It was one thing when the con refrain was that the media wasn’t showing the good stories from Iraq (little known fact: a school being painted and marines being blown up are of identical news value), but now the geniuses at Real Clear Politics are blaming the media for not reporting what an awesome job was done in New Orleans.
I know this is your blog and you can do what you want… but if you are going to point to an article that you disagree with, then at least formulate an argument against the article’s main point.
“Oh, Come On” doesn’t count as an argument by the way.
RCP is saying the media didn’t tell us the truth during the weeks after Katrina about what happened and what was happening in N.O. Do you happen to know that they (media) were telling the truth? Do you have some alternate source of information? What is the point of this post?
If someone says the moon is made out of green cheese, should I post a point-by-point rebuttal? Was media coverage of Katrina superterrific? No. But to pretend as if the government response was great and absolve the leadership of guilt? That green cheese must taste awesome.
To me, this is what you are essentially saying
“No, the media didn’t lie too much and the government is to blame. I mean come on! didn’t you guys watch the news!?”
Superterrific? Try not even remotely accurate. Where are the 10,000+ dead? The Toxic Soup? The gangs shooting at helicopters?
The government response looked “inadequate” because it failed to deal with problems that, it turns out, didn’t exist!!!
Looking at your little blurb, and then actually reading the article linked, the only explanation is that there’s no way in hell you actually read the article you linked to.
Oliver, are you prepared to dispute the following, or are you not?
[Emphasis added - fd]
The post-Katrina facts speak for themselves. I won’t hold my breath for a reasoned rebuttal from the “Reality-based Community”. The bottom-line: the only thing the Federal Government was ill-equipped to handle was the devastating, and criminal incompetence and neglect, of the La State and local authorities.
Anyone want to buy previously flooded schoolbus?
-phil
Funny how Jonah Goldberg today has a cloumn making EXACTLY the same point. But the right wing isn’t coordinated, of course not…
Over 1,500 people died in Katrina. A major American metropolis was reduced to rubble and was unable to save many of her citizens. Friends from around the world called me to ask, “Is this really America? It looks like Bangladesh.”
The images of survivors waiting to be rescued from their rooftops, of tens of thosuands of people herded into the superdome without adequate food or water, of families crying in anguish for their loved ones were not fabricated by the media. They were not shot in a studio. THey actually happened. This is just more of the “Well, they’re painting new schools in Iraq” type of bullshit from the right.
RCP is saying the media didn t tell us the truth during the weeks after Katrina about what happened
What, exactly, did the media lie about? Are you suggesting they fabricated videos of survivors?
This perfectly illustrates the point of the linked article.
The linked article goes through great pains to tell us the National Guard did its job. Bravo!
Does that excuse the gross incompetence of other branches of the federal government? By that rationale, the only way did could have been reported as a “bad” story is if their were a complete and utter breakdown of the functioning of our government, i.e., total anarchy. As it was, thankls to the Guard, we only got partial anarchy. Fear not; there are still three more hurricane seasons to come under this Administration.
10,000+ dead.
Toxic Soup.
Superdome Rapists.
Helicopter Shootings.
Noone sending supplies to the Superdome/Convention Center in the first 4 days. (The Red Cross trucked in supplies, but were denied access to the city.)
The Feds not responding until Friday. (The Coast Guard was pulling people out on Monday.)
But only 2 more under the Blanco Administration.
Oliver spewed forth:
Well, the media spent weeks telling us that “witnesses” were claiming that the moon was made of green cheese, while everyone lapped it up like so much pabulum. Point-by-point rebuttals, like the article you linked, enlighten us with the facts, while folks like you actually prefer the easy-to-digest pabulum.
So, my answer to your silly question is: YES!
-phil
Big Gay Al hyperventilated the following:
This perfectly illustrates the point of the linked article. Katrina was no “Bangladesh”, despite the incompetent media’s attempt to make it seem just like some 3rd world disaster. Had a Katrina actually hit Bangladesh, the death-toll would have been orders of magnitude higher, and they’d still be pulling-out bodies today, from the muck.
-phil
You can put Large Happy Albert with Oliver in the “didn’t read the linked article” camp.
“#2, and even a non-Clinton fan like myself will acknowledge that FEMA was better run under Clinton than under Brownie”
What pResident hired Brownie? In the real world, you are responsible for the actions of people under your administration. Brownie didn’t just end up as head of FEMA, he was appointed by the pResident as payment for political favors.
Big Gay Demagogue:
Explain to me why the other states that were hard hit by Katrina did not fall into chaos. The role of the Federal government in such a disaster is to provide support to State and Local authorities, in the form of FEMA. This support structure crumbles if the State and Local authorites neglect their duties, and are generally incompetent. FEMA, despite its many problems, is NOT a first-respoder, and should therefore not be criticized as such. That is why we only ever hear about Katrina’s effects on Louisiana, and rarely about it’s impact on Mississippi, or Florida – states that properly prepared for, and dealt with the storm.
-phil
What other cities with hundreds of thousands of citizens were flooded in Katrina? Levees broke in what other cities below sea level from Katrina? Don’t try to compare apples to oranges.
Funny how FEMA was well-equipped and much praised to handle disasters in the 1990’s. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they dealt with some poor leaders on the local level then also. But in Bushworld, there is no personal responsibility, just “Not our fault” and finger pointing.
#1, factcheck, the linked article, which you obviously didn’t read either, came right out and said FEMA fucked up.
#2, and even a non-Clinton fan like myself will acknowledge that FEMA was better run under Clinton than under Brownie, but, and here’s the big thing, THERE WASN’T A STORM OF THIS MAGNITUDE UNDER CLINTON.
And #3, since you say in the 1990’s and i’m sure you don’t mean under Bush 41, I just wanna remind you that Clinton isn’t president anymore and by decree of liberal commenters and liberal bloggers everywhere, he’s not allowed to mentioned anymore.
Just like they were one year earlier when Charley/Frances/Ivan/Jeane went after Florida.
“…but now the geniuses at Real Clear Politics are blaming the media for not reporting what an awesome job was done in New Orleans. ”
Again, not surprisingly, you missed (or more likely completely ignored) the whole point of the piece. If you even read it, which I doubt.
Perhaps you can quote the passage of the article that says “an awesome job was done in New Orleans”…? Never mind because you can’t.
Dolinar takes EVERYONE to task – FEMA, Bush, Blanco and Nagin. In case you missed it: “There were problems, true: FEMA melted down. Political leaders, from the Mayor to Governor to the White House, showed “A Failure of Initiative”, as a recent House report put it. That report, along with sharply critical studies by the White House and the Senate, delve into the myriad of breakdowns, shortages and miscommunications that hampered relief efforts.”
The point of the piece was to show how the media ran wild with unsubstantiated – and later prove totally false – reports of rapes, sniper fire, numbers of dead, corpses in freezer trucks, letting blacks die etc. while ignoring the myriad of activities that were saving thousands of lives.
When you have millions of people living in a city BELOW sea level, on the coast, protected ONLY by tenuous levees and a CAT 4 125 MPH hurricane comes barreling through, what the hell do you people expect is going to happen? The fact that less than 2,000 people were killed is nothing short of a damn miracle.
Dolinar also says,”And there were screw-ups. The lead-up to Katrina took decades and cut across party lines. More resources could have been put in place in the few days before the hurricane struck. More could have been done to evacuate, particularly for the sick and elderly. But once the levees burst on Monday, it is hard to make a case that many more lives could have been saved – and that’s the bottom line in any disaster.”
He’s right, of course.
But never mind – let me let you get back to your demogogging…
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/weather/special/storm/2004/atlantic/jeanne/news.html
“Many complain of slow response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a drastic shortage of tarps to cover the thousands of leaky roofs in the area but Bush urges patience with FEMA and other groups. ”
“Monday, Jan. 10 – Federal officials say they paid $12 million too much to about 3,500 people who applied for assistance because of hurricane damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency blames the problem on a computer glitch and says officials are working to recoup the money. Dan Craig, director of FEMA’s recovery division, says the problem occurred throughout Florida but he downplays the error, saying the agency processed 1.2 million applications statewide. Craig also defends allegations that FEMA paid millions in fraudulent disaster aid claims in Miami-Dade County, which missed a direct hit by a hurricane by 100 miles. FEMA paid about $30 million to more than 12,500 residents. ”
“Tuesday, Feb. 1 – Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown defends his agency against criticism that it gave hurricane relief money to Miami-Dade County residents who didn’t need it. “Those who claim we paid out claims erroneously are just wrong,” Brown tells about 100 members of the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association. Miami-Dade County missed a direct hit by a hurricane by 100 miles. FEMA paid about $30 million to more than 12,500 residents. Brown says claims in Miami-Dade County were made by people who really needed the funding. Some of the areas that were hit were the poorest areas of the county with substandard housing, he says”
” Thursday, March 3 – Florida lawmakers call for a congressional hearing into how the Federal Emergency Management Agency dealt with damage claims resulting from last year’s hurricanes. In a letter to Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the five lawmakers say local governments have been frustrated by delays in FEMA’s response while, at the same time, it paid more than $150,000 in allegedly fraudulent claims to residents of a county largely spared by the storm. … A night after getting an earful from 1,000 Pensacola residents still awaiting resolution of hurricane insurance claims, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher says he wants a personal accounting of the problem from five insurers. He said 90 percent of the complaints he heard at Wednesday night’s “town hall” meeting related to only five companies, leading him to call for face-to-face meetings with executives from the five: Capital Preferred Insurance Company, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, First Protective Insurance Company, Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Company, and Vanguard Fire and Casualty Insurance Company. Among them, they write fewer than 9 percent of the residential policies in the state, but have accounted for 20 percent of the “service requests,” in which homeowners have asked the state for help resolving a complaint.”
There are two ways to react to a disaster (like, say, 9/11 or Katrina)
1) Feel ashamed that the country one loves has allowed her citizens to suffer in such a way. Investigate the disaster, study the ways we were wrong, study the ways to improve response or to ensure the disaster does not happen again; or
2) Make excuses for what happened because the ruling class happens to share your political ideology.
It will be to the eternal detriment of conservatives and the Republican Party that, in disaster after disaster since 2000, they have reflexively opted for choice two.
To be fair, they did do a heck of a job…
“Well, the media spent weeks telling us that witnesses were claiming that the moon was made of green cheese, while everyone lapped it up like so much pabulum.”
And one of the biggest pablum eaters turned out to be this idiot:
http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000129.html
“…. if the Superdome had been filled with white, middle-class, racist, conservative cocksuckers like myself, it would not have been a refinery of horror, but rather a citadel of hope and order and restraint and compassion.”
This guy’s rant sprad through the right wing blogosphere like wild fire. It was a freakin pablum orgy.
My answer to frame is held in moderation, but I urge everyone to go and read the actual piece frame is quoting. His posting is the most amazing example of selective quotations and distortion by omission I have ever seen. Don’t trust frame’s presentation — read the paragraph that contains the sentence he cited, and the one immediately following, and see just how despicable frame’s depiction of Bill Whittle’s piece is.
J.
frame made a heck of a point. Unfortunately, I read that piece too, and you somehow forgot the very next paragraph, which shows just what a lying sack frame is, and misrepresents what Whittle was saying. Here’s the full two paragraphs:
The racist element was introduced by another, one Whittle quotes, and then he shreds it. But all frame wants to cite is the racist part.
Forget the migrant workers, farmers should hire frame. He’s gotta be the world champion at cherry-picking.
J.
Basically, again, it said, if white people were at the Superdome, things would have gone better. Then he spend 3 pages trying to tell us how that statement isn’t racist.
He might as well have said that Colin and Kindasleezy are “One of the good ones.” He did use the “Some of my best friends…” bit.
Frame was right in the characterization of that piece: It was pointing a scolding finger at the people in the Superdome. Ignoring the fact that the people pointing the finger have never been in that sort of situation.
The rest is pablum puking bs.
Oh, and there is this:
“It’s always such a pleasure to have Germans enlighten us on the best way to move large groups of sick, downtrodden people by rail. The only motivation I can ascribe to such behavior is that same one that propels young dim boys to tear the wings off flies.”
I’m sure Crazy Jay and JayIDTea will join me in condemning this use of Nazi imagery and use of ad hominem arguments.
“I urge everyone to go and read the actual piece frame is quoting.”
Naturally you would because you’re just the kind of idiot who goes all weak in the knees when another idiot praises white people as the most civilized people on the planet. Factcheck lays it out nicely. They guy makes an incredibly racist statement then spends the rest of his essay explaining why its not racist.
It’s a lot like some dipshit writing something such as:
“The quote Muslims mutilate female genitals is, whether or not you like it, is accurate. If they said that all Muslims, or even a majority of Muslims, practice it, you would have a case. But the mutilators are, to the best of my knowledge, exclusively Muslim.”
Despite the fact that Christians and other religious sects engage in it as well.
Not too bad an effort at undigging yourself, frame, but again you ignore the very next sentences of Whittle’s piece, and show yourself either dishonest, stupid, or possibly both:
That has nothing to do with me being white. If the blacks and Hispanics and Jews and gays that I work with and associate with were there with me, it would have been that much better. That s because the people I associate with my Tribe consists not of blacks and whites and gays and Hispanics and Asians, but of individuals who do not rape, murder, or steal.
Whittle is saying that the elements that make or break a situation as desperate as the New Orleans flooding transcend race, and the breakdowns are not by arbitrary elements such as race, sex, or ethnicity, but by the choices we make in who and what we are. It is our behaviors, or ethics, our decisions, our actions that define how we act in a crisis — not the shallowness of simplistic thinking as “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” or that crap. Whittle was answering the race-based arguments from both sides by rejecting it entirely. To coin a phrase, his
‘tribe” is not based on the color of one’s skin, but the content of one’s character.
The key colors in Whittle’s essay are grey and pink. The key images are sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. The rest is garnish and seasoning.
J.
I’d also like to point out that the reason I linked to that piece is because it’s author bought hook line and sinker the media’s inaccurate reports of horror and violence in the Superdome and elsewhere because it fit so neatly into his worldview that the “other tribe,” meaning black people are naturally incapable of civil behavior unless they’re kept under constant control. The rest of the right wing blogosphere lap it up like mad. Indeed, you’re still here praising the piece even though the basic assumptions behind it proved untrue.
Again, it’s just like a total moron writing something like this:
“Find me another group of people so afraid of women s sexuality that they need to cut off their clitorises to preserve their own fragile egos.”
Idiot.
“The key colors in Whittle s essay are grey and pink.”
Oh yes and you, Jay, are of the Grey Tribe and all of us liberals here are of the Pink Tribe. It’s majestic, solemn, dignified Grey against the sissified, weak, comprimising Pink. Talk about pablum. “Oooo, I’m a Grey sheepdog not a Pink sheep.” Daddy will be so proud. What are you four years old?
A sheep dog? More like Pavlov’s Dogs. This guy hears reports that the Superdome “is a refinery of horror” and immediatley pens a rant about if white guys like him were in there it never would have been like that. Naturally, of course, this has nothing to do with him being white but it does have everything to do with the people in the Superdome being black BECAUSE HE INSTANTLY ACCEPTED EVERYTHING REPORTED AS TRUE BECAUSE THEY WERE BLACK. We all saw how the news portrayed blacks as “looters” and whites as “looking for food.” This guy bought into that bullshit hook line and sinker because he reinforced his idea of how blacks and white behave. Much like your AUTOMATIC ACCEPTANCE that ONLY Muslims practice female genital mutilation depsite readily accessible facts proving the contrary. You’re both idiots.
But frame, this whole piece originally was about how the Superdome wasn’t so bad. Could you please make up your mind? If someone else says what happened there wasn’t as bad as reported, they’re wrong; but if Whittle says it was bad, he’s wrong too?
I should know better than to expect consistency from you by now…
J.
Dumber and dumber.
I linked to the idiot’s rant after Phile reminded us that:
“Well, the media spent weeks telling us that witnesses were claiming that the moon was made of green cheese, while everyone lapped it up like so much pabulum. Point-by-point rebuttals, like the article you linked, enlighten us with the facts, while folks like you actually prefer the easy-to-digest pabulum.”
Guess who were the bigest pablum eaters of the media’s distorted coverage of the Superdome? Right wingers because the distortions fit their previously established stereotypes. This guy’s idiotic rant was based entirely on distorted reporting. Much like how you were so easily deceived about the practice of female genital mutilation: The lie fit with your stereotypes about Muslims. BTW, you’re doing an admirable job of overlooking how completely and utterly wrong you were on that subject. I admire the thickness of your idiot shell.
Ya, I thought so dipshit.