANY cry to see footage of bodies being pulled from the wreckage.
“Still exempting the state & locals, I see.” Still can’t read, I see. I specifically mentioned Blanco and Nagin, idiot. What I said was that I’m not interested in letting anyone off the hook. You are, even when confronted with evidence of gross mismanagement by Bush in appointing unqualified cronies to head FEMA. Why are you trying to get Bush off the hook and pin the blame only on locals? Why, it’s because you’re a whore for the president, Farris.
From the Post-Gazette article, it says “The Homeland Security Department has requested and continues to request that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans”
Hmmm… sounds eerily familar to the wording on their website: “The state Homeland Security Department had requested–and continues to request–that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans.”
Later on, it mentions the National Guard denying RedCross access. Of course, the Guard was under the control of Governor Blanco.
TomY,
Yes, you mentioned Blanco & Nagin. But then you go and say that the feds are the ones who “protect us from this type of thing” as though noone else plays a role, not even citizens themselves.
It’s not about pictures of bodies. I don’t care if I never see a picture of a bloated body.
This is about access. Why shouldn’t the press be allowed to cover the news?
Yeah, Quaker, that’s it exactly. This administration is all about controlling the images, controlling the conversation. They don’t want anyone else to have a say and they don’t want to listen to anyone tell them something they don’t want to hear.
But I think they are going to have a harder job on their hands this time, since their catastrophe actually occured on American soil, and we all have family, friends, or friends of friends who are affected.
Not even the best efforts of the 101 Fighting Keyboarders can save them now.
And Tom Y — don’t you know, can’t you understand? Like all divine kings George Bush is in reality a demigod. That’s why he is infallible. That’s why he is all-knowing and all-powerful, and mere mortals like yourself have no right to question him. It’s not just treason, it’s blasphemy!
*Cowers in fear and wonder*
Tell me whom to smite, O Mighty W, and they shall be smoten!
“Yeah, let s get the media in there& That ll help the emergency response! ”
I love this comment especially since Brown admitted that he was getting important updates on where people were — the Convention center, for instance, — from watching cable news. Yes, what could the media possibly do to help the emergency response, Frank? How forgetful you are. For the first several days the media WERE the emergency response. FEMA was watching CNN to figure out where to go and what to do.
I say we get the press in there, and they stay until they get the goods on Bush..
Then they can leave, their purpose having been served.
The people are entitled to the truth — hah!
“I say we get the press in there, and they stay until they get the goods on Bush.. ”
As the water level falls, sooner or later we are going to find a big heap of bodies that were washed down to a low-lying spot. Hundreds and hundreds of them. It’s inevitable in a disaster of this magnitude.
*That* is the reason why the Bush administration wants to keep reporters out of the city. Because the picture of that heap on the nightly news will destroy the Bush adminstration. Completely, utterly, and totally. They know this.
You can keep pointing fingers at Nagin, Blanco, whoever. And they are partly to blame for the stuff-up. But at the end of the day, that big heap of bodies is the image that will stay with everyone. And then people will remember Bush’s dithering in the first few days of the tragedy. And it’s all over. Rove can do the math, and he’s shit-scared of that heap.
The press isn’t trying to get the “goods” on Bush. The goods are already there. FEMA and Bush are attempting to suppress the access so that *he* doesn’t pay the political price when the goods are discovered.
And before you accuse me of being goulish – I don’t “want” that heap to be discovered. I really hope it isn’t there. That many dead people is terrible no matter what. But the rational part of me knows that it is there, and that the Bush administration should not be able to score political points by pretending that it isn’t.
Anyway, let’s accept for the moment that Bush didn’t kill them. I assume then that you would have absolutely no objection to showing that pile of bodies on the nightly news? He didn’t kill them, so there will be no political fallout. Right?
It doesn’t matter whether he did or not JD. It is the perception that will doom him. Rove knows that. You know that. Which is why you’re here spinning like crazy.
Ask yourself this: if you saw that heap of bodies while Clinton was in office, would you be calling for his head, or trying to find convoluted ways to deflect responsibility?
Right, rhys … President Bush killed all of those people.
SaveFarris –
Ya. Of course. Because Blanco and Nagin hadn’t already declared a state of emergency and Bush hadn’t already authorized FEMA to take all the necessary steps needed to respond to the disaster. You see I would have thought that getting FEMA people on the ground all over the region the first day would have been helpful. Brown, on the other hand, figured all he had to do was turn on the TV. You know, it’s hard work getting information in the information age.
Only because Blanco, Nagin, and the NOPD weren’t telling FEMA jack squat.
On this to show or not to show dead bodies debate, take all the politics out of it and your left with two very different arguments: the public interest represented in the media’s responsibility to document this disaster for the historical record v. the private interest of protecting families from the trauma of seeing their deceased loved ones on television. Well, I hate to sound heartless and cruel but the public interest/historical record wins out here in my book.
frameone: Putting People First!!!
Blanco: “”Nobody told me that I had to request that”
And BUSH is the clueless moron waiting to take orders from Rove/Cheney/Halliburton?!?
Oh, I didn’t know FEMA and Bush’s last line of defense was that local officials hadn’t filled out the right form. Bush: “I was ready and waiting to lead but no on said please.”
Oh and by the way Save, let’s review the lede to that story:
“WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 – As New Orleans descended into chaos last week and Louisiana’s governor asked for 40,000 soldiers, President Bush’s senior advisers debated whether the president should speed the arrival of active-duty troops by seizing control of the hurricane relief mission from the governor.
For reasons of practicality and politics, officials at the Justice Department and the Pentagon, and then at the White House, decided not to urge Mr. Bush to take command of the effort. Instead, the Washington officials decided to rely on the growing number of National Guard personnel flowing into Louisiana, who were under Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco’s control.”
And while were at it let’s put that Blanco quote in context:
“Officials in Louisiana agree that the governor would not have given up control over National Guard troops in her state as would have been required to send large numbers of active-duty soldiers into the area. But they also say they were desperate and would have welcomed assistance by active-duty soldiers.
“I need everything you have got,” Ms. Blanco said she told Mr. Bush last Monday, after the storm hit.
In an interview, she acknowledged that she did not specify what sorts of soldiers. “Nobody told me that I had to request that,” Ms. Blanco said. “I thought that I had requested everything they had. We were living in a war zone by then.”
By Wednesday, she had asked for 40,000 soldiers.”
And what was the response of the president and his advisors? Pure politics (note the bullshit craven anonymous source):
“Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a president of the United States of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?” asked one senior administration official, who spoke anonymously because the talks were confidential.”
So now we are to believe that the president’s lack of leadership was because he was afraid of the Democratic response? The bold, decisive Bush, who took on the Taliban and Hussein, feared the wrath of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi? It’s like breathtaking in its hypocrisy.